Hailing from the Chicago area, the restaurant Osteria by Capri had a soft opening in early October at Hilton Palm Beach PBI.
Named after the small, bistro-style restaurants in Italy, Osteria by Capri is helmed by chef Joey Capri, in partnership with Cicero Hospitality Group, and celebrates the bold flavors of Capri’s birthplace Calabria, Italy.
Using family recipes passed down through generations, some of the dishes include homemade rigatoni, Nonna’s meatball, the pork chop alla capri and the lobster diavolo.
Expertly prepared, these dishes are created using only fresh ingredients. To that end, Osteria by Capri has no freezers. “We go and get everything fresh,” Capri said, adding that when they run out of a particular dish they don’t just go the freezer. “When it’s out, it’s out.”
Discovering his love for cooking at an early age, Capri opened his first restaurant with his mother Annamaria in 1984 when he was only 16 years old. He has been operating restaurants around the greater Chicago area ever since.
Osteria by Capri basically began after Fadi Osmano, Cicero Hospitality Group’s vice president of development and acquisitions, stopped by the Capri Lounge & Grill in Willow Springs, Illinois. during the pandemic.
Osmano said that though almost everything was closed at that time, the Willow Springs restaurant was doing takeout.
Known for the excellent portions, the baked meat lasagna at Osteria by Capri is definitely no lightweight and has had many diners enjoying leftovers the next day.
Osmano dropped in for the homemade rigatoni with crumbled sausage alla vodka and was blown away. So much so, that he thought to himself, “We gotta get this guy in our hotel.” Osmano was referring to the DoubleTree Suites by Hilton, operated by Cicero, in nearby Downers Grove.
Though Osmano quickly became a regular at Capri Lounge & Bar and friends with Capri, it would take a few years to work through the details to get him to the DoubleTree.
Then one day Osmano called Capri and said, “Get yourself ready, you’re moving in.” Osteria by Capri opened at the DoubleTree in Downers Grove in March 2023.
So impressed with the food and the service, Cicero Hospitality decided to open another location in their West Palm Beach hotel, the Hilton Palm Beach PBI.
Staff began training at the restaurant in mid-August under the direction of chef Capri and mixologist Giovanna Rovito.
The lobster diavolo, featuring shrimp, calamari, clams and mussels, is one of the most popular dishes at Osteria by Capri.
Capri said he flies back and forth between Chicago and West Palm Beach and stays in South Florida for about two weeks at a time overseeing the operation. Though he’s onsite a lot, Capri said that chef Diego Diaz is the full-time chef at the location.
With a focus on freshness, Osteria in West Palm Beach makes all its pastas in house except for the rigatoni which is flown down fresh from Downers Grove.
The meal isn’t complete without dessert and Osteria has many, including tiramisu. But Capri put in high praise for the bananas foster, finished tableside.
Never skimping on portions, Capri said that one thing his mother always stressed was “always let them go home with something so they remember you.” He said that “you never left hungry and you never left without a to-go box.”
Osteria by Capri comes to West Palm Beach
Where: 150 Australian Ave., West Palm Beach
Hours: dinner 4 to 10:30 p.m. seven days a week; bar 4 to 11 p.m.; happy hour 4 to 7 p.m.
Information: 561-472-9350; osteriadg.com
Eddie Ritz is a journalist at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at eritz@pbpost.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: New Italian restaurant with Chicago ties opens in West Palm Beach
Dining and Cooking