Just made a great discovery in the food front and I can’t wait to share it with you guys!

It’s as delish as higher-end Bellini’s Cafe (not the restaurant near Vieshow but the one near Chungshan High School), but as cheap as say, Chilis. Presenting to you: Capricciosa Italian Cuisine!

*birds chirping*

*bees buzzing*

Okay, so most of you may not know which restaurant I’m talking about. Which is why it’s such a discovery. To make things clearer, it’s that nice ol’ restaurant two doors beside the Brass Monkey.
My god, their food is pretty decent given the price! And the decor was pretty comfy as well:

Nice decor, yes? Well, the menu looked even nicer! We couldn’t decide which to choose:

In the end, my friend and I ordered their lemon-marinated grilled chicken salad, cooled with a tomato salsa (NT$280) and it was pretty good.

The servings were enough for the two of us, and the meat warm enough to off-set the tanginess of the salad. Admittedly, it had a tad too much dressing, but the lettuce leaves just had the right amount of crunchiness so I didn’t really mind.

I’ll give it a 4.5-star though, it was pretty good and the servings terrific!

Next up was the firenze style roasted rib eye steak (NT$ 580) which was just to die for.

Okay, it’s not as heavenly as Ruth’s Chris’ own fillet mignon but compared to the price, I tell you, it’s such a great deal that you should run to that restaurant RIGHT NOW and order one!

The steak itself was sliced into medium thinness and seasoned with just the right amount of rock salt and pepper. The meat was cooked well on the side, but inside was still very tender without the loads of oil some would expect in some restaurants.

As a steak-lover, this is one of the more delicious steaks I’ve ever tasted in Taipei — and at just NT$580, it’s totally a steal. The accompanying veggies are a bit too bland for my taste, but hey, if the steaks are good, who am I to complain?

Definitely a 5-star steak! Totally.

The only thing I can complain about though is their house wine — which came extra cold! My god, I’ve never tasted cold wine and call me a wine snob now but it had a slight acidic taste that I don’t really care for in wines.

It was cheap though at NT$120 a glass. And it had the dizzying effect one might expect after drinking wine in an empty tummy. So it works. 🙂

There were still some pastas and pizzas all ranging from NT$300 to NT$500 that we wished to try, but we were already so full. So, we ordered their world-famous dessert instead — pumpkin pie (NT$160) which is mostly fluffy cream and just the right amount of graham crackers and sweetness.

Totally 5-star right there and then! 🙂

There were also a couple of cakes that looked so good (banana chocolate vanilla cake, and strawberry vanilla cake) at around NT$120 each for big slices — but we were already so full and I so guilty in eating so much in one sitting that we decided to just save it for another day.

It’s been awhile since I’ve been in a restaurant where I’ve been impressed with the fare (save for the wine). Hence, am “borrowing” from Taiwan Fun to give you a glimpse on some of the other offerings:

That’s the pumpkin pie on the top left, and the steak on the right.

The place itself is pretty cozy but they close a bit early around 10:30pm. So do call to make reservations because some days, they’re just not open.

Anyway, do check it out. Price is pretty reasonable as my meal only cost me NT$700 FLAT. Not bad for some salad, steak, wine and desert.

So the details as follows:

Capricciosa Ristorante Italiano
No. 174, FuXing North Road, Taipei
(02) 2719-9219
http://www.capricciosa.com.tw/

And let me know what you think. 🙂

But I tell you, this place is even better than Macaroni Grill! It’s not really a date place but it’s a place where a bunch of friends can have fun and enjoy a good meal.

Bon Appetit!

Reference: http://www.taiwanfun.com/north/taipei/dining/0605/0605Capricciosa.htm