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Capo's Italian Restaurants
Category: Restaurants Italian Italian [Edit]
722 Central Avenue SWAlbuquerque, NM 87102
(505) 242-2006
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street, Private Lot
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
18 reviews for Capo's Italian Restaurants
18 reviews in English
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Review from Ed L.
10/24/2011 1 Check-in Here
This place was one of the very few italian restaurants in downtown Albuquerque. I don't know what there is less than stellar reviews on this place. This place is average, I'll admit to that, but that's good for me. I'm surprised this place did get bad reviews, but I guess sometimes people have bad experiences. I get that. For me, this place was decently good.
The place was quiet and found adequate parking after circling the convention center area but could not find it until my group of friends and I saw a small street and circled around the back and found the parking lot for Cappos. The staff was nice and we got the booth. Service was pleasant and average. Food was good. I had the lasagna, the salad, with heinekin. Wished the lasagna was bigger portioned though, but it is what it is. Maybe it was pre made and heated up, who knows.
Yes, while the ambiance was nice and quaint, the food can stand to be better, but well, it was good enough for me and my group. -
Review from Levi E.
Albuquerque, NM
6/15/2011
My! What a nice, Christmas-themed disco club!
...oh, wait- it's a restaurant? Yikes....
This place might be considered classy or good in the late 70s/early 80s in a small, midwestern town with no Italians. The place trailer-park inhabitants might take a prom date.
But seriously: you can buy something out of a box in a grocery freezer-isle that is better, bigger, cheaper and probably better for you. I almost want to give it two stars because it's worth a laugh, but I don't want to get anyone's hopes up. This is not even in my top 50 italian places, even for Albuquerque. In fact, it's not even my favorite place called Capo's. In fact, it's not even my favorite place called Capo's UNDER A MILE AWAY, on Lomas (same owners? That place isn't spectacular, but it's far better than the place on Central).
It's a great location, and something good should really be put in that spot. It'd anchor the whole Downtown-to-Oldtown strip. Instead we got this, a shining beacon for disappointed tourists. It's such a high-profile location that I blame it for our town's poor food reputation. It's been around too long, and we have tons of east-coast legit New Yorkers who have since moved in and opened many great italian places out-of-the-way. This sticks out like a sore thumb beating a dead horse. Chef Boyardee must be spinning in his grave. -
Review from Nancy L.
Rio Rancho, NM
1/31/2011
I've been eating at Villa de Capo at 8th and Central for most of the 17 years I've been in Albuquerque. At the beginning, Hubby and I went to the Hideaway on 4th Street - in fact I had Hubby's 50th birthday party there. We would go for almost any occasion, as it was on our way home from work. We were part of a large group that would hold our meetings there a couple of times a year. We got to know the manager at the Hideaway, and we were broken-hearted when it closed, but things were looking up when they bought and opened the Botega in Bernalillo. Another of the Venaglia children managed that one, and she did a good job, and the location was superb. Unfortunately, this chain has gone sadly downhill.
The last few times we've been to Villa de Capo, the food has been a disappointment. The house salad is little more than a small pile of lettuce with a small wedge of salami and one of cheese. One of my former favorites, the bona mangiata, has deteriorated to a shadow of the former good entree - the last time I had it, it was burned. We've been several times to find watery pasta - I poured half of a water glass of water off my spaghetti one night. It has become obvious that the chef at the Villa either just doesn't care about his job or they have hired a new one who doesn't know how to cook.
The only thing at the Villa that I truly have enjoyed is the lasagna--so much so that I threatened to buy an entire pan and just freeze it at home for future.
The atmosphere is pretty nice - intimate booths and nicely upholstered chairs, and a dining room somewhat reminiscent of an old cruise liner. One of the waitresses, Retha, is absolutely wonderful at her job and remembers us from one visit to the next. But Retha's attentions and good atmosphere don't make up for mediocre food.
Used to be my favorite! -
Review from Heather C.
Albuquerque, NM
12/6/2010
Unacceptable. This was genuinely the worst dining experience I have had in Albuquerque since moving here a little over a year ago. I can boil my trauma down to three simple factors:
1. The food just sucks outright. Overcooked pasta. Sauce that was subpar even when compared to the cheapest of jarred sauces from the supermarket. Eggplant that was flattened down to the thickness of a piece of construction paper, yet managed to be unreasonably tough and chewy. Caesar salad with wilted Romaine, way too much dressing (that tasted like overprocessed, bottled stuff) and tiny little cheap croutons like you would expect at the Sizzler salad bar or something.
2. Stupid overpriced. The Eggplant Parmesan was way too small in addition to being unpleasant as mentioned above. $10.75 for what really equated to a half portion. $8.50 for the lackluster Caesar salad. I wouldn't feel right about giving that food away for free, much less charging full price for it. This was the first time in I don't even know how long that I left a restaurant feeling ripped off.
3. I question the methods of preparation. The food was served way too fast to have been freshly prepared. It was tepid at best when arriving at the table, and then quickly turned ice cold. In addition, I had fierce stomach pains immediately upon arriving home, and for the bulk of the following day. I do not by any means have a weak stomach. The only possibilities I can think of are that either their marinara is made with some meat byproduct that my body cannot handle (I am a strict vegetarian) or their kitchen is less than sanitary. Either one of those would give me reason enough to not go back.
I would not recommend this restaurant to anyone but my worst enemy. And I probably would not even suggest it to them. Stay away. You'd be better off spending your money at The Olive Garden. And that's just sad. -
Review from Don B.
Oak View, CA
7/13/2010
I've visited Albuquerque enough times to not get my hopes up when visiting a restaurant. As a rule, food in Albuquerque is awful, and this place just reinforces that rule. I gave two stars just for the Albuquerque curve (it's probably a California 1/Albuquerque 5).
You'll notice that anyone giving Capo's three or more stars is someone living in Albuquerque. That's because they're Philistines who've never had good food or food without green chilis jammed in it. Notice everyone from someplace with reasonable expectations gives 1-2 stars. That's consistent with ABQ across the board, the locals love it, and anyone who knows better... knows better.
I ordered ravioli. It didn't look like the pasta was made on site, I'm pretty sure they picked it up at Costco or Sam's Club. The sauce I'm almost certain was made on site, because I don't think you can legally sell something that repulsive on the open market, with a quarter-inch of grease floating over the (brownish red) tomato sauce and meat. A few people compared the food to Chef Boyardee, but that's not fair. To Chef Boyardee.
Still keeping my eyes open for that one thing in Albuquerque that doesn't suck, and this wasn't it. Better luck next time! -
Review from Jerry M.
Albuquerque, NM
11/20/2008
Awesome "old school" italian joint located on the fringe of downtown.
Excellent thin crust pizzas, great eggplant and awesome decor.
Service is top notch. Another overlooked albuquerque institution that is on point. Great view of downtown as well as laidback atmosphere.
A must visit if you have never been. -
Review from Dolores G.
Phoenix, AZ
5/23/2010
I have tried Capo's on a few occasions, primarily dinner. I have always found the service to be good. The food however is just ok at best.
On my last visit there I went back and forth on what to have, while I kept looking at the Fettuccine Alfredo with Green Chile and Chicken, I decided on the chicken parm. I should have gone with my first choice. The chicken was 2 small, overcooked, dry, flattened pieces of chicken breast served with a side of spaghetti with meat sauce. They didn't drain the pasta well and there was water all over in the sauce and under the chicken. The sauce was just ok. The salads simple but the ranch dressing was rather tasty. The garlic bread was good just wished they had brought out more than just 1 piece per person.
While I am not much for chains I would still have to say it is as good as Olive Garden.Listed in: ABQ
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Review from James L.
Albuquerque, NM
10/26/2009
Good, Basic Italian food.
Again, as with most ABQ restaurants this place is not going to win any awards for thinking outside the culinary box. That being said, its still good. I ordered the Manicotti (Pasta shells stuffed with ricotta) with the minestrone as my side. First up was the minestrone. This was my least favorite part of dinner. The base of the soup had an overpowering beef taste, almost like I had a whole beef bouillon cube in my cup. The garlic croutons that topped the soup only intensified the beef flavor. Next time I'll stick with the side salad! After my beef soup, I got my manicotti. When the plate arrived, it was a beautiful mess. It had 3 huge manicotti shells stuffed to the brim with perfectly seasoned/flavored ricotta and smothered with the house meat sauce and topped with Parmesan.
Overall, this is a good downtown Italian eatery. Definitely better than any of those chain Italian restaurants in town. -
Review from Drew B.
Minneapolis, MN
4/28/2008
Avoid like the plague
Cold overcooked spaghetti
And sauce from a can
(I have NEVER been this disappointed in an Italian restaurant. The pasta was WAAAAAY overcooked... the sauce was worse than store-bought Ragu... and it was all COLD. Add all of that to the dead flies in the window sill, and that makes for one lousy meal! Actually, I'm pretty sure this place just closed down recently... and I can certainly see why!) -
Review from Scott S.
11/29/2007
Located at the very end of the Central Ave strip across from Hotel Blue, Villa Di Capo is a little quirky, a little old, in need of an interior decorator, but the food and service was pretty darn good and I left quite happy. Then again, I'm sure the wine didn't hurt. However, everyone that I went with was also quite happy with what they ordered. Honestly, I doubt they have updated the interior in 30 years
When the weather permits, they have a lot of outdoor seating which looks like it would just be great to relax, drink some wine and snack on an appetizer. The prices are very fair as dinner and wine for 3 came to $70. They also offer half portions for those people with smaller appetites. -
Review from mark g.
Albuquerque, NM
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Review from Kyle C.
Adolphus, KY
12/2/2010 1 Check-in Here
Private. Romantic, a great place for families. Awesome chicken fettucini alfredo.
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Review from Tom L.
Albuquerque, NM
9/27/2010 4 Check-ins Here
Good food, good service & reasonably priced. Had Rigatoni w/ meatballs. The meat sauce & meatballs are as good as ever, even if the meatballs have shrunk over the years.
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Review from John M.
Parker, CO
4/24/2010
I've eaten here twice and it's a good restaurant with a very nice staff. Not pretentious, not stuffy just friendly with all the basic italian foods. The eggplant parm is good as is the fetucinni alfredo with ham and peas.
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Review from Andrew J.
Portland, OR
11/30/2007
eew.... This place is awful.... bizarre atmosphere, strange waitstaff and disgusting food. It's like they learned how to cook Italian food from Chef Boyardee... And having an entire glass of iced tea on my lap didn't help to make my experience any better, especially when they thought it would be okay to just put a paper placemat over the puddle to "clean it up".... in the words of a good friend, "ef this place".
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Review from Glen L.
Albuquerque, NM
12/16/2006
It's got a neat interior. I always feel like I'm in an episode of the Soprano's when I eat here. Food is decent.
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Review from Luis M.
Albuquerque, NM
11/15/2009
It was quiet, good food, good service, but the food was nothing special. We had the Fettucini Alfredo and spaghetti with chicken. There was a lot of spice and a lot of flavor. It was worth going.
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Review from suburban r.
Albuquerque, NM
4/5/2008
outside of little italy in NYC, arthur's avenue in the bronx and those scattered excellent red-sauce little italian venues throughout NYC [heck, i'd even conjure the good ones i've eaten in venezia, murano, hoboken, firenze, roma, or even buenos aires] capo's gravy-- as the paisano's refer to it is up there- a rounded tomato sauce that is not too sour nor sweet but a balanced tang and spices of rosemary, oregano, and other else-. this is albuquerque and a decent italian restaurant is hard to come by as they do in NYC and other big cities. the location is ideal, on central and 12th at the western edge of downtown albuquerque, at the cusp where residential and urban meets. excellent garlic bread, great service-- met a former fellow NYC waitress and chatted her up about the places in NYC: east village [veneiros, veselka, mappamondo, orologio's etc]. decent place. it's relaxed if kitchy atmosphere, but a great view to central avenue and the adjacent garden and park accross the way... highly recommended.
