Proprietor Donato Scotti grew up in a small town near Bergamo in Italy; studied at the Instituto Alberghiero di San Pellegrino culinary school & learned his craft in various Michelin starred restaurants in Bergamo. He then moved to the United States and held positions of increasing responsibility at such restaurants as the legendary Valentino in Los Angeles and Il Fornaio. In 2004, Scotti designed and opened La Strada in Palo Alto, before establishing Donato Enoteca in Redwood City in 2009, then Desco in Old Oakland in 2013 and now Cru.