Italian

Capri Ristorante (Boca Raton)

Posted on May 9th, 2010 · Boca Raton Italian

***** Capri Ristorante, 39 Southeast 1st Avenue, Boca Raton, Florida 33432 (561) 391-8044.

Today is “Mother’s Day 2010″…What do you call Mother’s Day without presents…”Father’s Day.”

Anyway…last night, I had dinner at a really good Italian restaurant, Capri Ristorante- which opened in Boca Raton about 3 months ago.

Just a drop of background info…Capri Ristorante is a “small chain”…it has been around since 1985–there are currently 6 locations-5 in Chicagooo-1 in Boca—5 brothers own “the whole magilla” —the Boca joint is run by brother, Joey Capri who is no Fredo—the guy built a gorgeous 170 seat-semi upscale joint-has an attentive waitstaff-real good food-reasonable prices-and is as personable as can be, as he visits every table and cooks some “signature” dishes right out on the dining-room floor.

Let me send you to Capri’s website www.capriristorante.com for menu/prices/photos/locations. Just so you know, the Boca menu/details aren’t up yet, but give or take a handful of items and a buck or two pricewise—the Chicago info/look is pretty much what Boca is all about. For our purposes, think your favorite mom & pop’s prices and your in the ballpark.

I call Capri “semi upscale”…its got whitetable cloths-dark wood-full bar-private party room—that said, your tee shirt/shorts ensemble will work here. Just so we are straight, Capri is not your “typical” red sauce pizza joint…as a matter of fact, it doesn’t have pizza-subs-calzones. But you veal parmigiana afficianados won’t be disappointed with the menu’s appetizers, pastas, meat-chicken-seafood entrees. Don’t see something on the menu, I kinda think that if you ask, Joey will have his kitchen make it for you.

Let’s talk food test…house salad, veal parmigiana, roast chicken, eggplant parmigiana, penne ala vodka, Chilean sea bass—like I said before, real good food. Gonna give the vodka sauce a special commendation here…one of the most delicious that I’ve had in a very long time.

Let’s sum Capri up this way…in the middle–not exactly your mom & pop red sauce joint and not exactly your upscale go for your lungs Italian joint. Now nothing for nothing, but I think that Capri has a real shot to become a major niche player in Boca.

I really enjoyed Capri. Give it a try.

Capri is open Monday-Saturday 5pm-10pm. For right now, it is closed on Sunday…but I’ll bet, that “come season” Capri will also be open on Sunday.

55 Comments to “Capri Ristorante (Boca Raton)”

  1. BF says...

    jeff, way back when, capri’s location use to be matteo’s first fl store. hadn’t been to that location since matteo’s moved around the corner. my wife and i had dinner at capri a couple of weeks ago and we were amazed as to how the capri owners transformed the space into a gorgeous looking restaurant. it looks nothing like the old matteo’s.
    as boca residents for over 30 years we have eaten in my most of the italain restaurants that are and have been part of the boca landscape. we love matteo’s renzo’s, nino’s, augy’s, dominick’s & dominick’s 11, romano’s just to name but a few. capri is as you say right in between not a mom & pop but not quite a blow you out upscale place. we liked the food and ambiance and will be back.

    • Jerry says...

      Having ate at their restaurant in Chicago I was glad to see one here. What a disappointment.
      The food was terrible.the service was good. We ordered whole wheat penne pasta as a side dish. It was not edible and to top it off they charged $20.00.
      Out of three meals only one was okay.
      The prices they charge for what you get is so far outof the.I doubt if they will be there next year.
      Place Capris on your must miss list.

  2. larry lehrman says...

    nice change from nino’s and other locals. food is on same level as are prices. more upscale looking. one big problem, very noisy when busy. they have to do something about that.

  3. ggold says...

    Jeff my wife and I went when they first opened The service was terrible and we ate a little of our meal (which we were not impressed with) we had the leftovers boxed up, brought them home and put them in our freezer. A few weeks later we heated the leftovers and had a totally different opinion, the food was delicious. I guess the service put a damper on the meal. Now after reading your review I would assume they have gotten the service kinks out and I will have to give them another try. Thanks

  4. Steve R. says...

    My family has lived in Boca for 27 years. Literally we have eaten in every Italian restaurant that’s been here. My wife and I tried capri last week and thought that it was pretty good. For sure itsn’t on the Matteo’s, Casa De Angelo, Trattoria Romana level but it is good. Jeff, you are correct that it fits in between the Nino’s-Dominick’s of Boca and the Matteo’s of Boca.

  5. maxine r says...

    very good food.
    nice looking. good service/prices.

  6. Bob Goldman says...

    Jeff, I thought it was okay, not great but okay. It is fancier than Nino’s, but the food is really not as good. Someone mentioned noise, it really is very loud in there. The owners have to do something to quiet things down. Because it is a bit fancier it is a nice restaurant for a Saturday night if you want a break from the mom & pop red sauce restaurants like Nino’s, Dominick’s, Augy’s, Romano’s, Mama Mia’s, Pizza Time, etc which are all in the same area.

  7. Dr. Marcus says...

    Enjoyed this one. Good food and good service. A bit more expensive than neighborhood places but not too much difference. We thought it was a great looking restaurant but a bit noisy. We will be back.

  8. eg says...

    food b+
    service b+
    prices b+

    a neighnorhood restaurant with a great decor. we enjoyed the food.

  9. GA says...

    Jeff,
    My wife and I ate at Capri the other evening. We had heard about Capri from friends who had enjoyed it. We also have freinds in Chicago who are regulars at its Chicago locations.

    When we arrived we were pleasantly surprised at how great the restaurant looked. We had eaten at Matteo’s many times and we thought that Capri would look like Matteo’s. The restaurant is great looking and very upscal in decor.

    We found the menu to be limited in choice. We found entrees to eat. But the menu that I had checked online from the Chicago locations was much more elaborate with far more dishes. The prices in Boca seemed higher by a few dollars here and there.

    Service was very good and accomodating. The bread which is sour dough was okay but I think that garlic bread would be better.

    Rather than going into detail on dishes, let’s just say that the veal parm, eggplant, gnocchi, penne marinara, meatballs, etc were all just fine. That said, the food is not amazingly good or anything off the chart, but it is fine for what it is.

    We have eaten in loads of Italian restaurants. Capri is as good as most of the mom & pop red sauce ones that we frequent.

    The bottomline on Capri is, is that it is a great looking restaurant with decent enough food.

  10. cc says...

    very good food and service.
    nice decor.

  11. George says...

    A noisy restaurant, a bit more upscale in ambiance than the local Italian places but food not really any better than Nino’s or Augy’s. They were also a bit late with honoring a reservation, but did compensate by offering a glass of wine while we waited.

  12. jg says...

    jeff, if they fine tune Capri they could have a winner. ate there earlier this week and thought that the food was good. it is not great food but probably as good as most of the local places in boca. the restaurant is great looking which is big plus over the local spots. as others noted the restaurant is noisy and it’s hard to carry on a decnt conversation. if they can get the noise down it would be a plus.
    we enjoyed our dinner but the owners could try and step it up a notch on the food and ambiance.

    jg

  13. nf says...

    i think others hit it on the head. good food but not great food. neighborhood quality in a great looking restaurant.

  14. gg says...

    jeff, tried it, liked it. pretty place. good prices. good food.

  15. Fred S. says...

    Capri is a very enjoyable restaurant. The food, my veal parm was delcious and my wife’s meatballs and alla vodka pasta dish was also good.
    Nice addition to the east Boca landscape.

  16. RK says...

    Jeff, okay food but nothing really great here. Pretty looking restaurant with decent enough service. It is basically a red sauce Italian restaurant. In the area there is Nino’s, Augy’s, Dominick’s, Umberto’s, Thick & Thin, Tony Dell’s just to name but a few. They are all red sauce restaurants and Capri is no better than they are. What Capri has going for it is decor. I would also suggest that Capri get rid of valet parking. There is plenty of free parking in the area and the valet setup makes Capri seem to be fancier than it is. To sum it up, I think that Capri will have to fine tune this concept with better food or it will probably be history.

  17. Emily says...

    very good food and service.
    nice decor.

  18. JG says...

    Capri was good. It is as good as most of the local Italian restaurants in the neighborhood.

  19. dd says...

    capri better step up its game or its owner will soon be moving back to chicago. piss poor location and just passable food says time ain’t on capri’s side.

  20. Joe F. says...

    Jeff Eats,
    My wife and I have lived in Boca for over 27 years.
    Over the years we have eaten in most of the Italian restaurants that have populated the area.
    We recently had dinner at Capri and really enjoyed our meal.
    Capri is a great looking restaurant, the prices are right, service is good and its food is on the same level as many of the better Italian restaurants that Boca has hosted over the years.

  21. EB says...

    jeff, let me give you a critique on Capri. four of us out there this evening. we arrived at 7:30 pm the restaurant was very busy and very noisy. we were seated around 8pm.
    the food is FAIR. there is absolutely nothing special going on here. local restaurants like Nino’s, Dominick’s, Augy’s run circles around Capri. the service is slow and plodding. it took forever to get our food.
    this is not a good situation.

  22. MP says...

    Capri at best is a mediocre Italian restaurant. Maybe the folks in Chicago like its food but I gurantee you that the folks in Boca won’t be going to this restaurant if the meal that my wife and our friends had last night is typical of what Capri is all about.
    I had the veal chop parmigiana which was $44 and was one of biggest pieces of crap that I have ever eaten. A big chop of inferior veal. Absolutely impossible to cut and loaded with breading to make it look huge.
    We also had musseles and shrimp which were rubbery and had a fishy smell. That smell should tell you something about the freshness of the food.
    The bread on the table, was crappy Italian bread which was also on the stale side with absolutely no taste.
    The service is amateurish. The waiters run around like chickens without heads. It takes forever to get your food.
    They also don’t have small salads, so you have to spend $12 or so to get a salad.
    Capri is a nice looking restaurant but that’s about it.
    Don’t waste your time going there.

  23. LF says...

    The food stinks.
    The service stinks.
    Want noise, lousy food, lousy service and not the best prices, then try Capri.

  24. A01 says...

    Ate at Capri last Saturday, just read some of the comments I do have to agree, the noise level was high and they are busy.(being out of season) So the service I give a B+ We sat at 6:30 by 7 it was a full house.The crowd just did not stop. I asked are waiter how many sets do you hold he said,” not enough”. The food was tasty went home full with leftovers. The prices are fair for the amount of food you are getting. Maybe the weekends are a little crazy it can be a good thing or a bad thing. So I’ll try Capri during the week.

  25. JJ says...

    Jeff, I ate at Capri. I ordered the veal chop parmigiana which cost $44. It was enormous. Unfortunately it wasn’t very good. The veal was thick, tough and tasteless. I also had mussels in a marinara sauce. It came with a piece of garlic bread that was so hard that it was impossible to chew. My wife also had the veal chop. What didn’t make sense to us, is that the waiter should have told us that the chop was enormous and that 1 veal chop at $44 was enough for 2 people. We ended up taking home what amounted to a whole veal chop. Another thing, the next day for lunch I took the veal chops out of the frig and figured that the overnight sitting would make them better, WRONG. They were as bad as the first time out.

    On the good side, Joey the owner and his lovely wife run all around the restaurant chatting to customers and trying to keep things running smoothly. What they really need to do is get some cooks in the kitchen who know how to cook.

  26. Anthony Franza says...

    Jeff,
    Based on your review and the one in the Sun Sentinel my wife and I gave Capri a shot. Both you and the Sun Sentinel liked the food.

    Not that it really matters, but my wife and I are Italian, so we just might know a thingor two about Italian food having had mothers,aunts and grandmothers who cooked like crazy every Sunday.

    Capri is a nice restaurant. Is it great? Far from it, but it’s a pretty restaurant where you can get a decent enough meal. Is it a Matteo’s which is in the same area or Casa D’Angelo, absolutley not, but most Italian restaurants aren’t either.

    People got to take Capri for what it is, it’s basically a mom & pop red sauce shop.

    When we ate there, which was two Saturdays ago, it was very busy. The service is erratic and it does take a while for food to come out of the kitchen. We waited almsot 35 minutes for our salads to show up after ordering them. We enjoyed the pasta dishes though the marinara could have more zip to it, found the mussels and clams to be lame but really enjoyed the roast chicken “special” of the house.

    Joey and his wife aren’t trying to cure cancer here.

    You get food basically on the level of a neighborhood pizza joint served in a great looking restaurant and not have to sit in some pizza joint with a guy in an undershit spinning pizzas and taking phone orders at the same time.

    Capri is new, so it deserves a chance to work the kinks out.

    By the way, if you want great food, you eat by my Grandma Joanne’s house.

  27. sb says...

    Went Saturday night around 8 and the place was rocking, with live entertainment joined a friend we spilt angel hair with mussels and clams at the bar what a treat! Read the reviews I do not think Capri is a mom & pop joint. They are new and very busy so like one reviews could be good or bad. Was not in the dining area but the bar was pack with only one bar tender who had it under control did not even have to ask for drink he asked us if we were ready for another on. We do plan on going back this Thursday. And your right they are not cure cancer. They are probably used to the Chicago way they just need an in site on the Boca way! Cant wait to try the Roasted Chicken

  28. DS says...

    Tried Capri, nothing special. Nice looking Italian restaurant but the food and service are sketchy at best.
    If you want outrageously good food and service just go down the street to Matteo’s.

  29. jmm says...

    capri doesnt serve quality food. i recently had a veal chop parmigiana that was huge and tasted like shoe leather.

  30. sb says...

    Jeff, went back had a great time I had the Roasted chicken and my husband had the Veal Chop Parm . It was out of this world, with left overs once again. Cant complain about this place. Give Capri a try its located in the old Matteo’s off of 1st SE and another great place is Casa di Angelo down the street, so many Italian place but all a little different.

  31. mr. lo says...

    hey jeff,
    ok food.
    ok service.
    needs to get a bit more organized as food is slow comimg out of the kitchen.

  32. km says...

    This one could be a winner. Great decor. Keep working on the food and service.

  33. elmer says...

    Don’t know what all the fuss is about from some of you people. Capri’s food is as good if not better than Matteo’s.

  34. Debora says...

    Jeff ,I ate in Capri Restaurant four weeks ago, let me telll you something ,I am in very dessapoint with you, The server, otto, was very rood and the food was horrble. We order a Lasagna, this look like a vomit, was cold, the marinara sauce on the meet ball, is the worst I never tryed, then we try the tiramesu, they dont know what is the TIRAMISU.
    If you want the great food, PLEASE DONT GO TO THE CAPRI RESTAURANT.

    • mary says...

      Ok lets start of by saying you should first learn how to spell ! You are being rude not ROOD and horrible Not HORRBLE Meatball is one word not two. Your not making any sense what so ever “is the worst I never tried” and as for OTTO we reserve him to wait on us and he truly knows what he’s doing, so please before you start your BS there’s a saying treat others the way you would want to be treated so maybe you where RUDE. Yes waiters are there to serve us and make a living. I give JOE F. and JOE C. 5 stars yes we are regulars just like half of Boca if this place is so bad then, why do they have the business that they have! TO: Capri you guys are wonderful always making people feel like they are the only ones that matter. Also for serving us a wonderful dinners……The only thing that is a problem is the noise level but I was in last Saturday Sept. 25th and I know that you guys are trying to resolve the problem. Well I guess we are all food critics. Hang in there, and don’t let the negativity bring Capri down every restaurant in Boca has a neg and a positive with so many running neck to neck.

  35. osorio says...

    The Capri Restaurant don’t have idea what they do, The owner is an improvised guy, he run the restaurant looking for the servers, because the customers are along, nobody (servers) have idea what the menu is.
    Nobody Know the Chef, I asked for him and the manager told me, he is in vacation.
    I ask for the name and he dont answer me,
    I tryed eat there, but I CANT, because all was horrible,the bread was like a rock, the carpaccio of salmon discuting, the pasta over cook and no flavors, the dessert, tiramisu, over creamy, sour,really the more worst i never tried.
    DONT LOOSE YOUR TIME THIS RESTAURANT IS DISCUTING< NOTHING GOD.

  36. Brian says...

    Capri is OK. It definitely looks nice. We went a couple Saturdays ago and it wasn’t as packed as other experienced. With so many Italian places to choose from, just in the area, it really doesnt hold up. To me, Casa D’ Angelo, Rosarios, Matteos, Sapori and Trattoria Romana are all better and within walking distance of Capri. I keep on reading about a veal chop parm. If you want a veal chop parm or something like it go to Rosarios about 1 block from Capri. They have a great pounded veal chop. Also, on the veal chop front I dont think it gets better then the thick cut chop from Casa D’ Angelo. It is pricy but worth it. Both of those places serve a better chop then Capri’s.

    • sg says...

      The veal chop parmigiana is a huge and I do mean huge piece of garbage. The meat is second rate and it’s surrounded by way too much fried breading. The sauce is bland. Capri is not very good.

      • Brian says...

        Im glad I didnt try it there. Try those other places I mentioned for a great veal chop.

  37. KenGen says...

    I have eaten at Capri 3 times. I think I have Capri figured out. The pasta dishes are excellent. The meat, fish, chicken entrees are just fair. So Capri is a pasta place.

    • mrs. terri says...

      i think you are right. the pastas are good, the other food so so, the veal chop parm while huge isn’t good quality. also noise level not good.

  38. Giovanni says...

    I was so disappoint…… the servers are sloppy and lazy, the food is awful and the mgmt forget about it!!!!!!!
    I am a local business man and I will never come back neither my colleagues!!!!

  39. joe z says...

    ok food, but nothing special going on here.

  40. ZEEE says...

    My wife and I enjoyed Capri. The food was good, same for the service. Is it a 4 star restaurant, not in a million years. But for the same money as your local places like Nino’s, Mama Mia’s, Dominick’s, you get a great looking restaurant and decent enough food. Nice to see a crowd not wearing tee shirts and flip flops.

  41. Silvio says...

    OK food.
    Service is lousy.

  42. Ronald B. says...

    I and my wife ate there when it first opened. Let’s be kind and say that it was FAIR. Hadn’t been back until this past Saturday night, friends wanted to try it. Let’s be kind and say that it was FAIR.

    • zaza says...

      great looking place.
      they got to get a decent chef in theren otherwise they will be history.

  43. chewy says...

    food isn’t very good. same for the help.

  44. Mr. Clown says...

    Four of us ate there last night.
    The food is terrible.
    Just that simple.
    We will never go back.

  45. Larry Kantor says...

    I understand that Joey Capri and family are trying to make a living from their restaurant. With that in mind I’ll keep my remarks short and simple.
    Joey: If you don’t get better food you are going to go out of business.
    Last night I had the chicken cacciatore with pasta and my wife had chicken vesuvio. Both dishes were as bad as it comes. In fact, the pasta in marinara sauce had a sour spoiled tatse.
    I dont know what you served in Chicago but here in Boca Raton your food is not good.
    Thanks,
    Larry Kantor

    • joey h says...

      Capri is going to close.
      They are doing no business.
      The landlord is taking over and is partnering with Julio who use to run Matteo’s and Aquolinos.
      Look for the news any day.

  46. RKA says...

    Capri is a great looking restaurant.
    I’ve eaten there twice and the food isn’t very good. One time I had the veal parm and another the chicken cacciatore. Both times I had ziti with marinara.
    Don’t waste your time.

  47. VULCAN says...

    I know a thing or two about restaurant real estate/business in Fl.
    Capri is DEAD.
    The owner of the premises is going to take control of the premises with all of the improvements.
    For those of you who have been there, the food wasn’t too good and the service stunk.
    The decor is great.
    This particular location is where Matteo’s use to be before it moved to much larger quarters.
    The landlord is going to install JULIO who use to work for Matteo’s to come up with a new name and new menu.
    GUARANTEED this new restaurant will be a CLONE of Matteo’s.
    Julio has done this twice since leaving Matteo’s. First he had Saratago in Hollywood and then he had Aquolino’s in Weston and Hallandale.
    Julio knows how to setup things but for some reason once things get going he draws too much money out of the business and his backers throw him out.
    Hopefully he doesn’t do that with this new landlord.
    Will this new location hurt Matteo’s?
    Not sure on that, but we’ll soon find out.

  48. BOBO says...

    Food was second rate.
    Had pollo vesuvio and it was tasteless.
    Also had veal parm. Not good.

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