"We're behind everything on Lincoln, so no one ever really sees us. Luckily word of mouth has let people know exactly where to find us," Duke said.

The Bistro is in the former location of Café Primavera, which moved to Los Gatos last year.

"I worked at Café Primavera for about five years," Duke said. "I've known I wanted to own my own restaurant almost since the time I started working in the restaurant industry when I was 15."

In March of 2002, Duke began living her teenage dream.

"We opened our doors, and it's been great ever since," she said.

Siena is a Mediterranean restaurant with a strong Italian influence. From the surroundings to the food itself, you feel the flavors that Duke is trying to convey.

"The staff I have now is the same staff I worked next to when this used to be the Café. They're all amazing," Duke said.

On that list of amazing people is chef Armando Cerda, who is responsible for the best clam chowder in Willow Glen.

"Armando makes a great clam chowder that we serve every day, and our customers absolutely love it," Duke said.

Cindy Davis is one of the servers at Siena and also was honored as Best Waitress of 2002 during the Willow Glen Resident's Best Of readers' survey.

As for the food at Siena, Duke said that her head chef, Jose Romero, does amazing things for her customers.

"We serve short ribs that have been slow-cooked with a Cabernet au jus. I would say that is our house specialty," Duke said, "a customer favorite."

Also on the menu is something that Duke herself used to serve when the Bistro was the Café.

"We have what we call a salad sampler. Customers sample four of our nine different salads. That's a really big hit with customers, too. There are so many flavors to try," Duke said.

Some of the salads served at Siena are the Thai peanut pasta salad, the sesame cabbage salad and the chicken tarragon orzo.

"Orzo is a pasta shaped like rice and has a wonderful flavor when served with our tarragon chicken," Duke said.

Another popular dish at Siena is the Fettuccini with peas. A red-onion, white-wine butter sauce is served over a scoop of ricotta cheese.

For the cheese lovers, Siena serves a twice-baked, three-cheese soufflé made with Fontina, Gorgonzola and parmesan cheeses that is baked twice to ensure that all of the flavors have blended.

"The twice-baked cheese soufflé isn't the light and fluffy kind of soufflé that people think of when they think of a soufflé. It's a heavier dish," Duke said.

Siena also has an impressive list of desserts to serve.

From the vanilla crème bruleé to handmade ice cream sandwiches smothered in chocolate sauce, diners can expect nothing but the best.

Many must agree because during her first year of owning and operating her own restaurant—2002—she was honored as the Elite Dining Neighborhood Favorite.

"I love doing what I'm doing and working with the people I get to work with. And being in Willow Glen with all of the great people here only makes it better," she said.

Siena, A Mediterranean Bistro is located at 1359 Lincoln Ave. Reservations are suggested. Catering and take-out are also available. For reservations or more information call 408.271.0837.