Il Duca in Trastevere — Restaurant in Rome

Where do I even start. There's so much wrong things that happened during the dinner service that I could write a novel about it. First off, we were asking politely if its ok to walk-in without any reservation and the waiter dismissed us right away always immediately telling us "get in line!". If it weren't for what appears to be the manager/owner seeing us, we would have been waiting for nothing. We were asked whether we will have dinner or just drink. He proceeds to usher us in a different corner inside the restaurant where they have some of the big groups dining. It didn't bother me so much, but if you're looking for an intimate dinner, then don't go here. The people can be very roudy and it was very noisy.

The service was abysmal. I'm not even gonna try to sugarcoat it, it's as if they just want to take your money and be done with you. There was a particular waiter who was, unfortunately, assigned to our table, and he literally throws everything off to your table. No finesse whatsoever. He even slammed a dessert menu on our table WHILE he was pissed at another table of god knows what. He does not speak so well English, which again is not a big problem, but he proceeds to make conclusions of what you are asking for.

The food was nothing extraordinary. And we asked for a steak that's well done. It arrived medium rare. We called the waiter to ask it ti be recooked and instead he proceeds to say it's well done. To prove his point more, he calls another waiter to ask him to agree. It was completely uncalled for and i feel sorry for how he was treating the other waiters who seem to just be tolerating his attitude also

The only star i give is for Jeffrey, who was the only polite waiter that tried to meet our demands despite how busy dinner service was. He apologized for his colleague and helped make it up to us by correcting his mistakes

Spare yourself the trouble and dont...

After walking around, we decided to enter here because it looks really nice from the street. After entering, we were taken to the back of the restaurant, which looked completely different from what we saw on the street. The back of the restaurant was really not very atmospheric. And it seems to be where they just plonked people who didn’t look great for business. The waiters were very rude and uninterested in serving us and were just standing around looking bored but right next to the table. When we ordered food, the waiter didn’t take down our order correctly and when they brought it to us, he brought the wrong thing when I explained it wasn’t what we ordered he seemed to become annoyed and got out a menu and asked another waiter to confirm it with us and it came across very rude. At various points throughout the night of the members of the public would join us in the back room and choose to leave because it wasn’t a very nice atmosphere. The waiter brought out bread which was dry and stale and just tossed onto the table and I had to ask for Olive oil which was dropped on the table without much care. I ordered pasta and my partner ordered a traditional Roman dish both of which were bland and tasteless. The pasta was not fresh and definitely did not get made by the chef. Overall the entire meal was not very nice and completely ruined our visit to the area. It is a shame that they have such a lovely looking restaurant from the outside, except the inside does not fit the quality...

Our first meal in Rome and it spoiled us for the remainder of our meals there. This little place is buried in the heart of Trastevere and it worth the search.

It was very busy for midweek, so we did not get to dine outside, but we were treated to the beautiful interior. Our server did an amazing job of translating for our lack of Italian skills and was super helpful, even matching wine choices to our meals.

We started with fried artichokes and saffron zucchini blossoms. So good and was as advertised. The artichokes were an experience, but we're so good. The blossoms stuffed and a great starter.

Shrimp Risotto and Carbonara were our dinner choices (wishing I knew the house red that was suggested so I could try and find it ..so good and a perfect pairing.) and we're not disappointed. Both dishes were AMAZING and many formal dinners paled afterwards. Seasoned to perfection (the reason there are no salt and pepper on tables) and was so enjoyable. Definitely a highlight in Rome.

Our server was amazing and very attentive, even though she admitted limited English skills. So, don't let the language barrier keep you from digging deep into this neighborhood.

Even leaving, we were charmed by the neighborhood and would love to spend more time here. Thank you Il Duco for helping fall in love with your amazing...