Tapas Capriccio

It is completely closed and being renovated to a Mexican sports bar

The Lobster Ravioli is a joke. It was a mix of Velveeta consistency cheese and 5 clumps of ‘ravioli’. It is rather pricey /​22 dollars.
The lunch menu is a good deal (7 per entrée), but the fish roughy I tried was fried with a lemon butter sauce below which stained the vegetables it came with. Upon requesting more lemon butter sauce, the server came by 15 minutes after food delivery letting me know they just started working on it.
The service was decent, but there were definitely gaps in coverage and the bill paying experience was rather unpleasant.
The scallops were roughly 10 dollars for 4 miniature, badly cut, pieces of seafood.
I look elsewhere if you want to enjoy tapas. I suggest Majorca in midtown.

All I need to say is LOBSTER RAVIOLI– NOM NOM NOM! It is so citrusy and creamy… pure HEAVEN
I have not been here in a while but I used to dine here quite often. I moved in the loop so it is just not close to me anymore :(the best nights are Monday and Wednesdays as they have $ 5 wine and $ 5 tapas. Good deal. Also Thursdays is 40% off wine by the bottle night. I like that it is not crowded, I know I will be seated and get great food. Love the risotto too. The tapas are fabulous.
The owner Ray is the sweetest and would always visit and let us know what the specials were. They have AMAZING souffles. He always knows I want one so he has it ready to go for me when dinner is done. Personal touch really goes a long way.
I have also come to a couple wine dinners, great experience both times. TC is the best deal on a wine dinner around town. Normally around $ 60 per person for 5 course meal with wine. Flemings and Jaspers is $ 90 – 100 per person, and food is just as good.

It has been a while since we came here (my photos are from last year) but I am trying to catch up on my reviews. There were not many customers and the service was still slow. It seemed that the person taking our order was also working in the back. The food was underwhelming. The Bife Cabrales was not tender at all. The Ceasar Salad was not very fresh. The Patatas Bravas very bland. I understand that the ownership has changed recently and that things are not much better. I really wish they could get it together because I really enjoy good Tapas.

We went here in February for the first time, when they were having salsa dance lessons in the banquet room.
The food was incredible! We started out with some tapas, the eggplant and the pork belly which were both so fresh and flavorful! Our entrée was the seafood paella which is made to order, and took about 30 minutes to come out. The server informed us it would take a while which we didn’t mind at all.
For dessert, the owner convinced us to try the tiramisu which was also delicious.
I would definitely go back, good food, great service and a very friendly owner!

I’m always really disappointed when I have to downgrade restaurants. This place used to be one of our favorites, but sadly, things have changed in the past year. In talking with the waitress, we learned that they have changed owners. The menu is noticeably edited, which is not a bad thing. But the items we ordered were not up to par.
We ordered the pork belly, calamari, albondigas, and penne con prosciutto. The pork belly and albondigas were pretty standard. The pork belly was fork tender, but didn’t have very much of the applewood flavor. The albondigas (meatballs) were pretty yummy. I wished we had more marinara sauce for them. The calamari, which I thought should have been a slam dunk, was surprisingly bland.
The worst was the penne. It came swimming in the cream sauce. There seemed to be hardly any prosciutto, but if you dug around in the bowl, they’re in there. They should cut back on the creamy liquid and cut the prosciutto in to smaller pieces. Then you could see each element and it wouldn’t come out swimming in cream.
Overall, I’m really disappointed in the way this place has changed.

I don’t know if this place has dropped the «Tapas» in their name or not, but I noticed they do still have «tapas». Just sayin’.
Salsa dancing and wine/​chocolate event on the weekends? Banquet room? Sounds good! Live music (guitar — soloist). And not a twangy guitar either, very soft and nice. Good voice on the guy, too.
Okay, we had a groupon and wanted some Italian. I have just started out being a vegetarian, so I was a little worried, but I didn’t have to be.
It’s a nice place, off of Jones and 1960, in a stand alone building by that huge Gooodwill store. I’ve driven by this place a million times and never stopped in, but that’s gonna change.
So we are seated in a booth. We were a little uncomfortable in the booth, the seats were too short (I myself am short so I can’t figure this one out). My husband is tall so a booth was not going to work. We asked to move and were graciously accomodated. I looked over at the other diners to see how they were handling the booths, and one man was sitting to the side to support his legs, so I know I’m not the only one with a problem. Just get a table when you go.
My husband wanted a margarita and wanted to talk about what kind he wanted, so the waitress sent over the bartender. He was very gracious and pretty much said, whatever you want, I will make. My husband did indeed enjoy his Gold Margarita. I got a pinot noir which I enjoyed very much.
I ordered off the Tapas menu as I a trying to not gorge myself on meals. I ordered the eggplant parmesean, the burnt carrots (oh my gosh double YUM) and a tomato/​mozzarella/​basil salad.
The salad was good, I could have used more dressing but it was still tasty. Unfortunately the tomatoes were the hard roma variety and although that’s not prefereable, I still ate it. Where can you get a decent tomato, anyway? there was fresh basil leaves on my salad and since I love basil and balsamic vinaigrette, I loved this salad despite the tomato .
Then the eggplant. Very good. Not drenched in tomato sauce, but sitting atop a not-​runny sauce. I might not even call it sauce. It was very fresh tasting tomato reduction. I liked it very, very much. It wasn’t covered with a sauce, like I said, which made the mozzarella a little crunchy atop, easy to cut and very tasty. I would order this again in a heartbeat.
Then the burnt carrots. I don’t know how he does it but there is a cheese crumbled within (was it gorgonzola?) which was amazing. I am so glad I ordered this. I love Paella so I am going to go for that next time. The menu says the paella is enough for two, which is good to know.
There was a guitarist there with a very good voice, he sang a lot of James Taylor and a tribute to Merle Haggard, some of the softer songs by Alabama. He had a nice voice, not loud and it seems there are regulars there who must follow and know him. I wanted to stay but my husband did not, after all there was college basketball to be watched on TV.
My husband’s meal was a disappointment to him. He ordered some kind of smothered rib eye or prime rib, I can’t actually remember. I wondered what the heck he was doing ordering that in an Italian restaurant, but he forged ahead and I do believe he was sorry. I don’t think it was terrible, thought, it just wasn’t his thang. He said normally that meat is a little fatty, and with it being smothered as it was, he couldn’t tell where any of the fat was. Oh, don’t pay any attention, sometimes he does things that baffle me. Like order a margarita to go with his Italian food.
The owner/​bartender came up to talk to us after our meal. He told us there is a banquet room off the side, there is salsa dancing, chocolate/​wine tasting and stuff like that on the weekends. Good to know!
The tapas pricing is more my style, even though what I ordered ended up being what a regular plate would have cost. I thought the entrees was just a tad pricey but not enough to keep me away. The waitress was new, I think, but that doesn’t mean «don’t go». Everywhere you go there will be a new waitress, so I gave her a break but my husband wasn’t too happy that he had to flag her down for the check, and she didn’t ask us if we wanted a dessert; we probably would have had she asked. She brought out each thing we ordered one by one, and not on a big tray so we could have our meal together. She brought out the salad, which I expected, but then appeard with my eggplant and carrots and nothing for my husband. It was a little embarassing, and after a few minutes I asked her if my husband’s meal was coming soon, because I had my entrée. I did that so she would realize that she needs to deliver the entrees at once. Maybe that’s not standard procedure with tapas, please feel free to enlighten me.
All in all, I very much liked my experience at Capriccio’s. I intend to return and try other things on the menu. The meals are presented beautifully, the ambiance is very nice. Try it!

I’m a huge Michael Symon fan, and when I think of Michael Symon, I think of pork! Before coming here, I’d never tried pork belly, and now I can say I have!
We tried several of the tapas, including the pork belly, and I was quite impressed. The staff was quite attentive, and I was very happy with my meal. I would definitely patronize this place again. It’s close to home, and prior to finding this joint, going to Mi Luna in the Village was quite a trek for me to get some tapas.
I will come back for sure!

Don’t go there… their Tapas is really bad…
Me n my hubby when there this Friday…
They don’t even have enough menu for customer…
After we sit down for 10 mins… Not a single server come to ask us if we need anything to drink…

This place looks really nice and the service was pretty good. However, food was just ok. We only ordered the tapas. I wouldn’t come back here.
Fried calamari — not greasy. well seasoned and a good marinara accompanied it. best dish overall.
Eggplant parmigiana — the eggplant was cut way too thick for this. it didn’t taste very good. we didn’t finish it.
Steamed mussels — mussels tasted like they they were previously frozen. sauce was just ok. all fat, no flavor. know what i mean?
Tocino ahumado pork belly — this was just ok. it’s odd to eat this in a non-​asian flavored way. i didn’t care for this, however.
Plato frio — prosciutto with crustini and cheese. not special. i’ve made this at home with ingredients bought at whole foods, which actually tastes better than capriccio’s.
Palatas bravas — roasted potatoes. it was alright. seasoned with cumin, which i like, but the rest of my party thought there was too much cumin used.
Tres leches — tasteless, dry and plain. not worth the calories. i had one bite and was done.

The more I come here, the more I love it. I think we’ve almost tried all the items under the tapas section of the menu and haven’t really been disappointed.
On a recent visit…
we had the mussels in the saffron white wine broth… wow. They were succulent… soft and… creamy? My fiancé proclaimed them to be the best mussels he’s had. The eggplant parmesan is good… baked eggplant is almost always a winner. We also had the organic quinoa and pesto chicken, which was a special we found out about via their email list. Delicious! There were chunks of feta and tomatoes and loads of fresh basil in the quinoa. My fiancé hadn’t tried quinoa before and this dish made him a fan.
As always, the service was exceptional… friendly and helpful. We couldn’t decide on a red wine by the glass so we received a wine flight… four half full glasses of reds for $ 14. Not too shabby! I loved the Pinot Noir (forgot which one) and the Malbec blend. The Cab was least interesting, although my fiancé found that it improved upon further sips. We finished the meal with a mocha panna cotta, which was delicate enough to round out the meal well. They supposedly offer various panna cotta flavors, including an orange one that’s supposed to be akin to a dreamsicle.
I definitely recommend checking this place out if you’re in the area.
P. S. I believe it’s Wednesdays when they have the special of $ 5 tapas plates (except the lamb, maybe?) and some $ 5 wines by the glass. Pretty sweet deal!

A couple of friends and I met at this restaurant on the notion that on Wednesdays there are $ 5 tapas and $ 5 per glass of wine. One of my friends had raved about the food and the wine selection. Boy, she was right.
The food selection was great, the atmosphere was classy but chill, the service attentive and friendly, and what really struck me is that the owner came by and asked us how the food was and made recommendations about desserts. We tried the orange panna cotta and it was unbelievable. Just heaven. Not too dense, not too light, with a hint of orange zest. It was a nice fare for such a great price, especially on a small budget. This is truly a gem of a find in a strip of sports bars and wing places. My friends and I will most definitely be visiting again.

Mehh… I still think Mi Luna has better tapas.
We ordered several dishes from the tapas menu and none were like «TO DIE FOR». The octopus dish could have been real good, but they added something in there that gave it a weird aftertaste.
Although, I must say their Paella were off tha chain. It’s super flavorful. You can feed about 4 ladies with that thing alone. It takes about 35 minutes for them to prepare the dish, so you may want to order it before you order your drink. :)
Other than that, the ambiance is super chill and the waitstaff were very friendly and attentive.

Went there for a late lunch today, and we were quite happy. We split some appetizers. The calamari was good; the marinara was excellent. Crap cakes were acceptable, and I thought the stuffed mushrooms were bland.
My wife had a delicious bowl of shrimp bisque. The thickness of the bisque was just right, and it had a very nice flavor.
I had a capriccio panini. I was a bit disappointed with the panini. The bread was too soft; I like a crisper bread. The sandwich was a bit soggy and falling apart.
The service was very friendly. There seemed to be an antique-​shop smell when we walked in, but our noses quickly adjusted.
The tapas tag is a bit of a misnomer. There are very few items on the menu that I would consider tapas.
I would go back to try some pasta, as the marinara sauce was great, so I imagine the pasta would be pretty darn good too.

Pork Belly… this dish alone is worth 5 stars, but alas, I have to take into consideration other factors. Therefor they get 3 stars only.
The Service:
We came in a little after 1pm and was not greeted by anyone. The waitress was at a table (discussing business?) and occupied. We had to ask if they were even open. She said yes and to please seat ourselves. After doing so she bought us menus and took our drink order. Then came back after a few minutes asking for it again because she «forgot». We were the only table she just took an order from! Right away I could tell she was not good at multitasking. Which seems to be what she was doing the entire time we were there. She kept rushing off and talking fast. Even though she was nice and polite I still had to take a star off considering this place is trying to be an upscale dining place.
The Food:
–The Bad
Spanish Tortilla which is egg frittata with potatoes and Spanish chorizo. The serving is equal to a generous slice of pie. The egg and chorizo were basically non existent, completely overpowered by the giant chunks of potatoes. This tapas was also very bland and quite disappointing. How can you go wrong with with an egg, chorizo, and potato combination?
The Chicken Pinchos consisted of about 2 skewers with about 3 – 4 pcs of grilled chicken marinaded in orange saffron sauce. It was very good, full of flavor, but not quite worth the $ 1 for a pc of chicken about the size of a cube of ice.
The bread basket was barely lined with miniature cut up bread I can buy from any Fiesta or HEB. Even though she did offer to refill the bread for us I thought it was ridiculous that it had to be done 3 times since there was only a handful of it each time. We only finished it because the oil dip was good. Then because we were waiting for the tapas that came out staggered, leaving us nothing to munch on for short spans of time.
–The Good
Patatas Bravas, potatoes roasted with bell peppers and guajullo chili, served with garlic aioli. This came out in a decent sized portion good enough for two and was very tasty with just the perfect hint of spice. I liked it even more because it paired well with the chicken, which was salty spicy and the pork belly, which was sweetish.
Which brings me to the star of the meal that came out last since it took longer to prepare, the Pork Belly. Apple smoked and marinated in homemade molasses and spices, then roasted. There were about 5 – 6 chunks of this goodness but it was so good I would gladly pay more than the $ 8 it cost. Slightly crunchy on the outside and then nothing but juice on the inside. I chewed and chewed and chewed and tried not to swallow because it was just that good.
The Location/​Restaurant:
My friend described it best when he said they were in-​congruent with their surroundings, an upscale restaurant in a not so upscale neighborhood. Which means you can get all dressed up for dinner and then… go shop at Goodwill or the 99 cents store?
The restaurant inside was beautiful though. They had lots of arts on the walls, which were for sale. All by the same artist. The lighting was warm and casted a glow over the whole place.
Conclusion:
I would try this place again just for the pork belly but may just call in to go orders if they do not improve their service and offer more than just 1 – 2 decent dishes.

My wife & I decided to try Capriccio as part of Houston Restaurant Week. I really tried to like this place. I ignored the fact it is located in strip center in front of a Goodwill and $.99 store.
We started with Hongos Rellenos (Mushrooms stuffed with crab meat), which were good and Salmon al Mojo. The Mojo sauce was excellent, the salmon was bland (? farm raised) and little dry.
They do have a nice selection of Spanish wines at reasonable prices. We ordered a Tempranillo. The waitress broke the cork in removing it. She was new and I don’t think had opened many wine bottles. The bottle was taken back to kitchen and either cork removed or a different bottle was opened. It was fine.
The next course, my wife had a salad — Ensalada Capriccio
(Baby greens, gorgonzola cheese, walnuts, apple vinaigrette), only they forgot to put any walnuts or cheese on the salad. It was sent back and corrected. I had the Pizza Balsamica (Balsamic vinegar marinated onions, goat cheese). This was very tasty and served with a dipping side of honey.
For main courses we tried the Rack of Lamb and the Peppercorn crusted New York strip, ordered medium rare. I know some restaurants cut back food portion sizes during Restaurant week. These were the smallest Lamb pieces I have seen and they were also on the rare side. However the steak was medium well and tough. I probably should have sent it back, but I thought it was such a cheap cut of meat it probably would not have mattered.
For desert, we had Crema Catalana (Crème Brûlée) and Churros. The Churro was warm and crunchy and very good.
I like to try new places during Restaurant Week. I do return to those places that we like. I would think they would want to impress you during this time. For $ 35, this was not much off a discount off their normal menu prices. I expected better — disappointed.

I’ve been absent from Unilocal for way too long, and I think this outstanding restaurant is the perfect way to break that. Restaruants this good OTL really deserves a shout-​out because there are people who do seriously fine dining OTL that deserves recognition.
The best part of the restaurant is that it is located merely 5 minutes down the street from me. Yet, we haven’t ventured here because the restaurant that was located here before it was a dud. Due to a combination of pouring rain and my belated birthday celebration, we decided to go here per Urban Spoon.
Two words that caught my attention: Tocino Ahumado, aka apple smoked pork belly. Did someone say fatty, delicious PORK BELLY?! I am so there. We tried every single tapa that was recommended by the owner on the Urban spoon review:
The Tocino Ahumado (apple smoked pork belly) was most excellent. The sweet and tart flavors really made this potentially greasy dish a hit. I have not had pork belly that was not made in a Chinese way (that is, by my mother or grandmother) this good. The wine that was recommended (a Spanish red, unfortunately I cannot remember what it was… I had a few glasses to many, oops!) went perfectly with it because it was warm and spicy.
Peras Serranas (bruleed pear served with Serrano ham and crumbles of Cabrales cheese) was also over-​the-​top. I love how the pear was caramalized. When eaten with cheese and ham, every flavor just harmonizes together. Wow.
Patatas Bravas (crisp, deeply browned potatoes seasoned with guajillo chile paste and garlic) was awesome! The potatoes were sort of crispy on the outside, but melts in your mouth once you bite into it. I loved the spicy kick and the sauteed red peppers… delicious.
We also tried beef empanadas with pine nuts (the pine nuts give that perfect texture) and pan seared sushi grade tuna with some sort of spicy sauce — which, in my opinion — was the weakest dish, only because the tuna was seared a tad too long, but still tasty with the sauce.
We ended our meal with a tres leches (the fiancé wouldn’t have anything else), and seriously, this is one of the best tres leches that I’ve had (albeit from a non-​Mexican restaurant). They had this caramel sauce that just went with the cake so well. Sometimes tres leches can be soggy because of all the milk and cream, but this one had just the right amount of cream oozing out of it. Absolultely divine.
The other weakness the restaurant had was a so-​so sangria (I’m a pretty sangria drinker) and that it is very easy to go over your budget like a previous commenter had said. Otherwise, the food was delicious and the service was excellent. The waiter was attentive and professional. He warned us about overordering, which was much appreciated. We were also seated promptly at 8pm on a Saturday, despite not making reservations.
Overall, I’d give this place a 4.5, but I’ll round up to 5. I’ve got to go back for more wine and paella… luckily, it’s just down the street from me!

Yummy!!!
Capriccio is not overpriced, but you can easily go over-​budget once you start to taste everything!
My husband and I went for my birthday — I wanted something nice and quiet and the atmosphere was perfect. Of course, we went at 5pm, just as the doors opened for the evening, but we were immediately welcome and our waiter was on his toes the whole night.
Based on other reviews I had read prior to going I had most of my order mentally prepared and let me say I was not disappointed. The Bife Cabreles (in laymen’s description: steak with a blue-​cheese flavored butter sauce) was so delicious my husband barely got to taste it, but he was equally excited about the Pinchos de Pulpito (grilled baby octopus) and kept most of that to himself. We did not make it to the paellas or main entrees this night, we stuffed ourselves on the delicious tapas and Regina pizza (this is a European style pizza — no tomato sauce, light cheese, thinnish crust — glad my husband knew what to expect!).
The Sangria was delicious and the pitcher suited us perfectly both price and servings wise, the bread and dipping oil was an excellent way to clear the palate between taste sensations, and the service was fantastic — quick without being fussy or hovering, quiet without being absent, super non-​intrusive. I’m sorry we forgot our server’s name, but I did hear him provide explanations of the menu to other guests with surety and confidence — something I would definitely want if I was trying something completely new.

This was interesting the BF had never been to a tapas place till yesterday, it was interesting for both of us. The waitress was a DING BAT! But the other servers and bus boys were phenomenal! This is what we tried and our thoughts on them…
Croquetas de Jamon y Pollo… OK, not too crazy about them, kinda like high class hush puppies!
Plato Frio… SO GOOD! We totally grubbed on the cured ham, olives and artichoke hearts.
Patatas Bravas… I love yukon potatoes, they were a little spicy for me but the BF totally loved em.
Lamb Chops al Pistacchio… WOW! These were all mine, I didnt want to share haha!
Bife Cabrales… This was both of our favorites, rare flank steak, almost like steak sushi but italian/​spanish style!

While I didn’t enjoy everything that we ordered, I was blown away by the items that I did like. The Tortilla de Patatas, for example, I found to be bland. That was soon remedied when something like the Tocino Ahumado was brought to the table.
Pretty much anything on the menu that involves a sauce is divine! I am anxious to come back and test my theory. We tried the Spinach Empanadas. I’ve never had an empanada quite like this. In addition to Spinach, it’s filled with pine nuts and raisins. Sounds weird, but it is a real delight.
It takes a little bit to get the orders out, but they are generally well worth the wait. Our waitress explained that everything is made from scratch – hence the wait. But take in some wine – it won’t seem like too long.
The place used to be a cheesy «Country Italian» restaurant. They’ve remodeled. It looks pretty schnazzy, and there is art on the walls! Service is great. Definitely check them out!