Donatello Italian Restaurant

Donatello has been around since 1984, and nobody in Tampa does old-school Italian food better. Start with the bruschetta and then get at least a couple of pastas like fettuccine tossed with bolognese or the cream-coated tortellini stuffed with sausage and ricotta. Beyond the classic red-sauce dishes, the fun atmosphere is a total time capsule and a reason to come here itself: everybody eating here gets a free rose, and servers in tuxedos whisk around plates of osso bucco and chilled calamari while live jazz echoes in the dining room. Always end the meal with the silky tiramisu and a little limoncello.