Donatello's Kitchen Cagayan de Oro: Affordable French and Italian Dishes Yet Taste Near Authentic

"Not only are pasta dishes delicious, but they are also great, easy options for a quick dinner during a busy weekday."              ~Marcus Samuelsson

 I'm not really fond with cuisines that are unusual to me. I'm used to traditional Filipino foods, fastfood products and street foods, but not with international cuisines. I like some but not really a big fan. It's just that, I'm not confident to eat them because I may end up not liking them and that my money will go to waste. But trying different cuisines has been on my to-do list to make my life not so boring. Risky but I think the experiences are worth it. No matter how good or bad they can be. 

Just like the Chicken Alfredo Pasta that my friend and I had in a restaurant in Ayala Centrio Mall. I didn't like the taste. It's too oily for me so I handed my plate to my friend. He liked it while I gulped the beverage I ordered with it instead. It saved me from the too-oily taste. Ick. But that was way months ago. It didn't halt me from trying new tempting dishes.

Image Source: Elton Ladd Batinga's Facebook

Located at Divisoria Arcade, R.N. Abejuela Street, Cagayan de Oro City, Donatello's Kitchen offers French and Italian dishes in a platter.

So basically, what a platter will contain are a piece of Grilled Chicken on one of their 6 sauces (depends on what you prefer) and your chosen 2 of their 8 side dishes (depends on what combination you can think that is best).

Alfredo, Marinara, Pesto, Gravy and Chili paste are their 6 sauces. Their side dishes are plain rice, Java rice, Mac N' Cheese, mashed potato, Alfredo Linguine, Marinara Linguine, Pesto Linguine and young corn and mushrooms. They also have refreshments to choose from which are lemonade, mint iced tea and calamansi juice.

The first time that I visited Donatello's Kitchen's stall in Divisoria Arcade (beside Dunkin Donuts) was when I was with my friends (work-related friends in which we had an interview with the owner and was an honor for me to join them). And honestly, I wasn't unsure about their menu. I don't recognize them, except the refreshments. LOL :D

When we were asked what platter to have, I instantly looked at their menu and tried to figure out what combination that works well. I ended up choosing the marinara sauce for the grilled chicken, Mac N' Cheese and Pesto Linguine. That was weird right? Even the owner asked me if I'm being sure of having those combination. I just nodded. I wouldn't know if I will not try it.

Grilled Chicken on Marinara Sauce with Mac N' Cheese and Pesto Linguine

All images posted in this blog post are owned by the author.

Here are the other platters created by my friends. Our orders are a bit different to each other for we decided to try all of what they have in their menu. *wink

Grilled Chicken on Gravy Sauce with Java Rice

Grilled Chicken on Pesto Sauce with Mac N' Cheese and Mashed Potato

Grilled Chicken on Chili Paste with Alfredo Linguine

Grilled Chicken on Marinara Sauce with Mac N' Cheese and Young Corn and Mushrooms

Mint Iced Tea

Lemonade

Honestly, I felt excited when we were served with our respective orders. Especially the grilled chicken. It smelled great while being grilled. After taking a lot of pictures of these platters, we dived into eating them.

I really liked their grilled chicken. Tender and well-grilled. And the marinara sauce. I didn't expect that it would really complement with the chicken. Well, I'm fond of tomato sauce so Marinara was a best choice for me. And the Mac N' Cheese! Haven't tried it before so I was really fascinated about it. Since I like cheese, Mac N' Cheese became an instant favorite of mine. But not the Pesto Linguine. Not my usual take with pastas such as Spaghetti, Macaroni and Carbonara. It was my least favorite. But I bet it would be a favorite to Pesto buffs.

Take Out Packaging

Overall, my visit there with friends was great. The food was delicious, I'm winking to that grilled chicken, and was a pleasure to meet the owner who was so kind.

For those who are really into french and italian dishes, Donatello's Kitchen is always there for you. Prices range from P79.99 to P149.99. They also offer delivery. Open from 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM during weekends and extended on weekends. Visit Donatello's Kitchen facebook page for promos and updates.

Commonly, French and Italian Cuisines from restaurants inside malls and target areas are expensive. Not a doubt. Glad that Donatello's Kitchen is already here in Cagayan de Oro to provide Kagay-anon cravings with this kind of cuisines.