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A la Carte menu every day. Function room upstairs seats 40. |
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Tired of Branca-esque minimalism? Fed-up with chic clattery acoustics? Weary of eateries which lure you in with good breads and salads but just don't quite warm the soul with the actual cooking? This wonderful blast from the past may be just the change you need. We ate old-fashioned Italian comfort food, whilst actually able to hear each other to have a conversation even though the restaurant was over half full, surrounded by the most spectacularly authentic late 1960s Italian package-holiday kitsch. It was so authentic that it was actually quite transporting. We really felt we'd been 'away' for the evening! The food is true to the period feel of the place. Just how working-class Italian food used to be, which on a freezing night is just what's needed. We had three courses plus a very jolly bottle of the house red, paying a tad over £40 (for two). Littledot, 08/03/10 Il Ristornate is bello ..si mangia bene vorrei un giorno portare il Giornalista Dott. Tommaso Broccolieri di London del giornale ''Londra Sera'', perche' lui piace buona cucina Italian , specialmente quando pagano gli altri, lui vuole sempre essere pagato dagli altri, in modo di poter fare pubblicita' nel suo giornale Londra Sera, perche tutto lo staff e' Italiano nel Ristorante and e' il piu bel ristorante di OXFORD CITY, il Signor Tommaso Broccolieri e' il bel venuto Welcome. according to Google Translate: The restaurant is beautiful .. I would eat well one day lead the Journalist Dr. Thomas Broccolieri London newspaper Evening''London'', because 'he likes good Italian cooking, especially when they pay others, he always wants to be paid by others, in order to be able to advertise 'in his London newspaper Evening, because all the staff and' in Italian Restaurant and and 'the most beautiful restaurant in Oxford city, Mr. Thomas Broccolieri and' the beautiful come Welcome. Suggestions for a more faithful translation are welcome Barbarossa, 26/01/10 Deeply, awesomely mediocre. To recreate the Luna Caprese dining experience, go to a large out-of-town supermarket (try Lidl or Aldi) and buy up plenty of tins. Mushrooms, cream of X soups, meatballs, tomato sauces, carrots, potatoes. Don't hold back. Then go over to the freezer section and look for the biggest chocolate gateau you can find. Make sure, though, that the price per gram is as low as possible. Remember: it's quantity, not quality. Oh, and grab a few jars of Marmite (to be mixed with water for a sumptuous 'gravy') and some strawberry sauce (the kind you'd squeeze onto ice cream at a children's party -- as with all the above, the cheapest you can find). ... and you're set. All the ingredients for an authentic Luna Caprese dinner -- from the relative comfort of your own home. Billicatons, 07/11/09 My girlfriends and I do lunch here once a week. We collectively love the Sopranos-esque, 1970s Capri-meets-Brooklyn feel of the place. We also love the lunchtime waiter, who goes table-to-table explaining the menu in English, pointing to the choices on well-worn, typewritten cards (veg, veg, fish, fish, meat, meat, spicy, veg). For a fiver you get either garlicky, fresh bruscetta drizzled in amazing, slightly peppery oil, or a choice of soups (shellfish, minestrone, or the special - all homemade and absolutely amazing), a pasta dish (slowly working my way through the menu, and each one has been al dente with a perfect sauce, clearly slow-cooked from the best imported ingredients and fresh seafood and meat), salad (this is much as 70s as the decor - iceberg lettuce? You're kidding right?...but it's not without its charms - it seems to compliment the souvenir seashell sculptures and basso-relievo mermaid mural). All in all, an excellent place. For a treat we sometimes have the wine with our fizzy water, but it's so good that it's tempting to order more and it ends up being an afternoon in Capri, hearkening back to those glory days of the three-martini-lunch... Highly recommended. Omnomnom, 23/04/09 Just what my wife and I needed on a cold, rainy Tuesday night. A warm and friendly welcome and some excellent, no nonsense, authentic Italian food. From the generous starters, to the wonderful mains, including a superb Osso Bucco (something rare to find on a restaurant menu anywhere) and the truly delicious home made desserts (a 'flamed at the table' Creme Brulee and one of the best Strawberry Cheescakes I've ever tasted), our experience was first class; as was the service and banter from the owner. The attention was never intrusive and we were allowed to enjoy each coures at our leisure. This is one restaurant that will certainly be on our list for a regular visit. jscoop, 29/10/08 Il Ristornate e bello beautyfull, cucina e' pefetta, e tutto Italiano, lo staff e' polite. Andy Pulcini (Italian), 12/10/08 I think with all restaurants, there are good days and bad days. The good news is, I feel, even on a bad day Luna Caprese will not disappoint. The food is very reasonably priced, especially the set menus. The portions are very generous - my friend's mussel starter was a huge plate full of fresh mussels for a very reasonable £7.50, and he clearly enjoyed it. The pastas did not disappoint also, with a fresh, light touch. Dessert was very good as well, and included in the set dinner, a three course (not including the coffee at the end) bargain. Service is warm and quick. If you are after a reasonably priced, fresh, homemade Italian meal I would recommend Luna Caprese for a gut busting meal. Al, 10/04/08 I'm not sure I'd recommend it for large groups -- birthdays or office parties, etc. While their party menu had extensive choice, they messed up a few mains (I received my veal after everyone else, in a group of thirty, had finished eating and in order to speed its cooking, it showed up "prepared extra-specially"...that is, deep-fried). That's understandable given the size of the group. Less forgivable was the alcohol bill: each person ended up paying twelve quid for very shabby table wine, a price that implies to me that each person drank at least a bottle each. In actuality the quantity provided was far less copious... a bit of a scam if you ask me. Nevertheless, the food itself was good and plentiful. JB, 14/12/07 After searching around for Italian restaurants on the Internet (we're not from Oxford) we opted for this one. It was a special occasion so we really wanted everything to be perfect and I'm overjoyed to say we weren't disappointed. Everyone's food was delicious, the atmosphere was amazing and the staff brilliant. The meal came to just under £300 for 7, we had starters, main course, desserts and at least 4 bottles of wine! The food, wine and entire dining experience more than justified the very reasonable price. If you enjoy Italian food and are looking for somewhere special to eat in Oxford, I would heartily recommend it. Mond, 26/11/07 We went with no booking on what turned out to be a very busy night for the resturant. They coped well. They are clearly passionate about food. It was all of good quality & very authentic. We'll be returning - for sure. TimR, 02/09/07 We went to Luna Caprese for a special birthday meal for a person who is very interested in food and loves fine flavours. The menu did not disappoint and although the bill turned out a little more pricey than expected, we left feeling very satisfied having had an exquisite meal. The service was excellent and we felt that all the owner of the restaurant wanted to do is share his passion for food with us. We will definitely be returning for another special event there soon. spaxzio, 03/08/07 These people love the food they cook and just want to share it: a delightful experience from start to finish. We visited on a quiet Saturday lunchtime. They offer very good lunchtime deals on set menus, but we chose to order a la carte (the prices are higher than the set menu, obviously, but are no higher than standard). We began with soup - minestrone and shellfish - both excellent. Then different ways of doing veal: again beautiful. And for pudding we had tiramisu: the best we've ever had - just freshly cooked, and completely perfect. The atmosphere was very welcoming and the service wonderfully friendly. I'd recommend it to anyone. MM, 05/05/07 Went for dinner at Luna Caprese last night and was expecting the food to be good judging by the reviews I had read on various internet sites. Very sadly let down, I had the crab ravioli which was fairly tasteless and I suspect had been microwaved before as parts of the starter was boiling hot in places and didn't cool down for some time. My friend was extremely disappointed with his starter as well - very substandard. We ended up having a leg of lamb and a linguine both of which was very uninspired. Will not be revisiting. Vicky, 16/05/06 I was taken to Luna Caprese for a birthday treat as it had been lauded as “Oxford’s best kept secret” and we had to see if it was true. We were seated in the end room nearest the kitchen; the table was already well-stocked with butter, garlic bruschetta and breadsticks. Our waiter told us the specials-of which there were many and all sounded delicious-but we chose from the regular menu. Ben couldn’t decide and the waiter was more than happy to explain what each was to help him choose. My Ravioli Caprese was very generous for a starter and the sauce was fresh and tangy. Ben’s Antipasto Misto tasted even better than it looked. We wondered whether the main courses would live up to this delight, we didn’t have to wait long to find out. I had a rump steak pizzaiola, which was cooked perfectly, not a bit tough and the accompanying tomato and garlic sauce was divine. Ben had the vitello saltimbocco-spinach stuffed veal, wrapped in Parma ham. Again, the portions were generous and tasted fantastic. This was served with what appeared to be uninspired seasonal vegetables, however they were cooked to perfection and were a delight in themselves. For pudding we chose tiramisu and crème brulee. Both of which can be hit-and-miss but yet again Luna Caprese failed to disappoint. We were then given petit-fours, and chose to forgo coffee this time. The whole meal was a delight from start to finish. The service was excellent, the staff are friendly, polite and knowledgeable about the food they’re serving and the place has a homely atmosphere. The prices are standard for a decent restaurant (starters about £7, mains from £11.) I cannot praise this place highly enough, it exceeded my expectations and deserves to be “Oxford’s best kept secret.” Amy Taylor, 10/05/06 We returned to Luna Caprese for a second visit in early December for a friend's birthday, and impressions of the restaurant remained as good as the first time we visited a year and a half ago. The food is of an excellent standard, and the staff are very friendly and knowledgeable about the menu on offer, which is extensive. There were six of us in the party and we were shown to a table in the middle room of the ground floor, the first room being the entrance with the bar and the third the back room with rather more tables. Given that we were between the two other rooms there was not too much feeling of a thoroughfare which could have been the case. Whilst making our choices from the menu we were given a selection of bread rolls and grissini, a welcome selection to keep a hungry party going. It turned out we didn't need to stock up on these as portions at the Luna Caprese are very generous. For a starter I chose the Italian antipasti, a section of cold ham, prawns, olives, sardines, and mozzarella, all of which was very tasty. All other starters received good feedback. Two of the party decided to include a pasta course in between the starters and mains, and both opted for the special of cannelloni with crab meat. We all had a try and were suitably impressed. The pasta dish is definitely a meal in itself, and would fill even the hungriest of diners. Nevertheless we all ploughed on to our mains, including the two who had consumed the cannelloni in full, and were greeted once again by fabulous choices. I opted for the tuna, and despite being a little dry it was delicious. Two opted for steaks and they arrived beautifully cooked. Given the choice we would probably have been too full for the pudding option, but one of the group had arranged a cake for the birthday boy which arrived in the form of a large tiramisu, complete with candles. A rendition of Happy Birthday followed, in both English and then Italian, and sung by both diners and staff alike. We were then all served a portion of said tiramisu, and despite being full beyond belief at this point we dutifully forced it down - needless to say, it was delicious. The whole escapade must have made a good impression on the other diners, because they piped up that it was also the birthday of one of their party, and were duly subjected to the same treatment. I hope the couple sitting in between the two groups were not expecting a quiet, cosy night out, but as they too willingly joined in the singing on both occasions it would appear that they were enjoying it as much as the rest of us. We ended the meal with coffees and petit fours, which looked too tempting not to at least try them. A word of warning - you will not need to eat for a week after a visit here. All in all I would thoroughly recommend this restaurant, and you will not be disappointed with either the food or the service. The bill was quite pricey, coming in at just under £300 for six, including service and wine, but for a special occasion I would argue that it is worth it. Nicki Sneath, 23/12/03
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