My friend highly recommended this restaurant, and he is a chef at Autostrada Osteria (a raved about Italian restaurant which I have been meaning to try), so I highly anticipated this new spot. I came in to this beautiful new restaurant Capo and the Spritz just before noon and enjoyed the surroundings. Located in a boutique hotel just across from Yaletown skytrain station, the venture is the work of Autostrada Hospitality, which operates another renowned pasta restaurant, Autostrada Osteria. It is truly a modern, chic and intimate ambience, which is inviting in an unpretentious manner. The interior design masterminds definitely elevated the whole dining experience. It is the perfect place to cosy up to for a date, or for a gathering with family and friends.
Capo & The Spritz represents two separate but complementary experiences: Capo is a classy neighbourhood pizzeria that is sure to be a local favourite. Italian-trained Chef Lucais Syme uses a 36-hour fermented sourdough along with ingredients that blend tradition and contemporary. The Spritz is a sleek cocktail bar that offers warm hospitality with Italian inspired libations, with a robust drink program which celebrates the aperitivo culture of Italy.
The seating sections reflect these 2 experiences, with separate areas, but our waiter kindly let us choose where we wanted to be seated. When we were there, there were a lot of professionals who seemed to be taking a work lunch, and I can imagine it being a reprieve from work, with its amazing design and tasty lunch, happy hour and after-work options. There were also some families with children. It was almost fully booked despite having been opened for slightly over a month, which is great news.
I focused on the food menu, as I am not much of an alcohol drinker. They have a good assortment of starters, sandwiches, pasta and pizza.
I thoroughly enjoyed the gnocco fritto bomba, a popular appetizer. These deep fried dough dumplings were pillowy soft and chewy. In Italy, they are served with cheeses and other cured delights. Here, they were accompanied by the exquisite and mildly spicy chillies, which gave it some kick and detracted from the carb-heaviness. For $8, this was a generous portion.
The shrooms pizza was the star of the meal. Composed of fungi, taleggio (cheese) kale, honey, black pepper (bianco), this was sweet and savoury and flavour heaven. Every bite was exquisite and impactful without being overpowering. I thought it was quite reasonably priced at $24, as the generous portion was enough for 2 people’s lunch. They are currently offering $5 off all pizzas as part of an all-day Happy Hour special. A really good deal for an amazing pizza.
I can see myself spending more time in Yaletown, a quieter and more sophisticated place to hang out in Downtown, to dine here. I am excited to try their pizzas and pastas, and imagine great things for this restaurant when they launch their brunch menu.