Capers & Lemons in Wilmington DE - don't bother

[travelmad478]

I had reasonable hopes for this restaurant (same owner as Dome and Eclipse) but found it seriously uninspiring. Despite not being a chain, the building and the space are awfully reminiscent of places like Macaroni Grill and the like. Big, corporate, very Pottery Barn decor. The food was pretty much in line with that. Portions were immense (for example, a bruschetta appetizer included three two-inch-thick slices of toasted bread and a heap of chopped tomatoes the size of a grapefruit) and quality pretty lackluster.

Trying to stay away from pasta with cream sauce, I opted for the cioppino, which in normal circumstances ought to be a tomato-fish broth with fish and shellfish in it. What I got was a gigantic mound of linguini--there had to be half a pound of pasta on my plate--with two shrimp, three clams, a lot of mussels and calamari rings, and zero fish. For $19, that's pretty chintzy as far as the ingredients go. I didn't eat any of the pasta, and the shellfish had no flavor whatsoever. I also tasted other items, including the fried calamari appetizer (very basic, served with what appeared to be a mayonnaise sauce), the salsiccia pizza (sausage OK, but it was also loaded with weirdly sweet caramelized onions, which made it taste as much like a dessert as an entree!), and the broccoli rabe side order (served cold on an ice cold plate, which we found kind of bizarre).

Depressingly, the place was packed to the gills on a Thursday night. I think the CW Harborside crowd must have all migrated here for the same kind of boring food and giant portions that you end up taking home in a doggie bag. I passed on the waiter's offer to pack up my half-pound of uneaten linguini.

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Capers & Lemons Restaurant
301 Little Falls Dr, Wilmington, DE 19808

[Flyers_fan]

Agreed, not good Italian. With numerous choices right in downtown wilmington (Little Italy) and Nonnas in Chrisitana, why go here...except for conveinance?

[bluehensfan]

Sorry to hear you ate what I heard about the place. It always amazes me when a new restaurant opens up in northern Delaware and flourishes based primarily on location or how trendy it looks.

[gfweb1]

Im very underwhelmed by the place too. But at the same time it is a few notches above whats in the area. It might well be that northern DE cannot support a good place. C & L is very successful, so they've seemed to find their market.

[Sensuous]

http://www.delawaretoday.com/Delaware...
I just picked up this month's Delaware Today. I thought you might like to look it over too. Capers and Lemons was mentioned.

[bluehensfan]

Thanks for posting that. I didn't know there were even 96 restaurants in Delaware that they could choose as their favorites...it seemed like they picked out just about any place that's not a chain (but I did notice the Melting Pot...yuk!) but they should have picked the Border Cafe (on Rt. 7) if they had to do chains if you ask me. The problem with the reviews at Delaware Today is that they are too "vanilla" and complementary...even worse than the NJ.

[RC51Mike]

Firebirds and Sullivans are both chains. A lot of the usual suspects and would guess advertisers. I don't go to Lewes/Rehoboth so can't comment on any of those anyway. I suppose most are ok but obvious there aren't 96 restaurants in Delaware that would say, blow you away.

[Sensuous]

Aren't the Harry's restaurants good? I have always wanted to try them. I have never even been to the waterfront area of Wilmington though. Is it nice at night?

[bluehensfan]

Would you be armed? :) Harry's Seafood grill is just decent (as is the other Harry's except for good prime rib). The waterfront area of Wilmington is small and I am not sure how safe it is at night. They do have a good Shop Rite not too far away though.

[RC51Mike]

We've been to Harry's Seafood several times and had very good experiences. Big Fish is a notch down from there but also good. We've been to both those and Iron Hill countless times and never had an issue with safety.

[Sensuous]

We really love the Rehoboth Big Fish.
We drive over to Wilmington to shop occasionally and will eventually make our way to the riverfront. I just wondered what others thought about it. Thanks a lot for the replies.

[gfweb1]

Harry's on Naaman's Rd. is soooo 1960s. Would have been hot stuff back then. Harry's on the Waterfront is adequate.

[4degrees]

Just a small correction Harry's on Naamans rd is far from the 1960's. The entire place was renovated a few years back. The restaurant now has a very modern look with the claasic steak house appeal. The best bar in North Wilmington Hand down. They also reworked the menu over the last couple years and it really has something for everyones taste and budget, As for the comment about both Harry's restaurants being the same except for the prime rib. That comment couldn't be farther fro the truth. Each facility has it's own identity, clientele and menu. And they both are equally good. PS. I'm not an employee

[bluehensfan]

Wow...I didn't notice at first that Palacio Maya is on the list. Think Mexican food that would make Taco Bell seem like haute cuisine at Hockessin prices and you get the idea.

[gfweb1]

Palacio Maya is pretty gross. People are nice, but the food is...well...disgusting.

[RC51Mike]

I probably wouldn't characterize it as disgusting. More like what if Taco Bell launched a concept a la Mexican Applebee's. On second thought...

[gfweb1]

I kind of like Firebirds. It can be noisy, but the food is OK and not too expensive. Sullivans? Feh. Pricey, lots of atmosphere but food is mediocre. The world does not need an "entry-level" steakhouse.

[gfweb1]

I just read through the DT restaurant issue. Hardly reliable. To read it you would think no eatery sucks in DE.

[travelmad478]

Wow, I leave the country for two weeks and my thread goes wild! Just looked at that Delaware Today restaurant "review" section online and it is pretty laughable. I found it amusing that in the comments section, the editor replies to one person's complaint about a particular restaurant being left out by basically saying that "longevity" was more a important criterion than good food. I'd bet the quantity of advertising dollars spent in Delaware Today is pretty much the only criterion. Well, from a magazine that seems to make the largest proportion of its ad revenue from plastic surgeons, I'm not too surprised that image is a lot more important than substance in their reviews.