If I could give this restaurant negative stars, I absolutely would. Our experience ended with the manager screaming at my grandparents and kicking us out--then telling us we were banned from ever coming back.
Here's the full story:
My grandparents and the five granddaughters (7 people total) had a 5:45 pm reservation at Osteria Capri. We arrived early and were seated by 5:30. We ordered drinks appetizers, and food all at once, and dealt with resistance when one of the granddaughters requested substitutions for her gluten and dairy allergies. We pushed forward and placed our order, even though it was clear they didn't care much for accommodating dietary restrictions. However, while the service was a little slower than expected, it was no big deal. We also requested lemons with our water, but they never arrived until we asked again halfway through the meal.
After ordering drinks, the granddaughters stepped out onto the dock for about five minutes to take photos. We were dressed up, wanted to capture the moment, and there were seemingly no issues with this.
At 5:50, our drinks arrived, and we didn't get our appetizers until about 6:15. No one came to check on us after they were dropped off, and we had to wait ten minutes for salt and pepper that the Caprese salad desperately needed. After our appetizers, we noticed the sun setting beautifully, so we stepped back onto the dock for another quick five-minute photo op. A server came over and told us we had to leave the dock. He was unnecessarily harsh, saying, "I let it slide the first time, but my manager says you need to get off the dock. It's off-limits." We left without a problem, but no signage was indicating that we weren't allowed there. We would have appreciated notice or a kinder approach to the situation, however if that was the only snafu of the night we would have let it slide.
By 6:35, we received our food about an hour after we sat down. The food was good, no complaints there. We continued to order drinks and enjoy our meal, finishing around 7:00. About 15 minutes later, we noticed a large party of 15+ people arriving and assumed they had a reservation.
At this point in the night, we were handed dessert menus, and pretty much prompted to order dessert of some kind. The granddaughters ordered dessert cocktails, and our grandparents had about a glass and a half left of their bottle of wine. Our cocktails arrived at 7:15, and we were almost done.
At 7:30, we paid our $1,000 bill and were still finishing up when the manager came over and told us we had to leave because the large party that pulled in had been waiting for 20 minutes. No warning. No apology. Just a cold, rude demand that we leave. It was the first time we'd heard anything about our reservation time ending. We had not lingered, and there was still a drink on the table. If we'd known we only had a two-hour limit upfront, we would've absolutely respected it, but it's not our fault that the restaurant timed their reservations wrong.
When our grandmother asked the manager to repeat himself because she was confused, he completely lost it. He started screaming at us to get out and was aggressively getting in our grandmother's face. My grandfather had to step in and defend her. I've never seen a manager act like this. Yelling at paying customers, in front of a full restaurant, for no reason other than that they wanted us gone? Unbelievable.
To top it off, the manager told us we were never allowed to come back. For what? Paying customers who've been loyal to the restaurant for 3 years? He completely ruined what should have been a special night for our family.
Bottom line: This restaurant is horribly mismanaged. I've never witnessed such disrespect and lack of professionalism in my life. We won't be back, and if anyone has a recommendation for a better Italian restaurant, we'll gladly take it. read more