Excellent!

I found the physical layout of the restaurant a little odd, but I suppose this is what happens with old buildings. In a way, it's adds to the atmosphere and the adventure.

The atmosphere was terrific. Just like you'd want for a nice night out with your special other... dimly lit, romantic, close and comfortable...

The food was great. I had the lasagna. I knew an Italian grandmother where I grew up that made lasagna to die for. Trattoria's was just like going back home. I almost expected to see Rosa in their kitchen.

Included with dinner is bread, soup and salad. The vegetable was the soup of the day. I'm not a huge soup fan at all, but this was great vegetable soup. The salad was fresh and crisp. I had the house parmesan dressing which would be worth another trip just by itself.

The waiter was attentive yet not distracting. He kept out water and iced tea glasses full and brought out everything in order and on time.

Glad we took a chance on a local, non-chain, non-big box restaurant. My wife and I have mentioned at least twice today that it was the best night out we've had in a while.

An absolute treasure of a resturaunt.
My fiancee and I visited here before we were engaged. Her son tagged along with us and we had a marvelous time. In fact, while there, I proposed to my fiancee. The owner of the resturaunt, saw what had happened and offered to take my fiancee's son for a walk to give us a little bit of time alone.
The food was excellent(I had a chicken dish with fettucine pasta and a gorgonzola based sauce) and the atmosphere was very friendly and inviting.
Hunter(the 4 year old) had an absolute blast going for a walk downtown with his new friend.
We have been back several times since and is a favorite of ours for our date nights.

HIGHLY reccomended.
The only .5 negative was the wine selection and that was only because they didn't have our favorite Pinot Grigio in stock. They do now...

My wife and I always hit this place anytime we go to the Civic Center. It has become a tradition and it never disappoints. We also love to bring out-of-town guest here because it is such a nice, quaint, cozy place.

I highly recommend the mushroom steak.

This is truly a Des Moines treasure!

I love the family thing. Great food and desserts. Moderately priced fine dining. Service was professional, the meal was superb, topped off with a crustata, a light italian cheesecake. Recommended 4.5 stars.

This family owned restaurants has homemade pastas, a great wine list and a lot of atmosphere. They also offer a monthly seven course wine tasting at a modest price.