Ciao Capri

I am a loyal follower of Alberto and Pepino at Little Venice, Accanto, and now Ciao Capri. Through the changes the food continues to draw us back. One of my favorite things from Little Venice was the salmon, perfectly prepared every time by Pepino. It was the only place I ever ate salmon! To my delight, Pepino served it as a special last Saturday. It was, as always, the best ever! While I love many things on the menu, it was such a treat. One more reason to love Ciao Capri!

Went there on a Saturday night without reservations and sat at the bar. Great food! All the best of Little Venice but better! Delicious risotto and some of the best veal I’ve had.

This is definitely some of the best Italian good you will find in RVA. Additionally, the service is outstanding and you will be hard pressed to find better anywhere. Alberto and Peppino, the brothers who own this restaurant will make you feel right at home and make sure you receive a fantastic dining experience!

My friend and I decided to eat here when another local Italian restaurant was closed for the evening. The food was good, but not great and certainly not worth the price. I had the Ravioli alla Caprese and the sauce was good however there was only a scant amount of Bufala Ricotta which was listed as the first ingredient. I think $ 17 for cheese ravioli is too steep. This dish should have been $ 14 considering there was nothing special about it and there was no meat in it. My friend had the same assessment of her Vitello Tiberio at $ 23, overpriced and nothing special.
The service was okay although not very friendly. The waiter seemed annoyed when we didn’t order an appetizer. When I was presented with someone else’s check, he didn’t even apologize which I thought was a little odd.
If you do go to this restaurant, maybe the appetizers would be a better choice than the entrees. The selection seemed better too.

They had me at «hello.» Seriously, this small but lovely restaurant in Short Pump is bustling with life and enthusiastic servers and a front-​of-​the-​house owner who greets you with pleasure. My husband and I were there on 11/​25, my birthday. The food is as delicious as you would expect from an independent Italian restaurant that is owned by native Italians — brothers. Our Italian-​born waitress was delightful and she happily deboned my whole Bronzino at the table. Impressive! I wondered if I would be able to eat a whole entrée after consuming more than my share of the house-​made bread and addictive dipping sauce, the wonderful roasted peppers, and tantalizing, garlic scented clams and mussels. Evidently, the answer was «yes» because I found myself savoring the Nutella ice cream at the end of the meal. It was a celebratory birthday meal to remember. I quickly made a reservation for the following month! Why not? I am sure they will be packed. No wonder the Times Dispatch gave this gem four stars! If you only have time for a drink and small plate at the gorgeous, chic bar, I think it would be highly worth it. My only suggestion for Ciao Capri is to consider joining OpenTable or a similar online reservation agent. Bravo!!!

Four of us went to try this restaurant tonight and we were all thrilled with our food. The wine was perfect and our owner/​waiter was attentive and charming. Every dish was creative and different with unusual flavor combinations that really worked. It’s so pleasant to see a top quality and unique family-​run restaurant tucked away in the suburbs. We will definitely be back again and again.

Fabulous food and service and quiet to boot! A great new addition to RVA’s restaurant scene. Our new favorite — we’ll be back!

Let me start out by saying we know good Italian. I realize that may sound snobby to some, but we’ve eaten the good stuff and the not so good stuff. So we know.
And Ciao Capri hit it out of the ballpark on all points Saturday night. We went with another couple who are from NY, and they really know good food. We started out with the calamari and polpette (beef and veal meatballs). Both were served quickly, piping hot and full of flavor. Calamari is easy to screw up (it can be undercooked or overcooked) and it was fantastic in every way. Not greasy. The tomato dipping sauce was the perfect complement. The five large meatballs were pillowy and flavorful. Of course our apps came with these delicious rolls that happen to be flown in from a bakery in California. These people don’t mess around!
Our friends got the Pesce Puttanesca (Fresh catch of the day which was grouper, sautéed with capers, tomato, black olives, served with spaghetti alla chitarra) and the Spaghetti alla Gradola (Shrimp, Calamari, Little Neck Clams and Mussels, with garlic and roasted tomato broth). Although we didn’t taste theirs, they had nothing but good things to say about their meals.
I got the Vitello Tiberio (Veal scaloppine, sauteed with white wine, fresh squeezed lemon juice, artichoke hearts and capers). The veal was cooked to perfection and it had the right balance of tartness. My SO got the Tagliolini Nerano (Fresh Tagliolini, «Linguine like pasta» zucchini, shrimp and a light smoked Provola sauce). The shrimp were delectable and cooked to perfection.
We were too stuffed for dessert.
Throughout the meal our server and the owner came over multiple times to make sure we were satisfied. Great service and great food. We will be back.
Note: Ciao Capri was recently reviewed in the Richmond Times Dispatch and received four out of four stars. You will need a reservation or you may be turned away. We got a 5:30 pm reservation (that’s all they had available, but we were thrilled to get in!)

I know there are such great reviews but my experience was not spectacular. Had the special which was penne with ground beef, parmesan, mozzarella and fresh tomato sauce layered and baked. The penne was overcooked and the whole dish lacked seasoning desperately! We had to ask for anything we needed as We were never approached again by waitstaff sitting at the bar. The other dish with scallops and lemon risotto was better but the 3 scallops were just ok and the risotto again was extremely bland with no discernible lemon taste to it. Very disappointed.

The little restaurant has a friendly and inviting atmosphere. We had Caprese salad, clams/​mussels appetizer, and the seafood Taglioni. They were all pretty tasty but a bit on the salty side. Perhaps it’s just me. I’d like to return to try more.

We checked out this new place with another couple. My husband started w/​Peperonata. I tried it. It was very tasty. All the flavors were balanced. Two of us got the Risotto al Limone. It was perfect, not hard, not mushy. The scallops were seared perfecly & tender inside. The flavors were very good w/​a hint of Old Bay, very yummy! My husband got the catch of the day, Rock fish. I tried the spaghetti that went w/​it. It was so tasty & perfectly al dente. Our friend said he had to come back to try the spaghetti, it looked so good. Our other friend got the Taglialini Nerano. She said the sauce was awesome! One thing I need to mention, the entrée did not come with a salad, but we will be coming back!