About

A kitchen with a story. A table worth coming back to.

BEHIND THE RESTAURANT

Our Story

Capriciano Osteria is an Italian fine-dining osteria at 505 Mendocino Ave in Santa Rosa, and it has been open since Friday, July 17, 2026. Capriciano was born from a simple belief: that the finest Italian cooking doesn’t belong only to white-tablecloth dining rooms in Napa or San Francisco. It belongs here — on Mendocino Avenue, in the heart of Santa Rosa, where the wine country begins and the Pacific coast is never far from mind.

Executive Chef Baki Bekci grew up on Türkiye’s Turquoise Coast, where his family ran a restaurant and cooking was simply part of daily life. He trained at Fethiye Culinary College, then spent years working through some of Europe’s most respected kitchens – Cyprus, Athens, Dubrovnik – before bringing that foundation to California and the Four Seasons in Napa Valley.

We take time to source carefully and cook with intention. Every oyster, every pasta, every glass of wine is chosen because it belongs on this table — not because it’s convenient. That’s the standard Capriciano was built on, and it’s the standard we hold ourselves to every night we open our doors.

Chef Baki's Background

Baki’s path took him from the Turquoise Coast of southern Türkiye through the kitchens of Cyprus, Athens, and Dubrovnik, and eventually to Napa Valley’s most demanding fine dining environment. Each stop taught him something different – but the discipline he carries today came from all of them together.

Before Capriciano, he founded Mezzeluna in Cotati, Sonoma County in early 2024 and ran it for a year, transferring ownership in early 2025 with no current involvement. Those lessons now shape every choice at Capriciano — his most personal project to date. The menu at Capriciano reflects that full journey: the Turquoise Coast, the Italian table, and the precision of Napa Valley fine dining.

Capriciano Osteria — Italian Restaurant Santa Rosa

Chef Baki Bekci

Executive Chef & Founder

Our Philosophy

We believe that a great meal is a complete experience, not just a transaction. Italian cooking at its best is slow, generous, and deeply attentive to the person sitting at the table. That’s the spirit Capriciano was built to carry into Santa Rosa: a restaurant that serves food the way it was always meant to be served, with pride in the craft and warmth in the room. Our goal is not a meal you finish quickly and forget. It’s an evening you think about on the drive home.

Your Experience

What Guests Can Expect

From the moment you walk in, Capriciano is designed to feel like a welcome — unhurried, warm, and focused entirely on the evening ahead. Our goal is not just a great meal today, but a table you’ll want to return to.

Wood-Fire Kitchen

Every dish cooked to order, over flame. The smoke, the char, the timing — all intentional.

OpenTable Reservations

Instant confirmation online, or call us directly. Walk-ins welcome when we have a table.

Daily Fresh Seafood

Oysters from rotating coasts, Ora King salmon, Petrale sole — sourced fresh and served with respect.

Private Events Welcome

50 guests indoors, 50 on the seasonal terrace and up to 89 for a full buyout. Birthdays, rehearsals, corporate dinners — we’ll set the table.

The Space

A Room That Feels Like Italy

Capriciano Osteria

505 Mendocino Ave, Santa Rosa, CA 95401

Capriciano Osteria at a Glance

Here is Capriciano Osteria in a few lines. We are an Italian osteria in Sonoma wine country, at 505 Mendocino Ave, cooking handmade pasta, wood-fired pizza, fresh seafood and Italian-style antipasti in Sicilian and coastal traditions. The wine list pairs Italy with Sonoma County and Napa Valley, next to Italian-style craft beer, and we serve beer and wine only. Dinner runs six nights a week from 5 PM, Tuesday is our night off, and the kitchen is led by Chef Baki Bekci, our founder and executive chef.

The dining room at Capriciano Osteria, a table for four set in front of the warm-lit open kitchen

Tables with green cushions under a brick-edged arch, the fireplace beyond, at Capriciano Osteria

A dozen shared plates of pasta, seafood, lamb and dessert on one table at Capriciano Osteria

Logs burning inside the brick arch of the wood-fired oven at Capriciano Osteria

When did Capriciano Osteria open?

We opened on Friday, July 17, 2026, at 505 Mendocino Ave in downtown Santa Rosa. Today we serve dinner only: Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday from 5 to 9:30 PM, and Friday and Saturday from 5 to 10 PM, closed on Tuesdays. Reservations are recommended for weekends, for parties of four or more and for special occasions, and walk-ins are welcome whenever we have a table ready. The main dining room, the terrace and the restrooms are step-free.

Who leads the kitchen?

Chef Baki Bekci, our founder and executive chef. He comes from Türkiye’s Turquoise Coast, which is where our line “The Turquoise Coast and the Italian table” begins. The menu itself is Italian: antipasti, salads, handmade pasta, pizza from the firewood oven, meat dishes and fresh seafood, cooked in Sicilian and coastal traditions, with a wine list from Italy, Sonoma County and Napa Valley beside it. His path is told in the chef’s background section on this page.

What does “osteria” mean?

In Italy, an osteria was traditionally a simple place to drink wine and eat, less formal than a ristorante. Capriciano is an Italian fine-dining osteria, so it keeps the osteria’s pairing of wine and food at one table while the kitchen cooks with fine-dining care. At dinner, that means wine by the glass, bottle or flight next to every course. Our Journal has a short guide to the difference between an osteria, a trattoria and a ristorante.

Do you host private events?

Yes. The whole restaurant can be reserved as a full buyout, and our event pages cover The Long Table, Corporate Dinners, Birthdays & Milestones and the seasonal Al Fresco Terrace. To start planning, email hi@capriciano.com or call (707) 800-7904 with your date, guest count and occasion. Reservations are recommended for parties of four or more, and gluten-free and vegan pasta are available on request for any group, large or small.

Come and meet us at the table: reserve a table online or on OpenTable, and get directions to 505 Mendocino Ave.