{"id":41240,"date":"2026-08-20T00:21:16","date_gmt":"2026-08-20T00:21:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/41240\/"},"modified":"2026-08-20T00:21:16","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T00:21:16","slug":"capriciano-osteria-is-packed-with-eager-diners-italian-classics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/41240\/","title":{"rendered":"Capriciano Osteria Is Packed With Eager Diners, Italian Classics"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sonoma County loves an Italian restaurant<\/a>. Maybe it\u2019s our broad swath of Italian immigrants; maybe it\u2019s simply the enduring appeal of pasta and wood-fired pizza. Either way, it\u2019s no surprise that Capriciano Osteria is already packed with eager diners a week after opening in downtown Santa Rosa.<\/p>\n

The tables are filled with the classics \u2014 warm focaccia, burrata salad, ravioli, risotto and affogatos. The only real surprise is that the chef isn\u2019t Italian. He\u2019s Turkish.<\/p>\n

Chef Baki Bekci grew up in his family\u2019s restaurant in Fethiye, a port city and district on Turkey\u2019s southwestern Turquoise Coast, where small fishing boats brought in the day\u2019s catch and the menu centered on seafood and mezze. He later worked in the kitchens of Four Seasons hotels in Istanbul, Los Angeles and Calistoga before founding Mezzeluna in Cotati<\/a>, which he has since left.<\/p>\n

\"Wood-firedWood-fired petrale sole for the daily special at Capriciano Osteria Thursday, July 30, 2026, in Santa Rosa. (John Burgess\/The Press Democrat)
\n\"Owner\/chefOwner\/chef Baki Bekci finishes plates in the kitchen at Capriciano Osteria Thursday, July 30, 2026, in Santa Rosa. (John Burgess\/The Press Democrat)
\n\"CapricianoCapriciano Osteria on Mendocino Avenue on Thursday, July 30, 2026, in Santa Rosa. (John Burgess\/The Press Democrat)<\/p>\n

Now Bekci is running his own kitchen in Santa Rosa, in the former Tipsy Taco space<\/a>, once home to the Acapulco Lounge. He has transformed it into a cozy dining room flanked by two large fireplaces, with an outdoor patio larger than most in the region.<\/p>\n

The food is straightforward, built around familiar Italian-American and Italian classics, from bruschetta and Caesar salad to fresh pasta, chicken Parmesan, lamb chops and risotto. But Bekci\u2019s fine-dining background shows in the artful plating and high-end ingredients sourced from local farms and producers.<\/p>\n

\"ChickenChicken Parmesan topped with spaghetti, pomodoro, bechamel, Parmesan and fresh herbs from Capriciano Osteria Thursday, July 30, 2026, in Santa Rosa. (John Burgess\/The Press Democrat)
\n\"Owner\/chefOwner\/chef Baki Bekci finishes a burrata salad with olive oil in the kitchen at Capriciano Osteria Thursday, July 30, 2026, in Santa Rosa. (John Burgess\/The Press Democrat)<\/p>\n

\u201cI just want people to feel happy and enjoy the restaurant and the food and come back again,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Best bets<\/p>\n

Shrimp carpaccio, $22: Raw shrimp isn\u2019t for everyone, but at Capriciano Osteria, it should be. Delicate shrimp are pounded thin and dressed with tart passion fruit vinaigrette, spicy Sicilian chile, avocado puree and croutons.<\/p>\n

\"CarpaccioCarpaccio di Bamberi Rosso with raw shrimp in Sicilian chile, passion fruit vinaigrette, avocado puree, croutons and arugula from Capriciano Osteria Thursday, July 30, 2026, in Santa Rosa. (John Burgess\/The Press Democrat)<\/p>\n

Grilled octopus, $24: Tender octopus is an oxymoron, as far as I\u2019m concerned, but Bekci somehow gets it soft enough to cut with a spoon. It comes with a Southern Italian-style tomato-caper sauce and smashed potatoes.<\/p>\n

Burrata salad, $19: Creamy-as-butter burrata surrounded by seasonal stone fruit, heirloom tomatoes and basil.<\/p>\n

\"BurrataBurrata salad with baby arugula, grilled seasonal fruit, heirloom tomato, basil, pistachio, aged balsamic from Capriciano Osteria Thursday, July 30, 2026, in Santa Rosa. (John Burgess\/The Press Democrat)
\n\"LemonRavioli al limone with mushrooms, capers, parsley and lemon cream Parmigiano sauce from Capriciano Osteria Thursday, July 30, 2026, in Santa Rosa. (John Burgess\/The Press Democrat)<\/p>\n

Ravioli al limone, $28: The lemon-cream Parmesan sauce is the real stunner here. You\u2019ll want a piece of bread to soak up every last bit. The earthiness of the mushroom filling works beautifully with the tart citrus.<\/p>\n

Red wine-braised short ribs, $36: A more herbal, spiced take on traditional braised beef, served with tender meat and craveable olive-oil mashed potatoes.<\/p>\n

\"ShortRed wine-braised short ribs with carrots, mushrooms, olive oil mashed potatoes, gremolata and basil oil from Capriciano Osteria Thursday, July 30, 2026, in Santa Rosa. (John Burgess\/The Press Democrat)<\/p>\n

Risotto frutti di mare, $34: Bekci\u2019s signature dish comes piled with shrimp, lobster and clams. It\u2019s lemony, with a hint of basil oil.<\/p>\n

Cherry Coffee Kick, $12: Save room for dessert. The tiramisu is composed and elegant, but the Cherry Coffee Kick \u2014 tart cherries, a hint of espresso and dark chocolate cake \u2014 really works.<\/p>\n

\"TiramisuTiramisu for dessert from Capriciano Osteria Thursday, July 30, 2026, in Santa Rosa. (John Burgess\/The Press Democrat)<\/p>\n

Open for lunch 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday through Sunday. Dinner 5-9:30 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and until 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.<\/p>\n

505 Mendocino Ave., Santa Rosa, 707-800-7904, capriciano.com<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sonoma County loves an Italian restaurant. Maybe it\u2019s our broad swath of Italian immigrants; maybe it\u2019s simply the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":41241,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[246,248,5,7414,27106,27107],"class_list":["post-41240","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-italy","tag-italian-food","tag-italian-restaurant","tag-italy","tag-new-restaurant","tag-new-sonoma-county-restaurants","tag-santa-rosa-restaurant"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41240","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41240"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41240\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41241"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41240"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41240"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41240"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}