Capri Of Downers Grove

Waited an hour and a half for an amateur watery salad. Staff was very unhelpful and definitely didn’t care to answer our questions. They didn’t communicate any possible issues with kitchen or staff that would slow down the food. The food took another 45 minutes to come out after our salads. The food was good at first– until I realized that there were tiny specs of meat in my vegetarian dish. They advertise that they «cater to any allergies» but obviously do not, due to the accidental meat in my marinara sauce. The staff kept forgetting to bring drinks we ordered. We were seated at a bare plastic fold-​up table and rickety metal tables outside. Honestly, don’t go here if you have any dietary restrictions. Don’t go here if you want to eat and get out in less than 90 minutes. Don’t go here if you want to be served by reassuring, honest, helpful servers.

Good service — not a lot of server interruptions — which is great when you’re reconnecting with old friends.

Been going here with my wife for years. Would go more if it were not for one larger issue. The food at Capri is five stars in my opinion, and we have always had good service once we are seated. I knocked the rating down to three because you cannot count on your reservations being honored on a Friday or Saturday night. On numerous occasions I have made reservations on a Friday or Saturday evening, but we have had to wait 45 minutes for a table to be available after we arrived at the restaurant on time. This is really frustrating, especially when we have hired a sitter for our kids. I have had other people tell me that they have had the same experience. I would recommend that if you want to enjoy the food, go any other night besides Friday or Saturday nights.

My fiancé and I stopped in to check this location out. Perfect setting for a first date or special occasion. Very romantic and tasteful décor. No dress code yet casual and formal wear seems to be most fitting. We arrived late evening for cocktails. We split an appetizer followed by dessert. He ordered an extra dirty martini (Ketel One) with blue cheese stuffed olives. I had a mixed beverage, specialty. Moscato with a splash of Sprite and strawberries. Both were sensational. Roughly $ 10 a drink. We ordered the bruschetta which was the cheapest of appetizers at around $ 8.00 and was fantastic. Very light oil. Fresh tomatoes with fresh basil and garlic. Not mushy and the toasted baguette was simply that. Toasted. Also not saturated to the point of mush. Delightful. And for dessert… oh yes! He ordered the lava cake with vanilla bean gelato, to die for! I had the Italian cheesecake made with fresh ricotta. It was the creamiest cheesecake I had ever had. Sorry Nonna!!! We finished the night with the perfect cappuccinos with just the right amount of froth and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

Disclaimer: We ate dinner at Capri on Mother’s Day, which seems to be one of the most congested and frustrating pseudo-​holidays to dine out.
However, the 2 and 3-​star reviews are accurate. We had a reservation and were seated promptly, but the service was not good. Our server was fine, but he was sweaty, red, and flustered. He did his best. Although every table in the house was full, I didn’t see too many different waiters present. I thought that maybe they were understaffed, but the lack of service appears to be a trend when reading other reviews.
We started the meal, or tried to start the meal, with complimentary bread with oil and cheese. Our group repeatedly asked for bread and were told «the kitchen is working on it,» and any time something was delivered to our table, they re-​iterated how «hot» and «fresh» everything was. The first basket of bread was warm, but certainly not fresh, and the second basket was hard and cold.
I had the Eggplant Parmesan and was disappointed. There was no cheese in sight! The eggplant did have a crispy, and non-​greasy, coating, but where were the layers of cheese and sauce?
There’s a Unilocal check-​in deal for a free bruschetta app. That was good. But have you ever had bad bruschetta? Me either. It isn’t worth a return visit.
Nope.

Worst restaurant experience I’ve ever had.
I’m not one to post about my experiences at restaurants but I feel compelled to share after yesterday’s mother’s day debacle. We decided to treat mom to a ‘nice’ Italian dinner with a 6:30pm reservation on mother’s day. As we were driving over, we got a call at 6:20 (10 mins before our reservation) stating that the restaurant was running 30 – 45 mins behind. We decided to wait it out since it was too late to make another reservation elsewhere. The hostess was completely overwhelmed, and the entire restaurant understaffed. (The bartender was running back and forth outside to wait on multiple tables).
After over an hour and 15 minutes waiting for our name to be called — and seeing multiple parties go before us — we were finally seated. We promptly placed our orders at 8pm — after over half of the restaurant had already cleared out. Like the rest of the evening, there was a significant delay with getting our food. The waiter came out multiple times to tell us the kitchen was running behind and that we would be getting our food shortly. We did not receive our food until 9! A full 2 and a half hours after our reservation! Our repeated requests to speak to the manager were brushed aside as he was ‘busy directing traffic in the kitchen’. We finally got to speak to a waiter who was serving as the «de facto manager». The owner was not even present on what I’m assuming is one of their busier nights of the year.
As for the food itself, we were not impressed. My mother’s lobster stuffed ravioli was nothing but cheese and tiny, unidentifiable remnants of lobster. My fettuccine alfredo was severely under cooked — the noodles were still hard and had very little flavor. My brother-in-law’s Gnocchi in red pepper sauce woke him up in the middle of the night and caused him to miss work today for reasons I won’t mention.
NEVER AGAIN. DON’T GO.

The restaurant is beautiful, but with so many incredible Italian restaurants in the Chicago area, Capri’s food seems mediocre.
We started with the calamari Capri which was soggy and rubbery. I ordered the seafood black linguine which was relatively tasteless. My wife ordered the lemon chicken, which was again relatively tasteless and rubbery.
Service was great, the restaurant was beautiful and its location was top notch, but the mediocre food did not warrant downtown Chicago prices. Skip this one.

Got «to go“appetizers for going to the park to enjoy the weather. Used the Unilocal application to order, pay and poof ! We enjoyed our picnic .
Staff was extreamly friendly (even just for pick up)
THANKS CAPRI

My experience at this restaurant was great! I highly recommend the vodka rigatoni. It was some of the best vodka sauce I have ever had! The service was great, the atmosphere was pleasant and the people that were working there were just incredible. My husband and I definitely weren’t dressed to impress, I was not planning on going to dinner… but we weren’t treated poorly because of our attire. It was a breath of fresh air to find this gem right near our house. :)

This place has a lot of variance in reviews, but overall I’d say I had a great meal here with my boyfriend’s family. The free bruschetta with a Unilocal check-​in was tasty, but very small & I also had a wonderful filled mushroom pasta set in a broth that I could drink a gallon of! Overall, the service from our female server was rushed and awkward. I could see why some people would have been irritated or put off, but clearly there are more experienced servers on the team as well, which would make for a better experience. The place was packed when we went. Be sure to make a reservation!

Came here a little later on a Saturday and there was no hostess at the stand but she came pretty quickly. There was a 20 minute wait so we decided to have a drink at the bar and eventually decided to just eat there. The food was good and the bartender was excellent. I would maybe just recommend calling for reservations on a Saturday night even if you plan on going after the dinner rush.

Everytime I have ordered from here it’s amazing their bruschetta and stuffed artichoke are delicious even though I wish they had it more

The service here is wonderful as is the ambiance. I love hanging out in the lounge as it reminds me of a city type of locale with an organic, round dining room. Katie was working behind the bar my first time and she was very friendly. The bread they bring out is nice and warm. Given how much I really enjoy the ambiance and service, I really wish I liked the food more. The calamari is outstanding. Even if you order from Capri to go, it is awesome (and it’s hard to transport calamari successfully). I would highly recommend trying it. Everything else, is unfortunately just average. Also their portion sizes are off. The chicken parm was HUGE. It is far too large for one person. Unfortunately while the chicken was tender, it was also bland. The squid ink pasta itself had a great texture but the seafood in it was overcooked. Also this portion (picture added) is literally what would be served family style at a wedding. They give it for one person after bread and a salad. Overall, wish the food had more flavor but still a decent option, particularly being right across the street from the train.

I cannot understand why anyone would choose to eat here. The food is lousy and the «service» is ridiculously bad. So bad in fact that several times the next day, at random, either my husband or I would just blurt out, «wow that was horrible. I mean — I can’t remember the last time I was in a restaurant with service that awful…» etc. If we weren’t there celebrating my husband’s Great Aunt’s 85^th birthday and if it were free then we’d probably be able to just laugh it off, but sadly it was her birthday and the prices were anything, but cheap. Especially considering I only received half of my entrée (chicken with side of pasta = just a hammered out piece of chicken dripping in a soggy, overly sour lemon sauce). It would take a long time to go through all the bizarre and sometimes rude service-​related issues AND tell you how bad the food was, so I’ll just do a «greatest hits» of some of the more memorable moments from our dinner last weekend:
— All of our meals came with the standard soup or salad option to be brought out before the entrée. Before my soup even had a chance to cool down, our entrees started coming out. This is a crowded table too so in addition to the annoyance of having to scarf down your appetizer to avoid your entrée from getting cold, the whole stacking plates to find room circus came into play. My husband’s aunt kindly asked if they could hold off on serving the entrees and I swear to everything they just ignored her and kept putting food down. She asked THREE times and the servers (we had several rotating in and out throughout the night) pretended not to hear her before stopping… clearly because they saw themselves that there was no more room. Rather than take everything back, they left a few entrees on the table (including mine) which was incredibly awkward.
— The food. This is some bland food, folks. The lentil soup was watery, my husband’s chicken/​shrimp dish had zero taste and another family member said his dish’s sauce tasted like it was reheated from a can. Mine, as detailed above, was also not good. At all.
— Missing items. As I mentioned earlier, my entrée (Pollo Limone) was supposed to come with a side of pasta (as did all of the others) and it didn’t. Drinks were ordered that never came and it took two requests to get the coffees we ordered after dessert. Even more irritating is that we were charged for everything whether it was ever brought to the table or not… which reminds me of the production that was settling our check…
— I know that splitting checks is super annoying. I’ve worked in restaurants. I get it. However, it was four bills and we clearly explained each of the orders, drinks, etc. that went with each check. The fuss that was made over an unclaimed diet coke (that my husband’s uncle ordered but never received) was INSANE. At one point, I’m like — «just throw it on mine if that means we can wrap this up!» but again, ignored. The server then decided to stand over our table to loudly announce that they would not be charging us for the bread. How magnanimous of you, kind establishment, to comp our bread! I don’t know what the purpose of that announcement was because I’ve never been charged for bread that is automatically brought to the table upon sitting down. They also loudly announced, «we are not charging you for one dessert as it’s someone’s birthday.» It was just tacky and silly. When I say announced loudly, I mean — standing over the head of the table and reading through the whole bill for no reason… and wrongly, I might add. She just made up entrees because she couldn’t remember what we actually did order. Needless to say, our checks were still screwed up, but at that point, everyone just wanted to leave.
I’m sad that we went here and I’m sad that this place exists. Avoid.

We went for the 1^st time, during the Downers Grove fest. They were not inclined to let us sit outside due to rain. We weren’t going to even stay to eat but luckily the server came up to greet us, and told us he’d serve us outside but wanted us to be aware if it did start raining there may not be a table available.
The food was excellent but more impressive was the level of service. Our server Dan (I think) was very passionate about the food preparation, and quick to meet our needs.
I had baked clams, vodka pasta with sausage and tiramisu. All of the items were some of the best I’ve had.

Another visit to Capri for dinner with friends this week. Unfortunately, I was disappointed again. We were given roasted garlic and olives on the table with our bread. Usually, there is a nice cheese on the plate as well but either they forgot it or are not doing that anymore for costs reasons. We ordered four appetizer plates to share. Granted I knew they would be smaller portions, but the fried meatballs in an arrabiata sauce were very small… the size of a quarter and there were only three. Tasty, but certainly not worth the money. The arancini were good — three nice-​sized portions. The caprese was good as always. The prosciutto and melon was very disappointing. The melon was hard and not ripe at all, no sweetness because it was served before its time. Needed a knife to cut through this. The delight of this dish is the sweetness of a juicy melon against the saltiness of the meat. Such a failure. The only reason I would come back to this restaurant is if friends suggest it. Otherwise, I will travel the extra 20 minutes and go the Capri in Burr Ridge. I always am happy with the quality of food there.

I’m not sure why Capri has such a low rating overall. Service was great, and food was fresh and wonderful.
I love the big, tall windows and large rounded corner of the restaurant. It brings in so much light, and dining there makes you feel like a royal.
I came with a party of 8 and the server was very accommodating. He was checking up on us frequently, and was very polite and professional.
For an appetizer, I would highly recommend the portebello mushroom. It came out hot and fresh with a wonderful vodka sauce, spimach, and shrimp! Flavor combination just screamed Italian. We also got the bruschetta which had some good fresh tomatos, but would have been better with some balsamic vinegar.
I can recommend the Caeser salad and the vodka pasta. The itallian sausage and meatballs were good as well! The only thing that looked kind of meh that the whole party got was scallops & marinara dish. It just looked like there wasn’t enough sauce, and the scallops were medium-​sized and not big and fat.
One last thing that gives Capri a big plus is the wine menu. Plenty of selection (as big as the food menu), and lots of greater Italian makers.
I would definetly recommend going to Capri; afterwards, explore downtown Downers Grove!

Impressive, swanky décor. Someone was really taking time here. Menu and food were ok. Service was swift, professional and thoughtful.
I know I’m more sensitive to «background» music then anyone I’m hanging around with. But I just have to say… on Saturday, early evening April 4^th, what was playing at an obtrusive volume was an album (I presume of) a man and woman making super cheezy duets out of otherwise awesome songs: U2, Coldplay, Snow Patrol, Tracy Chapman… all musically murdered, one after the other. It was dreadful. This REALLY didn’t go with the Frank Sinatra portraits hanging on the walls. I wouldn’t have been surprised at all to see Frank pull a scowl. Why not play Frank, if you’re going for swank? The other 4 – 5 tables that were full were like my table: Parent or grandparent in their 70s or 80s and their children and grandchildren. Not sure what kind of audience the music was supposed to be pleasing. How about just play Frank? If someone doesn’t like Frank, they SHOULD anyway.

Great customer service, however, the food was another story. My friend and I, we both got the chicken marsala and I was not a fan of the dish. The reasoning was really strong. The best dish of the day was the mushroom soup that came with the meal. I might come back here again and give this place another try due to that fact that the staffs were friendly and helpful.

My friend made reservation for a Friday dinner and that was a good idea because it was packed when we got there. We got seated about five minutes later because they had to set up our table. The table we got was a very awkward position, stuck in a «corner» of the room but it’s not really the corner. I didn’t enjoy the seating at all.
The waiter brought out bread for us and they only had oil on the table for dipping, no vinegar.
I ordered the spicy shrimp linguini and it came with a small salad. The linguini itself was good but nothing too spectacular.
Service was a bit slow and I think they were understaffed because my waiter seemed exhausted running around. Parking can be easily found in the structure about a block down or there is also a lot of street parking.
Ambiance was a bit more classy than a regular Italian restaurant. I was able to have a nice conversation with my friend without having to yell so that was a plus.