An Extraordinary Story of Gratitude and Family Devotion
Capri Ristorante Italiano is a story of two families that started decades ago. The DeChiara family has been serving fine Italian food in restaurants around the world for generations. Nicky DeChiara collaborated with his brothers Renato and Enzo to open Capri in McLean, but the cooking started way before that.
Nicky’s grandfather had LaRue on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles. His uncle Romeo opened Chianti in L.A., very popular from the 1940s through the 1970s. Nicky opened Romeo and Juliet, named for his mother and uncle, in Washington, D.C. Then MGM’s Kirk Kerkorian, visiting in 1976, asked Nicky to open a restaurant in L.A. like Romeo and Juliet, which he did in 1980. Because of the popularity of family restaurants La Rue, Chianti, and Romeo and Juliet, all of Hollywood came to the new restaurant.
In all, Nicky has opened 16 restaurants around the world, including D.C.’s Romeo and Juliet with his brothers, as well as restaurants in Bologna, Italy and Monte Carlo. He was also a creative consultant for Pazzo Pomodoro when they opened in Vienna.
Throughout many of those restaurant successes, one person in particular has played an ever-increasing role. Beatrice Zelaya started working for Nicky at Romeo and Juliet in D.C. 39 years ago. She started as a salad girl, working next to Nicky’s mother, Juliet, and essentially grew up with the family. She has worked with other notable restaurateurs like Roberto Donna, Savino Recino, and Romeo Salta and was part of the openings of D.C.’s Galileo and Primi Piatti. Eventually, she went to Potomac to take over DeChiara’s Renato restaurant, a Maryland landmark. Now Beatrice is at Capri in McLean, along with other family members.
A few years ago, Nicky and Enzo met to plan the future (Renato had passed away). Enzo’s son, Michael, has a mental disability, meaning he needs extra care, although he works a regular job at Capri. As Nicky was retiring, he and Enzo decided to turn over the restaurant to Beatrice and her husband, Philippe. As Beatrice and Philippe agreed to look after Michael and keep him working at the restaurant, the DeChiaras donated the entire restaurant, the food inventory, even the cash in the drawer as a sign of gratitude for their commitment to Michael and the family.
This arrangement matches Nicky’s idea of what a family restaurant should be—that is, one that continues in the family from generation to generation. Nicky says, “And that will continue for a long time to come. Beatrice has about 100 people in her family.” Indeed, today Philippe and his brother, Demitri, are in the dining room. Beatrice is chef in the kitchen. Their daughter, Roberta, works the front, and even their granddaughter takes reservations. Officially retired, Nicky still can be found at the restaurant most days, checking on things, greeting old friends, but the heavy lifting is now in the hands of Beatrice and Philippe.
The menu, which has not changed, is inspired by the cooking from the Amalfi coast by the island of Capri where the DeChiaras come from. As one would expect, the menu includes outstanding seafood dishes such as the simple Grilled or Poached Salmon with olive oil and lemon sauce or Cappesante e Scampi “Bert Rosecan” (grilled jumbo scallops and shrimp served with a mild fra-diavolo sauce). There are several meat entrees featuring veal or chicken, and more than a dozen pasta dishes. Maybe one would choose Linguine con Gamberi, (linguine with shrimp, capers, asparagus, sundried tomatoes in a white wine sauce), or Ravioli di Grancho (medium square crabmeat ravioli wrapped in cracked pepper dough served with lobster and saffron.) The restaurant will gladly take any request for your favorite dishes. Many fine wines are available by the bottle, as well as several available by the glass.
We were honored to enjoy three incredible dishes. The Vitello Pizzaiola is a scallopine of veal served in a delicate tomato sauce creating an exquisite balance between meat and sauce. The Agnolotti is a home-made pasta filled with fresh spinach, imported ricotta and Parmesan cheese in a cream sauce. The delectable burst of flavor with the telltale taste of nutmeg swept me back to my most recent visit to my inlaws’ home in Emilia-Romagna. The Linguine Seafood included shrimp, calamari, mussels, and clams served with a reduction of fish fumet in a tomato sauce and served over linguine. It is truly a house specialty and one discovers so many flavors and textures in just a single dish.
The décor at Capri is suggestive of Nicky’s time in California with light, pastel color and modern art. There is no hint of a restaurant that has been in one place for the 18 years it has existed, rather more like one year.
Capri Ristorante Italiano is located at 6825 Redmond Avenue in McLean. Take the escalator to the second floor. Reservations 703 288-4601 or online through Open Table. Go to caprimcleanva.com. Come and enjoy one of the finest restaurants in Northern Virginia serving only authentic Italian cuisine.
