Capers

MAMA MIA MAMA MIA! Capers will have you singing praises all night long, from their wonderful Italian food, decent choices of wine and excellent waitstaff, this is a great spot for some unique and tasteful food in the valley.
I won’t go into my usual rederick of bad humor and snarky stories to explain my wonderful experience of the excellent food my tongue happily and lovingly caressed all night long… shoot their I go again.
Story in a nutshell shell, I ordered Risotto, it was delicious, I bothered the waitstaff, they were also delicious… in humor and kindness, I got drunk on delicious wine… ok maybe not, but I was trying hard to pretend I was drunk so people would go easy on me for my crass nature. Liquid courage and all that jazz.
Any who, I would highly recommend dinning at Capers. I would even higher highly recommend dinning at Capers when I am not around for the most enjoyable service.
Man that was really hard to write a review with me being all proper and stuff, I don’t like it.

Chef Matt puts his passion into every meal! Great food and wine and service! They pay attention to every delicious detail here. Salads are amazingly fresh. Lasagna was very yummy!

This restaurant was great! We brought a large group of college choir kids. They accommodated up with our own private room.
The service was amazing, they were always asking what else they could get us, and said everything was just made for us. The food was great (especially the fresh bread). The restaurant is supposedly Italian, but they served us what the chef called an «All American buffet». I was a little disappointed with this because I was looking forward to their specialty Italian food, but I do understand they were trying to accommodate a large group. I wish they would have served at least some Italian option because it felt wrong for me to be eating barbecue chicken and mash potatoes in an Italian looking venue. Overall the service was great and the chef was very nice.
They served little puff pastries for desert. They were light and yummy. If I hadn’t stuffed myself with the amazing food and bread I would have eaten more desert. This is a must go on Medford!

This was a great meal. I was with a group of about 10 people and our orders were taken quietly while other business was taking place and all were correct. I enjoyed a green salad, most of which was fresh, but not all items, so I picked them off to the edge. Overall, very fresh and of a high quality. For my entrée I had the catch of the day, which was two cod fillets, which were layered across a hot bed of freshly steamed spinach with tomatoes and capers. It was hot, perfectly prepared to melt in my mouth and had a tinge of lemon, which gave it a zip.
If the price were a bit more reasonable I would have given five stars, but it is what it is.
Anyway: definitely a recommended eatery for the food and service.

My wife and I a wonderful dinner here last week. A wonderful Caesar salad with anchovies and garlic toast followed by eggplant Neapolitan. This is my new favorite Italian food-I’d not had it before. What a great restaurant warm friendly staff and great food. Enjoy!

Great place! Lunch buffet for $ 10-​$ 11.00 bucks with lots of quality dishes that are fresh and tasty. Last time I went they had polenta, squash Strata, roasted potToes, ham, Apple salad, and a fresh and beautiful salad bar. Great house mad dressings. The décor is bit outdated and on the kitschy corny side, but there is lots of space in there for groups and large parties. Service is pleasant and enjoyable. Look forward to going there for Dinner! Parking At lunch time downtown is not great.

Pictures can be deceiving.
My friend and I were in the area and we had some time to kill so he suggested we try this place out. It looked promising so we decided to try it out.
The service was good, I’m not going to lie. They were attentive and friendly.
The food was a whole other story. The pictures are deceiving. For a lunch buffet, there was hardly anything to choose from. They had mashed potatoes, a rice pilaf, steamed vegetables and ham. Salad and bread was also available. The food didn’t taste horrible, but it is nothing memorable. I ended up just eating a bunch of mashed potatoes with cheese because it was the most appetizing dish available.
It was worth the $ 15 ish we paid total but it isn’t anything to rave about.

Have been several times to buffet lunch. Food pretty good but Chef Matthew is a bit hard to take at times/​I don’t want to be reminded that I have to eat everything I take. He is stingy with meat portions, almost makes you feel bad for wanting to eat! I understand that he is cost conscious – that comes across loud and clear, but hey, you’re not my mother!
Roast pork was almost inedible salty twice, and recently he did roast beef but it was so tough it was inedible. I will go back because food is mostly ok— but there needs to be more variety, and please, less talking about the food and telling me to clean my plate– you are getting on my nerves. Also, please stop serving me old bitter coffee — surely you can afford to brew a fresh pot– I will pay extra. His dad is a great guy – wonderful server.

Food was tasty. Service was slow and waitress was not very at tentative to details. Had to ask for bread which was promised with salads. Over charged on bill however was corrected upon request.

I agonized over whether this place is a 3 or 4 star review. It’s more like a 3.5, and here’s why: their food is very good, but they really need to step their service up a notch.
When we entered we had a hard time attracting the attention of the host, an older gentleman. Were a party of 5, which seemed to throw him off a bit. He asked how many of us there were, and when we said 5, his eyes got big and he looked a little overwhelmed. He asked us to wait just a minute. 10min later he had us seated.
The restaurant was all but empty, with one table of 6 or so people, and another of 7 or 8.
The décor was… well, kitschy ’90’s style Italian restaurant. There were badly rendered murals of (presumably) Italian landscapes on the stuccoed walls. You get the idea.
The waitress explained to us that she didn’t know what was going on with all the large parties, and that the chef was really overwhelmed. Wow. Find an excuse for slow service, but not THAT one. Jesus. Overwhelmed by 3 medium-​sized tables. What is going on here? I started to get nervous. Slow service doesn’t bother me, but we had planned to go to a movie after, and although we allowed plenty of time we barely made it.
To start with, even before they brought out bread, the waitress brought us fried potato skins, which were not what you think. They were very thin, super crispy, small fragments, well seasoned and sprinkled with parmesan. The waitress explained that the chef doesn’t like to waste usable ingredients. Cutting edge cuisine from a little place in Medford that freaks out when more than 20 people come in… this place is so weird!
I had a side salad and the dressing was awesome! I tried my friend’s salad as well, and it was equally tasty. My main dish was the mushroom risotto, and the flavor was spectacular, although the texture too much on the rice-​y side and not creamy enough. If the chef felt time-​pressured this may be why it came out undercooked. Others at the table were very happy with their meals, and in general the food was great.
I was struck by their unprofessional demeanor, particularly the waitress, who was visibly nervous and thrown off by the size of our party, which, in my opinion was not large at all. Also, what chef can’t handle that kind of volume? Granted, it was the middle of the week, but really people, pull it together.
I really should give more time to how well executed the meal was. It might have taken forever, but it really was very good. And I would absolutely go back, but never on any kind of time crunch.

The food is ok. Nothing special but not bad. Definitely not authentic Italian by any means but it’s affordable. Probably wouldn’t come back with all the other Italian options nearby.

We walked in greeted by Ron and he politely told us it would be a minute. That gave us time to look at the cute décor and specials board! Irina was our server and she was wonderful to say the least. She was genuine and very personable. She told us everything we needed to know and more. I think this lady needs a raise!!! She’s so friendly and made us feel so welcome. And Ron shook our hands and made sure we were please before we left. This is the kind of restaurant you go to and leave happy and too full. Portions were big enough to take home and save for left overs (: definitely going back

This place is THE place to go for a great meal in Medford. Chef Matthew takes great pride in producing high quality meals from locally sourced ingredients. Seriously — get the risotto. Salads are large and fresh. Tiramisu is the bomb. Great wines and the service is 10 out of 10.

4 stars seems fair for me. I enjoyed my experience.
Food seemed carefully prepared and executed, authentic taste. Not just thrown together and ingredients tasted good quality.
Atmosphere felt very European, brick walls, not a warm ambience, actually felt a little institutional like a canteen at first, with the buffet lunch equipment left out at the end of the room. Music was very quiet, when they lit our candles it helped warm it up.
Our server was very friendly, she helped guide us through the menu options to pick something we would like. Enjoyed her company.
Servings were a reasonable size, they weren’t big and hearty, but weren’t miniscule.

UPDATE: I have now tried Capers a couple of times for the lunch buffet. I stand by my review. The food is bland and mediocre. Strange assortment of items that don’t go together. They always have meat of some sort but they only give you a couple of paper-​thin slices with your meal. So much for «all-​you-​can-​eat.»
I have to be honest, when I see a bunch of five star reviews in a row I immediately look at how many reviews those reviewers have posted on Unilocal and how many Unilocal friends the person has. If the answer is that this is the first or one of the first reviews, beware. Those reviews are often at the request of the owners from people they know, or from staff.
Having said that, we decided to try Capers one week night for dinner. And the truth is there were some wonderful things about it. But overall the experience was just, well, strange. Allow me to elaborate.
We arrived at the restaurant and were seated and served by a very young girl who admitted she was not 21 and therefore couldn’t advise us at all on wine since she hadn’t tried any of it. She presented herself and used language that gave me the impression that she was about 18. She did not seem to have ANY knowledge of fine dining or even the items on the menu. Her whole demeanor said «high school» not «fine dining.»
Next, the (owner?) showed up with an «amuse bouche» which was a piece of toast with a little goat cheese and tomato on it — not really on par with a true amuse bouche. But the awkward part was that he went into a whole explanation of what an amuse bouche is, and why it is served, etc. etc. Um… Yeah. We know what an amuse bouche is. It might be nice to ask people first before giving a culinary vocabulary lesson. The «amuse bouche» was fine — nothing memorable.
We were seated in the empty front room, which was dimly lit only from outside light through the window. Others have already mentioned the tacky wall murals and cheap (ugly) vinyl diner chairs. The ambience is just weird. The front entrance window of the restaurant is also strange — there is a basil plant growing out of something, a bunch of random kitchen stuff as if their front window is just storage for their kitchen. It makes the place very easy to miss.
The soup and salad courses were AMAZING. This is the only reason I am giving two stars instead of one and why I will likely go back and try a few other menu items. The roasted shallot vinaigrette was so deliciously balanced — I could have eaten three more of them as my dinner and left happy. But unfortunately…
The main course was the recommended «wild mushroom risotto.» It was the worst risotto I have ever had at a restaurant. Most of the mushrooms were inedible. They were obviously rehydrated, which is fine in theory, unless they are not soaked long enough in which case they are about as edible as leather. And the advertised «truffle oil» was non-​existent.
The chef awkwardly came out into the dining room at one point to «make sure everyone is happy! Happy happy!!» It was just odd. The staff in general seemed entirely too casual and over-​eager for a fine dining experience. The problem is that the restaurant doesn’t know who or what it is supposed to be. It is too large and formal to have a casual café ambience, but too casual and dated to be fine dining. The server is too young and inexperienced to be in fine dining, and the owner and chef are too overbearing. I felt like people were hovering entirely too much and yet unable to provide meaningful service when required.
I have to say that we did not mention these issues directly to the owner. I just didn’t have it in me this time to do so. I am hoping that getting called out on Unilocal will help them to take a good hard look at how they are doing things and make some changes before it is too late. I want this place to be successful — some of their menu items are truly well executed and delicious to the point of being memorable. But others are downright awful, along with the ambience and strange service. There are too many other amazing places to eat now in Medford (Elements, Larks, etc.) for this place to make it for long without some changes.

To the people of Medford, OR you are so lucky to have a restaurant of this quality in your city. We came here on a Unilocal recommendation and are so glad we did! This little culinary Italian jewel was worth the drive from Ashland. I had the 5 layer Lasagna and my wife had the Risotto, both far exceeded my expectations. As you may know, I love to eat, and Capers is a place well worth working through the menu. A true farm to fork place with fresh tomatoes for a caprese salad and brushea with a hint of garlic on fresh toasted bread. The service was outstanding, our waitress knew the menu well and gave us excellent recommendations to consider. You have got to try this place if you’re in the area!

We stumbled on this gem on a road trip last night. Great service coupled with truly delicious Italian food. We eat out a lot at home in L.A. and this place blew our hometown competition out of the water. They really pay close attention to detail and have a more traditional take on Italian flavor profiles.
I had the veal picatta and my fiancé had the Caesar salad. Both were delightful.
We will definitely be back whenever we are in the area again.

I was wandering around downtown looking for a change from the rather bland southern Oregon town fare, and saw an advertisement for a lunch buffet for $ 8.95 at this gem of a restaurant. I’d passed by it several times, and had always wondered what it contained, so this time I decided to try it out.
First off, the service and setting is wonderful. The server seated me quickly and with politeness, which sad to say is not the norm in this area. The settings were beautiful, and the décor was inviting, although what I though was a bit over done for a lunch buffet. It turns out I was wrong about that.
Golden Corral this is not, and that is a very good thing. There was two choices for salad as well as a host of toppings that were fresh and tasty, as well as a selection of unique, in house crafted dressings. I decided on the basil vinaigrette, and was pleased at it’s tanginess and fresh basil flavor.
The main course, a chicken dish which I didn’t quite get the name of, was tender and juicy, hand sliced by the boisterous chef, and was accompanied by two pasta choice and some freshly steamed vegetables.
Although I only had one plate, you could go as many times as you wished; it seemed a waste to over indulge in the flavors, however.
All in all, highly recommended.

Our second time here and it was even better! The server was so sweet and very helpful with making decisions. I had the chicken piccata which was pounded very thin and full of lemon and chicken flavor. It was placed over garlic mashed potatoes and spinach. My wife had the pasta with a thick and hearty meat sauce. Dessert was a chocolate decadence filled martini glass. Just wonderful food and nice people.

I have hosted many different events at Capers from presentations to prospecting dinners and holiday parties. I cannot say enough good things about this restaurant. Not only is the food wonderful and presented beautifully, but the staff, both on the floor and in the kitchen, are such genuine, talented people. If you are looking for great food, a beautiful atmosphere, and killer service — you need to visit Capers. Yes they can make items GF, I am GF and I’ve had guests that are, everyone loved the food.
P. S. Try the salmon; steak; or house salad with basil vinaigrette. ALL OF THEM ARE AMAZING!