The cheese wheel is an experience. The portions are generous and they have reasonable prices and a good wine selection. read more

Cappella Restaurant - Black Truffle Wheel rigatoni, cacio e pepe - Italian Near Me - Needham, Massachusetts

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I want to start by saying the service was wonderful. Our waitress was so kind and receptive. However, overall the place was a let down. We ordered the steak app for 21$ and the amount we got was laughable. It looked like the amount I'd give my two year old. We recieved about 5 tiny bite sized steak pieces. We were shocked at how little they gave us for the price. We accepted it and waited for the other apps. The truffle honey ricotta bread app was just ok. The ricotta honey was great but the grilled bread tasted too burnt to enjoy. Okay, next app. The truffle fries, were the star of the show. Those were great! Now, our drinks. We ordered two lemon drops, and two other drinks (can't remember what my friends ordered) but we literally had to send them all back because they were just UGH and just not good.. at all. We felt so bad doing so but we literally ate our dinner with no drinks. Now let's get to the pastas... we ordered four different kinds. The chicken parm which was so bland, we had to send back. The gnocchi pasta which again so bland and not enjoyable at all, we sent back. & the truffle pasta which was just okay- very close to bland but edible so we kept it & ate it. Presentation of the wheel was cool. The last pasta which was mine the vodka pasta was amazing! We ordered two more of them to replace the pastas we had to send back. We didn't bother with dessert. We all agreed, we would NOT come back. read more

Cappella Restaurant - Lumache vodka - Italian Near Me - Needham, Massachusetts

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Reservations are easy to make online. We arrived about 10mins early and were seated right away. Inside it is small but really cool. I love the copper table tops. We got the meatball appetizer- so good! The sauce alone is amazing. I wish we still had the app when the brought the bread basket, to sop up the sauce. Bread basket was fine, nothing to really say. I had one small piece but rather save for my entree. I got the cacio e pepe cheese wheel pasta. It was delicious! But so so rich. I only ate about a 3rd of it and brought the rest home. The pasta is homemade, flavors are amazing but I just was on cheese overload! My husband got a shrimp pasta dish that he said was great as well. Dessert was an espresso martini. We will be back! read more

Cappella Restaurant - Italian Near Me - Needham, Massachusetts

Came on a Sunday night at 5pm. Had reservations but there were still a good amount of tables opened. They have booth and standard table seating along with bar seatings. Our server was attentive and friendly. There were a good amount of vegetarian options. The Brussel sprouts and ricotta honey with grilled bread were both tasty. You can get more grilled bread without additional charge, which was nice since the ricotta honey went really well with the bread. The pastas were good sharable portions so we were able to pick a few pastas to try. The swordfish was a little salty but not too dry. On Sundays between 4p-5p they have $1 oysters. read more

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What a beautiful restaurant located in Norwood. The staff were very friendly and provided great service. For starters, we got the beet salad and Brussels sprouts. The Brussels sprouts were very crispy and sweet. I normally don't go for beets but this was one of my favorite salads I have had. The beet was so soft with the delicious ricotta on top providing a creamy flavor. The pasta was yummy and spicy just how I like it. The cake was decadent and smooth. Overall, I had a great time and would love to come again to try the other items. read more

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my first time at cappella went pretty well. i came here for a work team dinner so i only was able to get a photo of my food. portions are decently sized except for my branzino, which i felt for the price i could get a whole branzino in boston instead of the small piece i got... but i digress. service was highly attentive and impressive with the memorization of our orders. now for my coworkers comments: chicken parm was good, shrimp scampi came with HUGE shrimp (!!) but felt it could have needed more sauce. vodka pasta is amazing and a highlight. bolognese had other pieces of pasta in her dish, which was fine but was confused why that was. drinks were good overall, no complaints about selection or anything of the sort. i think for as far as suburban fare goes, this is good; but considering there are many modern italian spots in the area that all just do decent food, cappella may just be a dime a dozen. read more

Cappella Restaurant - Italian Near Me - Needham, Massachusetts

Love Cappella's. Food exceptional, service as well. Go Sundays from 4pm and partake of a great raw bar from Wellesley's Captain's John, Oysters on the half shell $1.00 each 4-5pm. read more

What a beautiful Sunday evening at Cappella with wonderful friends, incredible food, delicious wine, and truly exceptional service. Every detail was perfection -- from the amazing dishes to the attentive and accommodating wait staff who made our entire group feel so welcomed and cared for. Cappella gave us one of those nights you don't forget... amazing food, laughter around the table, and hospitality that was simply out of this world. Bravo to the entire team! Looking forward to going back! read more

Cappella is a frequent dinner spot for us because it's across the street from the hair salon we visit every 5-6 weeks. Why do we keep going back? The food is great, the service is very good, and the ambiance is perfect for us (upscale casual).  We were there again last night. We like to sit at the bar, have a cocktail or two, and share an entree or several small plates. We used the latter approach last night.  My fiancee had an earlier appointment than mine and finished before me. She walked across the street to grab two seats at the bar before it filled up--it frequently does by 7:00 or so, in our experience. She ordered a Manhattan and the Woodfired Octopus special appetizer. She finished it before I arrived :( She says it was excellent, and I believe her. When I arrived, I ordered a Manhattan of my own and the Woodfired Squid, which came on a bed of dressed arugula and fennel with pistachios. It's a new addition to the menu, and I CAN'T WAIT TO ORDER IT AGAIN! It was fantastic. We've had many other dishes here during previous visits and have been happy every time. Our only complaint--more of a wish really-- is that they would add a second bar tender during their busy days/hours. If you like upscale Italian and are in the area, I highly recommend trying Cappella. read more

Overview: Really good Italian Food Meal/Time: Dinner/Wednesday/Party of 5 Seated: immediately 446PM for a 5PM reservation Ordered: 503PM First ordered item arrived: 513PM Decor/Atmosphere: Nice classic Italian American Restaurant; high end casual Service/ Front of the House: Very nice and accomdating. Note you are not allowed to bring in outside beverages, including an iced coffee I was drinking. Service/Serving Staff: Bread and water on the table within 1 minutes of seating. Jen is friendly and personable. She checked back regularly. Food: The Brussels & Buratta $16- appetizer... charred Brussel Sprouts served with a creamy mozzarella. You get a combination of flavors, nuttiness, sweetness and a bit of bitter. A really well balanced dish. The Chicken Parmigiano $29- hearty breaded chicken served over a bed of gemelli well sauced with plum tomato sauce topped with fresh basil. My wife had the Black Truffle Wheel $26. I had a few bites of this. The pasta is brought to the table in a wheel of Parmigiano. The heat from the pasta and truffle oil melts the cheese and in turns coats the pasta. If you like cheese, truffle and freshly cracked black pepper this dish is for you. Value: Really good value to quality and quantity. We had leftovers. Restroom: Men's Room single. Clean and well stocked. Bright with plenty of room. Will I come back?: Yes, I would come back. Next time, I will order the Truffle Wheel. read more

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Went the other night on a Friday with my wife to get dinner. And the place was crowded and loud, but they were able to find us a table rather quickly. The wait staff was very friendly and the service was very efficient. The menu was a little bit pretentious and didn't offer a wide variety of more authentic Italian style foods. Nonetheless, the food was rather good and drinks rather tasty. Would recommend although it is kind of loud and hard to hold a conversation. read more

Italian restaurants in the Northeast are light years better than Italian restaurants in Texas where I live. This is upscale Italian so it is reasonable to expect higher standards. I could not tell you where Cappella rates compared to upscale Italian restaurants in New England. But Cappella is freaking amazing. Pure and unadulterated happiness on a stick. I don't care if Cappella is #1 or #63,598. I want to eat there again and I want to eat there all the time. * * * The bartending is very good at Cappella. I was drunk and happy at Cappella so my memory of details is not as "accurate to the fifth digit" as I would like it to be. The menu changes frequently, so using the internet menu as a spur to the memory is not all that helpful. I will tell you what I do remember - because what I remember was completely happy and wonderful. a) There was a house original mixed drink was. Whatever that drink was - it was powerful and amazing. (Heckler at the back: It was forgetfulness potion!) Yeah, Heckler. Maybe it was. b) I had a modern appetizer and a traditional main course. The modern appetizer got an A. The traditional main course was A +++++++++++ c) The appetizer was thinly sliced tempura acorn squash with pistachios, butter and drizzles of a white dip. Acorn squash is just good. New Englanders get acorn squash all the time. We in Texas get acorn squash rarely. The squash travels just fine and the squashes are good. But you would pay more for a car than you would for an acorn squash in Texas. (Cars are cheap in Texas. Pickup trucks are even cheaper.) Note that just a plain ordinary baked acorn squash cut in half with the seeds removed and butter in the middle would have utterly delighted me. The tempura coating here was so light as to be nearly non-existent. All the better to taste your squash with - my dear. Sauteed pistachios are just good. I would have gone with any white dip they wanted for a sauce as long as it was not Crest toothpaste. I was happy. d) The follow up was the chicken parmigano of my dreams. Which is like saying the follow up was the honeymoon sex of my dreams. Yeah the sex looked like the sex had by everyone else on the planet. But I kind of suspect I had a superior version of a classic. We have had ho hum parmigano dishes before. Heck you can get a chicken parmigano at any one of four hundred sub shops in the Boston Area. No surprises as to what was good here. A good natural tomato sauce. No marinara. No spicing. Just very good tomatoes doing their job. A fine crusting and saute on a very good chicken breast. Cheese being cheese. That was all I needed. I was in complete bliss for most of an hour. e) It broke my heart I couldn't have dessert. I would have exploded all over the restaurant Which might have been distasteful for other patrons. f) I sat outside on Chapel Street. Chapel Street down where Cappella is is both scenic and not scenic. The good news is that you get lovely views of both Needham Town Hall and Saint Joseph's Church. The bad news is that you are in the heart of the dry cleaning district - and next to a gas station to boot. (A major one that services the needs of much of the Needham population.) There are a lot of diners going to and from Cappella or the other well frequented restaurants of Chapel Street. So there is a scene to watch - and some beautiful buildings to look at. If I had spilled tomato sauce on my shirt - which I didn't, I had a broad choice of places to bring my dry cleaning the next day. * * * Altogether a wonderful and magical evening. An evening to remember served with magical potions of forgetfulness. read more

Cute place! We were a party of 7 with reservations. They were good with a peanut allergy. The food was great... Star of the show was all the pastas. We got squid, chicken parm, eggplant parm, veal chop, gnocchi. Duck gnocchi and Parma were amazing. Kids got butter noodles and chicken fingers. My kids are picky about the butter noodles, what there to screw up?? Plenty of butter, al dente, salt. Service was a little hit / miss but I think our server was new(er). Didn't impact our experience and will be back! read more

Excellent service with surprisingly good food and drinks, right in the heart of Needham.

I had been wanting to try this restaurant for a while because we have friends who love it. Went for dinner on Saturday night. I made a 7:30 reservation. When we got there there was no table open. The hostess said it would be 10 to 15 minutes. There's no place to stand so we squeezed in next to the bar. It was extremely loud, so we couldn't really talk to each other. 15 minutes later the manager came over and offered us high top right next to the door, which I refused. She said we should feel free to order a drink at the bar, but did not offer to comp us. We did order a drink, but we were standing in a cramped spot near the door and the waitress had to keep pushing by us to get to her tables. We were seated 30 minutes after our reservation, and it took another 15 minutes to get the chance to order. Nobody came by to apologize for the delay. I almost never look for any kind of comp at a restaurant, and that's good because nobody offered to comp anything. The servers were good. The food was good but not outstanding. Maybe I was just no longer in the mood to enjoy it. read more

Food is okay. It used to be better but it appears to have gone down. It's quite loud in the restaurant and not quite what it used to be a few years ago. Reservations are hit or miss so take your chances or sit at the bar. We've also gotten takeout a few times and not super impressed either. Kinda pricy for just okay food. read more

Small neighborhood place with lovely ambiance and food. We enjoyed the meatballs and the vodka pasta. Winter sangria was solid. Service was very attentive. I would definitely return. Recommend reservations. read more

Cappella Restaurant - Rigatoni vodka - Italian Near Me - Needham, Massachusetts

First time eating here. We booked a table late so only a high top by the bar was available. The noise was deafening! People are standing and talking while they wait for a table or seat at the bar and are practically in your lap. Luckily the service made up for it! Our server was great with my allergies. My husband's dinner was delicious. My salmon was initially not cooked as requested, but quickly remedied. Desserts were excellent. read more

The food was good. The service, on the other hand, was not. While other tables were being served attentively and cheerfully, our server was nowhere to be found. We repeatedly had to flag down other staff - to ask for water, to have our orders taken, to ask for a spoon with the stew. Yes, I was served a seafood stew with neither a spoon nor a bowl for the shells. While none of this may have been badly intended, it was nonetheless lacking. Will I return? Unlikely. For while the experience wasn't terrible, I believe that I - and my time and my money - deserve better. read more

Best steak I've had in a long time! Cooked just right. Highly recommend this restaurant. read more

Cappella Restaurant - Italian Near Me - Needham, Massachusetts

Cappella is spectacular! Great food, great drinks, and great service! Rob and his crew are consummate professionals and it shows!

Great wine list. Good service. Fun bar area. Unfortunately a bit of a limited menu especially with allergies.

Black truffle wheel is very good. Also tried the Bronzino. Good service too. For a suburban restaurant, its a nice option

The bolognese was very good! I would recommend trying it! The gelato was also delicious read more

Cappella Restaurant - Lumache Vodka - Italian Near Me - Needham, Massachusetts

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Went to this restaurant for the first time to celebrate a friend's birthday. We ordered a beet salad and an appetizer with cheese and charred Brussels sprouts both of which were absolutely outstanding. I had eggplant parmesan which came with pasta with simple sauce.Both were really good, the eggplant being best I ever had. The other 2 had swordfish which they really liked. Don't usually post reviews but this was special. To note our server was also great. read more

10 out of 10. 5 stars. 2 thumbs all the way up. Rarely will my husband and I equally enjoy the same restaurant. For the last 90 minutes, neither of us have stopped talking about how much we LOVED this experience. First. The bread. Come on. Probably the best smelling bread I've ever been near. I'm not a big bread eater but I was surely tempted. My husband devoured it like it was potentially his last meal. Next, the octopus. Texture-eaters, have no fear. Tender, delicious, and the accompanying flavors on the plate were to die for. I think they should sell their rosemary aioli by the quart ‍. Trying to convince me to eat brussell sprouts is no easy task, but they were *world class*. Cheese wheel pasta. I'm fairly certain my husband shed a tear of happiness while eating it. Pasta was perfect and whatever kind of magic is infused in the cheese wheel changed our lives. Finally - the Salmon. Listen. I'll put salt on ANYTHING. Anything. I didn't need a single grain of salt nor pepper because the salmon was *perfect*. The whole meal from start to finish was superb. Sweetheart server Lucy and the hospitality of Chef Gary were heartwarming and memorable. We'll be back for sure! read more

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I don't do as many reviews these days but felt I had to do another after last Friday's dinner. One of the best restaurant meals I can remember. Wife and I sat at the bar. Every dish outstanding preparation, presentation and flavor. Perfectly mixed drink. The black truffle wheel is an addiction, we can't get enough of it. Both salmon and sirloin tagliatelle were "wow" plates. Our willpower could not stand up against the crème brûlée cheesecake, and then our "blow-away" meal was complete. Smart and personable service, warm ambiance and consistent attention to detail create an upbeat vibe without pretense. read more

Came in here for early dinner with the kids and everything was excellent. We LOVED the calamari and specifically loved that it was grilled not breaded and fried. I feel like it's so rare to actually get calamari prepared that way--light, fresh, so tasty! I have been dreaming about cheese wheel pasta and love that I don't need to go into the city and deal with terrible parking etc... The truffle cheese wheel pasta was excellent! The brussel/burrata appetizer was cooked to perfection. The brussels were crispy and had charred bits just like we love them. We will be back very soon. read more

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Great food and great service in a warm and vibrant atmosphere. The truffle parm caci e Pepe is a must try. The beets were great, too.

Fantastic service in this space. I was received and seated right away but had called ahead and my timing was before an evening rush. Nice ambiance. The pasta was excellent, sauce was perfect in temperature and acidity. I loved the flavor. Meatballs were good, i am from south, so my taste for meatballs is slightly different. These were good but i prefer less bread crumbs, and more sauce. I was visiting but if I lived there this would be on my regular favorite list. Great job Capella's. read more

Food was OK for Italian place. Pasta was cooked well. My biggest complaint was the server claim they ran out of bread at 7:45 PM. What kind of Italian restaurant doesn't have bread? Ordered 1 L bottle of Caymus server brought 750 and it registered about 46°. Not sure why this place keeps their red so cold. Still charged us for the litre. I'm thinking you could use to tighten up your operation. There's a lot of competition in the Italian dining market. read more

10 out of 10 every. Single. Time! Delicious food from local farms, incredible flavor profiles, great rotating specials menu and well made cocktails with an excellent staff that ties the experience all together. Typically I don't like to try steaks from restaurants that aren't steak houses but Cappella made me the best steak I've ever eaten. Flavor and temperature were perfect. Their cod special last week was out of this world, I've traveled to over 35 countries and love eating good food, that meal was one of the top meals I've ever had. Thank you to Erin for being a great bartender and to the chef's for making it a special experience every time we come in for dinner and dessert. There's a reason people travel great distances to get dinner here, it really is wonderful! read more

Food is out of this world! I was really impressed with the atmosphere and cuisine. They have a pianist which really elevates the energy in the restaurant. The only minor setback was it took a little bit for the servers to come around, but the food and wine made up for it. Try the black truffle parm. Definitely would go back! read more

Cappella in Needham tonight for the Win My Video for our Appitizers magically disappeared Chef Rob Picardi sent out complimentary Pumkin Raviolis for us to share..Delicious and thank you again Chef We also share Black Truffle Wheel Pasta that was Magnificent to say the least..A must try when you visit Cappella We also shared Meatballs and a Shrimp dish..All this food and we still hadn't ordered our Entrees lol!! Our Entrees and Desserts are featured in the 2 Videos I posted..Kristen our server provided us with impeccable service once again I like she always does. All in all we had a wonderful time...Cappella in Needham is a must try Restaurant.. read more

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Amazing meal- so impressed by their pasta dishes. Service was great and made me and my family feel right at home.

My wife and I visited on what was, apparently, their first night being open to the public (we have long been waiting for them to open for months and they had numerous delays.) The interior is cozy and warm; it feels a bit like a a restaurant you'd find in Boston's North End. We found the staff very welcoming, attentive, and eager to please. As we sat down at the bar, our bartender, Liz, noted that they were out of several items. We ordered a barolo (very tasty, if a bit on the pricey side at $16.) We noticed that a couple, next to us had the risotto and the chicken. Both dishes looked terrific and I asked them how they liked them. She said that the risotto was excellent and that her husband found the chicken one of the best he's had! Good enough for us. We ordered one of each. (We were warned that the chicken took 30 minutes to prepare.) The risotto came out very quickly and it was rich and tasty with good chucks of mushroom and was imbued with the lovely aroma and taste of truffle. It was very satisfying, however I found the portion just a bit on the small side. Now the chicken...definitely worth the wait. It was cooked perfectly; very (and I mean, very!) crispy on the outside with tender and moist meat. It was served along with a few roasted potatoes (not the red bliss as advertised; not an issue, but...note to Management: please add a few more here!) It also came with a side of rabe that was decent. As for sauce, I did not detect a good deal of it, which the dish could have benefited from. With that said, I would agree with the gentlemen next to us -- it was an excellent preparation of the chicken; one which I will definitely order again!! Toward the end of our meal, the chef came out to chat with us and ask us how we enjoyed our meals; we appreciated that. Overall, we found our experience very comfortable and enjoyable and we are excited to have Cappella in the neighborhood. They are clearly working out the kinks in staffing and in the kitchen, but all seemed, relatively, in command and not flustered, and the quality of the food was excellent. We look forward to returning very soon! read more

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This is seriously well prepared and executed Italian food. This is a must visit. Highly recommend. Everything we've ever ordered was delicious and well prepared. ( prime burger, bolognese sauce over fresh pasta, chicken parmesan and Cheesy/creamy Arancini Balls.) Definitely, worth a visit! read more

The food here is amazing. Wife and I had the Brussels and Burrata to start. We also had the wood grilled octopus. The octopus is one of my favorites, I get it every time. For dinner, my wife had the cheese wheel pasta. I had a few bites, it is delicious. I went for the 16oz ribeye, medium rare. The Yukon mashed, and asparagus were perfect. The finished with the home made, salted caramel gelato. We didn't think we had room for more, but I'm glad we did. One of the best desserts I have ever had. read more

Nice Italian spot, the bread was EXCELLENT! Great service and well made cocktails. Inside was a little loud, but did not take away from experience. read more

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**Updating my review as I misrepresented the amount of a dish. In addition, the owner has reached out to us to resolve our issues and we are satisfied. I love great service and the responsiveness of Rob has been very appreciated** We were a group of 10 coming to celebrate a graduation and were seated promptly. It was a Monday and an early dinner so we were the only table seated. I'll start by saying that the service was impeccable. The entire staff who assisted our table were phenomenal and our waitress was very sweet. She even walked my mom to the car with an umbrella because it started to rain. So....I just love her, actually. The decor is warm and inviting and the drinks were good. Many of us ordered the Strawberry Basil and enjoyed it. The Good. The Brussel sprouts with buratta were a favorite at the table and all around tasty. Perfect amount of balsamic although I wish the burrata wasn't so cold. I personally like my brussel sprouts crispy so I enjoyed it, but I'm sure others would say they were a little burnt. The tuna tartar was also really good and a nice portion size. I ordered the Gemelli pasta with fennel, sausage, escarole, & parmigiano. I really liked it. It has a slight spicy heat to it due to the chili and fennel pollen and the pasta was well cooked. Very flavorful. The ok. The salmon was dry. I could imagine it being good if it were not over cooked. The 2 people at my table who always cook ALL their food to its 2nd death liked it. If you're considering ordering it, let the staff know your preference. My sister-in-law got the shrimp bruschetta. She liked it. The bad. Lobster Fra Diavalo was a special for the day. It was $28 for one dish and was not meant to be shared, as our waitress told us. My daughter asked what other seafood was in the dish and the waitress said only lobster. We have never had a lobster fra diavalo with only lobster as we usually order it at The Daily Catch which, if I may say so, is perfection. My son, husband, and 2 daughters shared 2 orders anyway and the waitress nicely split it for us, but when it came it was literal spaghetti with absolutely NO seasoning and a measly piece of lobster in each plate. I am sure it would amount to about one full claw. We ordered 2 of them so I paid $56 for spaghetti. Just so we are clear, the night before we ordered lobster rolls from GRUBHUB (!) from a place near our hotel in Dedham. They had 3 times the meat as this dish, the meat was super fresh....and it was like $18. I'm not trying to give this place a hard time but what we were served for $28 is NOT acceptable. Someone else in my group left a review and Chef/Owner was not pleased but, again....so we are ALL clear, not one of our servers ever asked how was the food. Possibly because they knew. Our plates were cleared promptly. I would have sent both dishes back but someone ate the lobster meat...it was just a bite....seriously....and left a big plate of tasteless spaghetti. They said the lobster was decent. Just wish it were more. The Chef/owner reached out to another person in my group regarding their dissatisfaction and I love that type of service and, honestly, their Menu looks great. I would give them another chance. read more

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