Danielle’s
My parents were in town on Friday so we decided to go out to dinner at Danielle’s, formerly Tauraso’s. Located at 6 N. East Street, Danielle’s seems to have kept quite a few items on their menu that were available during the Tauraso’s days.
When we lived in northern Frederick city, we went to Tauraso’s quite a lot so I knew that the bar area would be too noisy for my dad, who is hard of hearing. The weather was too cool to sit outside so we requested a table in the dining room. Ironically, Friday night there were several large tables filled with prom dates, always fun to watch, and then a Luciano Pavarotti look-alike came in to the dining room with his pianist and sang throughout the dinner. So I think my dad still had trouble hearing our conversations.
Everyone was happy with their meals. Fortunately, Danielle’s still kept the fried calamari on their appetizer menu. It is the best in town. My only complaint is they never give enough marinara for the huge portion of calamari. The Italian dresing with bleu cheese crumbles on the house salad is also one of our family favorites.
Our table sampled two different pizzas, linguine with red sauce, the surf and turf with crab cake, a veal special, eggplant parmesan and the Chicken Tauraso. Apart from some leftover pizza to bring home for breakfast, all plates were cleaned!
If you are a Tauraso’s fan and are worried that there are too many changes at Danielle’s, there’s no need to worry. Except for the name change, we didn’t notice much difference.
The singer actually was Pavarotti’s understudy for many years. He is really great and it is a treat that he often sings at the former Tauraso’s. My daughter takes lessons from the pianist, Gary. He’s another very talented guy. If you get the opportunity, I highly recommended them.
Sorry to hear about Danielle’s menu. It needs an overhaul.
JJP
Thanks, JJP for the info on the singer! My parents actually enjoyed singing along with him which was great since it was hard to have a conversation. Normally I don’t care about background noise but I thought my dad would get impatient if he couldn’t hear us. We had a good time though.
I was talking to some one yesterday about the restaurant who owns a shop over on Shab Row about Danielle’s. The word is that the menu will slowly be overhauled. The popular items will remain but new items will slowly be introduced.
I was there on Friday evening as well. Our waiter said they will be adding new items to the menu soon.
My wife and I go for lunch almost every other weekend, everyone is always friendly. Nice changes to the decor taking place as well. We both cannot wait to see the remodel and design of what they are calling the “Cruz Bar”?
Hello all, thank you for your support I am very happy with the changes we are making. I was once told “if you’re going to do something do it right” that is why Executive Chef Terry Mason and I are taking our time to make sure our new menu like the renovations will be pleasing to all. Great things are coming I promise, be ready to enjoy Frederick’s best dining experience. As for “The Cruz Bar” you will have to wait a little longer but it will be worth it. You can see Christoforo Padula and Gary perform every Friday and Saturday Night. Don’t Forget about our Beautiful Garden Patio. I hope to see you all soon.
The new Danielle’s looks like the old Tauraso’s, but was much pricier. I don’t mind paying for a nice meal, but no veggies or salad? I got Chicken Marsala with whipped potatoes. That and bread, were all that I got for $18. A salad would have been an extra$5, unlike Tauraso’s where it came with the meal, along with a veggie. The only veggie included in this meal was a sprig of parsley. But, the most disappointing part was that the chef has a heavy hand with the salt, both in the entree and potatoes, and in the dipping oil served with the bread. Another person in our party mentioned her pasta dish was tasteless. So, don’t go there for the food.
The dining room was empty, except for our party, and yet we still had trouble hearing each other because of the loud music (this was in the dining room, not the bar). Our server was excellent, but I won’t be going back–high prices, poor food, too loud music…Tauraso’s was one of my favorite restaurants, but Danielle’s doesn’t measure up.
I love Danielle’s, at least the new owner knows how to run a restaurant, the old owner under the old name ran down the restaurant and didn’t care about his customers. At least the new owner cares about his customers. Might be a little more pricier, but I like knowing that the new owner cares for his customers.
I like Danielle’s too. They had a band playing called “The Family Affair” this past Wednesday. They were really good. I don’t know how many nights they have music, but this was a nice addition. The atmosphere was nice and the food was great.
We were passing through Frederick and had a lovely dinner at Danielle’s Rest. the atmosphere is very cozy and the music, (the night we were there) was great…all of our favorite songs got played…I think the band was called Family…they were a bonus on an already great evening.
Nancy, so glad you enjoyed your dinner in our lovely little city! Can you tell us what brought you here? I’m always curious about how people find us and especially the ones who end up downtown while passing through, rather than stopping at all the fast food/chain places on the outskirts of town.
~Liz~
I am looking into Danielle’s for a reheasal dinner before my wedding. Any helpful reviews on the restaurant would be much appreciated!
We had dinner there on Sunday night and we were impressed. There’s a new menu – some of the items are the same as Tauraso’s – but there are several new items as well. We started with the Norwegian salmon – good flavor, plentiful – served with eggs, capers, onions, and a tight pile of greens. Nicely laid out. I had the roasted chicken with a sprinkle of lemon – moist, flavorful – the mustard sauce complimented the dish, which is served on mashed potatoes. My wife and kids had the white pizza – which is probably the best white pizza in Frederick – lots of cheese with some hot pepper flakes.
I was a disappointed that a salad wasn’t part of the meal. The waiter didn’t ask and I forgot – as it had always been included in the past – so I wound up going without one.
I can’t speak as to whether they’d be able to handle a rehearsal dinner, but I would definitely recommend having a meal there.
JJP
Hey ADG,
I work with Danny Cruz…we do music for him on Wed. evenings..I also will be working with him on Weddings in January….Daniells is a great place to have a rehearsal and to have a wedding…Food is great rooms have plenty of atmosphere and you will not find a nicer person to work will than Danny. He will have your event personally taken care of to make sure it comes off perfectly. Also, if you need an event planner/floral designer My company is call Casablanca Design…our work is classy, elegant and yet affordable…Touch bases with me, Thanks, Peg
I just had my sister’s bridal shower at Danielle’s and it was a nightmare. I had been talking with Danny personally for about 5 months prior to the event and he kept reassuring me that everything would be perfect. I was planning this event from 5 hours away and would only see the place the day of the shower. Other bridal party members lived in MD so they went in last month to see how it would be set up. It was to be inside with a seperate room for the food. We arrive the day of the bridal shower 1-1/2 hrs prior to the event and everything was wrong. They were setting us up outside and the room where the food was supposed to be, well they sold that right out from under us and has another party in there, without telling us. Nobody knew anything, the manager on staff was terrible and Danny was not even there. The bridal party had to move the tables around inside by ourselves and the waiters actually were walking in circles not knowing what to do. The food was pretty good. However we were informed that our water glasses were being filled by pitchers of water that they took from the garden hose outside. And they are very over priced. I would never go back.
Garden hose? What–no water troughs?
Way too overpriced for what you get. A salad should consist of more than just lettuce and 3 shrimp, the meat is not the best, very tough, and the drinks were watered down. Service very slow, and seemed to be very unorganized. The bartender was more worried about trying to pick up underage drinkers than worrying about the service. I’ll take my business elsewhere in the future when I want a quality meal.
My wife and I were big fans of Tauraso’s gelato. It was so bursting with flavor and fresh. After it became Danielle’s, we ordered gelato to go as usual. And they served us scoops of gelato with crusty ice crystals all over it. The gelato tasted frezer burnt as well. Very disappointing that their quality control/standards have relaxed to give us old gelato. We’re not interested in going there anymore since they’ve decided to be that sloppy. Their gelato prices are the same as Tauraso’s used to be, but the gelato portions have been cut in half. So sad.
It wont matter who I am you will never see me again. I am so disappointed and embarressed, with a rehersal dinner we attended. Several years ago we had our own Rehersal dinner with a coordinator by the name of John K. He was professional, charming & attentive. Everything went perfect, the food could of a little hotter but the service and set up made up for that small over sight. So when one of our good family friends asked if we could drop a name we told them see John with Taurasos. Well unfortunetly John is no longer with the company, and it was a disaster. The setup was sloppy, the food was ok, the staff was not friendly, and the owner was no where to be found. I was so embarresed I did not even want to go to the wedding. Luckily the wedding was not held at Danielle’s or the whole thing could of been a nightmare gone true.
Danielle’s is an excellent up-scale restaurant with diverse dishes and specializing in Italian cuisine. My favorite is the veal parmigiana – one of the few local restaurants that prepare it properly.
My wife and I dine there often and find the service and atmosphere to be excellent with a very nice outdoor shaded patio available for those who prefer that style when nice weather allows.
Danielle’s honors the Restaurant.com coupons and we’ve never had and issue with redeeming them. Overall, I rate Danielle’s as an excellent up-scale Frederick, MD dining experience.
Could we please have a quote of what it would be if we had a rehearsal dinner at your location? there would be approx. 40 people attending. thank you
You may want to check with the restaurant.
http://www.danielles-restaurant.com/