A Little Bit About a Lot of Things

Located on Main Street in Waltham, this Italian restaurant serves up some fine Northern Italian fare. I had a gift certificate from a while back that I needed to use, thus the out of the way choice in restaurants.  The first time we came here, the bill was a bit pricey, over $100 for 2. When I went this time, I was pleasantly surprised that Il Capriccio was participating in restaurant week.

A lot of restaurants offer three choices for appetizers, dinners, and desserts. Il Capriccio offered almost everything on their regular menu on their restaurant week menu.

The place hasn’t changed a bit. We arrive at 6 (so early, I know,  but there were a fair amount of people already there) and are seated promptly. There are two different rooms that you are able to sit in, the main dining room, and then this small room off to the side. I’m always confused by this small room. It’s in the back, it’s tiny, and it’s blocked off with a glass wall with a huge wreath hanging on it. There are 4 tables crammed in here, three 2 tops and a 4 top. That’s a lot of people in a small space. I was sat in here the first time I came as well. It just feels like you’re in a fishbowl. You’re sitting so close to the other tables that you mind as well all be eating family style at one table. The couple at the table next to ours was immersed in our conversation throughout dinner which was weird and uncomfortable…

So, the food. We order the chick pea and Tuscan kale soup drizzled with truffle oil and the steamed p.e.i. mussels with white wine, pear tomato, garlic and scallions. The soup comes in a plate with a wide rim, so it appears to be a little soup in a big bowl-how very Alice in Wonderland. The mussels on the other hand appear like you are getting a lot of food because the shells take up so much space. The mussels were tasty, the wine sauce was spot on.

For dinner we have the crispy trout Alpine style with spinach, smoked prosciutto and lentils and the linguine bolognese. I have to admit that we had no idea what ‘Alpine style’ meant when we ordered the fish, maybe it was the types of spices used. So the meals come. The fish is a whole fish, head and skin still on, split in half and stuffed with spinach and prosciutto. Quite unexpected. So my dining companion cuts off the head and I am forced to eat dinner with fish eyes staring at me…talk about creepy! Once you get past the skin and the head, the fish is reported to be quite tasty. The linguini looked like a small portion, but it was just enough. The dish was heavy, so any more and they would have had to roll me out. The sauce was the color of a vodka sauce more than a bolognese sauce-leading me to believe that there was more cream in the sauce. The sauce had a wonderful underlying meat taste but the pieces of meat seemed to be few and far between. So far so good.

For dessert we both order the warm chocolate budino with whipped cream. Other places I’ve gone to make budino as a pudding consistency. I had a fantastic one at Alta Strada in Wellesley. The one at Il Capriccio confused me. I know that budino can be a more solid consistency, but this was weird. The outside looked like it was going to be a warm molton chocolate cake. It appeared cake like in consistency and had caramel sauce drizzled down over top. When I went to put my fork in, pieces peeled off the side. It was almost like it was a frozen dessert that just didn’t re-heat right. The outside was a bit gummy for my taste and when I went searching inside for the ‘pudding’ or the molton, it just wasn’t there. It was like half baked chocolate cake. So, unfortunately, dinner ended on not such a good note. Two bites in and I pushed the plate off to the side. Bummer-dessert is my favorite part of the meal.

The ambiance was nice, in general it was fairly quiet. People have rated it a romantic restaurant, but how can you have a romantic dinner when someone else is sitting right on top of you listening to your every word? The couple next to us was having their anniversary dinner, and we felt like we were on the date with them. The servers were knowledgeable and helpful in decisions, but the room in the back was small so it was hard not to get bumped back in forth while they were trying to maneuver. The overall meal was good-good flavors, good textures, and good ingredients. I’m not sure I’d go out of my way to go back there, but it was good none the less.

Parking can be found in the lot next door (adjacent to the liquor store) or on the street at meters.

Il Capriccio

http://www.ilcapricciowaltham.com/

888 Main Street Waltham MA

781-894-2234

Tags: restaurant