Capucines Italian Cuisine

I came to this place hoping to eat here. The host acts like I’m bothering him. He’s flirting with a woman at the bar while me & my friends walk in. So I walk over cause we’re hungry & we want to eat. But it’s okay. We’re not begging you to take our money… Place was crowded and stuffy. Wait was in the waiters words ‘Forty to thirty minutes.’ MMMKay…
Unfortunately the place is closing April 1, 2013 because the rent is too high. They were there for 33 years. Don’t believe me? Walk by before April 1. That is EXACTLY what their signs say.
It is what it is.

Now there’s a story about Capucine’s restaurant. We ate at this place 10 years ago when my aunt died. It’s located a block always from the funeral home. Well on returning to the beach we went to another Italian (Amore the old Nick’s Pizza) restaurant and happened to talk to the chef/​owner and long story short his brother owned Capucine’s. Small world ha. Ok let’ go to the food. It was good then it was better this time. Maybe cause of my new love for food in the last 5 – 6 years. Well on this trip I ordered the carpaccio an it was out of this world. A nice fresh beef cut so thin with olive oil, capers, onions, and sliced mushrooms. Now for entrée we ordered the Fittetto De Pomodoro and it was good but to me a fancy spaghetti with red sauce and some porchetta over the top. The wife ordered the eggplant parm and it was really good with fresh egg plant cooked to a nice softness but not mushy in any way. I do hate to add to this review that my cousin pasted on. But this is a Great Restaurant and I don’t want to if someone has to die to return. I would recommend this fine dine establishment however to anyone looking for a good Italian restaurant.

You know its legit Italian if you arrive for an early dinner and they are already out of tiramisu.
Really enjoyed dinner here last night. The sundried tomato olive oil for the bread was very tasty.
Will dine here again next time we are in New York.

This restaurant is a good find. It is dated but that seems to be their thing. The food is solid. The veal dishes are great and they always have good specials. The food is a bit pricey but for a nice meal out it is worth it. The service is professional and nice. Once they got us in and out in 30 minutes so we could make a show. We have been many times and they have a booster seat for our son. They are welcoming and we will continue to eat here as our neighborhood Sunday night go to.

The food was standard no thrills. The prices were a little high between 18 – 25 for non-​pasta entrees. The service was okay and a little slow. It felt as though they were trying to be very classy in their service, but the food definitely did not reach up that level.
I left feeling very full but spent about 30 $ to do so. I wouldn’t really recommend this place to others. If it was a little less expensive than I would do so.

1970’s restaurant overrated and crap food

A classic NYC Italian restaurant that still features linen table cloths, waiters in white shirts, black vests, and bow ties, a maitre d’ in tuxedo. Capucines (odd name for an Italian restaurant) serves traditional, but letter perfect Italian fare. Friendly attentive service, quiet rooms (a rarity these days), and reasonable prices make this a place to «come home» to. Be sure to sample any of the veal or seafood dishes. Standard desserts. Weekday lunch specials are among Manhattan’s «best buys.»

We absolutely love this place — It’s such a cute, cozy place, with such friendly, happy waiters. Coming to the restaurant is like going home and eating comfort food with family and friends. The place, the people, and the food just makes me smile. It’s clear the waiters and owner really are authentic and caring people. We came here after Hurricane Sandy and they told us exactly what was fresh and what they did not have on hand. They went around chatting with customers making sure everyone was alright. Absolutely love this homey place and hope this local gem stays around for a really long time!
What we had:
Linguine with vodka sauce: Vodka sauce was delicious! It was creamy and there was a nutty flavor that was really special (maybe pine nuts?). Penne would’ve been a better choice for the sauce… but linguine is our favorite kind of pasta.
Chicken Scarpello & Sausage: This is a lemon chicken and sausage dish. The chicken was really juicy and tender — cooked to perfection. Lemon butter sauce was light and refreshing. The side of spaghetti that came with the dish was really really fresh — the tomato sauce tastes like it came directly from the garden.
Another thing… the sun-​dried tomato sauce that came with the bread was DELICIOUS! We wanted to bring an entire gallon of it home.

Amazing! Best food I’ve had in awhile… get the sautéed spinach! Salmon in lemon garlic was outstanding! Can’t wait to back for the eggplant parm — they ran out of it — I’d say a good sign!

Good food. Great pre fix options. Service was impeccable. Will definitely be back and wish I had found this place earlier.

I have been going to this place for over 20 years. The food is very good, and consistent. Service is impeccable.

This place defines old school italian restaurant complete with waiters in 70’s tuxes. We had the shrimp parmigiana and veal melinase. They gave us salads and pasta sides. All in all, a solid meal and a place i would go back to.

YUM! This place is so ambient, lovely, and tasty. I tried both soup & pasta– very fresh and delicious. They also had spumoni for dessert– my absolute favorite, and a lot of places don’t serve it.
So, why’d it loose a star? The service. The staff in general was VERY friendly, but our waiter was a sour puss. We came in pretty casual, and maybe that offended him, but he was not at all attentive, and a bit rude. When the bill came i had a question, there was a $ 6 drink charge. I had a diet soda and my friend had nothing, so I was just curious, apparently it’s $ 3 a pop (no free refills??) for diet soda’s and he made me feel like an idiot for asking. Another picky sticking point– the menu posted in the window was a little out-​dated and the prices were $ 2 or more expensive inside. Not a huge deal– but it should be a current menu.
I will absolutely go back and recommend it to friends!

Apparently my man’s grandpa is the man about town because they seemed to know all about him. They knew what they order (drinks, apps, entrees, everything), who we are… Everything. It was great because we like places where you feel like family. We have quite a few of those here in Chicago, which is why I love cities. There are those little respites amongst all the madness where you feel comfortable (albeit really hot, the dining room is about 85 degrees) and forget that you’re in such a hectic city. I got some fish with an awesome marinara that was killer and their cosmos were poured perfectly. We really enjoyed our time at Capucine’s and will definitely be back.
HOWEVER, it gets 4 stars because it’s clearly a purple hair hangout. The décor was clearly outdated (including the server uniforms… ugh, let tuxes go) and the room temp was about 10 degrees warmer than it should have been.
Over all, it was great. Could be improved, but it was a good experience. Update the décor and you’ve got yourself a winner!

Let me start off by saying I have a soft spot in my heart for old-​school Italian places. My friend and I make a sport of having dinner at them and comparing them. To me, there are pros and cons to Capucine’s…
PROS
*Excellent marinara sauce.
*Great service
*Sesame breadsticks in the bread basket
*Coat check
*Huge portions
*Yummy chicken parm and eggplant parm
CONS
*Caesar salad was NOT good. Too oily. Had a funny aftertaste.
*Hot in there. They definitely cater to shawl-​wearing seniors.
*They skimp on the sauce. If you are a sauce person like me, ask for extra sauce.
*Mauve-​colored chair covers, mint green linens, and weird colored walls. Not exactly the most appetizing colors.
*In need of a good deep cleaning. I kept looking at the carpet, wondering how long it’s been since it’s been steam cleaned.
A decent choice for carryout but I have been to other better old-​school Italian restaurants in NYC.

«It’s 1963 all over again…»
Time Warp with Penne Alla Vodka. Expect to be broadsided (if not run over) by at least one walker, cane or «motorized» senior. And then to be run over again by the mutli-​level dessert cart.
But this is not to say that I didn’t thoroughly enjoy my perfectly decent, generously-​portioned, authentic Italian prix-​fixe dinner (priced at $ 29) at this delightful throwback of a restaurant on the corner of Second Ave. and 19^th Street. The place was clean, welcoming, with linen tablecloths. The staff were very professional, old-​school (tuxedoed) waiters and the food was tasty, true to expectations as Italian old standards go, and reasonably priced for the generosity bestowed.
It’s just that you must understand that this is one of those visits to a Place That Time Forgot, and that you would not be surprised to see Frankie Valli walk in here with Annette Funicello on a first date (yes…when Annette still had a beehive).
Go, enjoy, relax, envision a time before you were born in the old neighborhood. It’s the kind of joint where your Dad might’ve taken your Mom on the night you were… you know…
Just watch out for those old folks. Their unique combination of personal weaponry and poor eyesight really can hurt you.

This is one of our favorite neighborhood restaurants. The homemade ravioli, grilled calamari, beef carpaccio, red snapper livornese and sautéed escarole are all consistently excellent. We come here because it reminds me of the kind of Italian restaurants my grandparents loved so we welcome the time warp in décor. A few chachkes, «silk» flowers, the dessert trolley, waiters in tuxes who know your name and what you drink. If I want to be chic and hang out with ³⁰⁄₄₀ somethings, I walk over to Maialino for something different. If I want the basics and some love, I come here for Henry and his dapper Maitre ‘d to take care of me.