We came here fairly often before it changed hands. After it did, we came once and it wasn’t good. We decided to give it one more chance, which we did tonight and it is our last time here. Our server was poor and forgot several things we asked for. It seemed to take too long (In a mostly empty restaurant) to get our drinks and soups. There was no checking back in to see how things were / if we needed anything once food was delivered. The food itself was very disappointing. The famous pasta fagioli soup has been changed so much and not for the better! The base was more like spaghetti sauce than soup broth and it was quite tart. It used to be served with a piece of grilled bread. We got nothing because “more was going in”, but when it finally came out- after we asked again and were almost done with our dinners, we got two pieces of cold, oddly cut bread. What we got didn’t match the expectation of warm bread. My husband got the 16 ounce prime rib and I got the 14 ounce (only available on Fridays) in medium and medium rare respectively. He thought his was okay, if he soaked it in the aujus for a bit. His even looked different in terms of texture. Mine looked like one of those very processed roasts you can buy precooked. I’m sure it wasn’t-but something was off. He got a loaded baked potato. It had RAW red onion, a bit of bacon and mystery cheese. No sour cream until he asked for it. Certainly, when a business is bought the new owners have the right to make whatever changes they wish. It’s unfortunate that in this instance the changes were so detrimental to food quality.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 1
Karen Lee-Benjamin
Best restaurant we could have picked for my husband, Jack's birthday! 😊
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Sara Catrow
Everything tasted good, but it's definitely not what it used to be. The portion sizes if you're not having the prime rib are way too small for what you're paying and I'd be totally fine with that, but fresh pasta prices shouldn't be applied to a small boxed pasta entree, a common mistake at most restaurants that offer Italian food. I'm also not sure if it was a one off experience or if you have to physically ask for parmesan for your meal, but it was never offered or brought to the table. We wouldn't necessarily say no to coming back, but I think next time we will try something different until the new owners find their groove.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 3
Jeffrey Duke
I tried these guys a few times over the last year and something was always...off. Wings that were just bones without meat, prime rib suddenly flavorless, menu shrinking while prices go up, etc. This last experience was the nail in the coffin for me. The filet ran out, then the (famous) prime rib, then the bread...we kept changing our orders to accommodate shortages. The wrong (or in the case of one party member no) salads delivered. Warm shrimp cocktail covered in black spots. Boneless wings covered in the wrong sauce, and sent to kitchen only to come immediately back with more of the same wrong sauce. Italian dressing was just canola, no vinegar or herbs, it ruined my antipasto. Steaks seared on outside but cold and totally raw inside. The kitchen and the people doing the ordering of food just failed at every single level possible. Server was an absolute gem of a human being and I felt so bad she had to apologize profusely for the inadequacies that weren't her fault. But hey they're really focusing on wine now so maybe if they can get you drunk enough you'll forget how awful the meal is? I'm heartbroken as this has been a staple in my life for decades. I hope they can turn it around. I'll give them a few years before I return.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 4
ted Blodgett
We had the family Thanksgiving dinner here; party of 10. We arrived at 3. Had choice of Turkey dinner or their famous Prime Rib. It was busy, but had plenty of open tables. Waitress quickly took our drink orders. She was fantastic throughout her very stressful evening. 40 min later she took our orders. 20 min after that we were told no more Prime; really? It was only 4 PM. So many of us had to look at menus again. My step son ordered med wings and antipasto salad. After another long wait, his wings had hot sauce. He sent it back and they put the wrong sauce on it again. Antipasto salad dressing was basically all oil after waiting over an hour for it. My step daughter's salad had wrong dressing as well. My grandson never got his salad. We we also told no bread; wow. Kinda early to run out of bread AND Prime Rib. Our steaks and meals came out in phases; no one was eating at once. Steaks were cold, not cooked right, and very tough. Turkey was good, and my grandson's fish dinner was very good. My fries were good and hot, but came out way before my steak. My NY strip was cold, but cooked right. Owner did apologize and give us free dessert and discounted the check. We gave our waitress a 35% + cash tip; she was fantastic and felt terrible. It was a little after 6 by the time we left and many of us left hungry and disappointed. New ownership has a lot of work to do to get our business back. Not the same as before. And not the 1st negative experience we've had since changing hands on March 5th 2025. We still enjoyed each other's company and had plenty of time to catch up waiting for our food. The bad meal did not ruin our time together at all.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 1
Service: 3
Vicki Kubic
After reading quite a few negative reviews, I wanted to chime in about our experience here on Thanksgiving. Believe it or not,I had never eaten at Donoli’s even though I’ve lived here my entire life. After seeing they were open Thanksgiving, my friend and I decided to give them a try. We have eaten at McCoy’s Chop House for the last several years, but their price point had gotten very high and we were ready for a change and we both felt like Prime Rib.
Walking into Donoli’s, I could tell this was a much more casual dining establishment. Older decor throughout, but certainly not awful. More pub like, than fine dining. They were very busy, perhaps busier than they anticipated. We were seated quickly and ordered a cocktail. My Bourbon Old Fashioned was delicious and very reasonably priced at $9. My friend ordered a Gin Gimlet with lavender gin & lime. She loved it. Again $9.
The waitress told us they run out of Prime Rib earlier, but had some now so she suggested we place our order now. We did. My friend ordered their Thanksgiving special which was a 12 oz. Prime Rib, mashed potatoes, dressing, gravy, baby carrots & a salad. I opted for the 16 oz. Prime Rib with baked potato and a salad. Both came sided with au jus and we asked for creamy and regular horseradish on the side. Both of us ordered our beef rare.
The salad came out first. Small bowl, but just the right amount. I had their homemade Ranch & it was delicious. My friend had their homemade Italian and said it was good as well. The entrees came and were spot on! Generous portions, Prime Rib cooked perfectly. In addition, I ordered a glass of Cabernet wine to enjoy with my meal.
We had lots of leftovers and they offered nice to go containers ears, even for the sides.
The waitress said they were crazy busy today and I could they were.
Yes, there were a few shortcomings. No water was offered. We asked for bread with our salad and it never came. But we actually didn’t need those extra calories and didn’t really miss it.
The bill was only $95 (with a cash discount) and I tipped very generously as that staff was working their tails off.
The owner stopped by our table to see how we were doing. You rarely see that and it was appreciated.
We will come back! I’ll dress far more casually than we did, but I could see this as a nice spot for a good meal at a good price.
Thanks for making our Thanksgiving dinner a nice experience.
Wendy Brown-Blodgett
We went as a group of 10 for Thanksgiving & were there for over 3 hours. Food was cold, they ran out of prime rib & bread, filets...2 people at our table got the Turkey dinner and 1 got fish with no complaints; the other 7 were not thrilled. We got our meats, then 20 minutes later our sides; it was a cluster. I'm not one to complain, return a meal, etc...but there were multiple people at our table who were unhappy.
Our waitress was awesome & went out of her way to try to make things good but she was fighting a losing battle. We spoke with one of the owners & he said they planned for more people ordering turkey than beef.
This was our 4th & last year going there for Thanksgiving.
They did discount our bill & gave us all dessert at no charge.
I will return for dinner & if it's as bad as tonight; I will not go back ever.
tracy legg
Well, the waitress was nice. She did not do a very good job of satisfying a dissatisfied customer. My friend and I went there both got the French dip sandwich. I am 100% sure that it was microwaved. Parts of the meat were so black and dried out other parts were gray other parts were pink a sure sign of being microwaved. The onions were totally raw underneath the cheese and my order of french fries were stone cold. When I told the waitress about it, she did offer to replace our food, but at that point, I did not want anything else . very very disappointed. It’s been my experience working in the industry field for well over 20 years that if you have a customer complaint the manager should address the issue. This did not happen. We still tipped the waitress because it wasn’t her fault as far as the food quality, but her lack of resolving the issue in a professional manner was lacking. . $40 for nothing… I will never go back there again
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 1
Service: 3
Jeffrey
Traveling across NY State on our way to Rhode Island for Thanksgiving,we stopped at Donoli's and had a great dinner and an enjoyable evening. I had a steak and my wife had a scallops both of them were cooked to perfection!! Looking forward to the next trip across NY so we can get back to try some more menu items.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Jeff Kelsch
Soup served cold, several prime rib dinners all not cooked properly. Over priced for not very good food.
Very disappointed, food was cold. How do you serve cold food? Service wasn't that great. She was kind probably just needed more training. I'm still trying to figure out how food can get passed a kitchen cold. I will never go back. Amd will tell others as well.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 2
Carilynne Fedorchak
Best prime rib on the planet!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
sandy smith
Will not be going back. Salmon was so dry and flavorless I asked for multiple lemon wedges just to flavor it. Asparagus was undercooked and again totally flavorless. 12 Oz prime rib was about 6 Oz fat/gristle and potato was 50% uneatable as it wasn't cooked. Cream of mushroom soup was good. We did tell the server at the end of the meal.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 3
Brenda Brown
All the employees are friendly and so nice. The new owners Amber and Chaz are also very nice and want customers to have a a wonderful time dining experience! Now the food is ANAZING!! Love the pizza and wings for Sunday football and my favorite go to is Clams in White sauce (fresh clams) although all of the dishes I've tried were delicious! Salam, NY Strip, Pork Chop all cooked perfectly and well seasoned!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Kim Robertson
We had another great dinner at Donolis. My French Dip was spot on and the service was impeccable.
We came here fairly often before it changed hands. After it did, we came once and it wasn’t good. We decided to give it one more chance, which we did tonight and it is our last time here. Our server was poor and forgot several things we asked for. It seemed to take too long (In a mostly empty restaurant) to get our drinks and soups. There was no checking back in to see how things were / if we needed anything once food was delivered. The food itself was very disappointing. The famous pasta fagioli soup has been changed so much and not for the better! The base was more like spaghetti sauce than soup broth and it was quite tart. It used to be served with a piece of grilled bread. We got nothing because “more was going in”, but when it finally came out- after we asked again and were almost done with our dinners, we got two pieces of cold, oddly cut bread. What we got didn’t match the expectation of warm bread. My husband got the 16 ounce prime rib and I got the 14 ounce (only available on Fridays) in medium and medium rare respectively. He thought his was okay, if he soaked it in the aujus for a bit. His even looked different in terms of texture. Mine looked like one of those very processed roasts you can buy precooked. I’m sure it wasn’t-but something was off. He got a loaded baked potato. It had RAW red onion, a bit of bacon and mystery cheese. No sour cream until he asked for it. Certainly, when a business is bought the new owners have the right to make whatever changes they wish. It’s unfortunate that in this instance the changes were so detrimental to food quality.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 1
Best restaurant we could have picked for my husband, Jack's birthday! 😊
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Everything tasted good, but it's definitely not what it used to be. The portion sizes if you're not having the prime rib are way too small for what you're paying and I'd be totally fine with that, but fresh pasta prices shouldn't be applied to a small boxed pasta entree, a common mistake at most restaurants that offer Italian food. I'm also not sure if it was a one off experience or if you have to physically ask for parmesan for your meal, but it was never offered or brought to the table. We wouldn't necessarily say no to coming back, but I think next time we will try something different until the new owners find their groove.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 3
I tried these guys a few times over the last year and something was always...off. Wings that were just bones without meat, prime rib suddenly flavorless, menu shrinking while prices go up, etc. This last experience was the nail in the coffin for me. The filet ran out, then the (famous) prime rib, then the bread...we kept changing our orders to accommodate shortages. The wrong (or in the case of one party member no) salads delivered. Warm shrimp cocktail covered in black spots. Boneless wings covered in the wrong sauce, and sent to kitchen only to come immediately back with more of the same wrong sauce. Italian dressing was just canola, no vinegar or herbs, it ruined my antipasto. Steaks seared on outside but cold and totally raw inside. The kitchen and the people doing the ordering of food just failed at every single level possible. Server was an absolute gem of a human being and I felt so bad she had to apologize profusely for the inadequacies that weren't her fault. But hey they're really focusing on wine now so maybe if they can get you drunk enough you'll forget how awful the meal is? I'm heartbroken as this has been a staple in my life for decades. I hope they can turn it around. I'll give them a few years before I return.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 4
We had the family Thanksgiving dinner here; party of 10. We arrived at 3. Had choice of Turkey dinner or their famous Prime Rib. It was busy, but had plenty of open tables. Waitress quickly took our drink orders. She was fantastic throughout her very stressful evening. 40 min later she took our orders. 20 min after that we were told no more Prime; really? It was only 4 PM. So many of us had to look at menus again. My step son ordered med wings and antipasto salad. After another long wait, his wings had hot sauce. He sent it back and they put the wrong sauce on it again. Antipasto salad dressing was basically all oil after waiting over an hour for it. My step daughter's salad had wrong dressing as well. My grandson never got his salad. We we also told no bread; wow. Kinda early to run out of bread AND Prime Rib. Our steaks and meals came out in phases; no one was eating at once. Steaks were cold, not cooked right, and very tough. Turkey was good, and my grandson's fish dinner was very good. My fries were good and hot, but came out way before my steak. My NY strip was cold, but cooked right. Owner did apologize and give us free dessert and discounted the check. We gave our waitress a 35% + cash tip; she was fantastic and felt terrible. It was a little after 6 by the time we left and many of us left hungry and disappointed. New ownership has a lot of work to do to get our business back. Not the same as before. And not the 1st negative experience we've had since changing hands on March 5th 2025. We still enjoyed each other's company and had plenty of time to catch up waiting for our food. The bad meal did not ruin our time together at all.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 1
Service: 3
After reading quite a few negative reviews, I wanted to chime in about our experience here on Thanksgiving. Believe it or not,I had never eaten at Donoli’s even though I’ve lived here my entire life. After seeing they were open Thanksgiving, my friend and I decided to give them a try. We have eaten at McCoy’s Chop House for the last several years, but their price point had gotten very high and we were ready for a change and we both felt like Prime Rib. Walking into Donoli’s, I could tell this was a much more casual dining establishment. Older decor throughout, but certainly not awful. More pub like, than fine dining. They were very busy, perhaps busier than they anticipated. We were seated quickly and ordered a cocktail. My Bourbon Old Fashioned was delicious and very reasonably priced at $9. My friend ordered a Gin Gimlet with lavender gin & lime. She loved it. Again $9. The waitress told us they run out of Prime Rib earlier, but had some now so she suggested we place our order now. We did. My friend ordered their Thanksgiving special which was a 12 oz. Prime Rib, mashed potatoes, dressing, gravy, baby carrots & a salad. I opted for the 16 oz. Prime Rib with baked potato and a salad. Both came sided with au jus and we asked for creamy and regular horseradish on the side. Both of us ordered our beef rare. The salad came out first. Small bowl, but just the right amount. I had their homemade Ranch & it was delicious. My friend had their homemade Italian and said it was good as well. The entrees came and were spot on! Generous portions, Prime Rib cooked perfectly. In addition, I ordered a glass of Cabernet wine to enjoy with my meal. We had lots of leftovers and they offered nice to go containers ears, even for the sides. The waitress said they were crazy busy today and I could they were. Yes, there were a few shortcomings. No water was offered. We asked for bread with our salad and it never came. But we actually didn’t need those extra calories and didn’t really miss it. The bill was only $95 (with a cash discount) and I tipped very generously as that staff was working their tails off. The owner stopped by our table to see how we were doing. You rarely see that and it was appreciated. We will come back! I’ll dress far more casually than we did, but I could see this as a nice spot for a good meal at a good price. Thanks for making our Thanksgiving dinner a nice experience.
We went as a group of 10 for Thanksgiving & were there for over 3 hours. Food was cold, they ran out of prime rib & bread, filets...2 people at our table got the Turkey dinner and 1 got fish with no complaints; the other 7 were not thrilled. We got our meats, then 20 minutes later our sides; it was a cluster. I'm not one to complain, return a meal, etc...but there were multiple people at our table who were unhappy. Our waitress was awesome & went out of her way to try to make things good but she was fighting a losing battle. We spoke with one of the owners & he said they planned for more people ordering turkey than beef. This was our 4th & last year going there for Thanksgiving. They did discount our bill & gave us all dessert at no charge. I will return for dinner & if it's as bad as tonight; I will not go back ever.
Well, the waitress was nice. She did not do a very good job of satisfying a dissatisfied customer. My friend and I went there both got the French dip sandwich. I am 100% sure that it was microwaved. Parts of the meat were so black and dried out other parts were gray other parts were pink a sure sign of being microwaved. The onions were totally raw underneath the cheese and my order of french fries were stone cold. When I told the waitress about it, she did offer to replace our food, but at that point, I did not want anything else . very very disappointed. It’s been my experience working in the industry field for well over 20 years that if you have a customer complaint the manager should address the issue. This did not happen. We still tipped the waitress because it wasn’t her fault as far as the food quality, but her lack of resolving the issue in a professional manner was lacking. . $40 for nothing… I will never go back there again
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 1
Service: 3
Traveling across NY State on our way to Rhode Island for Thanksgiving,we stopped at Donoli's and had a great dinner and an enjoyable evening.
I had a steak and my wife had a scallops both of them were cooked to perfection!!
Looking forward to the next trip across NY so we can get back to try some more menu items.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Soup served cold, several prime rib dinners all not cooked properly. Over priced for not very good food.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 4
Restaurantji Recommends
Very disappointed, food was cold. How do you serve cold food? Service wasn't that great. She was kind probably just needed more training. I'm still trying to figure out how food can get passed a kitchen cold. I will never go back. Amd will tell others as well.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 2
Best prime rib on the planet!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Will not be going back. Salmon was so dry and flavorless I asked for multiple lemon wedges just to flavor it. Asparagus was undercooked and again totally flavorless. 12 Oz prime rib was about 6 Oz fat/gristle and potato was 50% uneatable as it wasn't cooked. Cream of mushroom soup was good. We did tell the server at the end of the meal.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 3
All the employees are friendly and so nice. The new owners Amber and Chaz are also very nice and want customers to have a a wonderful time dining experience! Now the food is ANAZING!! Love the pizza and wings for Sunday football and my favorite go to is Clams in White sauce (fresh clams) although all of the dishes I've tried were delicious! Salam, NY Strip, Pork Chop all cooked perfectly and well seasoned!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
We had another great dinner at Donolis. My French Dip was spot on and the service was impeccable.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
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