caprice bistro

because themenuis written in french doesn't make you a french restaurant. mundane, ordinary american food. the tomato tartin was over powered with balsamic, so much so you could barely discern the very mild goat cheese. the waitress brought our drinks and wished us "cheers" how very british...the special mahi mahi with vegetable medley was one potato wedge, a few carrots, and a few green beans...pass this "french" restaurant au revoir

dh and i, along with a couple of friends, dined at caprice bistro (cb) the other night (4 october 2021). it was our first time there (our friend’s 2nd or 3rd time).

cb has a greatmenuwith wonderful choices, so it was hard to decide what to order, but i went with the braised lamb shank cassoulet and dh went with the pork chop special.

we had the pate maison as our appetizer, which was served with three toasted baguette slices. four or five total would have been much better, as i ended up eating the pate with the bread that was brought to the table. that bread was fresh-made, but the toasted baguette slices are so much better with the pate.

our friends had the salmon au vert and beef bourguignon. we all raved about the food. everything was excellent, although i would have liked the beans in the cassoulet cooked more, as they were a little too under cooked. the portions were plentiful. i brought half of my dinner home for another night.

devon provided excellent service. she was attentive, professional, and friendly. when i first looked at the dinner menu, i had to turn on my cell phone light, as it was pretty dark in the room. one of the staff brought up the room light a little, which made it easier for me to read the menu. i appreciated that. there’s no need for such a dark room.

the house red wine was pretty good and reasonably priced. the prices for other wines and drinks were pricey.

it is a very noisy place but by around 8:15pm, it quieted down a bit.

overall, an excellent dinner, great service, and an atmosphere that brought back wonderful memories of my trips to paris.

it was okay.... don't get me wrong. it was a great experience! just the price for what was given was slightly disappointing. to start i had a delicious glass of wine, and my friend and i split a cheese board. that was so delicious! for dinner i had a steak with a peppercorn cream like sauce over it... and french fries i guess served daintily with it. the steak was not that great. it cost me 30 dollars for a chewy steak when i've had better at a cookout! dessert was delicious too..."cream puffs" filled with coffee ice cream. however it wasn't anything i felt i couldn't do at home. now... last year a friend and i visited wilmington and went to brasserie du soleil. delicious. their cheese board was even better and more impressive. came with olives too and some sort of boiled grape that had consistency of jelly to have with the cheese and items that came with it. the dinners there were impressive and fresh and delicious and well worth the price. the dessert was absolutely nothing i could imitate especially the grapefruit sorbet. so all in all i felt like caprice bistro was just a "fake fancy" restaurant but was really more like a chain. and not a ton ofmenuoptions. although it was clean, service was wonderful, and the meal was at least decent so it wasn't a horrible experience.

won't be back. i went with a group of six. we arrived around 5:00 on a saturday afternoon and we went to the upstairs part of the restaurant(this is important - the upstairs was empty) and immediately the waitress didn't want to seat us because we were a large party. she suggested three of us sit on one couch and the other three sit on a couch in the back (no where near the other couch).
we said we were there for dinner and couldn't we get a table? no. she wasn't going to move any tables. we pleasantly but firmly insisted we would really like to sit together at a table as we were going to eat dinner (who wants to eat dinner on a couch?)
she huffed and puffed and finally moved two tables together. when we sat down she made it very clear that we each had to get an entree in order to sit at the table. it was extremely insulting like she assumed since we were a younger (mid-20s age range) group we must not have money or that we were super cheap. we had already said five times that we were there for dinner, not just drinks or appetizers. and the restaurant was completely empty so it's not like we were taking a table from someone else.
finally, we got to sit and look at menus. uh-oh. i'm a vegetarian. the only meat-free option was the pasta. that's it. so if you're a vegetarian and you don't like pasta, well too bad. and forget it if you're a vegan. when i asked the waitress for help regarding meat-free options she shrugged and said "pasta". she couldn't even be bothered to answer me in a complete sentence.

themenuwas extremely limited and the service was awful. the waitress never warmed up to us even though we easily ordered over $500 in food and wine. i tipped well out of habit but i will not be going back. the rude wait staff ruined it for me.

lively local crowd on wednesday after xmas; having no reservations, they found a table for me and friend in short time.menuwas good, service professional and food came quick. price was excellent, no sticker shock here. will definitely go back!

a gem.... this is my go-to place when entertaining guests or recommending to people from out of town . it consistently impresses with the quality, variety ofmenuitems and atmosphere, particularly in the sofa/martini lounge upstairs.
the happy hour bar specials have been mentioned and are worth visiting for, although i have noticed the escargot have been removed from the specials menu. they are worth trying anyway, we can't go without getting at least one order (make sure to ask for extra bread to sop up the leftover cream and garlic sauce they come swimming in) the waterzoii is also a must try, with a generous portion of fresh tasting seafood cooked expertly in a light cream and white wine reduction. the scallops are huge and tender and sweet! the prices are not as expensive as one would expect for the quality, presentation and portion size.
you can tell that the owners and staff really do care about your experience, which is especially rare for a downtown restaurant in my oppinion. lovely low lit atmosphere a stones throw from the river, perfect for lingering over the beautifully prepared meals. will be back again and again!

c'est fantastique!. we just had our mother's 75th birthday celebration here - 30 of us...we wanted to go there because she is belgian and we wanted to have an affair that echoed her heritage. pat and i came up with a unique and elegantmenufor the evening. it was perfect. the food was sublime...i'm still getting thank you cards from her friends about the event...and guests saying, "it was the best meal they've had in wilmington". the service was amazing - so attentive. the creme brulee is other worldly...thank you pat and thierry for making an evening which will be remembered for a long time to come. i only wish you were back in nyc so i could enjoy more often! merci mille fois!

dinner date at caprice, weds. night-. the hostess warmly received us, offering the window table on their banquette as we arrived. it was 6pm and we enjoyed a marvelous living theater of the street outside, watching downtowners walking dogs, moving from desk to bar, jogging, or riding the horse-drawn carriage for a tour (probably the finest window in downtown wilmington). my wife was beautiful and happy, reviewing themenuand sipping a mohito, freshly muddled mint wafting across the table. our lively waiter explained the specials, cracked a coupl'a jokes, and we ordered the first course: spinach salad and curried mussels. mussels are something of a culinary religion in the bistro menu, and man does caprice nail them! yellow curry pushed and pulled the mussels like a spirited dance partner, allowing the mussels their own flavors, then enhancing them. the spinach salad was good, the fresh leaves like crisped butter pushing lightly bitter notes against a very good roquefort cheese and sweetened walnuts.

for the entrée, my wife had the plat du jour-lapin au moutarde. the rabbit was perfectly prepared, and a hint of smoky pork-salt extracted the nuanced flavors of the meat. the mustard notes were pleasantly subtle, infused with a buttery white wine. the sauce coated a fresh fettucine, perfectly al dente and flavorful in itself.
i had the bistro steak. pomme frites arrived with the teres major steak, seasoned and grilled and served with a bordelaise reduction. pink and tender on the inside while nicely charred on the outside, the beef was amazing. the baked, herbed tomato and sauteed carrots were also delicious, that innate sweetness working the meat's earthier elements.

dessert was a simple, traditional faire (by choice)-my wife ordered the crème brulee, vanilla, with the crisp skin of the caramelized sugar cracking nicely beneath the spoon. my choice was also delicious, (though i caught some jokes for the simplicity of my dessert palette)the eternal "dame blanche." while vanilla ice cream is timeless and not very exciting, add the chef's belgian chocolate and freshly whipped cream (amazing!) and voila-a beautiful dessert. a cup of dark coffee, procured from a regional coffee roaster, poured dark and deep to make the meal a fine success.

while my palette may be less advanced in some selections, the fundamentals of cooking are well-represented and are, infact, feted at caprice bistro. even a basic selection, whether beef or vanilla ice cream or coffee, becomes a multilayered, intricate flavor-map of culinary traditions of the french bistro.

highly recommended!!

i don't go nearly as much as i'd like.... caprice is one of wilmington's dining gems. excellent food, excellent staff, kind owners who truly care about their customers. they have a nice atmosphere, i'm a big fan of the upstairs sofa bar, very cool. they have a rotating art display of local artist's work, adds a nice touch to the ambiance.

they have a great special in the sofa bar sunday-friday from 5-7pm. all the bar food is $5. kobe beef burgers, calamari, mussels in a curry cream sauce, all of which i've had and all are excellent. the waterzooi on the dinnermenuis spectacular as well. i believe on thursdays during the 5-7 time frame they have $5 martini's as well.

this is making me drool as i write. definitely check it out.

loved the food!. on a recent trip to wilmington, i probably had my best meal at caprice bistro. the service was just so-so, but the food was to die for! i had a seared fish fillet with lemon, capers and parsley and my husband tried pate for the first time and thoroughly enjoyed it. they have daily specials that includes a prix fixemenuand a large wine selection that can be ordered by the glass or bottle. one thing to remember, this is a french restaurant and a lot of themenuhas french wording. the descriptions are in english so you will know what you are ordering. i can't wait to go back!