{"id":16161,"date":"2011-01-22T10:54:49","date_gmt":"2011-01-22T08:54:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.whalecottage.com\/blog\/?p=16161"},"modified":"2011-02-07T20:18:18","modified_gmt":"2011-02-07T18:18:18","slug":"restaurant-review-il-cappero-italian-restaurant-has-few-capers-but-lots-of-sicilian-charm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chrisvonulmenstein.com\/blog\/cape-town\/restaurant-review-il-cappero-italian-restaurant-has-few-capers-but-lots-of-sicilian-charm\/","title":{"rendered":"Restaurant Review: Il Cappero Italian Restaurant has few capers, but lots of Sicilian charm!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>I discovered Il Cappero Italian Restaurant\u00a0earlier this week, in a most unlikely and hard-to-see location on Barrack Street in town.\u00a0\u00a0 It is named after the caper, which a notice on the table says should be an essential part of Mediterranean cuisine, but I did not find many dishes with capers on the menu, or much in the dishes that have them.\u00a0 The owners are charming, and try their very best to please their patrons.<\/p>\n

What was once the restaurant\u00a0of the Parliament Hotel, plus one ex-shop added, has become a pure Italian, or more specifically Sicilian restaurant, run hands-on by husband and wife team Aldo Bezzicheri\u00a0and Cetti Romano (she comes from Palermo).\u00a0 Aldo’s English is better, so he handles front-of-house, and does so charmingly, wanting to oblige all the time, while his wife\u00a0Cetti is in the kitchen.\u00a0\u00a0 They opened Il Cappero\u00a0a month ago, and are slowly becoming known.\u00a0 The hotel guests eat their lunches and dinners at the restaurant, and this leads to one compromise, which is some non-Italian dishes on the menu,\u00a0such as bobotie, Portuguese chicken, chicken curry, BBQ wings and lamb curry, all contained in a R75 – R85 price band, to cater for the hotel guests.<\/p>\n

Aldo and\u00a0Cetti have lived in South Africa since 2006, and they spent time in their previous\u00a0career working on a yacht, he being the skipper and she doing the cooking.\u00a0 Aldo has also been a pilot.\u00a0\u00a0Cetti has taken the most amazing photographs of South African landscapes, which are mounted, and\u00a0decorate the restaurant.\u00a0\u00a0They reflect their love for their new country. \u00a0The choice of lilac for the walls\u00a0is interesting and works, but does not give an Italian feel at\u00a0all.\u00a0 The colour is picked up in unusual purple, natural and\u00a0cerise raffia strips which are tied around the material serviette, giving it an unique and neat touch.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cutlery is contemporary, with a butter knife offered\u00a0with the sideplate.\u00a0 Glassware is good.\u00a0 \u00a0The chairs are covered with mock-ostrich.\u00a0\u00a0The tables have Olitalia balsamico and extra virgin olive oil bottles, as well as ‘extra bold peppercorns’ and ‘Atlantic sea salt’ in small attractive looking grinders from Cape Herb and Spice, which I have never seen before.\u00a0 Lavender glass candleholders are on the table.\u00a0\u00a0Airconditioning works well in the venue which has no natural ventilation other than the front door, especially on the south-easter days.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

But the neatly bound black menu has more than enough to choose from for an authentic Italian and Sicilian experience.\u00a0 In fact, I knew few of the names of the dishes, other than lasagne and the steak.\u00a0 Aldo told me that\u00a0Cetti goes to the market every day, to buy the fresh vegetables there, for the simple and healthy food that they serve.\u00a0\u00a0 They want their guests to feel cosy and homely, and it works, as I came back a second time a few days later.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>As a small taste, Cetti sent the Caponata di Melzane for me to try, being eggplants, tomato, capers and olives cooked in a\u00a0sweet and sour sauce.\u00a0\u00a0 The eggplant dominated, and as it is not my favourite vegetable, I did not enjoy it, especially as it was mushy and served cold.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I did enjoy the crispy ciabbatta.\u00a0 Other starters, such as a parmesan cake, sweet and sour onion wrap, and a\u00a0tuna and mascarpone mousse,\u00a0were unknown to me.\u00a0\u00a0 Starters cost R40 – R75.\u00a0 I ordered Frittura di Calamari, a generous plateful of calamari rings served for R75, which included a separate bowl of rice with red pepper pieces.\u00a0 \u00a0The batter was delicate, and Aldo told me that Cetti lightly dusts\u00a0the calamari with flour, and then fries it in hot olive oil to make it crispy.\u00a0\u00a0Pasta options include lasagne, carbonara, risotto of the day (the mushroom risotto was sold out by the time we came back the second time), pasta alla “Norma” (inspired by the opera), and a penne served with prawns cooked in Martini (R85), a definite for the next visit!\u00a0 Steak is available, as T-bone, sirloin or fillet, as is involtini di vitello alla Siciliana (stuffed veal rolls).\u00a0 No meat course costs more than R110.\u00a0 One can order side dishes, mostly for R20 each, for example patata alla Sicilana, described as “potato in casserole with capers, olives and onions”, which I ordered instead of the baked potato or chip options that come with the sirloin steak, but I did not seem to get anything more than cut-up potato with the capers, olives and onions removed – I had only wanted the onions removed).\u00a0 Five sauces are offered at R15 each, and the rosemary walnut sauce sounds interesting.\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I liked the tiramisu (R40), served in a\u00a0drinking glass, and obviously pre-made.\u00a0 It had a rich alcohol taste, which\u00a0comes from the Sicilian Marsala which Cetti uses.\u00a0\u00a0It was quite compact and less creamy than I am used to in local equivalents.\u00a0 I liked the chocolate chips on top of the tiramisu.\u00a0\u00a0 Cetti insisted that I take Cannolo Siciliano home with me, a crispy biscuit which is filled with ricotta cream\u00a0and a citrus centre\u00a0(R30).\u00a0 Malva pudding seems an ‘intruder’ on the menu, but probably accommodates the hotel guests.\u00a0 \u00a0The cappuccino, made with LavAzza coffee, is very strong, but good, and is reasonably priced at R13.\u00a0 Peppermints as well as a mini-Lindt chocolate were offered with the bill.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For lunch a buffet is served, and is meant to offer office workers close by a quick and inexpensive way in which to enjoy a quality “eat all you can” lunch, at a most reasonable\u00a0price of R75.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The winelist is small, and vintages are not supplied.\u00a0 I was impressed to see Brunello (at R380 for the bottle)\u00a0on the list, and remembered how I nurtured a R75 glassful at a Tuscan restaurant about five years ago, it having been the most expensive wine I had ever drunk by the glass at that time.\u00a0 Many of the white and red wine brands I had never heard of before but most I found in my Platter’s\u00a0(Cloverfield, Stellenbosch Drive, Meerhof, Belbon Hills, Umfiki – for the whites – and Gugu for the red).\u00a0 Seven wines-by-the glass are offered, none costing more than R30.\u00a0 Bellanda San Fermo Prosecco is the only sparkling wine served by the glass (R40), with “champagne’s” Pongracz and Pongracz Ros\u00e9 both costing R150, which is a\u00a0bargain for the latter.<\/p>\n

Il Cappero has the most charming host in Aldo.\u00a0 I felt at home eating there.\u00a0 The waiter needs training about not stretching when placing the cutlery on the table, and his\u00a0knowledge is still restricted about the Italian dishes, but he is very willing to be of service.\u00a0\u00a0 Branding is not very visible from outside, and because the door has to be closed when the wind blows, one cannot see if the restaurant is open.\u00a0\u00a0 I found the lighting inside to be too bright, and missed the Italian music on our second visit.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The food is functionally presented, without any attempt at decorating\u00a0it or the plate.\u00a0\u00a0There is ample parking outside at night.\u00a0I’ll be back for the Italian hospitality.<\/p>\n

Il Cappero Italian Restaurant<\/strong>, 3 Barrack Street, Cape Town.\u00a0\u00a0 Tel (021) 461-3168.\u00a0 www.ilcappero.co.za<\/a>\u00a0 Monday – Friday lunch 12h00 – 14h30, and Monday – Saturday\u00a0dinner.<\/p>\n

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com<\/a>\u00a0 Twitter: @WhaleCottage<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I discovered Il Cappero Italian Restaurant\u00a0earlier this week, in a most unlikely and hard-to-see location on Barrack Street in town.\u00a0\u00a0 It is named after the caper, which a notice on the table says should be an essential part of Mediterranean cuisine, but I did not find many dishes with capers on the menu, or much […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false},"categories":[3],"tags":[9543,9538,9549,9555,9556,9548,32366,9539,9544,32378,9554,9550,9540,9537,4194,9546,6749,7977,9557,4286,9553,9547,9545,9541,229,3625,9542,32388,9551,9552,32373],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t