Capri Trattoria & Pizzeria – Local Specialties From Italy’s 20 Provinces

About Capri Trattoria & Pizzeria

Capri Trattoria & Pizzeria has been around for a few years, but the restaurant was completely revamped in 2014. “We eat, we drink, we enjoy” – the restaurant’s new owner Fabrizo, and chef Domenico, take their motto very seriously, bringing Italy’s regional delights to the table and encouraging us to dine the Italian way.

I’ve always loved hearty Italian fare, so I was eager to try Capri’s extensive menu. I can say that I’m pleasantly surprised by the interesting regional specialities I never knew existed! Here are my thoughts on some of their signature dishes.

A quick note: popular Italian dishes like bolognese, carbonara, and aglio olio are available here, but you’re strongly encouraged to try regional specialities!

– Antipasti –

Tagliere Casereccio ($28)

There’s no better way to start an Italian meal than with cold cuts and cheese – pancetta (pork belly), capocollo (pork neck) and bresaola (air-dried beef) served with rockets and aged cheese. Perhaps it’s because the meat was all home-cured, but I enjoyed their unique salty-spicy flavour.

Of the three, I found the pork belly too waxy for my taste, but the beef surprised me. I usually don’t fancy beef, but I liked how the intense spices did not overpower the taste of the beef

Gamberi e Cappesante Alle Erbe ($20)

Picture courtesy of Capri Trattoria & Pizzeria.

I had mixed feelings about this dish. It sounds good on the menu: prawns and scallops seasoned with Mediterranean herbs, pan-seared in olive oil and served with mesculun, sundried tomatoes and olives.

The sauce itself was pleasant and I could definitely taste the herbs. However, it was overwhelmingly strong for the vegetables, while the scallops and prawns remained on the bland side.

But don’t give up on the sauce yet. If you happen to order their pizza bread, the sauce goes great with it.

– Pasta –

Pasta Riccia All’nduja ($25)

A lot of love went into this dish: homemade pasta tossed in a special nduja recipe. The nduja sauce is unlike any other Italian sauce I’ve ever tried. A blend of pork, olive oil and chilli, it looks creamy at first glance, but upon tasting, it’s cheesy, with a hint of spice. I liked the springy texture, but thinner pasta would have complemented the sauce better.

I find it more of a novelty pasta than something I would order regularly. It might get gelat and unvarying if you eat the whole plate by yourself, so I recommend sharing it with others, in the true Italian style.

Cannarozzi allo Zafferano ($25)

My dining partner preferred the cannarozzi to the nduja pasta, but I thought both dishes were difficult to compare. Cannarozzi allo zafferano is tube-like pasta sauteed in saffron sauce, with ricotta cheese, bacon and parmesan. I would have liked a stronger saffron taste, but the combination of salty smoked bacon with ricotta made for a full-flavoured pasta.

If you liked the taste of the cannarozzi, you might want to try dishes from the same province, Abruzzo. Every month, Capri showcases a different province in Italy and highlights the local specialties. This month, it’s Abruzzo, while June is Calabria’s time to shine.

– Main Course –

Cotoletta alla Milanese ($48)

Fabrizo, the owner of the restaurant, hails from Milan, as does this local specialty – fried breaded veal chop served with roast potatoes and salad. It’s sinful – the veal chop is tenderised, covered with layers of egg and breadcrumbs, then deep fried in olive oil.

It’s a very large portion of meat, perfect for sharing with your dining partners. The intensity of the taste differs throughout the meat, but Fabrizo said that the best part was the meat near the bone.

The flavour is almost entirely due to the egg and breadcrumbs, but the veal lends a chewy, but not rubbery, texture to the dish. Everyone at the table especially liked the potatoes!

Cacciucco alla Livornese ($28)

The seafood flavour is strong in this one. The heads and shells of prawns are boiled for hours to make the soup stock and it’s served with a generous variety of seafood – mussels, prawns, squid, clams, cod and crayfish. The soup was sweet due to the prawn stock, but complemented the seafood well. I liked the shellfish, but I think the soup could have done without the cod.

A nice surprise was the addition of a slice of homemade bread. Even after the bread was soaked in the soup for some time, the crust still retained a slight crispiness. Overall, it was a hearty, belly-warming seafood soup. I only wish I had enough stomach space to finish my portion!

– Dessert –

Torta al limone ($10)

We were all beginning to enter a food coma by the time dessert came along, but it’s alright because everyone has a second stomach saved up for dessert right? We had the torta al limone, a warm homemade lemon cake with a side of cream. This is one dessert where the cream truly complements the cake.

The lemon cake is dense, but the cream lends a touch of sweetness to the cake and makes it feel lighter on the palate. My dining partner was looking forward to dessert and this did not disappoint.

Verdict

Capri Trattoria and Pizzeria is quintessentially Italian – hearty portions meant for sharing, robustly flavoured dishes and ‘holy spirits’ throughout and at the end of the meal. But it does go one step further in its attempt to give diners a more authentic Italian experience.

Fabrizo says that ‘standard Italian fare’ like bolognese, carbonara and aglio olio are off the menu. You can still order them, but their focus is on introducing you to local specialties all around Italy. It’s the sort of restaurant where you come in and ask, “what shall I eat next?” Will you discover the spicy side of Italian life in Calabria or the Mediterranean-infused dishes closer to Greece, the meat-heavy delicacies of the inland provinces, or the savoury seafood from the Adriatic Sea?

Capri is ambitious in its variety – the taste does not always blow you away, but for an alternative Italian experience, it is worth a visit.

Rating: 7/10