Capriccio opens, brings another dining choice to North Durham
February 14, 2010
North Durham brings big fields and old farmland turned to neighborhoods, the peaceful flow of the Eno River, and plenty of grocery stores and other shopping staples.
But it's long been relatively devoid of honest-to-gosh sit-down restaurants, compared to central and South Durham.
That changed a bit in recent days with the opening of Capriccio Ristorante Italiano on Roxboro, along what's one of the very few restaurant clusters in the area -- well, inasmuch as a Chick-Fil-A, Goodberry's and Golden Corral constitute a cluster, but anyhoo.
The new eatery is located in what was once a Schlotzsky's Deli, before the franchise departed, and some entrepreneurs tried to give it a go by replacing the word "Schlotzsky's" with "Bull City," but the Bull City Deli found itself bulldozed out of town not too long after.
And there the building has sat for some time, until building permits this fall and a slew of work trucks out front made haste in renovating the structure into an Italian restaurant -- which finally opened in recent days.
The eatery had a small but decent post-church crowd of folks checking out the place on what I think was likely its first weekend.
You can tell that the place has been renovated from the outside just by the nice upfits to the exterior, but that becomes even clearer when you step inside. The interior resembles (and I wouldn't have thought of this as a concept) an upscale Cinelli's, pleasingly so; that was my first impression of its menu, too.
Our dinners tasted fresh and the service was very good, especially for a new restaurant. Judging by the kind but authoritative correction of my and Mrs. BCR's Anglicized off-the-menu ordering into a more proper Italian, there are clearly family roots in the business that tie back to the mother country.
Jeni at I Found Happy has a review posted along with copies of the menu, and I'd tend to agree with her assessment (though our portions were plenty sufficient, perhaps an adjustment?) The new space's price point is a bit above its predecessors and most restaurants in NoDur, but clearly they're aiming at providing a nicer experience that has been lacking from some of the dining options in its immediate vicinity.
The eatery at 3820 N. Roxboro is open Tuesdays-Saturdays 11am-10pm, Sundays noon-9:30pm, and is closed on Mondays. The old drive-through has been converted into a takeaway service, it seems, in case you want to call ahead (919-381-4420).
We at Capriccio Ristorante Italiano (owners, management, chefs and servers) are all so very glad to hear you enjoyed your dining experience! Thank you so much for your kind words. We look forward to having you and your friends back again!
Posted by: Capriccio Ristorante Italiano | February 14, 2010 at 05:41 PM
I never get over to that side of town. It looks like I now have a reason...
Posted by: ACW | February 14, 2010 at 06:54 PM
Is this restaurant related at all to the wonderful (and unfortunately long-gone) Camilla's? If so, definitely get the Bacio for dessert!
Posted by: wb | February 16, 2010 at 09:55 AM
Camilla's was owned by an uncle of the family :-)
Yes, the Bacio here are delicious! (At least to myself and the servers, we can't seem to stay away from them!) We also have a facebook page with our take out menu available for viewing and printing. We hope to see y'all soon!
Posted by: Capriccio Ristorante Italiano | February 16, 2010 at 08:14 PM
Capriccio has closed and the building is being sold to Zaxby's according to my server during my Friday night dinner there. Apparently Sunday was there last day open for business.
Posted by: JP | April 06, 2011 at 09:19 AM