Donatelli's Bistro — Restaurant in Lake Saint Louis

I’ve never been more humiliated or embarrassed in my entire life. Let’s just say last night was the third and final time my family and I will be dining at Donatellis. Each and every time we’ve went the service has been beyond poor and food average. Last night was icing on the cake. But we’ve kept giving it more try’s thinking we’ve just hit it on another bad night. It was my moms birthday yesterday and we made the reservation and were seated right away. My mom really wanted a Cesar salad with her meal and then everyone else thought that sounded great as well. The server mentioned there would be a ‘slight’ upcharge for the Cesar, as only a regular garden salad came with our entrees. I acknowledged. My dad ordered the seafood diavlo and ordered it w a different sauce. The server brings out his entree and my dad politely tells her that he ordered it w a regular creme sauce not the pinkish sauce it came with. She stood there and argued and said that’s the way it came and he didn’t order it any differently. But that she could bring him a saucer on the side of regular creme and he could mix it in. My dad said that was fine and didn’t want to argue. Next, they bring my mom a dessert out for her birthday. Quite honestly, we never expect that added touch anymore due to a lot of restaurants getting away from doing that. Anyhow, a very nice touch. THEN the bill comes. In looking over the bill that ‘slight’ upcharge for each individual Cesar salad...$4.50 EACH. May I remind you a garden salad comes with the pasta entrees, which we all had. I asked the server why that was so high. She then lost control of her attitude and flat out said I told you there was an upcharge. I said yes, you said a slight upcharge. In my mind thinking ‘slight’ is $3 a salad or less. She snapped back I never said ‘slight’ I just said an upcharge and it is what it is and that’s what you owe there’s nothing I can do about it! And besides, your mom shouldn’t have even gotten that $10 slice of dessert in using a $10 off ONE entree coupon for her birthday so I don’t know what your complaining about! EXCUSE me? Did my server actually say that to me in front of my table? YES. I said I’d like to speak to a manager. So then this very nice young girl comes over (the host) and I explained the situation to her: I never asked for a piece of cheesecake for my mom, how the server had an attitude about my dad’s entree, and now the salads are outrageous for $4.50 each when a salad came with the entrees and how the server had an even bigger attitude yet! She said she understood and thought that was a little high herself and would see what she could do, didn’t apologize for the server. I expressed I was not asking for them to be free, as I acknowledged there was an upcharge, however $4.50 is not ‘slight’. Next thing I know, the server comes out, bringing my bill again and said they couldn’t do anything about the $4.50 upcharge for each salad x 5 salads bc again they gave my mom a piece of cheesecake. NOT one time did the manager come out and ask what was going on or want to apologize about our HORRIBLE experience or apologize for the outrageous upcharge. I’ve been working in the food and beverage industry long enough to know what’s right and what’s wrong. Donatellis was wrong on every single level. And again if anyone thinks I’m trying to get out of paying for something that is NOT the case. I’ve been to all the high end restaurants STL has to offer. My family and I like to try to dine local. But even when we were down at Kemolls downtown ($$$), even they didn’t upcharge $4.50 for a Cesar salad! Absolutely insane. Again I paid the bill. Considering nothing was being done and the manager would’ve even come out to talk. But the service and attitude...every single time (yesterday being the worst), Donatellis you can gladly keep your food, your service, and your management. Save yourself the frustration and the money and dine elsewhere to have a great experience. Simply, do not go...

#1 - Ill definitely come back.

A fair review of this restaurant would be one that includes the good and the bad. So Ill briefly state the bad and move right into the good. Tearing down a restaurant and its service is never really a fair shake. We're all just too opinionated and think that our mother's make a better dinner than most restaurants - but I digress.

The bad: The steak sandwich that I ordered for dinner was served on overly toasted bread (I mean it was not only stiff but also cold) and the medallion steaks were extremely tough, the breading was caked on (rushed?), and unfortunately there was no heat in the sandwich as well. We didnt have to wait long for our meal - that was a surprise. So why a mediocre sandwich? To be fair I had high expectations for this sandwich given that so many people rave about the FOOD here. It was a complete let down. There was also only 2 onions on the sandwich and the cheese was terribly congealed. The good: The fries were to die for. Just not $16-$20 to caliber fries -especially when that sandwich landed so flat.

The GOOD: My wife loved the chicken Donatelli meal she ordered for her dinner, the wine that our waitress suggested, and the Cheescake (vanilla bean). Yum. My kids loved their food as well. My parents, yes this was all our first time at the restaurant , had a lovely lasagna plate and salads all around. All smiles and no complaints. Note - you can't really go wrong here if you stick to pasta dinners. I didn't see or small anything that passed or landed on our table that night that was objectionable and the people were genuinely happy to be there experiencing the atmosphere and food.

The service was perfect. The hostesses were cheery and fun, the music in the bar was live and full of life. The floor layout and the dining sections were all spaced out so that you never felt cramped. The store itself has a lot going for it. There were so many people there, I wasn't surprised as to why the review base is so high.

I would definitely come again , but next time Ill avoid chancing the non-traditional items and stick to the staple dinner items just to avoid the disappointment I experienced again. You should...

We have been to this restaurant twice. The first time it was great, great food and service. The second time, not so much. We are raising our granddaughter that is 9 years old. We decided to have an late lunch, early dinner. We went with our friends again that are regulars. We sat in the bar area, ordered our food. Then we got told we cannot have children in the bar! I did NOT see any signs stating that we could sit in the bar area with anyone under 21. So we moved into the dining area with a gray haired waiter that stated that he’s worked here for 13 years when my wife, that cannot eat gluten. She ordered the Cranberry Spinach salad, he said they do NOT have that salad, it must have been a special. I pulled your menu up online and showed him and he stated the same thing again! So my wife was hungry while she watched us eat. I am not happy and doubt I will be there again anytime soon!

To reply to your response below, We didn’t sit at the bar, we sat at a table where I did not see a sign. The ONE sign for NO ONE UNDER 21 is located in non-visible from the tables located in the bar. We did not know who our server was for at least 10-15 minutes. We were never informed of dinner service times. When he did come to the table he informed us that he just arrived and he was not happy. Yes, we were informed about the cranberry spinach salad. Since our waiter stated he never works lunch he was not sure. That is why we asked more than once. Also, I do not know who you are, this was only second time at your establishment. If I would of known who you were we would have spoken to you about any issues. As a Manager/owner you knew of all these issues before I posted anything, you could came over to our table and introduced yourself. My wife did not see any items on your menu for gluten free, the cranberry spinach salad was pretty much...