Service had a blip in the beginning but was attentive afterwards. Food was delicious and pleasingly plated. Limited menu though. Excellent value for the money.
John
The appetizers of stuffed shrimp and buratta salad were excellent.The entrees of chicken francese and a shrimp and pasta were enjoyed.However my entree of stuffed chicken did not live up to it's menu description which said it was stuffed with pancetta, escarole,cherry peppers and three cheeses.There were no hints of pancetta,escarole,or peppers,just a stuffing with an off tasting cheese mixture. Have had many excellent dinners but this entree missed the mark
christina
delicious. I never eat eggplant parm anywhere. Theres was delicious! we had burrata ravioli with homemade sausage! the  only thing I'm bummed about was I really wanted to try stuffed shrimp but they ran out otherwise if I'm ever here again in Albany, I will definitely come back!
Anthony
It was my second experience and this was a 2 person dinner and it was great. Nice, relaxed, we had a reservation and were given the best table.
Emanuel
What an unexpected treat. This past weekend my wife and I traveled from our home in the Metro Boston area to Albany, NY to spend a weekend visiting with old and dear friends of ours with whom we all went to Medical, Law, and Graduate School over 40 years ago in Albany over the early 1980's whom we had last seen since about 20 years ago, and wieh whom we shared many fond memories of our having numerous dinners at the old Cavalieri's Restaurant in Albany years ago; unfortunately, Cavalieri's is long gone, however, it appears that the family continues to run a Catering Business in the Albany area. A Google Search revealed an outstanding review of Cafe Capriccio, a family owned gem in downtown Albany that has been there for over the past 30 years and was rated as the best in town. Upon arrival, we entered a dark and cozy ground floor establishment with beautiful natural wood paneling, booths and tables, and an old fashioned long wooden bar that was staffed by an outstanding Bar Tender who knew how to turn out a luscious Pear Martini (a house special) and a perfect Vodka Martini straight up and a little dirty complete with gorgonzola stuffed olives. We were greeted and attended to by very friendly and engaging house staff, all of whom seemlessly worked in tandem in serving us. We enjoyed appetizers of House Special Stuffed Clams that were delicious and an order of Meatballs with Ricotta that were bathed in the most delicious, fresh, and apparently home made Red Sauce that I would guess is the product of an old and zecret family recipe was just out of this world. Then for dinner I indulged in a scrumptious Chicken Sorrento, in the same luscious Red Sauce, while my wife thoroughly enjoyed that special Tagliattelle with fresh imported Truffles in a ligth cream sauce, along with glasses of Chiati. Then we indulged in fresh made Tiramisou made with Lady Fingers and fresh Marscapone, along with two perfectly rendered Cappucinos. A feat that will be fondly remembered.
Beth
Delicious -- not to be missed! First time in Albany, prior night was a disaster, but Cafe Capriccio redeemed our experience. Service was attentive and friendly, wine selection was excellent and every dish was delicious and creative. We ordered roasted eggplant with 4 cheeses and grilled octopus appetizers, then two fish special- pan seared halibut, perfectly cooked and served hot on a warm plate. Wish we'd had room for the yummy sounding desserts. Street parking was a little worrying in the dicey neighborhood and we were happy we finished when it was still light outside. However our dinner was perfect.
Guy
Really great place if you're ever stuck in Albany. So good I'd make it a destination stop if I was on my way to someplace else and Albany was in the way(no offense Albany). Took my sons, had sausage and rabe(portion was a bit small) and meatballs to start. Taste was good although sausage didn't taste like Italian sausage I'm used to, rabe needs to be steamed in chicken broth before it's sautéed, this wasn't so, though tasty, it was tough. Meatballs were pretty good too.I had the stuffed chicken Amalfi and my sons had the pork chop and ravioli. All 3 entrees were good. I also had an espresso martini, two actually, and both were excellent. Wait staff was friendly and attentive. Also, I liked the feel of the venue. It's kind of a neighborhood Italian with a bohemian flair. All good.
Clarice
It's mine and my husband's second time at Cafe Capriccio! Everything, as expected, was just amazing. Our servers were great, very helpful, and very attentive. The outdoor seating at the back is the perfect dinner spot for the summer. My husband got the duck ragu and I got the pork chop. We both totally obliterated our meals within minutes. Cafe Capriccio is now one of our favorites spots to dine at in the region and we are most definitely coming back.
Owen Flynn
Simply impossible to put into words how amazing the food, service and atmosphere are at Cafe Capriccio. Easily the best food and dinning experience I’ve had, this is a place I’d drive hours just to eat one of their dishes.
Erica
The veggies and the pasta was a little overcooked and too soft. It was a decent meal, but not outstanding.
We were in town for the night and decided to go to this restaurant. The last time we were there was 29 years ago. It had been recommended to us then and we remembered having a delicious meal. It is just as good if not better now. I had the pork chop and it was delicious. The service was excellent. The atmosphere is really nice. Highly recommend for an authentic Italian meal and wonderful dining experience.
Linda
Table for four celebrating Father's Day and my 77th birthday. We consider this to be our favorite restaurant ever and Jim Rua is absolutely the best. We all had different entrées and appetizers, and they were all delicious. My six-year-old grandson came with us and they made a special effort to serve him something that he would like. We will always come back. I would recommend it to anyone.
barbara
Went to Cafe Capriccio to meet up with a friend for dinner who lives in the area and has always heard good things about it. The good: The food was very good. But the service made us feel the entire time like they were doing us a favor and couldn't wait to turn over the table. First of all, they won't take appetizer orders until you're ready to order your entree....dumb move, because I'm sure sometimes people just decide to skip the appetizer rather than grab something to start with while they're deciding. They also don't bring bread til you order. So after they asked us a few times (a few different wait staff) if we were ready to order, we finally did, and did order an appetizer, which came right away. Then, once we were eating, it seemed like they wanted to rush us. We wanted to take our time (which we would NOT have done if the place was packed), and the wait staff came around a few times to ask if we were done. My friend was still eating her entree. I said I'd like to see a dessert menu when they had a chance and was informed that they would bring that when everyone at the table was ready. But then they did bring it, and came around, while my friend was still eating to take my dessert order. I said I would wait til she was ready. She also ordered something to go for her mother, which came out right away, when we had barely started eating, so we asked them to take it back til later. We had an early reservation, 5:15, and if the restaurant was very busy and they needed the table, I could understand at least a bit, being rushed. But by 6:30 the place was practically EMPTY. They did NOT need the table and did not need to be swarming around us like that. It was not helpful, attentive service, it felt like they wanted the table. At no time were we sitting there without food just passing the time. I had a 2 hour drive ahead of me and we were certainly not looking to dally. We were there about 2 hours, for app, entree, and dessert, not that long.
Hiroko
We all enjoyed the wonderful yummy foods and the exceptional service last night! As always, Cafe Capriccio never disappoints us!
Service had a blip in the beginning but was attentive afterwards. Food was delicious and pleasingly plated. Limited menu though. Excellent value for the money.
The appetizers of stuffed shrimp and buratta salad were excellent.The entrees of chicken francese and a shrimp and pasta were enjoyed.However my entree of stuffed chicken did not live up to it's menu description which said it was stuffed with pancetta, escarole,cherry peppers and three cheeses.There were no hints of pancetta,escarole,or peppers,just a stuffing with an off tasting cheese mixture. Have had many excellent dinners but this entree missed the mark
delicious. I never eat eggplant parm anywhere. Theres was delicious! we had burrata ravioli with homemade sausage! the  only thing I'm bummed about was I really wanted to try stuffed shrimp but they ran out otherwise if I'm ever here again in Albany, I will definitely come back!
It was my second experience and this was a 2 person dinner and it was great. Nice, relaxed, we had a reservation and were given the best table.
What an unexpected treat. This past weekend my wife and I traveled from our home in the Metro Boston area to Albany, NY to spend a weekend visiting with old and dear friends of ours with whom we all went to Medical, Law, and Graduate School over 40 years ago in Albany over the early 1980's whom we had last seen since about 20 years ago, and wieh whom we shared many fond memories of our having numerous dinners at the old Cavalieri's Restaurant in Albany years ago; unfortunately, Cavalieri's is long gone, however, it appears that the family continues to run a Catering Business in the Albany area. A Google Search revealed an outstanding review of Cafe Capriccio, a family owned gem in downtown Albany that has been there for over the past 30 years and was rated as the best in town. Upon arrival, we entered a dark and cozy ground floor establishment with beautiful natural wood paneling, booths and tables, and an old fashioned long wooden bar that was staffed by an outstanding Bar Tender who knew how to turn out a luscious Pear Martini (a house special) and a perfect Vodka Martini straight up and a little dirty complete with gorgonzola stuffed olives. We were greeted and attended to by very friendly and engaging house staff, all of whom seemlessly worked in tandem in serving us. We enjoyed appetizers of House Special Stuffed Clams that were delicious and an order of Meatballs with Ricotta that were bathed in the most delicious, fresh, and apparently home made Red Sauce that I would guess is the product of an old and zecret family recipe was just out of this world. Then for dinner I indulged in a scrumptious Chicken Sorrento, in the same luscious Red Sauce, while my wife thoroughly enjoyed that special Tagliattelle with fresh imported Truffles in a ligth cream sauce, along with glasses of Chiati. Then we indulged in fresh made Tiramisou made with Lady Fingers and fresh Marscapone, along with two perfectly rendered Cappucinos. A feat that will be fondly remembered.
Delicious -- not to be missed! First time in Albany, prior night was a disaster, but Cafe Capriccio redeemed our experience. Service was attentive and friendly, wine selection was excellent and every dish was delicious and creative. We ordered roasted eggplant with 4 cheeses and grilled octopus appetizers, then two fish special- pan seared halibut, perfectly cooked and served hot on a warm plate. Wish we'd had room for the yummy sounding desserts. Street parking was a little worrying in the dicey neighborhood and we were happy we finished when it was still light outside. However our dinner was perfect.
Really great place if you're ever stuck in Albany. So good I'd make it a destination stop if I was on my way to someplace else and Albany was in the way(no offense Albany). Took my sons, had sausage and rabe(portion was a bit small) and meatballs to start. Taste was good although sausage didn't taste like Italian sausage I'm used to, rabe needs to be steamed in chicken broth before it's sautéed, this wasn't so, though tasty, it was tough. Meatballs were pretty good too.I had the stuffed chicken Amalfi and my sons had the pork chop and ravioli. All 3 entrees were good. I also had an espresso martini, two actually, and both were excellent. Wait staff was friendly and attentive. Also, I liked the feel of the venue. It's kind of a neighborhood Italian with a bohemian flair. All good.
It's mine and my husband's second time at Cafe Capriccio! Everything, as expected, was just amazing. Our servers were great, very helpful, and very attentive. The outdoor seating at the back is the perfect dinner spot for the summer. My husband got the duck ragu and I got the pork chop. We both totally obliterated our meals within minutes. Cafe Capriccio is now one of our favorites spots to dine at in the region and we are most definitely coming back.
Simply impossible to put into words how amazing the food, service and atmosphere are at Cafe Capriccio. Easily the best food and dinning experience I’ve had, this is a place I’d drive hours just to eat one of their dishes.
The veggies and the pasta was a little overcooked and too soft. It was a decent meal, but not outstanding.
Restaurantji Recommends
We were in town for the night and decided to go to this restaurant. The last time we were there was 29 years ago. It had been recommended to us then and we remembered having a delicious meal. It is just as good if not better now. I had the pork chop and it was delicious. The service was excellent. The atmosphere is really nice. Highly recommend for an authentic Italian meal and wonderful dining experience.
Table for four celebrating Father's Day and my 77th birthday. We consider this to be our favorite restaurant ever and Jim Rua is absolutely the best. We all had different entrées and appetizers, and they were all delicious. My six-year-old grandson came with us and they made a special effort to serve him something that he would like. We will always come back. I would recommend it to anyone.
Went to Cafe Capriccio to meet up with a friend for dinner who lives in the area and has always heard good things about it. The good: The food was very good. But the service made us feel the entire time like they were doing us a favor and couldn't wait to turn over the table. First of all, they won't take appetizer orders until you're ready to order your entree....dumb move, because I'm sure sometimes people just decide to skip the appetizer rather than grab something to start with while they're deciding. They also don't bring bread til you order. So after they asked us a few times (a few different wait staff) if we were ready to order, we finally did, and did order an appetizer, which came right away. Then, once we were eating, it seemed like they wanted to rush us. We wanted to take our time (which we would NOT have done if the place was packed), and the wait staff came around a few times to ask if we were done. My friend was still eating her entree. I said I'd like to see a dessert menu when they had a chance and was informed that they would bring that when everyone at the table was ready. But then they did bring it, and came around, while my friend was still eating to take my dessert order. I said I would wait til she was ready. She also ordered something to go for her mother, which came out right away, when we had barely started eating, so we asked them to take it back til later. We had an early reservation, 5:15, and if the restaurant was very busy and they needed the table, I could understand at least a bit, being rushed. But by 6:30 the place was practically EMPTY. They did NOT need the table and did not need to be swarming around us like that. It was not helpful, attentive service, it felt like they wanted the table. At no time were we sitting there without food just passing the time. I had a 2 hour drive ahead of me and we were certainly not looking to dally. We were there about 2 hours, for app, entree, and dessert, not that long.
We all enjoyed the wonderful yummy foods and the exceptional service last night! As always, Cafe Capriccio never disappoints us!
The Ragu was great!
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