We came in after being told by two other restaurants that they were "completely booked" (despite being close to empty) as soon as our children entered the restaurant. Lucky for us, Osteria del Cappello had a few tables open, and we had one of the best meals we've had on our three months in Italy.
First of all, the place was welcoming--there were people of all walks of life here (families, people eating by themselves, older couples, etc.), our server was pleasant and had a big smile the whole time, and we sat down to a table mat game along with game pieces. My husband ordered a local beer, we snacked on delicious bread (we've been complaining to each other that Tuscan bread has absolutely NO flavor, quite the opposite here in Reggio Emilia) and thus we started a long and pleasant lunch.
We started with a plate of tagliatelle with ragù, bowl of tortellini in a meat broth, and a plate of passetelli with pieces of ham. We were blown away by the flavor of everything, especially the passetelli. This pasta consists of just a handful of ingredients--eggs, bread crumbs, and parmigiano reggiano--but because each ingredient is amazing on it's own, you have a delicious combination of them all. The tortellini in brodo was absolutely delicious, too. I was saddened when I ran out of broth to sop up with my bread.
For our second dishes we ordered a regular grilled steak and a grilled steak that was a special for the day--it was supposed to have a balsamic vinegar glaze. Unfortunately, our order got lost in translation and we got a chicken stir fry dish. Not bad, a little dry, but tasty nonetheless.
We finished with a delicious chocolate cake in a rich, creamy mascarpone sauce. A great way to finish an amazing meal. As horrible as it feels to be turned down at other restaurants, it's fantastic when we stumble upon this wonderful restaurant that gave us good food and a good time. Thank you, Osteria del Capello! read more