My new home of Calgary and I have been flirting, that early stage of all new relationships, where everything is unknown and exhilarating. The heady adventure of trying the city’s restaurants, tasting what it has to offer. But inevitably come the questions. Is this just a fling? Is fine dining here only steakhouses and seared tuna? Is it me?
But then I ate at Capo and everything was clear. I’ve found a true love in Calgary, a place to anticipate, a place to crave, a place that makes my heart flutter.
Enroute magazine praised Capo as Canada’s second-best new restaurant of 2006. But I met Chef Giuseppe Di Gennaro through work, before the accolades started rolling in. I was intrigued by his small but sophisticated restaurant and his passion for simple but sophisticated Italian food.
My girlfriend Zu and I had a rare weekday off and decided to treat ourselves to lunch at Capo. We were the first of the lunch crowd to arrive and could see the chef through the large opening into the kitchen. There are only about 30 seats in the dining room and it filled up quickly with ladies who lunch and business people with corporate accounts.
We started with the calamari and maybe I’m being dramatic but it was the BEST CALAMARI I’VE EVER HAD. EVER. The baby squid ($14) was lightly battered, and infused with lime, sugar and smoked paprika, on top of a salad of orange and baby greens. It was incredible. My eyes just got wider with every bite.
Zu chose the Rosette ($16) as her main course – fresh ravioli filled with Bolognese ragout, splashed with sauteed mushrooms, cheese fondue and crispy sage finish. Amazing.
I had the lunch trio special of the day ($25.95): a tomato salad, pan-fried veal medallions, and penne with tomato sauce. It sounded pretty straight-forward but the “salad” turned out to be a whole tomato creatively sandwiched with thin slices of cucumber, topped with goat cheese and painted with balsamic vinegar.
The veal was incredible, one of those times when the veal actually tasted like veal and not chicken. The penne came in a cute mini cast-iron pot with its own lid. There are lots of little touches like that at Capo.
As we sipped our perfect closing cappuccino and caffe latte, I noticed that even with just a dozen tables, Capo had three or four servers out on the floor. Now, that’s attention to detail.
Capo’s staff provide the best service I’ve encountered in a long time. Attentive, smart, precise, and I dare say, quite good-looking.
Indulgence like this does not come cheap. But unlike some of the mediocre high-end restaurants in town, Capo is worth every penny. I’ll be saving up for our next date.
Capo, 1420-9th Ave. SE, Calgary, Alberta, (403) 264-2276. Open for lunch Wed-Fri 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., dinner Mon-Sat from 5:30 p.m. Closed Sundays and most holidays. More info here.
As the name of my blog suggests, I will pretty much eat anything.
I’m partial to meats but will suffer fruits and vegetables.
I dedicate this to people who love to eat, and find art in their meals. If this blog piques your interest at least once, then I’m happy as a goldfish that eats til it explodes. 
Sounds, looks, and I’m sure tastes amazing!
Dinners are nice, but there’s nothing like a beautiful lunch to accentuate a carefree day-off!
Wow, great pictures and the food sounds amazing.
I tend to judge by lunch. Many places it’s cheaper & if you get the full effort at lunch I know it’ll be a great place to go for dinner.
I agree. And the fact that the chef/owner was working in the kitchen at lunchtime on a Wednesday gave me an immediate vote of confidence.
omg, you guys really have some fabulous looking breakfast spots there. i’m jealous!!!
Wow! Yum!! We have found Calgary to be seriously lacking in breakfast destinations.
But we did have a killer dinner downtown at Cilantro the other night.
This place sounds excellent. I just moved to Calgary… like so many people… with my husband. I’m very intrigued to find all the delicious culinary spots. Thanks for the review, I will keep it in mind.
I’ve been to a lot of fine restaurants in Calgary. I have also had the privilege of dining at Capo. I would have to say I highly recommend Capo due to its exceptional service as well as its authentic taste. I do however feel that this restaurant should not be considered the top restaurant in Calgary. From my experience I think Capo definitely does rank in the top 10 and is well worth the experience. I do a lot of traveling and therefore, I take a lot of my company work with me. Another great benefit of Capo is, it has an excellent computer repair and website design firm located right next door. This is a great asset to business people. The company is called Luxora CCS and they do a great job managing my website as well as keeping my laptop functioning when I need it. Anyhow anyone I’ve talked to about Capo has always agreed it is a great restaurant to visit and therefore I recommend it.
My god you are bang on about the calamari at Capo…I get goosebumps just thinking about it. My favourite dining experience of 2007. Not cheap though – more than $400 for three people (couple bottles of wine though).
I don’t think $400 is too bad. I just spent $180 on dinner at the Keg for two adults and two kids, with a bottle of wine (quite cheap). For fresh, creative and beautifully presented food (not to mention the incredible flavours), I’d quite happily skip two mediocre meals at some places and eat there. My experience at Capo was nothing short of fantastic!