Osteria by Capri — Restaurant in Downers Grove

Tonight my family and I had the absolute pleasure of dining at Osteria by Capri. We were invited by the new ownership to give them a try after a poor experience by the previous ones.Let me say they did not disappoint! As being first generation Italian/American with my parents being immigrants from Italy, I like to say I know our cuisine extremely well. Allow me to share with you my experience. We were seated and our server Virginia greeted us with a big welcome and smile making us feel at home already! We ordered our appetizer of gnocchi stuffed with Asiago served with a vodka sauce! Totally light and fluffy with the tang of Asiago and sweetness of the sauce. One can definitely eat two servings because they were that good! And yes, hot, crusty Italian bread was brought to the table! Next our main courses… Homemade rigatoni with plain marinara sauce. You can tell they were homemade by their size. They were perfect texture when bit into. The marinara sauce was perfectly balanced with tomato, garlic and a tiny pinch of red pepper! ( Don’t mind the lack of sauce in my pic below, our daughter doesn’t like a lot of it ) Linguini with mussels in red sauce. You were able to see and taste that this was just made. The richness of the sugo with mussels was deep! Linguini with clams in white sauce. Both of these dishes were piled with either clams ( or mussels ).The clam sauce keeps you diving in for more. You sense that clams, garlic, EVOO, clam broth were just simmering perfectly to give you that umami. And the linguini were perfect al dente! Eggplant Parmesan with penne. The owner had told us that his was amazing. Now when one dares to set the bar high on this dish you best deliver. Let me tell you… IT DELIVERED! The eggplant was not heavy or greasy, rather light and flavorful. Some people pile mozzarella on it, this was not too much or not too little. Nothing overpowered the next! Balance! The penne and marinara were equally good but the eggplant Parmesan was the star! We dared to order dessert! Canoli You ask any Italian our biggest pet peeve of cannolis are when they aren’t filled all the way and they’re hallow in the middle. This was stuffed all the way through with the perfect sweet filling. NOT with (as my father would call it) sweet cement, but with a light, flavorful cream with chocolate chips and the tips covered with pistachio… like real Sicilians like it! Tiramisu This dessert has been so played out in America. Everyone tastes just… meh. But this one… THIS ONE was an experience! Simply because it was light, airy, full of flavor! The mascarpone was sweet and light. When you got to the bottom where the coffee liquor was you can taste this dessert was fresh. The flavors brought me back to being a kid when my mom would make me this for my birthday! All in all our meal was excellent. Virginia came by at just the right time, every time making sure everything was going well or if we needed anything else. She treated us like family! Food isn’t just about nourishing one self. It’s about creating memories so that when you recreate it in the future it brings them back, like they did with the tiramisu. When those memories get triggered you just feel like you’re home. Capri did that tonight! This is the place to be if you’re...

This restaurant is racist! Most people talk about them receiving slow service, but my experience was much weirder:

On Friday, February 28th my family hosted an annual family retreat at the Double Tree in Downersgrove. It was about 20 of us that attended. We had conference rooms reserved and everything. We put a lot of planning into the event to make sure it is all relaxing and fun.

The last day of the retreat was Saturday, February 29th. On the last day, we have a fancy dinner. This time we had dinner at the Osteria. We were seated first and the restaurant was pretty scarce. We had ordered our food beforehand so it was already prepared. The waiters/waitresses put out some water and bread. Then our food is brought out. At this time, the restaurant is full of people.

The food was okay, but the weird part is that our table did not have a server. NO ONE asked us if we wanted wine, champagne, or anything else to drink. NO ONE asked us for appetizers. We were the first to attend and the last to leave the restaurant. We were the only black people in the restaurant and it was such a strange feeling to see waiters and waitresses attend to everyone else, but us. It was like they didn't want us there.

At the end of night they gave us our bills. There was no gratuity in the bill. NO ONE asked us if we wanted desert. My mother and I ordered desert. We ordered some sorbet and gelato. It took them 45 minutes to bring it to us and we were the last people in the entire restaurant. They could have made so much money off of us, if they just gave us the service that we watch them give EVERYONE else.

I have called and complained at the restaurant twice and each time i was told that a manager would be calling me in two business days, but i have yet to receive a call.

I normally frequent high end restaurants because I am lawyer in Downtown Chicago, and i have experienced this twice before. There is no more awkward feeling than your entire table of white co-workers being served and the waiter intentionally passes over you, like you...

Let me start off by saying that I rarely write reviews.

However, in this instance, I will have to say that this was one incredible visit. The Service: 10 Stars (if possible) I would love to give our server Erik extremely high praise for the phenomenal service he provided to us last night in celebration of my girlfriend's birthday. He truly went above and beyond to ensure everything went smoothly. We had a slight issue with my order, but Erik ensured the item was fixed and that our meal was to our satisfaction.

The Food: 10 Stars as well! The Filet Mignon was cooked to perfection. It had the perfect crust and a mouthwatering flavor. I will have to say, that the star of the show was the Gnocchi. Chef Fabio knows his Gnocchi and thank you Executive Chef Daniel for executing Chef Fabio's menu to perfection.

Desserts: 10 Stars I went with Erik's recommendation of the Tiramisu - which was perfectly light and not overpowered by the coffee flavor. Yet, that Limoncello Cake, perfect combination of sweetness to the light and airy cake. Perfectly executed as well.

Yes, I would recommend this restaurant to everyone that loves great food. We will be coming back very soon as well!

Thank you Chef Fabio for putting together an incredible team and thank you Chef Daniel and Erik for executing a perfect evening....