Villa Capri Trattoria & Wine Bar

We went to this restaurant for girls' night out, and it was really good. I went back with my family, and another time with a friend, and it has been really consistent. The pink sauce was terrific, and the waiter recommended some amazing wines we'd never had before. We were talking about the wine for days.

The only thing is that it's a really uncomfortable space. I heard they might be moving into a new location, and I will definitely give that a try!

I like CPK more...

It has a nice ambience and the staff strives to be attentive. But overall, it's a bit high for what seems to taste like average Italian food.

This review is for brunch only.
I picked up a Living Social deal for brunch after seeing the glowing reviews this place got, even though this place was all the way in Poway (I live in Oceanside). I like to discover excellent eateries, even if they're farther away. This place was NOT worth the drive.

First of all, why advertise brunch if you don't open until 11am?? I got there at 10, already hungry, only to find out they don't open for another hour. So I had to waste an hour wandering around the shopping center. Thank goodness there was a Target nearby.

When we were finally able to be seated, I was dismayed to find a fairly limited brunch menu. Just some frittata dishes, a couple of focaccia dishes, and one pancake dish. I can forgive a small menu if the food is good.  When our food came out, my dining partner received hers and I had nothing. Turns out they somehow missed or forgot my dish. Again, I can forgive ordering mistakes if the food is good.

Unfortunately, the food was far from outstanding. I ordered a zucchini and sausage scramble (you have choice of frittata style or scramble style). I'm not sure what style they made, but it didn't look scrambled to me, and it was a bit skimpy on the zucchini and sausage. The worst part was NO FLAVOR. There were no herbs, spices or butter whatsoever. The only flavor came from the sausage, which there was not enough of to flavor the entire egg dish. I'm not a fancy cook or anything, but I make better eggs at home in less than five minutes!

My dining partner liked her dish, but didn't think it was fantastic. It was poached eggs and italian sausage on focaccia with hollandaise sauce. It was a very dry dish and we had to ask for an extra helping of sauce. The eggs and sausage were extremely skimpy. The dish's saving grace was the delicately flavored, slightly lemony sauce, and the nice green salad perched in the middle of the plate.

On top of all this, service was atrocious. There was basically one guy serving the entire restaurant. We sat there staring at him for 10 minutes before finally flagging him down and telling him we were ready for out next course. The check took even longer and again we had to flag him down to get service. Everything just took so long! We were seated at 11am and didn't actually leave until 1pm. Seriously. It took two hours for freaking breakfast, and it wasn't even packed.

A note for the restaurant, and any other restauranteur who wants to participate in social deal sites like Groupon or Living Social. You will lose money on it, but the whole purpose is to buy exposure for your restaurant. For most deal-buyers, this is going to be their very first impression of your restaurant, so DON'T SKIMP. Put your best foot forward! If brunch isn't your thing, then don't sell voucher deals for brunch. Portion sizes can be small, but make them outstanding. I often pay high prices for small portions of really tasty food. It's fair to give less food for special deals, but don't make me regret going there to begin with! I will never be back here again.