Chef Antonio Grande opened Il Capriccio in 1984, and he and his family still run it: classic Italian fine dining with live piano, a strict dress code and a wine list Grande picks himself. The menu is Italian through and through, with fresh pastas such as guitar-string spaghetti with Sardinian bottarga and pistachio, braised veal shank, Piemontese short ribs and a four-cheese stuffed filet. It has been on AAA's Four Diamond list every year since 1994, including 2026, holds a Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence for 2026, and was on NJ Monthly's classic restaurants list in 2025.
The restaurant describes its cooking as farm to table, "dall'orto a tavola," with locally sourced ingredients, though no farms are named. Grande also teaches private, hands-on cooking classes in the restaurant kitchen and at his own farm in Sussex County.
What’s here
- Served here
- Antipasti such as Beau Soleil oysters stuffed with crab, $27, and burrata with culatello di Zibello, $28 · Fresh pastas from pappardelle ai porcini, $34, to squid-ink tagliolini with lobster, $42 · Ossobuco di vitello with risotto, $65 · Slow-cooked grass-fed Piemontese short ribs with fregula, $56 · Filet mignon stuffed with four cheeses and wrapped in speck, $65 · An extensive Italian and international wine list · Lunch on weekdays · Private cooking classes with chef Antonio Grande
What sets it apart
- Trofie with rabbit ragu, $34
- Chitarra with Sardinian bottarga and pistachio, $36
- Bucatini with Calabrian neonata, $34
- Ossobuco of milk-fed veal with risotto, $65
- Iberico pork rack alla Calabrese with fried green tomatoes, $56
From the August 25, 2026 menu, the newest posted. Menus change. See the current menu →
Where the food comes from
Describes its cooking as farm to table with locally sourced ingredients but names no farms; the menu names imported Italian products instead (San Daniele prosciutto, culatello di Zibello, Sardinian bottarga, Calabrian neonata). Chef Grande also has a farm in Sussex County (cooking classes page), not named or tied to dishes
Details checked against Il Capriccio’s own site on ; not yet confirmed by the business. Hours change, so check before you go. Spot a mistake? Tell us.