Ristorante La Capannina
It’s the turn of the century – Nineteenth to Twentieth not Twenty to Twenty-one. A young woman living in Capri - a small island off the south west coast of Italia. A single block of limestone-3.9 miles long with a maximum width of 1.8 miles, rising 1,932 feet above the sea.
At the time, travelling to NYC was by steamship, which had replaced sailing vessels in the late 1800’s. The journey averaged 21 days. She arrived in NYC looking for work. What she found was her Italian husband. Missing their beautiful Italian island, they returned to Capri and opened a restaurant. They had a son, Antonio. Years later he travelled to NYC for work. Ironically, there, he meet his future wife. Like his parents they returned to the restaurant they had established on the lovely island—Capri.
During World War II, with the allies invading Italia, and the battle for Salerno negatively impacting Capri, they were forced to close the restaurant. They had family along the eastern coast on the Adriatic. They moved their small family to Abruzzo to escape the allied invasion of Italia in September, 1943. The allies choose to invade Italia from the south. After taking Sicilia both sides suffered great losses on the beaches of Salerno 38 nautical miles across a narrow channel from Capri. It took until June of 1944 to reach Roma. At the conclusion of World War II, the family returned to Capri to reopen their restaurant.
Capri is made up of two communities - Capri and Anacapri. An undersea aqueduct brings fresh water from the mainland as the island has a general lack of water. 2.3 million tourists come each year. Most come for the day, but those lucky few who stay in one of the lovely small hotels are treated to some of the best food in a country known for good food.
Ristorante La Capannina
Via Le Botteghe
Capri, Italia
This restaurant is tucked away along one of the tiny walking streets of this magical island. It is an amazing combination of sophistication and holiday atmosphere. In spite of the brutto few tourists, sadly mostly Americans, who show up in shorts and baseball caps, it is a restaurant that says, “please come properly dressed.” The small front door leaves you at an upper level, but the real restaurant is down the stairs. The dining room is fresh and inviting as the outdoors, green, white and pastel colors beautifully caressing the well-appointed tables.
The food is amazingly well prepared with a diverse menu of both recognizable favorites and choices unique to this restaurant.
The real elegance and ambience of this restaurant belongs to Antonio De Angelis, the son of the founder, and his son, Francesco. Antonio is the elegant 86-year-old owner. I mention his age only to underscore this gentlemen’s remarkable accomplishment and continued dedication. He patrols the dining room both at lunch and dinner seatings. His elegance and grace are as welcoming as they are charming. If you miss the chance to engage you are missing the opportunity to fully appreciate this beautiful restaurant. His son equally displays the art of the true restaurateur. They reward the guests with an experience that can only come from hospitality crafted for over 100 years. This restaurant, founded in the 1920’s, with a brief closing while the Allies figured out how to get rid of the Germans, has imbedded the DNA of hospitality and elegance into each generation of this family...
I so much wanted Antonio to join us for dinner so I could hear about his life and the history of this restaurant. It is a living organism, full of a history of serving meals to the famous and not so famous, as well as the brutally dressed t-shirt and shorts group
This restaurant and the 100-year family tradition that is their foundation is the best example of how restaurant hospitality touches the very core of relationship development and the sharing of true human connection.
Antonio and his wife live above the restaurant. After a morning coffee and walk with his wife, Antonio is at work creating, yet again, a memorable experience for all that are lucky enough to walk through his door. To arrive and be greeted by everyone ( i mean everyone)working there with sincere warmth and kindness is the epitome of hospitality and a true restaurant experience.
My experience with wonderful restaurant owners and their dedication to their craft is represented and encapsulated by this gentleman, his family and his restaurant.
Respect these establishments leave the shorts in the drawer --- dress up!!!!