Capriccio

Excellent coffe, good food, nice but slow and not very efficient service.
The pizzas are very small but tasty.
I would recommend the lasagna.

Durham has too many Italian restaurants, to be sure, but if the rest were to close and this one stayed open, that would be perfectly alright with me. Home to the hardest working man in Durham (he was maitre d’, waiter, bus boy, bartender and DJ whilst we were there), this place serves really delicious Italian classics, using delicious fresh ingredients. They go a step above all of the other Italian restaurants in Durham in both quality and service.
What’s the catch? It’s also pricier than the rest of the Italian places in town. But worth it, totally worth it.

Honestly with the plethora of (bad) Italian in Durham all the restaurants sort of cancel each other out. So, when a friend suggested we try this new Italian place I was a bit hesitant.
Upon entering we knew immediately that there was promise. The staff was actually speaking Italian. A good sign. The ambiance is nice. A small, comfortable space on the second floor with windows overlooking Saddler St. The service was attentive but not obtrusive. The menu was stellar with options from pastas to seafood to steaks to chicken. Lots of starters, tempting desserts and great drinks like grappa and strega. There was also a specials board that featured both starts and main courses.
We started with pâté-​filled mushrooms and steamed mussel starters. Both were great. The plate of mussels was huge for a starter portion. My dining companion ordered a black pepper and tarragon (?) filet of salmon and I had spaghetti with a seafood red sauce. My spaghetti was lovely with two large whole crawfish, squid, salmon pieces and mussels. We finished off with espresso and grappa.
All together it was a wonderful experience. The menu is large and has something for everyone. The staff is so welcoming and friendly. The ambiance is lovely. The prices are reasonable for the quality of the food with starters starting around 4 quid up and mains from 6 quid up to 40+ for items like full lobsters etc.