Capo — Restaurant in Santa Monica

This place is the epitome of the thinking: "It's super expensive so it must be super good." I am blown away by how many good reviews this place has to be honest. It must be because everyone ends up spending so much money, they have to tell themselves it was good to justify it, and keep from crying that it was such a waste of money. It is either that or these people have no idea what really great, gourmet food tases like. As a psychologist, I have to believe it is the former where people think that if they are paying much more for something, it must be good--but let me assure you, it is not. This place has everyone fooled.

A group of 4 of us dined here February 3, 2024, to celebrate a friends bday. From the start we were met with a maitre'd /manager John, who had a holier than thou attitude, and was irritable and angry for some reason. We had a lovely waitress, however, when we apparently were taking too long to order, John stormed over and forced us to give him our whole order immediately, and then directly asked the bday girl what she wanted for her dessert, ruining the surprise.

Now I have been to MANY of the top 50 restaurants in the world, many 1 and 2 star Michelin restaurants, and lived in Switzerland for 3 years, so I know what amazing food looks and tastes like, and am not afraid to pay for it. The food here, based on the price, is an absolute joke. Their prices are similar to 2 star Michelin restaurants, yet barely come close to a 1 star...which makes me wonder why this place doesn't even have a star.

The food was average at best, considering the ridiculous prices. The waitress and other service staff were great, but then it was ruined when John literally would start clearing people's plates while they were still eating. The piece de resistance was when two minutes after paying the bill, John once again angrily came over and literally told us we had to leave because they needed the table--truly remarkable. At that point, he completely ruined whatever semblance of a nice evening we had, and it became abundantly clear why this place doesn't have any Michelin Stars, or any class.

Please don't be fooled by the delusion that because this place is so expensive, it must be so good. Save your money and go elsewhere, there are SO many much better quality food and service restaurants in LA...

I don’t often write reviews, but this experience warranted it. The restaurant’s excessive pricing overshadowed what could have been a great evening. While the food and atmosphere were above average, the overall experience was marred by pretentiousness, leaving us disappointed on our anniversary. You simply don’t get what you pay for here.

TL;DR: Expect $160+ bottles of wine, $36+ wines by the glass with tiny pours, entrées starting at $85, $13 water, a 20% “optional service” charge on top of a suggested tip.

Let’s begin with the drinks. As soon as we were seated, we were handed an enormous wine list where you could count the sub-$200 bottles on one hand. The majority were priced well above $400, with some exceeding $3,000. If you prefer to bring your own bottle, there’s a $75 corkage fee—the highest I’ve encountered. The wines-by-the-glass menu didn’t fare much better, with the cheapest red at $36-$40. We opted for two $45 glasses, only to be served pours that were almost comically small. When I asked the waiter if he could top off my fiancée’s glass, he appeared puzzled and added just the tiniest splash. At this price point, you’d expect a generous pour. Worse yet, there wasn’t even a cocktail or beer list to fall back on, making it risky to order a drink without knowing the price.

The real kicker came when we received the bill. A 20% “optional service charge” had been added to “pay the waitstaff a living wage.” I assumed this functioned as an automatic tip, which seemed fair enough. But after my card was swiped, I was handed the receipt again with an additional line for a tip! For a restaurant charging $85 for an entrée and $160+ for wine, it’s frustrating to be made to feel responsible for subsidizing the staff’s wages. If you’re charging such premium prices, staff compensation should already be covered. If you can't pay your own staff a "living wage" at the prices you charge, you need a financial consultant. It left a sour taste and detracted from the whole dining experience.

We won’t be returning. There are plenty of high-end Italian dining options where you won’t feel taken...

A nook and cranny in Santa Monica along the shoreline close enough to feel the sea mist and hear the waves crashing about the sand. A bewilderment of fire glazes the meat to a melting pot, melt in your mouth sensation warming guests hearts in the tiny room all the while accentuating the priceless artwork draped around the walls and windowsills. It’s more or less a hole-in-the-wall as far as restaurants go. Make no mistake about it though; the ratatouille had me in tears when I left. I could taste every aspect of the seasoning and it made me daydream about what they could be {thyme, oregano, fresh basil, marjoram, Himalayan salt, fresh ground pepper, so on and so forth} The people were decked out in fancy attire. The conversations elevated the mood into an invigorating atmosphere in close-quarters-is the menu item recommended, does it trouble you to serve two helpings of the dish, can the cuisine be prepared at a certain temperature with precise attention to crisping the edges? At the end of the day eye-catching silhouettes created a mesmerizing realm to find elements of the menu that jumped off the page to land in perfectly rationed fine dinnerware. A prime example of that was the crab cake. It was so crunchy on the perimeter yet buttery, soft, sweet, and zesty within each bite. It was a picture perfect segway and transition for the pasta. I ate every morsel as fast as possible and left abruptly as the dessert was being served. I wanted to make sure I tipped and excused myself for two reasons. I negotiated my way into a bar stool to accompany the patrons with a meal without a prior reservation. Also, I was so pleasantly satisfied with the meal that was outlined in the aforementioned menu. Furthermore, I had run a small tab, because I did not order any of the gem quality wines to taste. Rather, I had ginger soda and I desired to exit as whimsically as I had entered with the contingent notion that I would allow enough time for the scheduled party to take my place. All-in-all this Italian wrinkle in time gave...