Piazza Caprera

t is located on a small quiet piazza in a quiet residential neighborhood, a 10 – 15 minute walk from hotels Albani, Fiume or Beverly Hills. The al fresco seating all face the fountain which is often populated by a small contingent of well-​behaved neighborhood youths that can make for some interesting people watching. This front-​facing seating and the general décor recalled for me the many charming eateries that line the shores of Lake Como. But a casual look around and you are made aware: you and virtually everyone else are at this Sicilian restaurant for one thing: great seafood.
And the seafood that is extraordinary here is the raw kind. And if it’s not the freshest, it’s no good at all. But the raw fish here is very fresh and delicate and tasty. A sea bass carpaccio appetizer was so good, I decided to try another raw dish: shrimp in its various local guises. These are the thin, delicate and absolutely scrumptious.
The service made the evening better still. My server was sweet, charming and very helpful. To top off the meal, they offer a small but nice selection of quality half-​bottles of wine for single diners like myself. I selected an Antinori Cervaro della salla, a chardonnay from Umbria. Italian whites have never much impressed me. This one knocked my socks off. Chardonnays have bored me for some time. But this one woke up the taste buds.
So in all, the fish, the wine, the ambiance and the service combined to make for a delightful evening. I do note the disparity among the earlier reviews. Some of this may be attributable to whether one goes with cooked or raw fish. The one cooked dish I had, although good, would not have brought me back for seconds. It is the raw fish for which this restaurant excels. Also there are complaints that the food is expensive. It is definitely not an inexpensive place to eat. But the person who accuses it of charging ‘Michelin star’ prices can’t have been to one too recently.