Endangered

Capri Ristorante in the Castro to Close After 26 Years

Photo: Google Street View

In the wake of one Mission mainstay, Ti Couz, said to be shuttering after nineteen years, Grub Street discovers today that bare-bones Castro Italian stalwart Capri Ristorante (2272 Market Street) is in the process of changing hands. The restaurant’s been under the same ownership since 1985 and we’re sure has some loyal customers still in the neighborhood — though we have to admit we’ve never seen the place looking not-empty in the last few years. The new owners, who haven’t announced a new name yet, are Francisco Cifuentes and chef Mat Schuster, who’s been food and beverage manager at Crissy Field’s Warming Hut and Café for the last couple of years.

(You can see a 2009 appearance here that he made on View from the Bay in which he made a spring greens soup with lentils and pancetta.)

No word on the exact closing date for Capri, and the place remains open pending the switch. But we’d just like to take a moment to share a quote from an amusing Yelp review from last month: “The food was okay but the service was incredibly awkward and unprofessional. The waiter kept asking me and my friend to show him our abs. Every time he came to the table he insisted we show him our abs. It was not a queeny fun joking man[n]er either — it was just creepy.”

We’ll update you as we learn more about the name and concept of the replacement, or the definitive closing date.

Capri Ristorante in the Castro to Close After 26 Years