cap's on the water

best meal we had in villano beach. a little bit of awaitbut great view and meal.

very disappointed in the manager. for years i have been enjoying the food and service of caps. i refer all of my hospital’s visiting physicians and all out of town guest to caps.

on valentine’s day this year, i decided to take 6 people to caps for dinner. three of us met at caps at 5pm and the other three would be joining us; coming in from orlando and st. augustine. the three of us who arrived first knew we would have towaitand said it would be worth every minute! we sat at the bar ordered two drinks a piece, enjoyed conversations with others sitting at the bar.

we were sat in the covered patio overlooking the water. we order a 60.00 bottle of wine and 4 apps while waiting on our friends to arrive.

i got up to use the ladies room and upon arrival back to the table, the manger was there asking when our party would arrive and when we were leaving. we informed him we just finished a 60.00 bottle of wine and many apps and were about to order more wine and dinner (just as we said that the rest of our party walked through the door) we were so upset that the manager came to our table questioning us and prompting us to leave. we asked the waitress to bring our check which was about 130.00 up to that point not to mention the bar drinks. we took care of her and her good service - and if we had stayed our bill would have been close to 300-400.00.

i confronted the manager twice upon us departing the restaurant – i was so angry that he had the nerve to come to our table and basically asking when we were leaving.

i will never return to caps and now will make sure social media knows the story. i am very disappointed in the professionalism of this manager.

caps rocks. it was a holiday weekend there was a 45-1 hewaitbut the attentive hostess sat us in five mins at an "inside" seat with nowaitthat was pretty much outside with open view of the water. our waitress more than attentive, somewhat intuitive i would call it. pricy food but all delicious, you get what you pay for. will definitely come back.

sesame seared tuna. this is a wonderful peace of fish served lightly grilled , it is a very thick and tender.outside has teriyaki with a sesame seeds crust. veg are perfect let them do it there way.this is lighter then the vanilla grouper on mashed potatoes and perfectly fried spinach. a excellent choice as well, some find vanilla flavor too strong not me bring it on.


-----08 oct, 2014-----

day or night a delight. the food is only surpassed by the beautiful surroundings. be it the dock and sunset or the children playing on a tree by the beach as has been done by countless other the moment still is special. see the outside bar get steamed shrimp while youwaiton a table.rain or shine they have a plan and they adapt quickly. a well run restaurant made excellent by a. caring staff of charaters.if you get to know them do not be surprised if they recall your name and favorite beverage. magic happen so at sunset call ahead if there is awaitcome anyways and take in the sights and sounds of old and new saint augustine mixture of fun.

great restaurant, our server was jose (his service was very good). if you have a littlewaiton a table, go to the bar and grab a drink (the scenery alone will make you a fan)!

good.......and bad. pulling int cap's on the water, it was very crowded and it was hard to find a parking spot. it was almost a free for all in their unmarked sand lot. we had an hourwaitand decided to get some cocktails and sit out on their pier to enjoy the weather. the atmosphere of cap's is very nice. their are huge trees outside covered in spanish moss and little white lights. the location is superb.

when we were called for out table we were seated along the water and were expecting a very pleasant meal. thats when it went down hill. it took our server almost 20 minutes to come to the table. he took our drink order and we didn't see him for another ten minutes. my beer was warm and he brought my wife and daughter their bottle of wine, but did not open it! we waited another ten minutes for him to return to open it. he also failed to remove the empty glasses and bottles from the table.

we waited for our food and noticed several of the nearby tables were stacked with empty glasses and the gentleman next to us had to carry his own glasses to awaitstation and find another server to help him pay his bill, since our server was no where to be found.

our meals came and the disappointment continued. i ordered the horseradish encrusted grouper on mashed potatoes. it came with a side of spinach that was as hard and crispy as leaves in the fall. they literally crumbled to the touch. my wife had the crabcakes and the server dropped her roumalade sauce while serving it. he said he would be right back. we had to ask two other servers to bring us the sauce before it came. at that point the complimentary bread showed up...midway through the meal!

i was finished with what i was able to eat when the server actually brought our waters! over an hour after we sat down!

you would think that a restaurant of this caliber would have awaitstaff that matches their reputation. while i might recommend cap's to someone looking for a place to have a few drinks at their outdoor bar, i could not in good conscience recommend it for dinner until there is an overhaul ofwaitstaff.

great for lunch. caps in walking distance from my house and we have been a few times for dinner. its great for atmosphere but a little high on price. the only indoor dining is kid free which i love, although i do have 2 kids but when i have paid a babysitter, there is nothing worse than having to listen to other kids scream or fight so kudos to the owner for making this decision!

after a few years, i have come to the conclusion that caps for lunch is the way to go. very reasonable, same view, same quality food without the longwait(usually) and without the high entree prices. fish tacos are a favorite but the fried plantains are the best! such a great place for a relaxing early afternoon lunch with friends and even kids as they can play by the water on the awesome trees. highly recommend for lunch.


-----14 jan, 2011-----

great place. i have come to realize that there is a price for atmosphere and a view and at caps, you get your moneys worth. other post have said it overpriced but if you would pay $50 at a chain on a major road, pay $80 and get an experience not just a meal. we live a block from caps and love to go there with our house guests and not once has anyone left disappointed. i love the vanilla grouper, the oysters are great also!

rocky start. great atmosphere....great food....i recommend the calmari...awesome! service was a bit touchy at first we had towaitabout 15 minutes for someone to even acknowledge us because of a mix up...but the manager gave us a round of drinks and an appetizer which made it well worth it! really loved this place and will definitely come back again!!!!

best mashed potatoes ever!!. while our overall experience left a little to be desired, i have to comment that the mashed potatoes at caps on the water are the best i have ever had.

we had a fairly large party (7) and got seated in the oyster bar with no one really towaiton us. sadly that made our experience lack in the typical excellent service and atmosphere of cap's.

but this isn't my first time to be here and i definitely recommend it - maybe just not for groups - someplace with a reservation might be better in that case.

great seafood in vilano beach. we went to cap's at the worst possible time imaginable and we still had a great meal. over half of cap's seating is outside on a great deck overlooking the water. five minutes before we got there a thunderstorm had hit and cap's had to move everybody eating outside to a table inside. so when we got there they were telling people thewaitfor a table would be an hour and a half. after a few minutes we found seats in the bar area and the service was so good we decided to have dinner there rather thanwaitfor the rain to stop. we had appetizers like calamari vilano and garlic shrimp. we had dinners that included all sorts of fish, scallops, shrimp and all kinds of seafood. most importantly, everybody had a great meal and a good time.