Caputo

Amazing lunch, food & service.
We can’t wait to come back for our third time. we love the see bass, celery soup

Excellent bloody Mary’s! Super friendly staff and the food was good too. I’ll come back!

Living in the neighborhood we were excited to have another dining option. We’ve been here at least 3 different times. A bit pricey for a casual neighborhood spot. The pizzas are flavorful, but small, with a thin crispy crust. I didn’t care for the squid ink pasta (pasta flavored) not actual squid ink broth. The sea bass is my favorite dish on the menu. The wine is pricey… even the ones on tap. Wish they had a happy hour.

I came here with my boyfriend for SF Restaurant Week. It’s a nice looking restaurant right by Embarcadero with a pleasant atmosphere. It was bit louder than I expected, which takes away a bit from the intimate factor, but great if you’re looking for a more lively environment. The table we had was okayyy… I was literally sitting on the gap where two booth cushions met, which was annoying since they were at different heights. We were also seated next to two other couples, close enough to hear their conversations so I’m sure they could here ours. The set menu for SF Restaurant Week was good — the meatballs were probably my fave! Sizeable portions so you don’t feel full after. Overall, it was good food in a convenient location, but might seem a bit pricey if you’re not prepared for it since it is a «nicer» vibe restaurant.

Absolutely wonderful staff. We had celery root soup, beet salad, poached Octo, peasants grilled bread and topped it all with cannoli. The soup just took our breath away. The toasty hazelnuts in the beet salad had fresh sweetness that just proves Cavuto goes out of their way to best raw materials. This is a great place with views perfect for a dinner date. It’s not very noisy and at the same time creates a very lively ambience. All in all I would rate 10 out of 5
– Srini’s Culinary Exposure’s

I was disappointed for an Italian restaurant in San Francisco. It looked really nice and had lots of customers so we had wanted to try it for a while. We shared an order of meatballs, then my fiancée had a zucca pizza and I had a clam pasta, and we finished with a hazelnut chocolate gelato. No drinks because they’re really expensive ($ 7 for an anchor steam?!).
The meatballs were quite good, but were $ 12 for 3 and only came with one piece of bread — and there’s no basket of bread like 99% of Italian restaurants. Most annoying was how small the clam pasta was. 20-​something dollars for what would probably be a side at any other Italian place (including Italy). It was also unexpectedly spicy to a point that it detracted from the flavor in my opinion. The pizza was pretty good sized, so I recommend getting one of those if you go here. I also did like the hazelnut chocolate gelato.

I don’t take pictures. I don’t review restaurants often. You’re not getting a play-​by-​play review of Caputo.
This place is totally average and that is probably being generous. I’ll save you the color commentary/​short story and leave you with the salient points:
1) Everything is overpriced by what feels like 20%. I’ve lived in the city for years and eat out plenty and this is one of the first times where I felt like I didn’t get a good value for my money. That’s my biggest gripe. I felt like I overpaid for average food.
2) The food didn’t taste very good, save for the Meatballs and the Butterscotch Pudding. When you’re an Italian restaurant and your standouts are Meatballs and Pudding you have serious problems.
3) The service was a bit of a trainwreck, but the waitress was nice enough and visibly confused when they brought all of our food at the same time (drinks, starters, and mains). It was bizarre.
I wanted to love this place as its steps from my house, but I don’t even think we’d give it another try.

My boyfriend and I came here for a casual dinner since we live very close by. We been attracted to their fire place in the front of the restaurant and their known wooden fire oven for pizza so we been wanting to try out this place.
We got only 2 dishes because the appetizer menu wasn’t too appealing this time. The Carnivore pizza was very good. We really like how thin the crust is and also the edge of the crust was perfectly burned. It was not too saucy and oily. The meat were evenly distributed, each bite had a very even taste.
We also got the Squid Ink spaghetti alla Chitara. It was very buttery and garlicky that’s the way I like it. Love how there is a lemon flavor finish. The Shrimp were fresh and didn’t have the freezer taste to it BUT it was a bit too tiny for a italian restaurant. I really like how the sauce taste perfectly with the squid ink spaghetti. It’s not like other squid ink spaghetti where you will leave the restaurant with black lips at the end of the night.
I would love to come to eat again to see what’s new on the menu. Really love the environment of the restaurant and love how it is very close to home.

Came here for a casual dinner on a Friday night around early Nov. We had a few glasses of pinot, ordered a Gnudi for main and Raviolo for another, and the Butterscotch Budino. The portion (especially Gnudi) of these 2 primi definitely doesn’t justify the price you pay for it. Don’t get me wrong, they are VERY delicious, but we do feel that for the same price range there are still plenty of italian restaurants in the city that offer that same quality and deliciousness.
However, if you come here definitely order the Butterscotch Budino. It’s to die for!

Excellent beet salad, butternut squash, chocolate terrine, elderflower cocktail. I like the ambiance of the restaurant.

Our new neighborhood go to spot! Solid Italian food, great service, lively environment, high quality ingredients.
Definitely try their pizza! It’s the same quality as what you can get at Cotogna or zero zero.
The portions are generous as well, but they don’t go cheap on ingredients.
I had the lamb loin entrée. I rarely order a meat plate as my entrée. I’m more of a seafood person. But this plate is beautiful and delicious. The Jerusalem artichokes are well coked.
What made our dinner exceptionally good is the service! The hostess was very friendly, small talk makes a huge difference!
Our waitress Christina was spunky and delightful! Loved her energy. We were being checked on regularly. The staff was on top of everything. There’s an older gentleman who was meticulous attention to detail. This level of service sets themselves above their competitors!
Really happy to have Caputo in our neighborhood. Can’t wait to come back with friends!

Yummy food. Comfortable atmosphere. Diverse menu with a good price point!

Let’s be real: some of the best authentic Italian food is cooked in tiny kitchens and served in simple, outdated dining rooms with the red checked tablecloths. Fancy furniture and an extensive wine lists are really unnecessary extra credit items, that sometimes make me skeptical of the authenticity of a place. Expensive Italian is extra suspicious, because we all know that flour & water are cheap! So, why Caputo?
Caputo is not where I’d go for the best Italian in the city, but for those who prefer a more upscale atmosphere with their al dente dinner, it’s a lovely spot with great service and unique menu items. I loved the squid ink pasta with bay shrimp and a buttery lemon sauce. The burrata appetizer with marinated mushrooms and honey, also delicious. Pizzas were okay, the crust a little lacking in texture. Wine list was affordable with good Italian options.
We sat in a big comfy booth near the entrance — prime! Request this spot for 3 – 4 people. There’s also outdoor seating for the nice days.
Bottom line: you don’t come here just for the food, you come for the whole package. It’s bustling, it’s sleek, it’s gourmet, it’s classy. Good for groups, and good for expense accounts! They just happen to serve nice, creative Italian food too.

Get the squid ink pasta.
I really like the food here even though the prices are higher and prices are steeper. The first time I came here though, I got tricked by the waiter into adding the black truffle for $ 6. It’s not worth it. He compared it to michael mina’s white truffles that cost $ 20 an ounce. Ok first of all, white truffle and black truffle are different. White truffle is a lot more uncommon.
He said you can really taste the truffle and it makes a huge difference. I’ve been to this restaurant 3 times now and each time I’ve ordered the squid ink pasta — trust me, the truffles make no different. The pasta is great by itself.
so –1 star for the expensive crappy truffles and salesy waiter, 4 stars for the chef and food!

Parking: find any spot and just park there as it’s metered and in The City, parking can get BAD.
Refreshment: just water, but it was served in a little fancy glass bottle
Meal: not really a meal, I went for Chuck’s Mac and Cheese — it was runny and more water than creamy or cheesy. It sure looked like some kinda pale and white cheese, but it was not creamy or cheesy– and tasted like tap water.
WiFi: NONE
Side Note: It’s a good place to hang out with friends and share a pizza. It’s quiet inside and you won’t have to shout to carry a conversation.

Disclaimer: Drinks and light snacks at the bar
3.5 Stars
Beautiful restaurant that is good for groups but pricey for drinks
Some unique appetizers offered but flavors didn’t live up to the description
Bartender was friendly and easy going
Overall Thoughts
Nice to have a new place to visit, I see potential on my next return visit for dinner

Yeay, finally: a new restaurant at this location in South beach!
And, we had a great experience lunching there too!
The food, excellent: very Mediterranean with a touch of modernism.
The service and personal, friendly and courteous.
The seating area is nice, loved most of it especially the cozy décor (did not like much the benches — «Denny’s» style !?)
My daughter, 9 year old, enjoyed the food as well, though I was surprised to see there is no kids menu.

3.5 STARS
Dating sucks. Dating in SF sucks even more… say the random articles that come up on my FB feed.
ADOPT.A.DOG. (Responsible people only please).
Problem solved.
I can’t tell you how many random people I talk to daily (that I normally wouldn’t unless I was drunk and vice versa) when I’m walking Tater Tot. I arrived at Caputo early to meet a friend so I was walking Tater Tot around when I encountered a group of young, attractive tatted workers at Delancey who all cooed over Tater Tot. Seriously, I felt like that old horny lady with the librarian glasses ogling the shirtless construction worker in that 90s diet coke commercial.
Ok, back to the point. Dogs are such conversation starters and they are the best wing[wo]man.
I choose Caputo for my friend and I to have dinner since they have a heated outdoor patio for our furbabies. It looks other furparents had the same idea because there were a handful of other customers with their dogs.
We visited Caputo on their second opening week. Reservations are recommended because it seems like a good amount of walk-​ins are from tourists. I read that Caputo comes from the owners of Boca Tavern and Boca Pizzeria in Novato (both have 3.5 stars on Unilocal). The Italian menu has antipastas ($ 5-​$ 24), salads ($ 14-​$ 17), pastas ($ 18-​$ 19), pizzas ($ 16-​$ 20), and entrees ($ 28-​$ 31). Full bar. I know SF rent is ridic but some items were overpriced for the tiny ass portions. 2 apps, 1 pasta, 1 pizza, 1 glass of wine, and 3 cocktails was $ 140 before tip.
I started with the Cucumber Collins w/​square one cucumber vodka, lillet blanc, lemon, cucumber ($ 12):
. I had three of the same cocktail and they all tasted different. The first: nicely stiff and very refreshing, the second: very sweet, and the third: sour.
As I got a buzz going, we were ready to eat:
*Salumi Board: prosciutto di parma, speck, bresaola, duck liver mousse, sesame fig jam, gorgonzola dolcatte, grana padano ($ 24): 3 STARS
Felt like a bunch of grocery store bought salumi and cheese arranged on the board. We have so many great charcuterie in SF from Boccalone, Fatted Calf, etc so I expected more.
*Braised Lamb Tongue w/​ceci beans, tomatoes, almonds, cumin, mint, tahini ($ 16): 4 STARS
The tongue was melt-​in-​your-​mouth tender and the combo of the middle eastern ingredients and the crunchy almonds were utterly delicious. This would be bomb as a shawarma wrap. The portion, however, was TINY for the price; we got about 2.5 ounces of tongue. Mind you, lamb tongue is $ 3-​$ 5/​lb!!!
*Squid Ink Spaghetti Alla Chitara w/​rock shrimp, garlic, white wine ($ 19): 2 STARS
The tapa-​sized squid ink spaghetti was bland and had no chew to it. The rock shrimp was overcooked and the sauce was watery.
*Raviolo w/​ricotta, truffle butter, organic egg, grana padano, sage butter (comped — $ 19): 1 STAR
If you’ve had the raviolo from Seven Hills and/​or Plin (now Nostra), you will be severely disappointed with Caputo’s. Not only is this dish overpriced (it’s $ 14 at Nostra and $ 16 at Seven Hills), the execution was terrible. Granted, they’re still very new but the pasta dough was hard and still raw. I hate sending things back but the raviolo was inedible so we alerted our waitress who took this off our bill.
*Margherita Pizza w/​housemade fior di latte, basil, san marzano tomato, olive oil ($ 16 + $ 3 farm egg): 4 STARS
I had high hopes since the owner is VPN («true Neapolitan pizza») verified which is a certification from the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana and the pizza did NOT disappoint! The leopard-​spotted crust was nicely blistered with a crispy fluffy exterior crust. The cheese had a good stretch to it and the runny egg yolk made for a good dipping sauce. I wish the marinara sauce had more of a distinct tomatoey flavor though.
Service started out strong with the very amiable staff but towards the middle of our dinner, we started to feel neglected. Our waitress was very nice but she passed by 4 – 5 times without asking how our pasta was. Service was a tad slow but we weren’t in a rush.
Very cozy ambiance with the dual fire pits that welcome you upon entering Caputo. There’s an open kitchen in the back. If you’re sitting outside, do request for a table near the wall of the restaurant which is less windy.
Street parking was super easy but beware parking meters run until 11 pm.
I’m usually generous with new restaurants and round up because they’re still trying to get in their groove but it’s hard to ignore that only 2 of the 5 dishes we ordered were good. For $ 85 pp dinner after tip, I expected better. We’re in SF after all, mediocre doesn’t cut it unless you’re a waterfront restaurant. Caputo is so they’ll do just fine as a neighborhood restaurant and with tourists. As for moi, I rather spend a fraction of the money and support the cause across the street at Delancey… and those tats.

We were extremely excited about Caputo as we live very near this restaurant. Caputo is very nicely decorated and with an additional patio outside for warmer days.
Before going into details let me say that the quality of the food is high but the prices are also too high for what it is. For example, a Pizza Margherita (without Mozzarella di Buffala, just a plain margherita) goes for $ 16. A typical Prosciutto and Rucola would go for $ 24!!! This is in my view insane.
Service:
Waitress was nice but service was slow (the place was not even that full) — maybe they are still getting their bearings on this
Food:
Pizza Carnivore ($ 20) — the dough was nice but I felt the mix of meats in the pizza didn’t go super well together with the pepperoni overwhelming the fantastic pancetta and speck
Squid Ink Spaghetti Alla Chitara ($ 19) — tasty, well prepared pasta with rock shrimp cooked very nicely. portion size was ridiculously small though
Butterscotch Budino ($ 10) — fantastic! This dessert was by far the highlight of the night.

All-​in-​all, the meal was good and if it wasn’t for the prices I would have given it 4 stars. We might try it one more time with different dishes and see if we change our mind as this would be very convenience for us. But for now, I will stick to my other two favorite Italian restaurants in the city…

Flames. I see flames. Are the homeless starting bonfires in front or the long-​vacated commercial space at 100 Brannan? Why no, North Bay restauranteurs Shah Bahreyni and Sam Ramadan (who serves as executive chef) have resuscitated the old Slanted Door space and turned it into a spiffy new South Beach trattoria. I haven’t been in this building in well over a decade when I was a pre-​Yelping food snob who thought Charles Phan could do no wrong. Well, did you try The Coachman before it shuddered? Anyhow, the flames are actually at the entrance on twin dividers for the amusement of waiting diners who must be waiting for complimentary marshmallows.
Jamie W. immediately saw the fire hazard and was willing to call 911 should the mink coat of some Nob Hill doyenne catch an ember. Inside is quite nice with 180 seats, a bar with a full liquor license, a wood-​fired oven and enough staff in training to make the kitchen look like a BART car during rush hour. Much to my ignorance, it was opening night so the training was warranted. Naturally the staff was highly attentive to the point where I felt like each bite I took was being monitored. The menu was surprisingly small with just three full-​on entrees. Chicken, steak (coulotte) and fish (branzino) just like a wedding reception. Three salads, four pastas, four pizzas and nearly a dozen antipasti complete the menu (photo:
).
We started with the $ 14 Charred Octopus which came with roasted baby cauliflower and thyme panisse and was doused with a lemon garlic-​parsley vinaigrette (photo:
). Accent on the lemon as it was beyond puckery when I tasted it. With that many people in the kitchen, at least one person should have tasted it since I was starting to look like Edward Munch’s «The Scream». And for $ 14, the portion was a bit on the paltry side. Fortunately it was the one false step of the evening. We decided to share the $ 19 Tagliatelle with Lamb Shoulder Sugo, Ras al Hanout (a North African spice mix), Toasted Pine Nuts, Whipped Sheep’s Feta and Mint (photo:
).
This was a well executed dish with the housemade pasta tasting particularly fresh and the lamb not too overwhelming relative to the other ingredients. Jamie and I knew we had to amke room for one of their wood-​fired pizzas, so after some negotiation, we settled on the $ 19 Funghi which was chock full of roasted local mushrooms and thyme, some wild, on a bed of melted, almost molten fontina and taleggio cheese (photo:
). Now that was the money shot as you could taste Ramadan’s previous Italianate expertise shine through here. Room for dessert? Of course, we did. Otherwise we would have been snooping the ice cream freezer at the Bayside Market next door.
Not a coffee lover, Jamie surprised me by ordering the $ 8 Affogato which was served quite simply with a scoop of vanilla bean gelato in a bowl and the server taking charge by pouring the espresso over it (photo:
). It was unequivocally good by sticking to the basics. On the other hand, I tried the $ 10 Pine Nut Tart which definitely looked like something Lidia Bastianich could have made on her cooking show. It was made with spiced-​star of anise-​fennel essence and accompanied by a quenelle of the vanilla bean gelato (photo:
). It was definitely mama-​style tasty, although a real pastry chef might be a worthwhile addition in the future. A solid first-​night experience, worth repeating.
FOOD — 4 stars… except for a lemony mishap, it was very good, especially for a first night
AMBIANCE — 4.5 stars… spacious is always good, and this part of the Embarcadero is in great need of a place like this… I’d get rid of the faux-​brick on the columns though
SERVICE — 4 stars… sure, they’re attentive… first impressions last
TOTAL — 4 stars… bright hope for this space with owners who know how to do Italian albeit at a higher price point than I was hoping