Fantastic Italian food in a great neighborhood joint in Berlin. Homemade pastas (delicious!), vegetarian antipasto, good wines, and lovely service (for Berlin, which in general does not have great service). Lovely sidewalk sitting. Only downside was the Moscow Mule - pretty watery. The rest was . read more

This was the best first restaurant experience in Berlin! Granted, it wasn't a German restaurant, but we had a great time at Donath. Our waiter (possibly the manager or owner) was extremely attentive, enthusiastic, and incredibly accommodating of our language barrier. He translated most of the menu for us and gave wine suggestions. I ordered the tortellacci mit spargel gefulter (tortellini with asparagus filling in Parmesan cream sauce). The dish was 3 large tortellini in the most incredible sauce. The asparagus was delicious and the serving was actually very filling. They brought bread to the table free of charge. Overall, wonderful experience, great atmosphere in the restaurant, and delicious food! read more

Donath Osteria Ristorante - Tortellacci mit spargel gefulter (tortellini with asparagus filling in Parmesan cream sauce), €14 - Italian Near Me - Berlin, BE

I absolutely love this place! I've been here two or three times over a year or two, since it's a neighborhood favorite of a friend of mine. The first time I came here, late-ish on a Friday night, there was a young man in a fedora sitting at a table outside, holding court with friends, smoking a cigarillo, and typing on a typewriter. I love Berlin. The charm of this place is the informality, the neighborhoodiness, and the whimsy of the evening's choices - specialties from Friuli - written in chalk on large blackboards at the sides of the room and crossed out when the fresh supplies run out. Pasta with a veal ragu was particularly memorable, but so were pumpkin gnocchi with squash. Wines from Friuli are also special, and while the house wines might be simpler than others available by the bottle, they have nice offerings of (Tocai) Friuliano, Schioppettino, and Refosco. I can't wait for the next time I'm in Prenzlauer Berg, I'll be back for sure. read more

Berlin is not well known for its gastronomical delights but one can easily say that if you need to eat, Italian is your safest bet given the abundance of this cuisine. Now, my relationship with Donath is quite simple: I live 10 minutes away and it's a casual setting with superb fresh food. Foods: 4, overall very good. Atmosphere: 5, rustic, green, treehouse vibe. Service: 5, I like people that are honest about who they are and how they present themselves and I feel the same about restaurants. Donath = Great attitude. Cost: 5, average Berlin affordable. Sustainability: TDB read more

Rude service, mediocre food As our company is right across the street we are visiting this place a lot more than I appreciate, but today was a new level of rudeness reached. My colleagues and me sat outside for lunch and we asked for some kind of menu, as they keep it very simple at this place they asked us to check out the blackboard with the menu items on it. I mentioned that we all have to get up for that, because it was facing the other direction, the waiter did not care. So I got up, moved the blackboard so my colleagues could see. I was not happy with the situation, but did not want to make a fuss about it, the weather was too nice. But the waiter said to me that we should have all gotten up to check out the menu individually and not move the blackboard and said that he did not like my attitude.Well I replied " I don't like yours either." Then he snapped and forced us to leave. I was confronted with a lot of things at this place, long wait times for almost everything, multiple times, undercooked food, sloppy, unattentive service and quite high lunch prices for Berlin, plus a pretty uninspired lunch menu. In my opinion this place is a terrible ambassador for Italy and Berlin. Today was my last time at Donath - Ciao read more

We had a most wonderful outdoor meal here. Everything was superb and low key at the same time. The sign Donath above the doorway is completely covered with ivy. You'll have to look for the address and the casual air. So gentle! The menu is inside on the wall, which you have to go look at and decide. Then you tell the server what you want, either standing there or they come to your table. It's a little odd. It's always hard to know how large the portions will be, so we ordered a salad plate, 2 glasses of wine and the meat lasagna to share. Well, we polished that off and continued with a bottle of wine (Merlot) and the pasta putanesca. There was a chocolate cake thing for dessert, but I can't remember what it was called. All in all, a perfect meal. read more

We had some pretty awful Ravioli with lamb ragout at this overdesigned tourist trap in Prenzlauer Berg. Our waiter was probably hungover or suffering from some other ailment because he was rude and clumsy, at one point he even spilled down a full glass of coffee with milk right in front of us, swearing loudly. Four or five staff (I asume they were staff) were loitering around the open kitchen waiting for something to do because we were the only visitors at lunch although the restaurant on the corner was full. Usually I would never sit down in an empty place to begin with but we rambled in to this big black mass of a place by accident, the original plan being some sort of lunch at a cafe but seats were taken in sunny Berlin this Saturday afternoon. So we ended up in Donath. My three year old son promptly refused to touch the horrible tomato soup noodles and when I asked the hungover waiter if they had pizza instead he smirked in contempt. Our Ravioli was undercooked and the house wine tasted like something from a late night kiosk. The only positive thing about this restaurant was a big labrador my son was chasing around the place laughing. One star for the dog. read more

Unfriendly, rude, expensive, bad food! I have been at Donath twice. They were always very unfriendly and the prices are far too high for the simple food they serve. The last time we went there we wanted to have a relaxed lunch in the sun but the servant was rude as we turned the blackboard-menu to see what to order. As we turned it around he asked us to leave, that we are not welcome at the restaurant. I guess they do not like customers which bring money, that is why i will never go there anymore. Ciao read more

Much too expensive for berlin! A bottle of chianti is 29€. This is unacceptable here. it would be o.k. For northern Sweden...the food was o.k. but not good enough for the price. The service was really bad and impolite. We did not feel welcome although we had booked a table in advance. read more

Amazing lamb ragu sauce on homemade linguini with a buttery consistency on the outside while al dente on the inside for my boyfriend was perfectly prepared. My puttanesca sauce was layered with flavors. I kid you not, even the tableside bread and olive oil are delicious. I was delighted to see the local Anthony Bourdain-dead ringer who was our waiter and came with the requisite grumpy calm that barely hid his solid charm. I enjoyed the animated tit for tat between the colorful characters near the kitchen. The space is cozy and cool while not as claustrophobic as other neighborhood favorites. It's laughable to call this restaurant a tourist trap. It was bustling at 9:30 pm yesterday night indoors and outside the restaurant, so you can make up your own mind if you believe a grumpy, mean spirited Dad here or the throng of us who love Donath. read more

Okay, you're wondering why I'm giving this place 4 stars. We'll put it this way, I love a good looking and impressive menu, but what I really love is something tangible and unpretentious. Cafe Donath is definitely that. I love that the size of the restaurant. The rather large windows open up the small space which spills over onto the terrace. It's smack dab in the cusp of Mitte and P'zlberg on a great street which is quiet and connects the well traveled Kastienallee and Schönhauserallee. The restaurant has a simple concept. You read the board and decide what you want. The lunch ranges from 5-10 euros and the dinner from 7 - 20 euros. If you order the Entrécôte like my husband, you're going to be in for a savory goodness. He describes the piece of steak juicy and salty to the perfect degree. It was like butter. If you're squimish about a little blood, then you're probably german and love it overly done. (so don't order it). Anyways, it's done to a simplistic perfection, wherein you'd be kidding to add any sauce or extra flavoring. I am the adventurous one. I tend to go with an antipasti plate or a soup to start off our meal. Then I order either a fish, risotto, lasagne or pasta. Each dish is impressive. The lasagne isn't what you think you'd make in your own house with your meager ricotta cheese. There's a nice blend of flavors and textures. Also the risotto is amazing, if you get a chance to order it, you won't be sorry. The service at the restaurant is intimate. There aren't a billion people running around for nothing. There's a few guys/girls and they run around working their asses off. It's a simple concept. You can see almost the whole around the restaurant. You see the guys/girls/ chefs are a part of it all and they interact together. I couldn't give it 5 stars, the desserts are alright. But usually after a meal like that, you just want a nice grappa to top it off, not some heavy tiramisu or panna cotta. Just try it out, if you are going on the weekend, then make a reservation or go early or go late . . .Check out the history, Donath was a dry cleaning company previously there . .. the owner preserved the name of the place, which I think is great . . . read more

Horrible service. I walked in, waited to be seated - in fact - waited for 5 minutes TO BE SEEN. Decided to have a glass of wine elsewhere and return to see if this is really their modus operandi. TBC... read more

I went there for a language tandem : we were inside. As we began to discuss, the guy put the music on very loud and, seeing that it was disturbing us, he turn the volume up and started to sing, screaming at loud... As customers, we really didn't appreciate. I would never set foot in that place again. You would tell me : what an idea to have a drink in such a place when berliners old fashioned coffee places are unsurpassed ? I know, it wasn't mine, and will NEVER be. read more

Gegrillte Pulpo, very good. Great food, awesome ambiente, friendly service! Highly recommendable!

Tasty pulpo ragu and delicious clam fettuccine will have us coming back for another meal. Comfortable outside seating and a nice bottle of red finished off the evening . We will return. read more

*DONATH* GO TO THIS RESTAURANT!!! The food is INEDIBLE. We paid for our meal and left without eating it. The staff didn't even care because they were watching the football game, with the sound blaring. I would give this place ZERO STARS if possible. AVOID AVOID AVOID!!!!!!! Go to Pappa e Ciccia up the block, on the corner of Schwedter and Choriner-- that's a fantastic Italian restaurant. read more

Absolutely lovely food and atmosphere, but unfortunately the worst experience I ever had in a restaurant. We practically had to serve ourselves, the waiter and waitress chose to mostly ignore us, we had to go to the counter to order food and wine and were left sitting for ages. When we paid for our meal, I told the waitress the food was lovely but the service rude and appalling. She laughed at me. I will never accept that rudeness in a restaurant again and only sorry I paid. Highly not recommended. read more