Villa Tronco | Italian Restaurant

My daughter reserved a table for 16 for her birthday and Carmella called the morning of the event with an attitude and was very disrespectful confirming the number of guests planning to arrive. We had already planned this months in advance. Because of her rude tone, we had to cancel and find another restaurant quickly, which was very inconvenient for us.

Service: 1

Outstanding food, always. Excellent wine list, good service. But..the place should be closed and updated. The cheap 1970s decor can be tolerated but the mildew that permeates everything when it rains, soaks into your clothes and is still there when you get home. The dining room carpet looks like it has not been cleaned in a decade or more. Hard to eat when the place looks as it does and reeks like that. Too sad, the kitchen deserves so much better.

One other thing, the cheap chairs are not comfortable.

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 5

Service: 4

A group of 7 of us shared a meal at Villa Tronco this weekend! We each tried something different….i had the chicken marsala, and I am still thinking about it, delicious! The ambiance and the staff were delightful….Nicolette, Fran, Dustin, Loridonna - they truly enhanced the whole experience. Carmella, the proprietor, visited our table and was so warm and welcoming. Oh, the desserts…..just stop it now! Highly recommend!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Excellent service and over the top amazing food. Service was wonderful.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

The people here are very nice and welcoming! I got the cheese pizza and it was delicious! The rolls are SPECTACULAR AND i would come just for them next time!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Everything was absolutely excellent!!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

We’ve visited this restaurant many times before, but this experience changed our minds about coming back.

I ordered a sparkling wine from the menu, but was brought a non-sparkling wine instead. When I pointed it out, the server insisted it was correct, then told me I might not like the sparkling option because it wasn’t sweet — even though I never asked for a sweet wine. Only after I explained that I prefer dry wines did they finally bring what I originally ordered.

Mistakes happen, but the overall response felt dismissive rather than attentive. Unfortunately, this visit left us feeling there’s no reason to return.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 3

Service: 1

Unfortunately the service was really slow (20 min just to take our drink order) and the scallops tasted like ammonia (which means they were not fresh). On the plus side, the ambience was amazing, especially the live music, and the owners Joe and Carmella were very hospitable.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 1

Service: 1

I have been excited to try this place for months and was waiting for the right time. My mother came all the way from the other side of the country to joint celebrate my birthday and Mother’s Day and thought this was the perfect spot. I made a reservation for 6:30 for the Dining Room with plans for a movie at 8:00. When we arrived our table was not ready, and an elderly woman at the host stand offered us to sit outside. We declined and said we would wait, thinking it would take no more than 15 minutes because “they were just waiting for the other tables to get up.”

Well clearly it must have been newborns who they were waiting on as 45 minutes passed with other parties getting sat, including a table of 4 that showed up at 7:00. When we asked the elderly woman at the host stand where was our table, she rudely said it was our fault because we passed up sitting outside. If we wanted to sit outside, we would have marked my reservation for outside.

As someone who has worked in service industry for the better half of 7 years and comes from a service industry family, the biggest reason a restaurant loses clientele is bad customer service. I’m not one to write negative reviews, but there is clearly an attitude problem that needs to be addressed. During USC commencement week no less, as she said herself. Maybe in her older age she’s forgotten the art of customer service, and that’s something worth revisiting. Overall, this was an extremely disappointing experience, and anyone with a hankering for Italian in this city should mosey on down to Il Giorgione instead.

Service: 1

If you want a good meal in Columbia, Villa Tronco is the place. Excellent food, excellent atmosphere and awesome staff!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Villa Tronco is a hidden gem of Italian cuisine excellence tucked in downtown Columbia SC. The food was genuine Italian with all the explosive flavors you would expect. Portions were enormous and the prices were reasonable. I give them a 10 out of 10. They are the best Italian restaurant I have eaten at in the Southeast.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Seems survive on reputation alone, food was okay, service meh.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 2

Service: 2

Amazing food. Great service. Some of the most authentic Italian food I have had outside of NYC.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

As a New Yorker.. This is a must to check out. Enjoy!!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Fantastic experience!!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5