As the only opinion worth hearing is an honest one, I have to say that as much as I love Capri - and our family is nuts about this island - for me it has never been about the food. Our dining experiences have not been the most memorable element (our best pizza aside); the dramatic topography and jet-set reputation is what guarantees the traffic here.
Rather than always looking for the next culinary highlight, we loved sitting on the Piazzetta at 6 o’clock with an evening aperitif, watching some of the most glamorous people in Europe stroll by. However this is Italy, so there are still honorable mentions and one of the family’s favourite lunch spots on earth is here, because in that particular case, all the other strengths of Capri come together to create the total dining experience…
Breakfast at the Quisisana is quite sophisticated and grown-up. Guests instinctively don’t show up in bikinis the way they would in Panarea - which is all about salty skin and total wind-down. Even the younger people act in a way that would work for the upper-end clientele of 50+. This is so not Ibizia!
The hotel’s generous buffet is full of variety, with plentiful portions - and a fun combination of western and continental menus. There are ice buckets full of yoghurts, amazing local mozzarella, scamorza, provolone and caciocavallo cheeses from the Campagnia region, as well as meats, cereals and a huge variety of fresh breads. There is also an à la carte selection if you like your eggs done a certain way. It isn’t a standout that covers all the bases.
We bumped into English-speaking couples by the pool who come from as far afield as New York and San Francisco every year to spend their three-week vacation at the Quisisana. A lot of them are happy to perch by the pool and mostly eat on site. But even here lunch is very formal and probably a little slow for us as the staff take a while to even come and talk to you. We’re just not hotel kitchen, fine dining people.
But it is sometimes handy if you are feeling hungry while you sunbake. We would have a little cold soup at lunch, perhaps a tomato and mozzarella and some kind of pasta for me, and veal for Sheira who can’t eat wheat. There are some really upmarket restaurants here, RENDEZ-VOUS and QVISI, for those who want all the bells and whistles - like snooty waiters, theatrical presentation and complex dishes. I love peasant food at heart - just give me some Italian picnic fixings and I’ll make you a feast!
Everybody walks past this classic spot at some point on a Capri visit. The De Martino brothers have created an institution, now in its third decade. The simple rustic charm of its green checked tablecloths and sea of gorgeous lemon trees is deceptive - a lot of glitzy guests have sat there in the moonlight (Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes had just stopped by).
If you like the idea of trying an old Capri favourite, and enjoy a really romantic al fresco setting with lights twinkling in the trees as the citrus adds zing to the summer air, then give it a try. The antipasto and desserts are on a buffet table, so there was less interaction with the staff about food and the guests were all foreign tourists.
I couldn’t complain about the food or the service, but this type of restaurant is not intimate; it seemed a little bit contrived and commercial to us. It lacked the warmth that we usually seek: we want to make a genuine connection with our whole dining experience. To be fair, we were seated by 8 o’clock and Italy is a late-night culture; tables were only filling in as we left. But I am always a little wary of restaurants that are ‘boxes to tick.’ With nothing to prove, it’s only natural that a place will rest on its laurels a little…
This self-described “couple of tales overlooking the heart of Capri,” is a local legend named after the lady owner who opened this restaurant before even the 1960’s boom years, in post-war Italy. She was one feisty, Italian mama who just believed in the beauty of Capri and wanted to be right in the town centre. We made our way from central square, Piazzetta - the very wide stairs across from the postcard-pretty TORRE DELL’OROLOGIO clock tower took us to the tunnels that lead you right there. Gemma’s has a different closed in, almost medieval feel compared to the breezy, outdoors feel of the rest of Capri.
It’s the most casual restaurant night in Capri and we have eaten here every time we visit. Although a Capri holiday attracts the wealthy, it does not have to be about fine dining and draping yourself in bling. We love the homey atmosphere of the wooden chairs, hanging baskets, thatched ceiling and handmade paper menus - you would feel comfortable in a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. You can’t go wrong with their famous seafood specialties, linguine a moda mio (pasta with ‘fruits of the sea’), oven-baked fish with lemon peel and tubettoni alla masaniello (small pasta pieces with capers, mussels, and prawns). We get the feeing that each generation of locals stops by here; we heard a lot of sing song Italian in the air, which always adds to the atmosphere and makes the limoncello go down well…
On Vittorio Emmanuelle III, which is the retail heart of the town, you can find the best of everything, including the yummiest gelato in Capri. I can’t pass this fabulous bakery and ice cream emporium in La Piazzetta in the daytime without ordering an expresso and a chocolate gelato. They serve every imaginable flavour in beautiful cones or scooped into a buttery, decadent brioche roll. It’s a good thing that my morning runs are hilly here!
If we could wave a magic wand and go anywhere for lunch, our family would usually choose La Fontelina, our favourite restaurant and bathing establishment in the world. It really sums up Capri - gorgeous, craggy coastline, glamorous clientele off-duty, unpretentious summer food and a ‘position is everything’ philosophy.
Because we only had two full days on our last trip I had arranged in advance with concierge Antonio to book us lunch there before we had even left Sydney. It is super exclusive but in that understated way, so even our children love it as well. The first time Sheira and I experienced a lazy afternoon there twenty years ago we walked down the goat track, which I do not advise. It is at the foot of a jagged walkway along VIA TRAGARA. You have to pick your way down, so we prefer to arrive by boat, catching a taxi to the MARINO PICCOLO where there is a shuttle boat at the little SCOGLIO DELLE SIRENE wharf that takes you the rest of the way; it is added to your tab.
While you are waiting you never know who will also be docked there waiting to go for lunch. I took pictures of the Russian billionaire and football magnate, Roman Abramovich’s mega vessel, “Pelorus,” which dwarfed all the others. These are the kind of entrepreneurs that took a major dive in the financial crisis - he alone lost $20 billion (if it makes you feel any better).
You make your way along the coastline to the club, which is stunningly located at the foot of the three famous FARAGLIONE, or seas stacks made of rock, that dramatically jut out of the ocean. The club’s sun baking platforms are built cleverly amongst all the craggy, shallow reefs. As you approach you see people lying on their mattresses and chairs with umbrellas up, while the newer people set themselves up; it is a bit of a procession. There is a netted in area for people to swim safely and the famous La Fontalina restaurant is on the upper level spanning it all, where blue tablecloths all made up under wicker sunshades await.
There is always someone to help you off the boat, and then the interesting game of “position, position” begins. You are at the mercy of the man who runs things at La Fontelina. This no-nonsense gentleman in his late 50s, a real salty man of the sea with grizzled grey hair who is always in shorts and a polo shirt and has godlike powers: he makes everything happen here. Is he the owner? The manager? It’s still a mystery to us. But where he puts you can all depend on how good a client you are, who you are, how big a tip you gave them or if he even recognises you.
We have been quite fortunate and had reasonable seating, but I spoke up when I got a mattress too far from the water or close to someone else. Even after saying, “I don’t like this” you have to be a little forceful, because they may counter with, “we are very busy and there is nowhere to move you.” It’s tricky, because they mostly don’t speak English at all (which I love!), so you have to get your point across with polite attitude.
But it is remarkable how he finds space when he has to - no matter how busy it gets the staff still manage to carve out a little area on every slope or nook as if by magic, so everyone is allotted their own personal space. It is truly a case of seals lying on A-list rocks. We bake in the sun, go for a dip in the bay every 20 minutes, and chat to people from all over the world. One South American lady was the most well-traveled person I had ever met - she had gone to places I have only dreamt of visiting. These are sophisticated, worldly people.
Then the restaurant calls you to lunch, up the slope on the concrete path. I recommend waiting until a good table right on the edge of the terrace becomes available, where you can still look over this setting, which has become so iconic to us. We don’t get to hang out here everyday, so we want still to be a part of the waterfront.
I do love the family simplicity of the food - bread that you pull apart, salads where every ingredient is crisply fresh, pasta pomodoro and slices of sharp, regional cheese to start, then fresh fish, calamari and a glass white wine so cold and crisp that the glass frosts up with dew! I just love sitting there barefoot, as the sunshine lights up the beautiful bottles of olive oil. Over the years we have sent about 7 friends there - and they always text us something along the lines of, “Oh my God” from the table because they know we get a huge kick out of sharing this with them (and now you). This last time we were thinking, if only the kids were here (along with, “I can’t wait to get my hands on some aurbergine stuffed with ricotta”).
Lunch lingers over about 1½ hours amongst a mainly European crowd, with about 10% well-heeled Americans too, who have always had Capri on their radar. After lunch everyone drifts back to the rocks where the umbrellas are up to read, relax, and see who arrives on what boat next… You never know who it will be. After a detour along the coast (see POSITANO) we returned here days later with Cam and Audrey, our dear friends from London. This time Michael Caine and his wife got off the boat for lunch, then Sir Elton John and his husband, David Furnish (very 21st century), arrived. Sheira couldn’t believe how friendly and patient he was having strangers drape their arms around him and snap pictures. Funnily enough we saw him again at Club 55 in St Tropez in summer 2009 where private guards kept anyone with any ideas of an autograph at bay !
This is one of those experiences where you don’t know the cost: the bill arrives as you are leaving. You are charged for your mattress, towels, food and drinks - your kit for an afternoon on the rocks. Two people pay around 250-300 Euros for the experience. Oh what an experience TAKE ME BACK !!
On our boat trip we tried a fantastic new beachclub at PUNTA CARINA, the extreme western point of the island’s coastline, under a gorgeous old lighthouse. You pull into the bay, where the club has been brilliantly integrated with the natural rocky setting at the foot of the Migliera cliffs.
The very craggy coastline seems to organically blend with the man-made stonewalls, alcoves and terraces etched into the side of the hill, one tier over another. A swimming pool with curvy edges is set deeply into the slope’s natural rock cavity and surrounded by bright mustard and navy blue deck chairs; little red sailing boats go bobbing by. The natural and the man-made blend seamlessly - we really loved the Flintstones rawness of the setting.
People are walking past on the way to the beach or wheeling boats down a smooth, wide path right into the water and the club itself is totally hopping with people by the pool, hanging out on a natural alcove that comes out. We tried the restaurant on a covered terrace with nets, perched right under the lighthouse, that gets the sun all day from sunrise to sunset.
The Lido has a traditional wood-burning oven for pizza lovers (who doesn’t throw themselves off the no-carbs wagon when in Italy?) and very seafood oriented pastas such as mussel ravioli, seafood risotto, tubettoni with limpets. There is also lots of local prawns and fresh fish - as well as Campagnia region mozzarellas and specialty cottage cheeses. You can feel free to award yourself the lemon or almond Capri cakes because this is where the northwestern coastal " Walk of the Fortifications" begins! It’s a scenic path that winds around the low hills, passing by the restored ruins, with views you can only see by foot. I’d like to run it on my next visit.
This is the high-end of ANACAPRI - which has never been as big a drawcard for me to stay overight in, as it is away from all the buzz of the Piazzetta and shops of Capri town. It’s even quite rural, with fields of flowers and lush green olive and vine plantations. Volcanic Monte Solaro is Capri’s highest point with little farms at the summit, as well as country-style restaurants. Sheira and I once visited an unusual restaurant that was part café, home and farm.
But our standout memory is by the pool at the Capri Palace Hotel and Spa, which sounds all chandeliers and antique angels but is actually more modern, with pale stone walls polished smooth or left jagged and raw - and organic wools, cottons and cashmere fabrics. We once took the kids up there for a meal when it was raining. We remember it well because while Zoe napped, we were helping the boys write a speech for a childhood friend’s big birthday. We brainstormed with our little budding boy-men under the big, old palms by the pool, with the midrise white buildings as a backdrop.
The restaurant is quite gourmet. L’OLIVO has two 7-course degustation menus with local-only specialties like Stuffed squid and ‘Penne candela pasta with water buffalo meat ragout’ or creative flights of fancy like a suckling veal plate - with cinnamon-scented sweetbreads and deep friend cheek. Of course, our boys couldn’t sit through one of our 7-minute lectures, let alone this multi-layered extravaganza, so we sidelined the pidgeon breast with stuffed walnuts and just enjoyed some simple but hearty pizzas!
Without a doubt, the one thing I would consider mandatory ..
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