Some places become part of the identity of a destination. They are remembered not only for what they serve, but for the people behind them, the atmosphere they create and the stories accumulated over generations. La Capannina in Capri is one of those places.

Founded in 1931 and still run by the De Angelis family, the restaurant has grown together with the island while remaining strongly attached to its roots. Today, Antonio and Francesco De Angelis, father and son, represent two generations of the same story. When I met them in Capri, our conversation moved naturally from family and food to tourism, wine, local identity and the responsibility of preserving something that has existed for almost a century.

“First of all, you need love and passion”

For Antonio De Angelis, continuing the family business means carrying forward values inherited from his parents. “My father dedicated his whole life to professionalism and to his love for cooking,” he says. “He passed those values on to me, and I try to pass them on to my children.”

That continuity is visible in practical ways. Antonio still goes into the kitchen in the mornings, supervises what is happening and checks how dishes are prepared. Some recipes have remained in the family for generations. “The ravioli are still made according to my grandmother’s recipe,” Francesco explains. “These are things we have been handing down since the 1930s.”

But heritage, for both father and son, is about more than recipes. “And then there is respect,” Francesco adds. “Respect for the people who come here and for those who work with us.” The idea of family extends beyond the De Angelis name: some members of staff have stayed for decades, including one chef who worked with them for 53 years. “My father calls the staff ‘the family’,” Francesco says. “In reality, we spend more time with them than with our own families.”

Tradition without standing still

For Francesco, growing up inside such a strongly defined family business brings both privilege and responsibility. “Carrying on a project that began in 1930s is not easy,” he says. “You have to be careful not to become too modern and loose the "Caprese" character.”

There is room for new dishes, tableware, details and ideas, but change should never erase identity. “You can innovate, but always without losing who you are.” Antonio sees the same balance from the customer’s perspective. The menu changes regularly, depending partly on what is available at the market, but guests also return because they know they will find dishes they remember.

“If someone wants Chateaubriand, they will go to Paris, to France,” Antonio says. “If they come to La Capannina, they want ravioli, prawns, seafood sauté etc.” People who come to Capri, he believes, want to experience Capri.

This philosophy also explains how La Capannina has developed over the years. Customers began asking whether they could buy the olive oil they had tasted, take home a bottle of wine or purchase a plate they had seen at the restaurant. Gradually, the family created a retail space, enoteca. The bar, opened in 1992, followed a similarly practical idea: instead of leaving guests standing while they waited for a table, the family created somewhere they could sit and have a drink. “It was born like that,” Francesco says.

Capri has changed — but its attraction remains

Both Antonio and Francesco have watched tourism on Capri change considerably. In the past, visitors often stayed for much longer. “I remember that in the central dining room we had the same tables occupied by the same people every evening for an entire month,” Francesco recalls. Today, guests are more likely to stay three, four or five days, perhaps a week. “There is more movement and more rotation.”

Yet the emotional attraction of Capri remains. Many long-standing guests continue to return, attached not only to La Capannina but to the island itself. “Capri has an incredible attraction,” Antonio says.

The De Angelis family is equally determined to keep its own story going. Antonio is optimistic about the next generations: “We have the good fortune to have a third and fourth generation who are very willing to continue.” Keeping La Capannina within the family matters deeply. 

Wine, Capri and a sense of place

Wine is another important part of the De Angelis family story. According to Francesco, his grandfather was the first to bring labelled bottled wine to Capri, at a time when wine on the island was mainly sold loose. Antonio remembers helping his father: “Barrels and demijohns of wine would arrive from Ischia or Sorrento. I washed the bottles and we poured the wine into them.” Later, his father developed relationships directly with wineries, eventually leading to the family’s enoteca.

Today, Francesco continues searching for both local and international producers for the restaurant and wine shop. “Wine is something we work on very seriously.”

The conversation about wine naturally leads back to Capri itself — and to an image Francesco would like to challenge. Capri may be internationally associated with glamour and luxury, but that is only one side of the island. “Luxury has always existed in Capri,” Francesco says, recalling even the villas of the Roman emperor Tiberius. “But we try to maintain an approach that works for everyone.”

A traveller looking for luxury will certainly find it, but Capri should not be reduced to luxury alone. Antonio puts it simply: “Capri belongs to the world.” People arrive from everywhere and from very different backgrounds, but all come to experience the island. “Capri is a treasure for the world.”

“When someone comes to Capri, they come for Capri”

When our conversation turns to Italy more broadly, Francesco returns once again to tradition. “Italy is certainly tradition.” He talks about family life, Sunday lunches and the importance of maintaining regional culture, particularly in Southern Italy. For him, travelling should remain connected to the identity of a place.

“If I go to Rome, maybe one evening I might want sushi, but normally I go there to eat Roman food.” And the same applies to Capri: “When someone comes to Capri, they come for Capri.” Italy’s strength, he believes, comes from its extraordinary concentration of history, culture and traditions. “Wherever you travel in Italy, you find history everywhere.”

The dish you should not leave without trying

At the end of our conversation, I ask the inevitable question. If someone visits La Capannina for the first time, what is the one dish they absolutely should try? Francesco does not hesitate. “The ravioli. Absolutely.”

The Caprese ravioli are still prepared according to his grandmother’s recipe, now almost a century old. Every family in Capri traditionally had its own version, Francesco explains, and La Capannina has preserved theirs. Antonio agrees — although he quickly reminds me not to forget the seafood: scialatielli, linguine with lobster, homemade spaghetti and whatever the market brings.

He ends our conversation with an invitation: “We are waiting for you in Capri. You will always be welcome — by me, by Francesco and by all of us.” “By our whole family,” Francesco adds.

Perhaps that captures La Capannina better than anything else: a restaurant approaching its first century, continuously evolving but still centred around family, hospitality, local identity and respect. Capri may change, travellers may stay for fewer days and menus may evolve. But some things, the De Angelis family believes, are worth keeping exactly where they belong.