Capo's by Tony Gemignani — Restaurant in San Francisco

As a local family who prides ourselves on supporting neighborhood businesses, we were disheartened by our experience at Capo’s. What should have been a pleasant Friday evening turned into an upsetting encounter filled with dishonesty, lack of empathy, and what felt like discrimination based on how we looked compared to other patrons.

We arrived as a blue-collar family, coming directly from work and school, not dressed in fancy attire but still expecting to be treated with the same respect and grace as anyone else. When we first entered, the hostess informed us that there was an hour-long wait for indoor seating but immediate availability outdoors. We chose to wait for an indoor table to enjoy the ambiance and the open kitchen experience, leaving my sister's name and phone number on a waitlist already filled with names.

We took a walk to pass the time, and by 6:15 pm, we were making our way back to the restaurant when we received a call stating our reservation had been pushed to 7:00 pm. The reason? The current diners were taking longer with the table. But when my brother arrived at the restaurant before us, another hostess revealed the reason—they had accommodate seats around for party of nine.

When we confronted the hostess about the conflicting stories, her response was dismissive. Instead of empathy, especially seeing our family with young kids, she rudely told us they had no control over how long people stay at their tables. (A different reason) When we pressed her about shifting us for the larger party, she showed us a waitlist with the party of nine and our group listed with the same 6:30 pm time (only 3 names on the listed) conveniently ignoring the original list (a longer list) we had seen them write on earlier.

To make matters worse, the table they seated before us was a group dressed to the nines. Our family, diverse in background and dressed in work and school clothes, was left waiting, feeling dismissed and overlooked.

The lack of decorum, empathy, and honesty from the staff left a lasting negative impression. It’s not just the poor service that hurt, but the clear message we received: profit and appearances came before fairness and respect. In a city as diverse as ours, this behavior is unacceptable.

Capo’s, I am saddened that you lost loyal customers. Do better—not just for your tourists, but for your neighbors. We hope no one else has to endure the treatment we...

Sunday @ 7pm Party of 2

We were seated quickly for our 7pm reservation and greeted warmly by our wait staff after a very brief wait. She explained the dinner specials in detail and we opted for spaghetti and meatballs, arrabiata style and rigatoni in marinara sauce. For apps, we enjoyed a plate of hot wings, not insanely spicy and really meaty; not scrawny like other places. We also ordered a plate of garlic bread with cheese and it included about 10 slices topped with melted Italian cheeses and warm, baked garlic cloves; delicious!

Known for their deep dish Chicago style pizza, tonight was Spaghetti Sunday for $40 and we were told it would feed about 3-4 people but decided to order separate dishes. When our entrees arrived, I was stunned at the portions; each of them enough to feed at least 2 people. My spaghetti and meatballs included 4 meatballs in a rich, sweetened marinara sauce that I asked for in an arrabiata style, which I didn’t get :((. No big deal. The pasta (thick spaghetti) is cooked al-dente, which is not my preferred choice but again, no big deal. I would bet that the meatballs were not homemade, didn’t really taste like authentic Italian meatballs to me, more like store-bought ones. Hubby had a hearty plate of rigatoni in marinara sauce which he says was pretty good. I was unable to finish my entree and was sad to waste the dish, enough to feed about 2 more people.

All in all, it’s a cozy, warm place with great service and quick meals. It tends to attract a bar crowd as well, which is fine but could get quite loud at times. The bar fits about 10-12 patrons and offers 2 TV’s on opposite ends of the bar.

The restaurant is clean and comfortable. May return if we...

The food was better than the service.

Came here on a Friday night with a 7:00pm reservation for 4 people. We were seated immediately, but we then sat for over 20 minutes with no one coming to take our order. Eventually I asked someone if we could order, at which point the service got a bit better, but still.

We ordered a caesar salad and old Chicago (stuffed) to share. We received our complementary soup, which was a nice warm treat but quite bland in flavor. The caesar was whole leaves of romaine served with just the perfect amount of dressing, not overdone at all. The croutons were nice and crispy with big flakes of parmesan. We asked for extra anchovies, and while we got a few, they were the best part of the salad and we definitely could have used more.

Our pizza was huge, a massive stuffed pie of meatballs and sausage with generous dollops of ricotta and herbs on top. The sauce was thick with chunks of tomato and the meatballs were dense, in a good way. The crust was fluffy and buttery and cheesy, coming apart almost like a pretzel. The cheese inside the pizza created perfect strings as it was served, and we forced ourselves to devour the pie. Despite the fact that I had to roll myself out of the place, I was jealous as I saw fresh pies coming to the tables we passed on our way out.

Overall, I'll be back. A more upscale experience than places like Patxi's and Little Star, and probably...