Dontino's Fine Italian Cusine - Akron

Dontino’s La Vita Gardens Craving the taste of Italy? Stop by this family-owned gem that’s been a part of the Akron area for nearly 100 years! From the place mats and color schemes, to the vintage photographs and decor, Dontino’s La Vita Gardens serves something we think is super important in dining experiences: authenticity. We absolutely loved the style of this restaurant, and want to go back just to sit at the beautifully arranged bar (which we are SO sad we weren’t able to photograph). We didn’t get anything to drink, but were plenty satisfied with our pre-meal bread and salads. The house-made Italian dressing was absolutely wonderful, and the bread was fresh and refilled promptly upon our request! For our main courses, we got the baked manicotti and the spaghetti with mushrooms. The spaghetti dish was very average, and we weren’t too wowed by any uniqueness or flavors. But the manicotti dish was absolutely DELICIOUS, and was probably the freshest we’ve tasted. Additionally, Dontino’s menu is large, diverse, and filled with incredibly reasonably priced items. Overall, it’s likely in the cards for us to visit again and try something new!

Lovely experience, down to earth and quick service. Had the chicken Parm special which was delish. Salad with their house Italian was refreshing and tasty. Lemon Italian cake was a perfect ending. Took home this small.pizza for second dinner. I forgot to take pictures of everything else!

Really great authentic Italian cuisine! The homemade ricotta stuffed ravioli are the best! The marinara sauce tastes very clean like fresh tomatoes. Not overly spiced with garlic. I like the marinara because it's NOT sweet. The salads are good too. The Italian dressing is authentic tasting like vinegar which I prefer. Fair prices too. Shout out to Kathy! She was our waitress who was awesome!

The best Italian food in the Akron area. Everything we’ve ordered has been next level. Highly recommend the veal and fried ravioli appetizer. The restaurant is extremely clean and welcoming. Owned and run by a single family. They’re Always beyond polite. They usually have a full dining room and ticket times are always quick anyways!

I enjoyed the fried fish dinner with a side salad and spaghetti. The fish was my favorite part, 2 large filets and excellent tartar sauce too. The fried fish did get a little wet from the spaghetti water, being on the same plate. My husband had a pepperoni pizza, but he would have enjoyed it better with a lot less cheese, next time he will request very light cheese. I love cheese and I tasted it, but it was kinda doughy, like it didn't bake completely because of so much cheese. Cheese lovers this pizza is for you! We will return again but will request little cheese, and also request no beets on the side salad, SO MANY beets the lettuce turned purple. Beet lovers will enjoy this! I love the ambiance of this restaurant.