Cafe Capistrano

This is the best food ever! I eat there twice a week. It’s tucked away in a strip mall. I love the owner and staff. Don’t miss trying this food.

This is one of my favorite places to eat. I love their chimichangas and their tortilla soup is amazing! Their fountain in the middle of the restaurant just adds to the whole effect! If you don’t like cilantro, you probably shouldn’t eat here because about every item I’ve had had it!

Catered lunch, so can’t speak on the actual restaurant service, but the food was great! We had sides, meat, and shredded chicken for make your own tacos… it was all super fresh. The chicken was well seasoned and very flavorful. Very similar to the Baja style Mexican you get in LA! I would love to try the restaurant soon!

This is the best place around the area for lunch if you like Mexican food (though they call it California-​style). Although it is a little pricey, you get a lot of food for your money. I highly recommend the California Torta Sandwich. The bread is made fresh and it comes with a cup of their chicken tortilla soup (best I’ve ever had). The service is usually excellent, though I have had a few visits where I waited for a refill or the bill (none recently and I eat here a few times a month, sometimes weekly). I’ve been with several co-​workers and the service was spot on. Like I said, mostly the service is very good.
If it is your first time or your looking for a really unique meal, try the California Torta Sandwich. It comes on fresh made bread and is made to order. It is so tasty and not something you can get anywhere else. The chicken tortilla soup is so good. I could just get a huge bowl of that. It comes with a small wedge of lime, so make sure you fish it out and give it a good squeeze before setting aside. The soup is full of shredded chicken not just a few tiny pieces that you have to search for. The presentation of the food is also very well done. They always serve the sandwich with a side of marinated tomatoes and lettuce. I like to add the tomatoes to the sandwich and will request more if they don’t put much on the plate.

The queso blanco appetizer is very tasty and a large portion. The guacamole appetizer is piled high on the plate and has a wonderful presentation. Everything they serve has such a personal touch with the presentation even the dessert. I’ve tried most of their desserts and they’re so fresh and delicious. The portions are huge!
You can order ahead for food to go, I’ve seen many people come in and pick up orders while I’m there. I would suggest if you are going with a large party to call ahead. They seem very accommodating with groups, but the space is limited. One review said the layout was poor, but I love it. It has booths on the sides and tables in the middle that can be combined for larger groups.
When you arrive, they are very quick to get your drink order and bring you a bowl of salsa and chips. If you want the salsa a little spicier or a personal bowl (for double dipping), just ask and they’ll bring you out a bowl special made for you. Everything you order seems like it was made just for you with little special touches along the way. That’s why I love this place.
The only thing to add is that I’ve never been for dinner, only for lunch and not had any wine/​beer/​alcohol, so I can’t comment on that. I work nearby, so it is a perfect place for lunch. I’ve never had a problem getting in and out during my lunch hour.

Not sure where I have been, but… just recently tried this amazing restaurant for the first time. Wow what a treat! Service was great, food was so flavorful and we walked away wanting more. The chicken tortilla soup was amazing, as was the quesadillas. I don’t understand how anyone would not love this place. The chef came out of the kitchen several times to make sure we loved our food tool So impressed, which there was one on the Western side of the County!

We have gone to this restaurant before and I was shocked to see that their service was so horrible last night. The waiter was ok, not overly friendly though. He brought out queso instead of guacamole. He then messed up on my son’s order, and the second time around, he STILL messed up. He messed up on my tacos too (corn tortilla instead of flour on one of them). Not once did he come to refill our water. He never came back and asked if everything was ok, nor did he even care that he messed up so many times. I am almost certain that either the owner or manager was sitting right next to us getting cutlery ready. She MUST have overheard us trying to console our son when his order was still messed up, and I’m pretty sure she would have heard me tell my husband about the mistakes. Did she bother to come over? Nope. Will not be going back here ever again.

It’s been way too long since we’ve done the «California Mexican style» thing. Early Friday night and we had no problem getting a booth. (did get busy soon after)
Huge Likes:
1) Nice pour of a good Chardonnay for $ 6.50. (varied selection to choose from)
2) Chilled glass for Husband’s Dos Equis (he said it helped make up for not having brews on tap)
3)The Relleno: Server warned me that it would take 20 minutes, and it was worth every minute of that wait! I had asked for it to be spiced up and loved that 15 minutes in, I was queried as to how exactly I wanted it kicked up. (was given options). This was chicken/​cheese relleno excellence!
4) Husband liked his Beef Chimichanga.
5) Complimentary Chips with a Fresh Lime/​Cilantro Salsa
Fresh and Flavorful! Must not wait so long to go back next time!

Food, atmosphere, and service were all so-​so. Per my visit, the best things they have going for them are the rice and salsa. Everything else was mediocre.

Love this place. Tried the torta sandwich and it was amazing the tortilla soup flavorful. One of the best Cali style mexican food in the triangle.

Pretty good Cali-​Mexican food. Like the salsa and chips, not so much the guacamole. The quesadilla is two dinners easily, and that’s before adding meat as I’m a vegetarian. Overall, I recommend if you’re in the North Raleigh area.

Awesome food. Great service. Great price. Don’t order chili rellano. Mahi chimichanga is also good.

We’ve now been twice in about a month, and the food is excellent. I’ve had the blue crab quesadillas both times, and they were excellent (and big enough to take home ½ the order.) Environment is nice and cozy. Outside seating is a little odd, but still nice.
Keep up the great work!

I don’t know how you could give this place less than five stars. People do get confused by the name. It’s FRESH Mexican, one of the few Mexican restaurants where I don’t leave feeling like I swallowed a ball of cheese. Definitely try the guacamole and the white wine Margaritas! My family loves everything on the menu.

Went over Memorial Day weekend and was it ever worth it! The food is just delicious, fresh and the staff was more than friendly!
The location is the only reason this place gets 4 stars instead of 5 … well that and they have no liquor license.

Great fish tacos and tortilla soup. The three-​taco plate is really enough to share, especially if you get soup or an appetizer.

Finally had a reason and time to stop by last Wednesday night and I can say that we were very happy with the food and the service.
The guac is fresh made with lovely chunks of avocado. I had the Mango Shrimp Tacos which were fabulous … crispy little shells with more guac and the mango salsa was a nice twist.
My dinner also included a cup of the Chicken Pozole soup — yum!
Will be back again soon.

I thought this place was just OK. My parents seem to really like it, and maybe I’m just not a big fan of the «California Mexican» style.
My fiancé and I definitely ate our meals, but left feeling kind of meh and unsatisfied — like we could have done better. I thought the queso dip before the meal was one of the best things we tried, and while my Empanadas were tasty, I’ve had better.
I guess I get the idea behind not including any animal fat in your beans (you can choose between black and smashed pinto beans), but honestly, I missed the delicious fatty flavor that presumably comes with most restaurant’s beans. Maybe only offer the fat-​less style for vegetarians/​vegans?
I probably wouldn’t venture back unless I was in the area and my parents insisted.

Before coming here, I thought it was an Italian restaurant based on its name. It has a really weird layout that’s way too open. A bunch of tables just thrown together in a square room that doesn’t feel like a restaurant at all.
Since we weren’t that hungry, we ordered a few appetizers to share plus a carafe of their margaritas. I wouldn’t get a margarita there again. They add sweet white wine to it. I could hardly finish my glass it was so sickeningly sweet.
For our appetizers we got guacamole, mango shrimp taco bites, and their nachos with chicken. All were good, but the nachos were my favorite. The guacamole just tasted like a mashed avocado with no seasoning or anything else added.
Not one of my favorites, but I’d be willing to come back and try their entrees.

Food was good. I ordered a shrimp and avocado salad and tortilla soup. The soup was incredible! However, the shrimp salad was quit different. The shrimp and avocado was sitting on tip of a bed of rice and lettuce which I didn’t care for. The shrimp was good and when I was finished eating only the shrimp and avocado there was the plate with a bunch of rice and lettuce. Wish they would serve the salad as other restaurants do with only the shrimp, avocado in a salsa dressing.
My friend ordered a quesadilla and really enjoyed it.

The food is great! Just deal with the identity crisis going on there. It’s in an unassuming strip mall, is one large room with tables lumped in the center and low booths lined along the perimeter (expect no privacy or intimate dining here), yet the host will greet you and escort you to your table with the demeanor of a maitre-​d in a fine establishment. I was put off by the lack of ambiance on my first visit, but the food is so worth it!
The tortilla soup is flavor, flavor, flavor! The cilantro and lime are bold and fresh against the soothing home feel from the chicken and broth. If nothing else, try the soup. The burrito, or el jefe, lives up to it’s name. Our second time there we ordered just the burrito for the two of us and it was plenty. Was tasty as well. Empanadas are on deck for my next visit.
Don’t let it’s odd location and lack of aesthetics put you off… definitely give this place a try!