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ITALY CAPRI RISTORANTE LA CAPANNINA
The name means ‘little house’, so that is what to look for in the maze of pretty alleys which runs from the Piazzetta. What you will find is a small door by a window. Inside you will see that the tables have been carefully set with pink tablecloths and that the waiters in bow ties are ready for the evening’s customers. The food is exactly what you want in this environment: straightforward, based on good ingredients and full of true flavours. There is, of course, lots for the fish-lovers, but we carnivores are also well served. I began with hot green asparagus with melted butter and Parmesan – a perfect match for the falanghina. Then it was first class pasta. This ravioli alla Caprese (filled with cheese and with a tomato sauce – pictured, held by the waiter) was precisely the sort of dish about which people – quite properly – rave. The pasta itself was beautifully soft and yielding. Then it was a superb piece of fillet of beef, simply grilled, and served with roasted potatoes, a tomato salad and Béarnaise sauce. This was really the highlight of the meal. I ended my dinner with super hot, sweet crèpes with ice cream. (Allow 65-70€ for four such courses.) This is the sort of restaurant in which it is virtually impossible not to have a good time. Dinner here makes a lovely ending to a perfect day. In fact, the Ristorante La Capannina is one of the reasons I love Capri.
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ADDRESSES
LA CAPANNINA
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© Francis Bown 2003
I do love the island of Capri. I even like the bustle and the noise of the day-trippers who travel from Sorrento and pack the Marina Grande and Capri town until the last ferry leaves in the early evening. But, of course, I like it even better when the crowds have gone and the elegant little streets are left to the residents and to those of us who are staying in the hotels. Then there is the particular pleasure of walking past the jewellers’ shops and the clothing boutiques on the way to a really good dinner. And I know how to make sure that is what awaits me. Indeed, anyone who knows Capri well will direct you to a particular dining room near the town’s main square. It is not exactly an unknown destination, because the likes of Jacqueline Onassis, Dustin Hoffman and Jose Carreras have been seen at its tables. But it has the appearance of being a hidden gem. It is the Ristorante La Capannina.
Thus it was on my last visit. I went in. The greeting was welcoming and courteous, and I received warm salutations from the charming Mrs Aurelia de Angelis – a moment captured in the photograph I present to you. As the canned music played, I was shown to a decent round table by the friendly maitre d’ Antonio Cacace. Normally, I am not a fan of recorded music in a restaurant, but here its jolly rhythms and playful tunes seemed right. Antonio De Angelis, Aurelia’s husband and the owner of the restaurant, clearly knows how to create the right atmosphere.
Antonio’s father, Francesco, became the chef at the Quisisana Hotel [see separate article] in 1931. Two years later, he opened a trattoria – Savoia – near the Piazzetta, which soon started to enjoy the patronage of the writers who were beginning to flock to Capri – people like Graham Greene. In 1951 the business moved to the present location, and ten years thereafter Antonio and his wife, Aurelia, took over. Now, in turn, they are helped by their own children, Francesco and Renata. So this is truly a family-run restaurant. 
But you will know when you look at the wine list that this was no run-of-the-mill trattoria. Its pages contain some very grand bottles, with prices running from 18 euros for a Campanian white to 3,000 euros for the Gaja 1997 Costa Russi. (Most of the wines are Italian, but Francophiles can be reassured that they can quaff the Krug Grande Cuvée for 250 euros.) The following caught my eye: 2005 Luce (170ε), 2006 Ornellaia (300ε), 2007 Tignanello (130ε) and 2005 Gaja Barbaresco (320ε). My own two local bottles, recommended by Mr Cacace, were admirable: a white made from the falanghina grape – dry and fresh, with plenty of sherbet – (Taburno - 15ε, half), and a brilliant Taurasi, made from the aglianico grape, of firm tannins and an intense and exciting depth of damson (Fatica Contadina, Terredora, 2003 - 50€).
