Capri Cafe bar, FORTITUDE VALLEY

Capri is an Italian & pizza restaurant located within the stylish emporium complex. I’ve always known Capri to be there and it became a place I said I would try, but never made it around to going, so when Dimmi’s offered a 50% off you food bill sale, I jumped at the opportunity. I was also aware of the recent negative reviews on Urbanspoon prior to visit and to my delight; I’ll have to disagree with those reviews.

We were looked after that night by a friendly gentleman who was attentive and very knowledgeable of the menu and really helped us picked the perfect dishes and serving sizes. We were seated with our menus and table water and then left to peruse through their extensive menu which consists of several entree/share menus, mains and a long list of pastas, risottos and pizzas. We eventually agreed on the beetroot and walnut arancini, followed by a belinni pizza and sand crab and scallop risotto to share.

The arancini was served with a bed of roquette and side of feta cheese. The colours on this dish were spectacular and although I was quite sceptical about the choice of ingredients, the flavours were nice together and the size of were very generous; 4 large arancini per serve which is more than enough for two people. The arancini could have been a bit crispier on the outside, but all in all a decent dish.

Beetroot and Walnut arancini with roquette and feta (minus 1 i already started eating)

While we waited for our mains, our water was refilled and we were offered a 2^nd round of drinks. They have a few interesting choices when it comes to international beer which we loved as other restaurants' beer choices are getting a bit samey and you don’t ever get the chance to try something new.

Our mains arrived and we were quite impressed, if not a little overwhelmed, by the serving sizes.  The pizza was pretty big and barely fit on the large dinner plate and the risotto, although not visible at first (or evident in my photo), fills up a deep plate-bowl.

Bellini: Air dried beef rib fillet, mushrooms, bocconcini & mozzarella

I was quite impressive with my pizza with the base being one of my favourite pizza bases to date. It was rolled at the perfect thickness and cooked until entirely crisps on the underside and crust yet still remained soft in the centre. Biting into the base was similar to the amazing sensation of biting into grilled Turkish bread; not something you often get from fast food pizza chains. Toppings were tasty and we enjoyed every bite of it.

The risotto had great flavours and real pieces of crab and scallops. The only downside to this dish was the rice being slightly undercooked which made the texture a bit unpleasant, but it wasn’t far off from the mark and was still quite delicious so we were happy to keep eating it. Flavours were excellent in this dish and the scallops were cooked perfectly.

Sand crab and scallop  in a seafood bisque risotto topped with roquette and Grana Padano cheese

After mains, we were stuffed and had to turn down the offer for dessert. Our tables were cleared and even though we were no longer ordering anything, the wait staff kindly continued to top up our water glasses while we sat and let our stomachs settle.

We thought the service was excellent on this particular night. Our waiter, and the female trainee nailed the sequence of service and was timely and non intrusive with their table checks. Everything we could want was offered to us and we never had to get anyone’s attention for anything. The waiter’s menu knowledge was great and he was friendly and helpful and remained patient while we decided. I liked to point out that it wasn’t a very busy night, but from what I saw, I was impressed.

I am glad decided to give this place a go, even though certain aspects of the meal could be improved, overall I sill had a very pleasant experience.

Food: 7/10
Service: 10/10
value: 7/10 (not based on vouchers redeemed)
Atmosphere: 8/10
Overall:  8

-wd