31 When you walk into Cafe Capriccio, you can just feel it. It's warm and comfortable. The staff and owners get excited when they see you. "Come here, I want to show you this. Come with me!" the owner Jim Rua excitedly says to me just minutes after I walked through the door after a short introduction, meeting him for the very first time. He takes me all over the building, and while you know he's given this tour over a thousand times, it feels like he's telling his stories about every part of Cafe Capriccio for the very first time. Jim, born in Albany, New York, grew up in an ItalianAmerican family. Traveling abroad for years with a keen interest in Italian culture, food, and wine peaked Jim's desire to open an authentic Italian Restaurant, which led him to open Cafe Capriccio in 1982; 39 years later, Cafe Capriccio still stands, just a short walk to downtown Albany. "Many people accept the challenge of opening a restaurant because they may like cooking, or the social aspects, or the perceived glamour of restaurant life, but I quickly learned that there is far less glamour than there is the required discipline and hard work in the life of a restaurant owner - and that earning a dollar is not so easy." Jim tells me, "Perhaps the best part of this is that my son, Franco Rua, joined me after his college experience and shares the same visions and objectives. I’m especially delighted watching Franco take Café Capriccio to a new level of excellence. This is my satisfaction and reward." This father and son team are now embarking on a new endeavor, soon offering downtown Albany The Café Capriccio Marketplace, with fine imported Italian products, as they work closely with small farms and vineyards in Italy.
Chef Mike started working at Cafe Capriccio as a teenager from 2001-2005, and they welcomed him home with open arms when he came back to Albany in 2019 to raise his family. "I was a private chef who was traveling a lot. I left that behind to build a family and to return to a restaurant that has always felt like family," said Chef Mike. Cafe Capriccio offers authentic Italian cuisine daily, along with the incredible upscale new world menu created by Franco Rua and Chef Mike. They also offer artisan woodfired pizza baked in an oven from Modena, Italy, and make all their pastas fresh in-house.
The Shrimp Gambino is wild shrimp, tomato confit, lemon white wine butter sauce, and toasted breadcrumbs on pasta.
The Stuffed Eggplant Capriccioso is a Capriccio Classic! Eggplant sliced so thin, stuffed with sautéed spinach and roasted peppers, topped with four cheese blends, served with seared polenta & vegetables.
If you asked me to pick a favorite dish here, I can't. I genuinely enjoyed every item I tasted. So much so, that after photographing and experiencing much of their food all day, I had my husband meet me here for dinner that night.
The Boscaiola is a delicious Truffle-mushroom cream sauce, with house imported Tartufino cheese from Tuscany over arugula & pasta.
I have personally experienced how Cafe Capriccio not only makes their staff feel like a part of their family, they have this way of making everyone who walks through their door feel welcomed as well.
The Chicken Scarola is a tender roasted chicken leg with a crisp skin, escarole, olives, and white beans with saffron risotto and vegetables. The Sautéed Shrimp & Sausage grilled with roasted tomato, cherry pepper, and garlic cream rests on crispy polenta cakes Golden Beets, oranges, pistachios, goat cheese, and arugula dressed with orange vinaigrette makes for a refreshing salad. Shrimp Gambino
Sautéed Shrimp & Sausage
Head Chef, Mike Scattergood, sincerely shared that "Cafe Capriccio is where it all started for me. It’s where I fell in love with the industry. So while other options may present themselves, none are as special to me as Cafe Capriccio."
Chicken Scarola
Cafe Capriccio is located at 49 Grand St, Albany, NY 12207 Happy Eating! Nellie Ackerman-Vellano, Feed Me 518™ Instagram: @FeedMe518 FB: www.facebook.com/FeedMe518 Website: www.FeedMe518.com
