The Definitive Guide to Living in the Capital , Cairo , Egypt

There are some cuisines that are meant to be savoured at a restaurant, and not delivered at home, in order to provide consumers with a complete experience; Italian happens to be one of them. This was what made us very curious to try Donato’s, which is a pickup and delivery based Italian restaurant!

Located inside Beverly Hills, Sheikh Zayed, Donato’s is basically an open kitchen that specialises in ‘homemade’ Italian food. The variety on the menu is decent for the concept. Our order consisted of Arancini (30 LE), Lasagna (65 LE), Donato’s Pizza (75 LE), and Tagliata Di Manzi (135 LE).

Starting with the arancini, it was our least favourite item of the whole meal. The fried rice balls had a good texture on the inside and were filled with a lot of cheese; however, the overall flavours were bland and under-seasoned, and the breading was a bit soggy.

Moving to the lasagna, it was definitely the crowd-pleaser. From the huge portion and the perfectly cooked pasta sheets to the flavourful bolognese sauce and generous amount of cheese on top, this lasagna was worth it! We mean, if you love a saucy and cheesy lasagna, with a spot-on pasta to béchamel and bolognese ratio, then this is the one for you.

As for the pizza, we picked Donato’s Pizza because, well, it’s named after the restaurant. The thin crust pizza was topped with fresh sliced tomatoes, fresh mushroom, arugula, and parmesan shavings. Even though we really enjoyed the lightness of the pizza and the freshness of the toppings, we have to admit that we felt a bit betrayed when we found out that it doesn’t have tomato sauce or cheese. It was a very good guilt-free pizza, though.

Last but not least, the Tagliata Di Manzi; sliced veal fillet served with rocket and parmesan shavings. The presentation of the dish scared us to begin with, but you know what they say, don’t judge a meal by its presentation. The fillet was super tender with a tangy kick to it, and the melted parmesan and arugula complimented it perfectly. On the other hand, we felt that the dish needed a side to back it up a little.

All in all, Donato’s is a good option if you’re craving homemade Italian food at home. We enjoyed the meal overall, and the delivery service was fast, but we definitely think the packaging should improve since it’s a delivery and pickup restaurant.

P.S. Delivery service cost us only 10 LE.