Donny G's Ristorante
Donny G's Ristorante — Elmwood Park italian that sets the standard. It has that lived-in, been-here-forever warmth. Nothing here has been watered down. "Our appetizers were excellent, the fried calamari and grilled calamari were fresh and flavorful" — Mary Biancalana [$$]
What 485 diners keep saying
What 485 diners keep saying
verbatim, from Google
“We were seated right away. Our table was wobbly but they fixed that immediately. The food was delicious and came out fast! Our service was excellent! And as a water drinker, the water was great too! If you’re ever in the area, Donny G’s is a 10 out of 10 must eat!!!”

“We had a very enjoyable experience here for Mother's Day. The server was very nice and polite. I'm so glad we ordered an appetizer because the bruschetta is so good! I had the chicken vesuvio and it was very delicious. My son had the four corners pasta, my husband had the chicken marsala, and my dad had the shrimp entree and they all loved their meals! I also want to mention the garlic oil/cheese dip that pairs with their bread because that was so addicting,hahaha.”

“My boyfriend and I went to dinner last night with fair expectations, given the mixed reviews and a bad restaurant experience we had recently at a totally different place. We were totally blown away by Donny G's!! They had live music last night (Saturday) and the ambience was amazing! I think everyone is very familiar with everyone else there and there was singing and dancing. The service was very very attentive and out of this world with refilling drinks and picking up used dishes. The food, was so so GOOD! We ordered the bruschetta and sausage and peppers appetizer and it was delicious! The rigatoni was out of this world and the pasta Alfredo was very good as well. Everything was amazing! 10 out of 10 would recommend and we will definitely be back.”

“It's a really lovely place, the music is perfect and at the perfect pitch 🎼👌🏻 the service is 100/10 and the food is absolutely delicious! The lasagna 🍝 is highly recommended, the bruschetta is super tasty, I would definitely go back. P.S. If Mr. Juan serves you, call him Juanito, he'll be very happy 😊”

“Truly a hidden gem! Stopped by for a quick dinner and some drinks while visiting the city and were amazed with how friendly the staff was! We were brought free appetizers and dessert out of the blue! And the homemade giant rigatoni pasta is some of the best vodka sauce i’ve ever had! Simply a must for if you are close.”

“Attended Donny G's for an event. The staff was very friendly and the food was amazing!! Thank you for the great food, I'll definitely be back.”

“I had a taste for some Italian Nice ambience , service was great, the parking wasn’t too bad, but they do have valet , prices were reasonable $25 for lasagna it was too SALTY !! , I added sugar to balance it out ..salad and bread..the food was a 7/10! I don’t know what they call the sauce for the bread but it was mmmm addictive ! Even the salad dressing was good”

“The food here is generally good, but after today, the audacity they have to serve the food that they served is insane given how well rated this place is. First, one of the entrées was completely wrong. Second, the cheese pizza that was given to us was cold to the touch. The cheese was never fully melted prior to boxing it up, the pizza was pale, and you can clearly still see the cheese and how it hadn’t fully melted yet they decided to put it in a box and serve it. We called and the manager who was rude. All we wanted was to replace the items nothing more. We called back and requested instead a refund now he wants us to come all the way back to Return the food. First of all, if you would’ve just asked politely, it would not have been an issue. Nobody was going to eat this inedible pizza anyway. Then my husband gets there to return the food and they come with excuses, short staffed, busy etc. if you can’t properly, manage your establishment without sending food out like this, you should not be in operation. further if you do not know how to talk to your customers when you’re the one making the mistake you should not be in business.”
“I must say that my experience at this restaurant was amazing! From start to finish. Everything was perfect. If you are in the area, I highly recommend you to come to this restaurant and be prepared to be in amazement.”
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