Trattoria Da Luigi — Restaurant in Royal Oak

The night started off very promising, but ended terribly. My family and I visited Trattoria Da Luigi on 7/1 to celebrate an upcoming wedding. The restaurant was pleasant and we were seated upon arriving. Service was decent, but extremely slow. Our reservation was at 7pm and our entree was not served until shortly after 9pm. We passed the time talking which was nice because it was an opportunity to catch up. It's understandable there would be slight delays since most businesses are struggling with staffing. Although we were understanding it was still frustrating because of the lengthy time gaps between appetizers/drinks and the main course. Most of our party was pleased with the food when it finally did arrive. We had one person who took two bites of the “gnocchi” and said it was not for her. It was clear after offering to share our meal with her the “gnocchi” was the last straw. When the server asked, how everything was, we shared the feedback on the “gnocchi”. He was apologetic and said he would have his manager come to the table. His manager, who appeared to be the owner’s son passed our table twice before finally coming over. We politely shared the feedback and to our surprise his response was beyond unprofessional and just plain rude. He actually paused before speaking appearing as if he could not contain his frustration. He started by saying we go out of our way to describe the dish thoroughly on the menu and people do not take the time to read. This was mentioned at least three time by this manager if we “read” the menu. I asked him immediately, why you are implying we did not read the menu. This is when the conversation took a turn for the worse. He raised his voice at a group of African American Women and found it completely acceptable to speak in a disrespectful and degrading tone to us in front of his staff and other patrons. He eventually told the server to take the “gnocchi” off our bill before storming off to the tent setup outside in front. The owner eventually made his way to our table after coming from outside. I asked to speak with him and explained the situation that just occurred. He started off by immediately apologizing. His son completely avoided the table and went to gather with a group of women under the tent. The owner went on to apologize more and made several attempts to continue to diffuse the energy in the room. It was nice to see he actually cared as he did spend time talking with us about real “gnocchi”. Unfortunately, the problem was not the “gnocchi” any more. I shared with him the way his son treated us was very unwelcoming. It was as if our business was not welcomed or worth maintaining. I am certain this would not have happened if we were a table of Caucasian Women. As I searched the faces of patrons and staff, it was even clearer. As we exited the restaurant, a table of Caucasian Women turned and starred at us with piercing eyes. This was the table the Son-Manager was going in and out of the restaurant to visit. He had obviously shared the occurrence with the group. Again, the feeling of being unwelcomed… was CLEAR!!! I would not recommend this place for more reasons than...

Trattoria Da Luigi did NOT hit the spot for me. I would not return. Mainly due to the disappointing service and quality of the food.

We ordered bruschetta, gnocchi and veal marsala.

Bruschetta - very mediocre, bread was soggy. Not a fan. Would not get this.

Gnocchi is decent I’ll give y’all that. The sauce is pretty tasty but the portion size was on the small size. Ended up still hungry after finishing whole dish.

Veal Marsala - probably the biggest disappointment considering the price of the dish was about $29. You get 3 small pieces of veal covered in marsala sauce with bland zucchini/yellow squash and crispy potatoes. This was probably one of the tougher cooked veals I’ve ever had, so I was not a fan at all. In retrospect, I don’t even think i even got veal. I really liked the potatoes though. Very fluffy inside and crispy on the outside. Also, still very hungry after finishing the whole dish. Not worth the wait or money.

Why did I not send it back? Honestly, I was fed up at this point, very hungry, and ready to get out of there.

Ok let’s talk about the service…

Our waitress didn’t seem to enjoy servicing us. Didn’t get any run down of the specials or or offer to get us bread. We saw her give other tables the royal treatment and we got the bare minimum. Didn’t even fill our water glasses or ask how our meal was.

The younger manager guy was buddy-buddy with every other table making small talk and everything besides us. Didn’t even bother to say hello, ask us how everything was, or a thank you. We were the only non-white patrons in the establishment and wonder if that had to do with anything. Just can’t help but wonder why sometimes.

The front of the house hostess was very attentive. I like her a lot. She even recognized me after I came in the other week seeing if they have availability but was turned away due to no tables. At one point, we were sitting at our table waiting patiently and she asked if we have been helped yet. Feel like that’s definitely not her job to check on us so I appreciate her looking out for us.

The busboys were also very nice.

All in all, I just didn’t see the value in this restaurant and I will not be returning. D’Amato’s across the street treats me better and haven’t let me down yet so that’s where you’ll...

I almost never write a bad review for a local restaurant but feel like it's my duty to let others know they shouldn't waste $100 of their hard earned money at this restaurant.

My husband and I were very excited to visit this long standing restaurant in Royal Oak. I actually thought, it's been there a long time so they must be doing something right. I have visited many years ago and the food was delicious, service was good and vibe was that of an authentic Italian, family run business.

Last night however seemed extremely reminiscent of an episode of Kitchen Nightmares. We were greeted and seated promptly to an almost empty restaurant at 5:30. Several others joined within a few minutes. Weather was cold and windy, so thought it might have something to do with it.

We quickly ordered Bruschetta, Pasticcio, and Spaghetti Al'Amatriciana. Bruschetta ok, bland tomatoes (but it's the winter), liquid quickly saturated the bread and made for a soggy bite after the first couple.

The pasta dishes were absolutely inedible. The Amatriciana was so gamey and overcooked, it definitely felt like it was a pre-made sauce and possibly frozen. As my husband tried to eat it, I could smell the meat across the table. If you're wondering, I have ordered this before and made it myself and it should not smell or taste the way it did. The guanciale wasn't crispy, rendering it's delicious fat or anything resembling how it should taste. The Pasticcio was definitely made and frozen. It was cut into a square and covered in a creamy meat sauce to disguise rubbery, chewy pasta on every single side of that cube. Unacceptable quality and so disappointing.

We will not be back ever and I feel like Luigi's vision has turned into a tired restaurant...