The Perfect Caper — Restaurant in Punta Gorda

Phenomenal, each & every time! Pictured in order are The Fried Mushroom, Calamari, Crabcake, Burger of the Day (all from today), then A Warm Goat aside The Fried Mushroom and Seared Scallops (from 01/2024) Today was my mom’s birthday & we’ve been here before but this was our first lunch experience. We had Amanda, who executes her service with incredible kindness, knowledge, and sincerity. That’s vital, to have a server who is Sincere. She’s not going to sell you anything based on dollar signs! You’d do yourself a solid to ask for her. Let’s talk food! The Fried Mushroom is something I get every time…it’s not breaded! It’s flash fried, served over whipped goat cheese, drizzled with balsamic & olive oil, s & p, & accompanied by delightful toast points & arugula. You must try it!!!! The calamari exceeds any calamari I have ever had in any other restaurant. The spicy sweet chili sauce is outstanding! The batter is light and the combination of flavors is exquisite. We each got the burger of the day…today served with a bacon mayo, red peppers, provolone cheese as well as a side of frites. They have the best frites ever! I had those first because they don’t heat up very well. I tried to work on the burger—it’s HUGE! My mom ate about half of hers, but I have also gotten an à la carte crabcake. Love the à la carte options! You can add a scallop or a crabcake or shrimp. I couldn’t choose between the crabcake and the burger, so it worked fab, as that crabcake is delectable beyond measure! Guess what?! It’s also Gluten free!!! The roasted red pepper lemon butter—oh my God I could eat it with a spoon! We didn’t get dessert today because we have the Birthday Cake they make already. It’s on their special’s menu this week & you’ll not ever have anything finer. Amanda made sure we were well cared for and Gabe, the manager, checked on us several times, wishing my mom a happy birthday. Love them both! Let’s talk about the atmosphere. It’s very understated and simple. I personally love it. It’s quite comfortable and I can focus on just enjoying the culinary adventure laid before me, which isn’t that what going to a fine dining establishment should really be about? We sat in a lovely booth, which was comfy as can be, very quiet, and, like I said, just simple. I have a relative in the music industry so here’s my analogy: he always said the more trucks and equipment a band takes, the more they are trying to “wow” you with something other than their musical abilities. In my opinion, a restaurant is not much different! Decor can definitely add something but in my opinion, it’s not necessary to be over the top when you have over the top food. The Perfect Caper does in fact have food that consistently exceeds expectation. This is the best food that I’ve had in southwest Florida. Consistently. The Perfect Caper makes my tail wag, each...

So, I bring a party of five with me here on Mother’s Day. I’ve been here five times and enjoyed everything even Thanksgiving day. So I did not expect to have anything other than the ultimate experience that I was accustomed to here. I’ve moved to over an hour away and still I decided to come back. Instead I got a rude, demanding half blonde Gi Normas waitress who was so condescending and controlling in her ways that I could not even believe I was in the same place . She was going to set us straight from the minute we sat down that she was going to turn this table over as fast as she could. After I had taken enough of her condescending trailer park comments, she actually said to us to not use the menus as placemats and she would be returning. I tried to bring her along into a quiet place to tell her about her attitude but she wanted to have it out right there and then so we did, I stood up and told her off right in the middle of the entire restaurant and demanded a new server. She then proceeded to tell her story to others in the restaurant in her way as I went to our original servers there having been there before and asked for them to help us. The kind gentle distinguished server with gray hair and Gabriel helped us to enjoy a comfortable mothers day in an upscale restaurant. The food was as usual, miraculous. I love this place but that server had no place in working there, she should work at waffle house or one of those trailer park places where she’s better suited to wait on people that she probably lives with. I hated to lower myself to her level but that’s how she made us feel. What a piece of garbage. Open the trashcan put her in there and close it tightly and then have it thrown out on trash day. Gabriel the server saved the day. I’m sorry Gabriel for putting this on you but I believe at the end of the day you understand us as your regular customers. PG now has many fine restaurants. No need to patronize this place solely. Perfect Caper now shares it’s parking lot with the Dept.of Corrections Probation office where felons report to check in. Be careful. BEWARE - If you post a negative review, expect a call banning you. However, they beg you to leave a 5 Star review with a shot of Limoncello (from the owner) if you had a favorable experience. Focus on the bad reviews here and you will be shocked at the...

Dined here on an early Sunday evening. The chop salad was supposed to contain watercress, Iceberg, tomato, avocado, smoked bacon & blue cheese with a caper-whole grain mustard vinaigrette.What came was a medium sized white bowl with chopped iceberg and a white creamy dressing. ($11) I ordered the al la carte order of duck breast marinated in thyme and garlic.( $26.) What came at first was a different dish, the Duck and frites( $38) which I returned and my original order came as a 5 inch plate with a duck breast cut into chunks in a watery broth with no hint of garlic or thyme. The server asked me as she set the plate down " Are you sure this will be enough ?" My dining companions ordered the Foie Gras which was terrible at $22, a heavy handed amount of bacon, and bits and pieces of the foie. The duck confit was a greasy stingy mess. The grilled Berkshire bone in chop( $39) was tough and tasted of bitter sugar from the berries and the baby kale that was supposed to accompany this were 6 inch branches of kale slightly steamed and undressed. For anyone who loves kale, which we do, you understand that it needs special treatment in its preparation. Ditto with the salad of "baby greens" which was a large bowl containing young red and green kale lightly dressed.Kale needs to be massaged to soften the texture, which otherwise presents more as fodder. Our server said that she was "new", but really being a server is all about serving. She came from a place of pontification on the menu and food, being largely absent and needing support from a variety of staff who stumbled over themselves in the dining area while it seemed that the kitchen was staffed by one chef and two helpers, none on whom understood how to prepare the food. I am always frightened by a large menu. It never bodes well. The tab of $200, for such disappointing food added to the overall feeling of regret that we had driven 45 minutes to experience what we hoped would be a memorable experience. It was... but not...