This is a great little spot for people watching and enjoying a nice Italian meal while you wait for the ferry or take a tour of Road Town.
It isn't the roadside cafe you might expect to find in Italy, but it's as close as you will get on Tortola. The restaurant is owned by well known and award winning chef Davide Pugliese ... though he does not operate the restaurant day to day. That is left up to his very capable staff, some of whom have been here for many years.
I often stop in here for lunch on my day off, which is when I usually have to do my shopping and other chores in town. Their pizza is very good and I think all of the pastas are excellent.
I read a comment on trip advisor stating, "the spaghetti alle vongole don't have nothing in common with the real one".
Beginning of rant: I have been to Italy ... from Rome to Venice, Trieste, Bolzano, Como, Turin, Pisa, Florence and many points in between. I have sampled the spaghetti alle vongole in many "real" Italian restaurants there as well as all over the world, including on the tiny island of Grado, Italy, where the clams don't get much fresher than straight off the boat.
In each case, the dishes were all VERY different from one another and almost all were very tasty. I may not know how the real one is supposed to taste, but I know what I like ... and this happens to be one of my favourite dishes at Capriccio's.
Thankfully, most visitors to the British Virgin Islands don't need to be reminded that Tortola is a tiny island in the Caribbean and not a busy metropolis with hundreds of grocery stores and dozens of specialty shops from which to choose. We can't get live baby clams here too easily, so yes, we have to resort to using canned baby clams! If Davide takes spaghetti alle vongole off the menu because of some criticism on Trip Adviser, I swear I will picket the restaurant until it gets reinstated. I love it! .... End of rant.
The menu is extensive and includes several Italian coffees, frittatas, various specialty breads for their sandwiches, appetizers, salads, pasta of all kinds, pizza, calzone and some great desserts. I love their tiramisu!
All dishes are made fresh to order, so don't expect instant food. Service can be slow when they are busy, but the wait is worth it. I took the photos below during a relatively busy lunch service. Two people shared the mouth watering pizza with pepperoni, mushroom and tomatoes on one side and olives, mushrooms and sweet red peppers on the other. This particular pizza was served with a lovely Caesar salad with diced chicken breast for one person and without chicken for the vegetarian.
While waiting for your food, you can enjoy a nice cold drink or coffee and make good use use of their free Wi-Fi service.
Capriccio Di Mare
