When a restaurant gets its basics right – top quality ingredients, meticulous service and the utmost attention to ensuring the dishes you get are exactly how you want them – you have yourself a winner. Capricci, a southern Italian restaurant located at Singapore’s Central Business District is one such fine dining establishment, and has gained a loyal following for its authentic spread of Italian cuisine at surprisingly reasonable prices.

By Melanie Lee

As a rule of thumb, every time after I do a restaurant review, I make it a point to go back there again with my family to see what they have to say. The idea is that genuinely delicious food is universal and if my relatives, who generally have opposite tastes from me, enjoy their meal as much as I had, then the restaurant must be doing its job well.

Capricci is the only restaurant that my father-in-law has ever remarked as a “good choice of restaurant”, which is a notable achievement given that he has a reputation of being a fussy eater and usually pooh-poohs the restaurants that we bring him to. While Capricci may not be as luxurious, avant-garde or scenic as the other restaurants featured in FRV Travel, it is a cosy and elegant outfit that serves its function well – making sure that customers thoroughly enjoy their food.

Capricci’s Director Massimo Aquaro is just as good at entertaining guests as he is in the kitchen whipping up his favourite dishes from his grandmother’s recipes. During my first meal there, I was surprised when he came out of the kitchen hurriedly while I was tucking into my first course of polipo alla griglia (grilled octopus with capers in olive oil, lemon and herbs, S$18) to apologise that the octopus “could have been a little softer”. In my books, I’d actually been pretty mesmerized by the zesty, smoky taste of this seafood dish, so the fact that he admitted there was room for improvement indicated a real commitment to presenting only the best of his dishes.

Besides its emphasis on quality (they declare proudly that they do not use MSG), Capricci’s menu stands out because it does not serve the typical Italian fare, and yet, the ingredients used in the dishes are familiar, making the food here both refreshing and accessible at the same time. For example the melanzane alla parmigiana profumate al basilico (tower of eggplant with mozzarella, basil and tomato, S$16) is like a lighter, sweeter version of lasagne, while the tagliolini saporiti alla cernia con zucchini e zaggerano (tagliolini with grouper, zucchini and saffron sauce, S$22) is like a more exotic, floral version of seafood marinara. Even the meat dishes stood out with items such as the costolette di agnello in crosta di pistacchi e crema di limoncello (pistachio-crusted lamb cutlets with limoncello cream, served with green salad, S$40) and the paccheri con salsiccia, porcini e stracchino (sleeves of pasta with homemade sausage, porcini mushroom and stracchino cheese, S$22). The former was tender and its nutty, citrusy coating gave it an interesting, crunchy edge. The latter’s homemade sausages were delightfully addictive and even when we were already stuffed, we couldn’t help but nibble on this meaty delight in amazement.

Desserts are a little more classic but in no way less impressive. Their tiramisu classico al caffe (lady finger biscuits dipped in espresso coffee and liquor, layered with whipped mixture of eggs and mascarpone cheese) and profiteroles con chantilly (profiteroles in chocolate sauce) are the house favourites, but if you’re eager to try bits of everything from their dessert menu, Massimo would be more than happy to arrange a tasting platter of sorts just as he did with my mother-in-law (which impressed her to no end).

What’s so lovely about Capricci is that it’s the kind of place that could become the family’s  favourite restaurant, or the place that the office goes to whenever there’s a special occasion. As the waiter pointed out to me how the majority of the diners were actually loyal customers who come at least several times a month, a warm fuzzy feeling came over me – so this is what it means to be a good restaurant.

Capricci
27 Tanjong Pagar Road
Singapore 088540
Tel: +65 6221 6761
www.capricci.com.sg

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