Dominic’s Santos

I am a big fan of Dominic’s Santos restaurant not only for regular dining, but also for their wine dinners! Dominic and his wife, Wendy, along with their staff, put so much effort into their menu and pairings for their wine dinners. They are truly an experience– do yourself a favor and check it out sometime.
My most recent visit included a generous order of Chicken Carciofe– sautéed chicken, red pepper and artichokes over linguine with a light lemon butter sauce. It was plenty of food and so delicious. My salad (with homemade Italian and Poppyseed dressing) hit the spot and you can never go wrong with a basket of delicious, soft, warm bread.
Service is always friendly and prompt and the prices present a good value for authentic, personally prepared food. Handmade sauces and noodles, Meatballs rolled right there in the kitchen.
Dominic’s menu is very similar to parent restaurant, Santo’s in Middleburg Hts, but there’s something a little extra special about his place. I can’t quite put my finger on what it is… but it keeps me coming back.

Last night my family and i had Another great meal here… We love going to santos. Perfect neighborhood Italian style restaurant. We have 6 in our family but they always make us feel welcome. They have great prices too, our bill yesterday was under $ 30. It is small though so keep in mind during peak times you might wait, and if crowded it can feel cramped. Staff is very nice and accommodating, imo can’t go wrong with any pizza!

My husband and I ordered a pizza and stromboli for take out, we have never been here before and only tried because of a gift certificate that we were given, the meatball specialty pizza was wonderful but the stromboli was lacking! We were disappointed with the stromboli because it was cut into 4 pieces but only the 2 middle pieces had filling the end pieces had a small amount of cheese and no sausage or pepperoni! Not sure if we will go back but if we do we will not order the stromboli!

Wouldn’t feed it to my worst enemy, the service was horrible and the food was grossly like a TV dinner reject…

Excellent authentic Italian. Great service and experience.

Seriously the best Italian place I’ve ever been!
The salads are so fresh, with freshly shredded mozzarella, the pasta sauce is homemade, the pasta is made from scratch and the food just tastes absolutely amazing!
I’ve been a handful of times since I found it a few weeks ago and I’ve tried the chicken parm, eggplant parm and pretty much all the apps. I highly recommend the app with fried Zuccini, eggplant, and cauliflower with the pasta sauce. Mmmmmmm!!!

Santos in Middleburgh Hts is one of our favorite restaurants.
We have been to Dominic’s Santos twice in the past few years. I have an issue with the atmosphere and that is what keeps us away. It is too brightly lighted. Maybe they should dim the lights and put candles on the tables. Also, it is one big room that needs to be cozier. Booths? Wall panels in the middle?
On our most recent visit, we found the menu pricey and the portions not worth the price. The pasta meals were good, but the salad dressings were very blah. Poppyseed and creamy italian.

Just had for the first time! Amazing! Ordered a pizza and salad! Can’t wait to try other items off the menu!

Average and a little pricey. Decent portions, but certainly better Italian options in town. Always had good service but seems to take a long time to get the meal.
Had an issue with a meal at our table and just mentioned it and the server took the meal off the check without even asking, I will give them the ½ start to 3 based on doing the right thing. Nice!
Think they do nice things for the community with donations, etc, so props there. Just thing the portions vs. price could be better, especially on the ½ portions. They are a couple bucks cheaper than the full!
Small like most Italian places, just makes groups tough.

I like Santo’s! I haven’t had food that I didn’t enjoy. However, when a server spills an-​almost-​full-​glass-​of-​wine on your lap and doesn’t offer to refill it. That’s an issue. I had two sips and she spilled the rest of it. She didn’t offer to refill OR remove it from the check. I paid the bill, but it came off of her tip.
I went home with went pants and not even an apology. Not Good!

Very delicious pizza! And the hot stuffed peppers were delicious and full of flavor! The service has always been friendly and fast!

My wife and I decided to try this restaurant a few months ago and we have become hooked. First impression is the place is clean and well kept. Our servers are always friendly and prompt. the owner is always there and acknowledges us when we walk in.
The food is made from scratch, pasta, pizza dough and sauces… not over salted, or heavily processed. We love the thick crust Pizza Rossa and the Vodka Sauce is amazing. The food is consistent each time we have gone.
Although not advertised in the restaurant, we were told by our server about their monthly wine dinners and asked to be put on the email list. We went to their April dinner and were impressed. Not the regular menu food, five courses, six wines and the place was sold out. Will definitely attend again.

Good thing we were starving otherwise we would have left. The food was very bland. No seasoning whatsoever. They must give you large portions to make up for the blah food. There were no other tables in the restaurant and the service was still mediocre. All the people working were shoving their faces with food in plain sight. Not very appetizing. Won’t be returning to Dominic Santos’ ever.

Great pizza and the cavitelli is fantastic all homemade

Decent pizza. The crust was kind of bland but the cheese and sauce are great. The large is actually more of a medium.

Stopped in here after hearing about the place from a friend.
All of the girls working were super friendly and prompt. The owner was also there, working alongside everyone.
I ordered a supreme pizza. It was awesome. The crust was crunchy, pizza was not greasy and the sausage was awesome. The sausage is fresh ground sausage placed on the pizza, not frozen sausage chunks (yuck) like most places.
I enjoyed it, and will stop back to try the pasta next time I’m in the area.

I really love their red sauce. It was a little thin but very flavorful. The service was good and the portions were a good size. The fresh warm bread is delicious! I do think the Chicken PArm price should be tad lower… but overall very satisfied and am looking forward to go back and trying their pizza!!! The waitress packed our food up for us which is always a plus…

When I’m weary and feeling small, and tears are in my eyes, I dry them all by hopping up to Dominic’s Santos for a bowl of pasta with vodka sauce. My husband and I discovered this small gem in Fairview Park about a year ago when we had a memorable meal of lemony chicken Francese and saucy chicken Parmesan, both of which are two of the best Italian dishes you’ll find on the West side. But the pasta with vodka sauce, a creamy pasta dish with ground Italian sausage, can change your life. It is comfort food to the nth power. Try it and experience a personal renaissance.
We’ve tried some other things, like pizza, subs and manicotti, all of which were delicious, but the three aforementioned dishes are our go-​to meals when we dine here. Skip the appetizers, as they are unremarkable.
Entrees here come with your choice of a house salad or wedding soup. The salad is usually fresh and crisp with a generous heap of shredded cheese and garbanzo beans. The house Italian dressing is a tangy red wine vinaigrette and really yummy. The soup, which is a bit of a small portion, is delicious but passable — it’s not going to knock your socks off, but that’s OK.
Pasta here is homemade — don’t go there and not order it. It’s expensive, but worth it. It’s perfectly al dente and clings to sauce. The restaurant also has a whole-​wheat option if you are willing to pay a few dollars more.
The restaurant serves a small selection of beer and wine. I find the selection to be a bit amateur, and the prices a bit high, so I usually don’t splurge on wine when I go.
The restaurant also offers «half portions» on some entrees. This is a good option if you don’t feel like rolling out of the restaurant feeling overstuffed, and save a few bucks, but I find the difference in portion size to be a bit negligible most of the time when I opt for the half portion. Just pay more and take the leftovers home with you!
There are plenty of good options for children here as well.
There are a few small reasons I did not give this restaurant a better rating. For starters, it’s a small place that’s easy to miss if you’re driving down busy Lorain Rd. The tiny parking lot can be very tricky on a busy night. I have a few other concerns about the facilities. Although it’s very cheerfully decorated with Italian-​themed artwork, the restaurant seems to have a climate control problem, as it’s hot in the summer and cold in the winter. The restrooms can be a bit odorific at times, making for an unappetizing experience. The small dining area can be loud during peak, busy times. Dominic’s Santos also seems to play Michael Buble on a loop — blech.
Service is inconsistent. Our first experience was fantastic, as we had a very attentive server who welcomed us and introduced us to the restaurant’s most popular dishes. There have been other times, however, where service was slow (during non-​peak times) or negligent (you definitely need regular beverage refills for that vodka sauce!).
I have been troubled by other inconsistencies, like pasta that was cooked too long, the restaurant giving me a different kind of pasta from what I ordered, and finally, one occasion where my husband requested the chicken Francese to be placed atop plain pasta, without marinara sauce — and the server said it would be a $ 3 charge. Why would you charge a patron more for less? My husband had ordered it that way before without any extra charge. Odd. Portion sizes have also varied on different visits. If I leave hungry, something’s up, in other words. The bread is great when it is soft and fresh, but not so great when it is dry and stale; you never know what you’re going to get on any given visit. We’ve ordered carryout on a few occasions, and it’s been both stellar (everything well-​packed with a generous amount of bread and butter) and disappointing (soup/​salad omitted from the order).
If the restaurant addressed some of these issues, it would probably be my go-​to place when I’m feenin’ for some Italian. But I’ll forgive and forget as soon as a bowl of vodka sauce is placed in front of me.

I decided to visit this restaurant after driving by so many times and seeing the parking lot full of cars.
I visited during the lunch hour and was told to sit anywhere. There were customers sitting at about 5 other tables. I was brought bread and butter which was very fresh and tasted good. I ended up eating all three slices. I ordered Salad with Fried Egg Plant, Lasagna, and Iced Tea. The Salad with Fried Egg Plant tasted great. The salad was fresh and the egg plant was perfect. It was a very large serving and I was told by my server the the Fried Egg Plant was home made. The lasagna was served piping hot, however I was not very fond of the lasagna as it was very unremarkable. I couldn’t tell if it had any Ricotta Cheese or meat in it because it was so drenched in sauce and cheese. The lasagna is the reason for the three star rating.
There were about four employees that I noticed. One was waiting tables and the other three were in the kitchen. When my lasagna was ready it was brought out by one of the kitchen staff. The establishment was very clean and tables were quickly cleaned up. The two employees that served me were very friendly and attentive.

Was so looking forward to this restaurant after the good reviews I’d heard.
The wait staff was friendly and prompt. Most tables were full so we expected good things. The first thing we noticed was how cold it was and how most of the patrons were wearing winter coats at their tables. I was antsy just to get something warm to hold because my hands were ice cold.
I asked the waitress for her recommendation and she suggested Pasta Dominic with sausage, tomato, spinach. I ordered a half portion and my husband ordered a hot sub and fries. We immediately received bread with plates but the plates were covered in grease smudges that I could only smear with a napkin.
My salad was cold and crisp but the garlic bread appetizer was extremely greasy with congealed cheese. My wine came in a glass with lip smudges on the rim.
When our meals came, my Pasta Dominic was ICE cold in the center and the sausage was still pink and the entire dish was topped with whole raw, cold spinach leaves that would be perfect in a salad but just wrong on a hot pasta dish.
My husband’s sub had been heated but the cheese was now a congealed blob.
The waitress took the pasta to reheat and soon returned with a nice warm bowl containing now cooked sausage and wilted spinach. Still, the sauce was unappetizing, thin and grey puddled in the bottom of the bowl. It tasted the way it looked, and I didn’t take more than 2 bites. My husband couldn’t finish his sandwich either because it was cold in the middle.
On the plus side, the wine selection was good and the Reisling I had was properly chilled, light and crisp. I will say that the pizzas leaving the kitchen looked great and there seemed to be a steady take out business. Maybe the pizzas are the secret and we just hit an off night. But I don’t think we’ll try again hoping for an ‘on’ night.