Value for the money: very low Food taste: hit and miss, some things good (filet, branzino, pork chop, corn ravioli); most are poor to fair Service: oddly rude and nice. Standoffish is probably the best way to describe. They seemed eager to get the turn on the table (and our check total including tip was over $200/pp. Environment: loud to the point of stupid. We can afford any restaurant so I'm not going to complain about the really ridiculous prices for food which is no better than a fine dining restaurant charging market prices. We brought our own wine - two bottles that would have cost 4 times what we paid for them. As a wine collector and connoisseur, I am used to paying high prices for a good wine list in a restaurant but Capos prices are just plain gouging. Great list but stupid pricing. We tipped well and I feel bad about that, looking back on it. If you just have to go, don't be disappointed - the bad reviews in Yelp are real and earned by this establishment. You've been warned... read more

This place is amazing. We went here for our date night a couple weeks ago and had a blast. the restaurant is pretty small and dimly lit and is very romantic. I suggest making reservations and ask for a table in the corner. Also dont call the day of unless you dont want to eat dinner until 9:30. This way you can have a little more privacy and can people watch. We sat in the middle of the floor, and were comfortable the whole time. The service was great. I hate it when the servers will not leave you alone and constantly asking if you are alright or if you are finished. That did not happen here. We were not rushed at all and took our time. Our server did give us some awesome suggestions though. Two suggestions 1. Come hungry: The crab cake appetizer was to die for. I do not really even like crab and this was stellar. it was served in a cute little cooper dish right out of the oven. I had pumpkin ravioli for my main and it was fabulous. **They make their own pasta at capo and the ravioli was perfect. They also have a wood burning oven (my boyfriend had a steak cooked from there and was in heaven). We had a souffle for dessert (order it in the beginning) and WOW. They have many varieties there. We had the hazelnut and were blown away. moist, light, and delicious. They also have a fantastic wine list. 2. Bring your wallet This place was definitely a splurge. However, the price was completely worth it. We will return here for another date night once our wallet recovers. read more

Great food , celebrity sightings and great service. Had the tasting menu - with two people they had different dishes for each so we could taste many of the dishes. The Octopus appetizer was amazing. read more

Have been here numerous times, and it is always the best dining experience. Foie gras was melt-in-the-mouth delicious. I ordered filet mignon with the bone in and it was prepared to perfection on the grill/hearth that you can see in the corner of the dining room. The filet came with the most savory and unusual selection of Tuscan beans with butter. Highly recommended, but take someone who knows wine as they have a great wine list. read more

Extremely expensive, but well worth it if it's in your price range. Nice room, a little small but intimate feel. Fireplace in the corner added to the ambiance. Service was very nice, professional, friendly. The pasta with kobe beef appetizer was great, as were the salads. I had a terrific steak, the seafood was well done also. But the highlight was the candied bread pudding which was melt in your mouth delicious. We plan to go back, if for no other reason than the candied bread pudding -- and I'm not a bread pudding fan. read more

Truly wonderful service, knowledgeable, anticipating... the dishes are well crafted; a superb, delicious experience in distinctive while fun ambience. Al Forno by almond wood imparts a delightful flavor to Caesar and other dishes. read more

I love this restaurant. The chefs tasting menu is amazing. Some of the best dishes and wines in the city. Also one of the most expensive restaurants in Santa Monica so make it a special occasion. read more

This place is by far one of the best I have been to in LA. It's small and almost unseen. They don't pressure you to order, eat and leave so they can sit another party. You can actually enjoy a dinner the way it should be enjoyed. If you want to be flashy and have people see that you drive a certain kind of car, go to the Ivy or Mr. Chow. Capo is legit. The food is amazing, the wines are great and it truly is a great time. It can get loud and tables tend to be a bit close to each other but when normal people on the street don't know about a place, it's for a reason. If you want to impress a date, a boss or simply become more educated on the fine restaurants in LA, go here. If you want to run in to CEO's, Meryl Streep, or Julia Roberts, I've seen them there on different occasions. To see the Lindsey Lohans and Paris Hilton's of the world, stick to the Ivy. read more

The best dinner spot in Santa Monica, hands down. Whenever I get the chance I make sure to eat at Capo, and tell my friends to eat at Capo. A few YEARS back they took my favorite item off the menu, but still upon request will make it for me, I can't ask for anything more. It's pricey, but worth every penny. The earlier the reservation the less crowded it is which is always nice. read more

Fantastic. Great food with impeccable service and a really nice atmosphere. You really can't go wrong so order anything. Some standout dishes: Octopus app, Burrata and the huge imported white asparagus. For entrees: the fish of the day, the filet mignon (a big 16 oz piece). Dessert: volcano chocolate cake, flourless chocolate souffle and the ice creams. read more

If you know what a "slow fodd" means and love dimmed light, this cozy and gourmand place is right for you. Reservations are mandatory and still there may be a time waiting when you come in. Don't waste it if so, get a drink at the bar. For a wine connoisseur while thumbing though the "wine list" which is not a list but is on 113 pages you can even forget about the main thing you came in - your dinner. Impressing collection of Kistler and Peter Michaels, each takes a whole page. You can bring your own bottle of wine if you want - but the corcage fee is 50$ for your information, so should be really valuable bottle if you decide to. As for the price range - is 30-40% higher than in Marvin restaurant and bar that I wrote about already, which is in Beverly Hills. They have the same chef, by the way. As for the food: mmmmm it's just undescribably delicious. I don't even know what to tell you about exactly. Fish or meat or lobster or what? Everything is good there, all that they have! It's italian, so italian delights? Pasta, spaghetti, risotto, prosciutto, scaloppini, steak fiorentina.. They have all that you might think of, even the rabbit, not saying about French delights - foi gras, Spanish - jamon, Russian - caviar... All! For dessert: some should be ordered way in advance, like chocolate souffle. And it's definetely worth trying. The check? Is quite above the avarage. But, nevermind, as they say, noblesse oblige:) read more

It was good, but way too expensive for what you get. At these prices, Capo should be epic!

I had forgotten why I hadn't gone back to Capo after many years. As I sat at the bar waiting for my date, I looked at the wine list---wines by the glass are plentiful but they ranged from $22-over $100 per glass...silly. When I ordered swordfish parmesan special I was not told it was $87; the salmon was $70; a burrata salad was $40. Over $300 for a casual dinner at the bar--great service and great food admittedly but the pricing and the location near 3 - 5 star hotels screams tourist trap. Look at Spago, Jean Georges, and Polo Lounge pricing or the best Italian in LA, Angelini, on Beverly Blvd. read more

Incredible wine list, very solicitous service, but always pr icy. I've had wonderful meals here and some tremendous winiest the price point is honestly tough on the wallet. Expect to spend. The pastas are incredible-Max, Bruce's son, is the Maitre' D and he is gem. A local fave. read more

This restaurant is as good as it gets! The hubs and I came here last Friday night at the last minute. The only reservations we could get were at 6PM, but if I don't eat early, things quickly go downhill, so it was win-win (ha ha). We arrived and were seated immediately at a table with a great vantage point of the whole restaurant. By 6:45, the entire restaurant had filled up, and we were happy that even though there were only 2 of us, we were given a table that could have seated 4. For our appetizers, we ordered the grilled ceasar salad and the calamari which were both prepared on the open fire grill in the corner of the restaurant. Both were excellent, especially the calamari - it was a flavor explosion! For our entrees I ordered the Rigatoni with Truffle Meat Sauce. It. Was. Ridiculoso. Seriously - I have never had pasta that delicious and creamy (even though it was not a cream sauce). I thought I would have left overs but I could not stop eating it! My husband ordered Lily's Chicken which was also prepared on the open fire grill - it was so delicious he would only give me one tiny bite!!! He guarded his meal like a crazy hoarder and ended up with left overs which our waiter suggested we have for brunch the next morning with eggs - YUM! For dessert we ordered the Blackberry Crisp (you have to pre-order this one) and it was the perfect ending to such an extravagant, indulgent meal. My husband and I aren't really dessert people, but the crisp just sounded so delicious that we ordered it thinking we'd only have a bite or two. WRONG - we ate the whole thing! THEN, a plate of cookies, mini tarts and chocolates hit the table. These people are trying to fatten us up, I swear! But at this point, we were STUFFED and neither of us wore stretchy pants to dinner, so we took those goodies to go :) The ONLY negative I experienced at this restaurant, and it is in NO WAY the restaurant's fault, is that near the end of our meal, a table of four was seated next to us. One lady at this table was wearing perfume which was so cloying, that I could not taste the last few bites of my Blackberry Crisp! I wish more fine restaurants would request that diners not wear fragrances - it really can ruin the flavors of such a beautifully prepared meal. Anyway, the silver lining is that this woman arrived during our dessert, so she did not ruin our entrees! Bottom line, I will come here again. I like it when my socks get blown off - it doesn't happen often :) read more

Always awesome! White corn and truffle raviolis are always a must.

I was so looking forward to this meal, given the accolades I've heard from coworkers and friends as well as the glowing yelp reviews. Everything was on the right track the first 30 minutes: ambience - check, service - check, appetizers (fois gras, octopus) - check. And then our entrees come - the duck was good but the carbonara was sad. The pasta was soft and the sauce was worse - almost tasted like mac and cheese. Not much pork in there so thought we got the wrong dish until our waiter came by and asked, "the carbonara is the best here, right?" We meekly smiled and left the plate half full. Then the bill came - like the other reviews, we were shocked. The bill was so ridiculous we momentarily thought we just had a meal in London. Come here for the ambience and service only if you can expense this on a corporate account. Otherwise, please avoid. read more

Everything we ordered was absolutely delicious! Started out with the artichoke done 'al forno" and the Calamari. Artichoke was okay but the calamari was one of the best dishes i've had. Most of the calamari was grilled & it was perfectly done! For the main dish, we ordered the branzino & the rigatoni with lamb meat sauce with truffle. Highly highly recommend 2 people to order that combo, perfect balance! One of the best branzinos i've had, al forno, cooked over the almond wood furnace. read more

Great restaurant and service, but prices are high. $20 for the lowest priced glass of red. I regret ordering the $32 burrata bruschetta... the runny egg yolk all over it made me feel a little sick; not a great way to start your meal. But the pastas were delicious and they do half and half combos if you can't decide or want to try two. Perfect for the truffle corn ravioli since it was so rich... Pairing it with a tomato sauce item works well. Portions were good on the pasta, and they have a nice complimentary bread plate and dessert plate. If you can't get reservations, bar seating is nice! read more

Risotto wasn't the best, the steak was over cooked and it took too long in between courses. I did like my prime rib - it's cooked in the wood-burning open hearth. read more

I don't know what to rate about because I got sick. Well, both my girlfriend and I got sick; more her than me. This was basically food poisoning and all the wonderful symptoms that come with it: vomiting, diarrhea, sweating profusely, etc... not fun at all. I took her there for her birthday and was seated promptly. We got the table next to the bar (eh, it was okay). It's a bit cramped in there was the table next to me was crowding my space; some lady even scooted into me and did not even say a thing. We ordered the duck liver pate, mini meatballs, and wanted to order the smoked salmon, but they were out. Our server then "recommended" the heirloom tomato salad in lieu of the smoked salmon and we didn't really want it, but for some reason it showed up on our table (whatever). I ordered the dungeoness crab risotto and she ordered the Bucatini Lamb ragu. Perhaps since Saturday is their last day of opening and closing Sunday/Monday, maybe we got a bad batch of food. Regardless, this left us sick, very sick. I left a manager on their reservation line with the attention to their manager, so I'm hopeful I'll get a call back. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This is an addition to my my previous post. The manager, Anthony, and I eventually connected. Some how my messages were deleted, but one of Capo's host (I believe) notified the manager, Anthony, about my message. When we finally connected, Anthony and I spoke for a bit about our experience. It was a rare instance and he made me feel a lot better about the experience we had. Anthony proposed a solution, which was really appreciated on my part. Some places don't even go out of their way to help rectify the issue/experience, but Anthony made sure to connect with me through multiple attempts. He wanted us to have a much better experience as they have a few restaurants. I am changing my rating because of the post experience for our first time at Capo. Thank you Anthony - your words and kindness are duly noted and appreciated. read more

Very average overall experience. Cramped dining area, cheesy decor. 2 stars for the effort. read more

Trust is the key word for Capo!!! I have been coming to this place for years. Always beyond expectations!!! The Lobster risotto and Veal Scaloppini need to be at the top of any list you may have. Bravo, Capo. Keep evolving. I trust you will... read more

Best Italian isn't Santa Monica. The grill makes everything so delicious. The Octopus is absolutely the best I've ever had.

My husband had a beautiful pasta with clams. And the bread is delicious. The wine list extensive. My meal was WAY OVER SALTED. I had the lasagna, and the salad with lardon. (which I know can be salty..) I wasn't expecting it to be $200 with wine for 2 people. But that is what it was...Nice location. But, ugh. Pricey for what it is. Pasta. read more

Good food but nothing great. Their truffle bake Mac was really good but aside from that I wasn't impressed. I ordered the NY steak and it was good, but not good enough for the price. The steaks I make are much better! Sorry guys. read more

It is very goos restaurant, The pasta is delicious, the best pasta I ever had is there.But the steak is so so. I only come for pasta and risotto but definitely not the steak. read more

Get the Truffle Meat sauce pasta. Will change your life. Amazing experience from start to finish. Always seem to run into Celebs at this place. read more

Amazing food and atmosphere , had the tasting menu . Recommend it for your first time , get to try the pasta , fish , steak ... a little by of everything read more

Capo is one of LA's best restaurants. Our most recent visit was better than the last. This time we sat at the bar - a great experience because of the charming and entertaining bartender (Brian?). The rigatoni with truffled meat sauce is worth the visit, cost and calories - DELICIOUS! My husband loves this dish and "levitates" when he's eating it. Then, he dreams about it days later. I had a simple saffron truffle risotto which was done perfectly. Capo is expensive, but where are you going to find so many truffle options in LA? read more

Wow, this place is phenomenal, very romantic, definitely you can dress up here, but you dont have too, dress shoes good, entrees $35-$50

Definitely recommend this place for a very special night out or if you have money burning a hole in your pocket. It's as pricey as it is amazing. Been here twice and ordered totally different food both times and everything that came to the table was delicious. Elliot was our most recent waiter and he was a delight. The pumpkin ravioli may have been a special, but it was fantastic, so if its available, definitely get it. The grilled calamari was also a must have. We did the branzino, which was really good, but if it's not your favorite, I wouldn't suggest going for it. The meats are super, so go for a steak here if you love your red meat. The martini was mmm tasty, but it must have been very strong because we shared a bottle of wine which we do typically and we were stumbly upon departure (luckily we stumbled to our house a half a block away). If you want to get a taste of their specialness, go to the Curtain next door owned by the same team - I cannot imagine they don't share much of their inputs - its really good too. The menu is limited though (salad (no meat - I guess they'll put a turkey or beef patty on it), burgers and pasta). The service is so sweet! Edgar is here every night working hard - often doing the cooking and waiting on tables. read more

The atmosphere is very cool, chic and classy. The wine list is superb as is the food. The menu is a bit too large but seems like everything on it is good. Service was way too slow and honestly the place was way too overpriced. Would still try it again at some point though. read more

Very enjoyable. A pleasant surprise of an evening, but then again it's always a pleasant surprise when my husband that works ALL the time gets to take me out. I truly enjoyed the chefs introduction of fresh grilled vegetables and some burrata (one of my favorite cheeses), but seemed to be closer to Buffola. My dirty martini was well portioned and the wine continued to flow. It's suggested to bring your own bottles and pay the corkage fee. Our party brought so many bottles we ended up taking a few home. My grilled fish was fantastic and perfectly portioned for me to share and enjoy. We were with friends and shared the assortment of pasta dishes. I wasn't wowed but everyone seemed to enjoy them. My husband wasn't all that impressed by his meat or the others that surrounded him, but he did like the different fish dishes (not to fishy). Valley parking can be a wait when you are ready to leave, so be prepared. The tables are close together but service is great. Those servers really know how to wined their way in and out. The open fire that they grill the food in is amazing and wonderful to watch. Also read the reviews on Zagat if you need more insight. read more

duckhorn merlot = very good cheese tortellini = amazing foie gras = very rich, enough to share with 3 people veal chop = a little charred but not bad chocolate crème bruleé = very good relaxed atmosphere, great service, gets a little loud at times. Went on the company's dime so I didn't pay attention to the (very high) prices read more

A very cute restaurant with great lighting and art. I loved the complimentary cheese pastry that they gave at the beginning of the meal. It was absolutely fabulous! The wine was great and the pasta portions are huge! My husband ordered lobster risotto and I ordered some sort of beef pasta. Both were very good, but b/c they come in such big portions, the flavor gets to be a bit much after a while. I found my beef pasta to be a tad too salty. I can't remember what we ordered for appetizers, but I do remember that they were great. We ordered dessert only to find that they also gave us a complimentary dessert plate with assorted sweets. We were stuffed to the brim, but very happy with our meal. read more

We had dinner here with our good friends Ian and Olivia. It was our first time here. The food was fantastic and they have a great wine selection. The highlight of the night was easily the asparagus soup my wife ordered. It was to die for! Everything else was superb along with couple of great bottles of wine. We'll be coming back soon. read more

SO AMAZING. I could eat the scallops for breakfast, lunch, and dinner (if I could afford it). Definitely one of the best meals that I've had in LA. I don't remember everything that we ordered, but I honestly don't think you can go wrong at Capo. The most memorable plate was the scallops on top of the creamy pearl pasta. We were practically fighting for the last bites of the pearls. The burrata was also delicious; I think we added that to the heirloom tomato salad. Some of the favorites were: NY steak, rigatoni with truffle meat sauce, lobster risotto, and asparagus salad with lemon truffle. There's truffle on everything! Even the steak had a hint of truffle in it, which was FANTASTIC. It's seriously like truffle heaven. I think we also had the sweet corn ravioli and calamari, both of which were good. The ravioli was delicious, but a little too sweet for my taste. The calamari had a great smoked flavor. read more

Really enjoyed the dinner here. I went for a special occasion - the food is excellent here, it's a little more on the expensive side, but worth it. Everything is fresh and organic - setting is in a great location - it's romantic and quaint. I tried the dover sole, and rigatoni w/ meat sauce. The bbq calamari and tomato heirloom salad w/ burrata is a must-try! Our waitress was lovely and took great care of us. Overall we enjoyed the experience and will be back again! read more

Everything was amazing, from the wine list (1200 strong) to the food, to the service. It's a romantic setting with great food. We shared a fantastic bottle of Silver Oak and the Heirloom tomato vegetables with cheese. It was to die for. I had the Salmon which wasas a little over cooked, but it was still good. For dessert we shared the apple tart and I guess since we ordered a 300 dollar bottle of wine our server who had a fantastic sense of humor brought us a plate of mini cookies, tarts etc. The entire experience was great from start to finish. read more