Trattoria Il Lucano — Restaurant in Rome

We chose Trattoria Il Lucano for our first dinner in Rome on a long visit to Italy and we couldn’t have been happier! Growing up Italian-American (NYC area) I hoped our “first supper” would have the “neighborhood family feel” of a classic Trattoria that my own family cherishes - and Il Lucano delivered in every way. We started by sharing the Bresaola rughetta e parmigiana, and followed that with a Fettuccine alla bolognese (for her) and the Pizzaiola di Vitello (for me.) Our waiter Vito (son of the proprietor) couldn’t have been more hospitable, pleasant and welcoming; his service was excellent. Owner Gerardo de Carlo took us to another level, joining us for a few moments to share some stories of notable visitors past - including NYC’s Bill De Blasio, and Master Chef’s Joe Bastianich, among others (some pictured on the wall above our table.) Vito recommended a bottle of L’Atto which we really enjoyed and I finished my meal with an espresso. As our experience was wrapping up Vito came out again, insisting this time we try the house Limoncello. It was divine and an excellent, much appreciated cap on the night. Without any reservations - Il Lucano comes highly recommended, salut...

Firstly I must say that the food was probably the most delicious we had eaten whilst in Rome. It was delicious and the young waiters were lovely. However the older waiter/owner/manager left a bad taste in our mouths, he was very pushy and would not take no for an answer. When trying to order a cocktail they did not have anything I liked so I got a soft drink instead, he then proceeded to tell me that they will make me a special one, I was clear that I cannot stomach Negroni or aperol and he said don’t worry.. then comes out with one made of negroni :( which I couldn’t drink! Secondly when we went to pay the bill my husband gave a tip in excess of 12%, however he then pushes my husband and says come on another £10 euro. The food was delicious and we were happy to tip but to get pushed into more is not right. Yes we could have said no out when it’s done in public it’s embarrassing and you felt cornered to pay the extra...

We ate at the restaurant at about 12 o'clock - we were completely alone in there, with 3 waiters. The waiter we had was obviously bored and stood next to us while we were checking the menu. Which was confusing to say the least. The pizza we ate was amazing. That's why I gave another star. The food itself was really good! BUT the waiter was horrible. He always walked by us, and my friend had a stomach problem this day and felt sick, and couldn't eat that much. Now the waiter walked by us about 15 times and always asked if everything was ok. We tried to tell him that it wasn't the food. My friend wanted to wait for a little while if she felt better in a minute and had only eaten a few pieces of her pizza - and while she told him that she wanted to eat it, he tried to take it away until his Boss told him not to. Again: the food was very good! But we felt so uncomfortable...