Stella's Casa Capri — Restaurant in Kenosha

Oooh Boy. Fine dining???

I'll start with saying we had no reservation, but arriving at 4:30, getting seated wasn't an issue. The place was empty. So when we asked for a booth and were told they were all reserved... Well I guess that's understandable, but then why seat us next to the servers station, when there's 15 empty tables? 🤷🏼‍♂️

After being seated, the first thing we noticed were the charming paper placemats laid out on the lovely vinyl tablecloth. Bummer, no crayons. Because we can already see where this is going? Uh huh. Fine dining. 🙄

The French onion soup was divine, but it went downhill from there. The salad was iceberg. The bread was soft but cold, and the butter also so cold that it kept falling off the bread.

The Walleye was frozen, not fresh, and was nothing like described in the menu. It was in a puddle of butter, with so much lemon I thought someone spilled lemonade on my plate. Maybe this was on purpose to make up for the died up lemon wedge on the plate?Thankfully there were plenty of bones left in the fish, that I had toothpicks for the entire restaurant. The veggies were also from frozen, lacked any seasoning other than what ran off the fish. I swear it may have even been freezer burnt.

I ordered a glass of wine with my meal, but was at least 5 minutes into my meal before it came. Then 2 minutes after I got my wine, the same waitress asked if I needed a box for my food! It was right about this time someone was being seated next to us, but asked for a booth instead, and was given one, by the hostess that seated us. No questions asked.

Well at this point I'm all in when our server asked if we wanted dessert. Certainly this would be the highlight. It had to be! Sadly the earlier joke to my wife came true, it was Sara Lee, or maybe Pepperidge Farm, with some aerosol whip cream on top.

We get halfway through the desert, and here's our server once again asking if we'd like a box. When I said no thanks, she picked it up and left with it. No, we weren't done. But now we were I presume.

As we got up to leave we noticed the worst part of the evening. Every single table in the house had people seated at it, except for the booth behind us that was "reserved" and the other 5 tables immediately adjacent to us. What the actual... I swear we both showered before we went to dinner. What the Twilight Zone???

TLDR: 80s decor, no chef on staff, frozen food, rushed experience. We should have known it wouldn't be fine dining, when they also do...

My husband and I visited Casa Capri yesterday after passing by it many times and finally deciding to give it a try. Unfortunately, it was just okay—not terrible, but definitely not memorable.

We ordered a 12-inch cheese and pepperoni pizza. It was decent, but nothing spectacular. Honestly, it reminded me of something I could’ve gotten from Domino’s or even a local spot like Freestyle. The menu said everything was homemade, but honestly, I’m not sure that’s true. When I think of Italian food, I think of bold, homemade flavors—but this just didn’t hit that mark.

My husband had the chicken carbonara and said it was just okay. I ordered the chicken alfredo, and the chicken was very dry. The whole dish lacked flavor, and honestly, I felt like I could’ve made it better at home. Again, Italian food should feel rich, comforting, and flavorful, and this wasn’t that.

The atmosphere also didn’t do it for me. It was very dark and gloomy inside, and the tables felt cheaply made. We sat in a booth, but it felt more like a strange table setup—and right behind us was the bus station, which was uncomfortably close.

Service was just okay. I’m not the type to keep reminding staff that I need a refill—honestly, I shouldn’t have to. It was frustrating that the quickest part of the service was when they came to grab the check. Our waitress wasn’t rude, but the attentiveness was definitely lacking.

Overall: The food was underwhelming, the service was just okay, and the ambiance wasn’t inviting. For the price, I expected more. It’s not somewhere I’d return.

Recommendations for Casa Capri:

Back up the “homemade” claim. If it’s truly homemade, let the flavor speak for itself—right now, it doesn’t.

Boost the flavor. Seasoning goes a long way—especially for classic Italian dishes. Consider fresher ingredients or more robust sauces.

Improve the atmosphere. Brightening up the space and updating the furniture would make a big difference.

Train servers on proactive service. Something as small as keeping drinks filled without being asked would elevate the guest experience.

Rethink table layout. Give booths more space and keep guest seating away from bus stations or kitchen areas to preserve the dining experience.

We really wanted to love this place, but it just didn’t deliver. Hopefully, with a few changes, it can live up to the potential it...

I’ve seen the Owners angry responses - so I’ll preface my review by stating as an Italian, your food is not authentic, please take some constructive criticism.

In Kenosha there is a large Italian population. I’d venture to guess many wouldn’t eat here S Olive Garden would’ve been a step up.

1.) You are either a Supper Club or a Dive Pizza Bar. But the weird mix and attempt to be both isn’t working. Crazy cheap roll carpet mixed with the 80s Pizza Hut vinyl table cloths…

2.) Authentic Italian to me would imply pasta thst did not come from a box, sauce that wasn’t made from canned tomatoes or worse yet bulk sauce in a jar or massive aluminum can. If you want to charge $25 for pasta, make the pasta from scratch. Buy a good 00 Farina and some Semolina imported and make a quality pasta. Same for the sauce. Score the tomatoes, boil, drop in an ice bath, peel - and cook them down. This can be done ahead of time and you’d get something closer to authentic Italian.

3.) Minestrone doesn’t have meat in it. It’s a vegetarian soup of beans, vegetables, small pasta tubes.

4.) The pizza was awful and tasted like a cheap frozen one. After reading over the menu I knew immediately that the pasta would be drowning in sauce, from a box, and not authentic at all. So not wanting to hurt my boyfriend’s feelings - I tried to find something I’d eat. I ordered a cheese pizza. I was wrong. You can mess up anything.

My partner ordered chicken parm and pasta. The pasta was over cooked, the sauce overwhelming and drowning his plate, and it tasted awful.

The Positives:

You have a small menu. With that in mind it would not be hard to prepare fresh pasta a day ahead, fresh sauce, and perfect your cuisine.

I think if you’re going to advertise “authentic” Italian cuisine (about as Authentic as Taco Bell is Mexican), go for it.

Make the pasta. Make the sauce.

I’m sure the community would come out to support your establishment as we have a history of supporting our own.

Bottom line do better. This place i. Its current state is awful. Don’t come here and associate what they serve as Italian. I promise our food is so much better than the overpriced processed food being...