DAmatos Restaurant - Royal Oak (MI)

5 /5 Alayna Clouse: Such an amazing experience!! My friends and I all went and really enjoyed it :)) I got the fettuccine Alfredo(1), super creamy and good. Another friend got gnocchi with bolognese sauce and herb chicken(2), he rated 7/10 but finished his plate the fastest out of all of us. Picture (3) was a Sunday gravy with spaghetti noodles and brisket, happy noises were made the entire time my friend was eating this dish!! My other friend got the filet(4) and she loved how tasty it was. We also ordered cheese bread I didn’t get a picture of but it was the BEST cheese bread I’ve ever had in my life. Our server was so kind, I forgot her name unfortunately but the service in general was great. Also the ambience of the place was very delightful. Very highly recommend this place if I’m in Detroit again soon and want Italian I’m coming back 100%

4 /5 Yoshi Kuronuma: Nice atmosphere. Clean and organized. Friendly staff. We ordered several dishes and wine. Good food and service. I would like to visit there again.

5 /5 John Lacy: The donut dessert was amazing! Not just a couple of donuts, but five warm fresh donuts with marcarpone, ice cream and apples. Best donuts I can recall ever having!

1 /5 Amie Applebee: We visited D’Amato’s Restaurant on Saturday, January 3rd at 7:00 PM, and unfortunately the experience was largely disappointing. Our waitress, Yvette, was the highlight of the evening. She was kind, attentive, and professional throughout the meal. Sadly, her service was the only truly positive part of our visit. For my entrée, I ordered the gnocchi with Palameno sauce. The gnocchi itself tasted fresh and was well made; however, the sauce was overwhelmingly garlicky—so much so that it nearly made my eyes water. There was no real depth of flavor beyond the garlic, which made the dish unbalanced and unpleasant. My husband ordered the homemade ravioli stuffed with portobello mushrooms, which was genuinely good and the best dish we had that night. That said, both entrées arrived completely on their own—no sides, no garnish, and not even freshly shaved or grated parmesan offered at the table. We were surprised to learn that everything was à la carte, yet this was not clearly outlined anywhere. Even basic side salads cost $6 for very small portions, and the entrée portions themselves were quite small for the price. We also ordered the $8 bread board, which was honestly baffling. The bread was cold instead of warm and served with low-quality oil, vinegar, and very subpar parmesan (comparable to grocery-store brand), all placed in tiny separate cups with no herbs, seasoning, or explanation. It wasn’t mixed or presented in a way that made sense—frankly, we weren’t sure what we were supposed to do with it. The calamari appetizer tasted good, but the portion was so small it wasn’t shareable, which defeats the purpose of an appetizer. The drinks were awful. My husband’s soda tasted flat, and we wondered if the soda gun was dirty. There was virtually no liquor in either cocktail—mine tasted watered down and unpleasant, almost like river water. To make matters worse, the limes were dry and visibly brown. Overall, the entire experience was a 3 out of 10, and that rating is solely due to the excellent service provided by our waitress, Yvette. Unfortunately, between the underwhelming food, confusing and poorly communicated à la carte pricing, very small portions, subpar drinks, and lack of value for the cost, this restaurant did not meet even basic expectations. We will not be returning and cannot recommend D’Amato’s to others s this restaurant’s food was NOT elevated. For the prices charged, fine-dining restaurants should expect far better quality, execution, and overall dining experience. I have no idea how they stayed in business for over 28 years.

4 /5 Ashley Yaldo: Everything about our experience was lovely. We had made reservations for 6 and an extra person was brought along and the hostess did a wonderful job accommodating our party. I also felt the menu you was reasonably priced. Service was amazing. Marvin did such a wonderful job with the timing of food, drinks, and making sure everyone was well taken care of. It was my mom’s birthday and they brought out freshly made cinnamon donuts and ice cream for the table to share. They were amazing. Our server really made me mom feel so loved and special. For appetizers we ordered meatballs, bread and olive plate, and cheese bread. Of the three I would recommend the meatballs first. They were big, moist, and the sauce served with them was nice. The bread plate was also really nice. The cheese bread was average. Nothing I would rave about. For dinner I ordered the brisket rigatoni which was lovely. I really enjoyed the depth of the sauce. My brother got chicken Marsala and that was also very well made. They do Italian classics very well here. It was like recommend for gatherings, specifically because of the big round tables. It makes dinner together more enjoyable.