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Capers Mediterranean Buffet (Closed)
6317 N. Meridian Ave.Oklahoma City, OK
After six visits to Capers my worst fears about the restaurant were confirmed-- that the buffet
style food could not maintain its initial quality and would gradually start a downhill slide. I
still think Capers is good overall, and continues to be much healthier than the buffet restaurants
you could find as an alternative. All buffets, though, seem to change over time.
In the case of Capers, though, I can say, "First, the good news...". The good news is that the
salads, tabouleh, hummus, and even the grape leaves seem to be better than when the restaurant first
opened (and by this I mean that they are consistently better). In fact, some of these items have
become competitive with some of the city's best Mediterranean restaurants.
Not many of Capers' best items have gone downhill (this qualifies as "neutral" news-- not good
and not bad). Instead, though, they are being seved in limited quantities. On my visit in
September 2014 they were out of what I consider to be the two best items-- rotisserie chicken and
shawerma chicken. Other items had gone downhill (such as the fried chicken and chicken kabob), and
the bread pudding had gone way downhill. There were plenty of good items in the buffet, but it is
almost to the point that before loading up on particular foods I have to take samples of several
items to see what is good that day (it is a buffet, after all).
While my ratings of individual items attempt to reflect the most up to date conditions, readers
should take all of these with a grain of salt. Any items at Capers can vary from day to day, and
I also think they vary over time. I am glad that some items seem to be better than before, but
the inconsistencies of operating a buffet are becoming evident.
Although the restaurant is called Capers Mediteranean Buffet & Bistro, I do not think there is
anything here other than a buffet. I have asked about ordering individual items, and they have
told me that this might come "later." The price of the buffet is not too bad, and they do have
some discounts (such as for seniors). With tax I think the price for two people comes out to
about $25 (and I think this is a pretty good price).
The flavor of almost everything is good, and in fact much of it is excellent. The main
problem seems to be in some things being overcooked and dry, or in just running out of some items.
Some items are rotated as daily specials, giving a little bit more variety (although I have
found that the best items are those which are on the menu every day).
In 2014 they started offering hot tea, although it is not Middle Eastern style. All drinks
(including iced tea and pop) are included in the price of the buffet.
Bread is brought to the table in a basket, and customers can go to a large warmer on the
serving line to get more. This was a freshly baked pita that I thought was quite good, and that
goes well with many of the dips and salads.
The "salad bar" is part of the buffet, and includes many items I normally think of as
vegetables. For instance the Hummus (which I normally eat as a vegetable) was turned
into a dip served in a large tray. This started out as my biggest disappointment at Capers,
but now is quite good.
The Tabouleh was dry at first, but now has also been much improved.
The Cous Cous started out with too much garlic, and now I think is much better.
The Grape Leaves are very good, and are similar to the ones in some of the city's
best Middle Eastern restaurants.
The Fatoush Salad was excellent, and because the buffet really offers too many items
to try in one meal, I did not find out about the fatoush until my second visit.
Spinach Salad is another item from the salad bar that I think is one of the best choices.
For a buffet it is rather hard to get good photos since I do not want to load up a plate so much
that people cannot see the items, but on the other hand the plate with the chicken items looks
rather sparse. This is just the way I like to try things, though, and of course people can go back
as many times as they like for refills.
Overall the chicken items were worthy of getting refills, and I thought they were one of the best
parts of the buffet. There is usually a choice of several chicken items.
My favorite chicken item on my first visits was the Chicken Kabob, but this has now
been replaced by the rotisserie chicken and chicken shawarma (discussed in the next
paragraphs). The kabobs lately have been rather dry.
The Rotisserie Chicken was good quality but had a flavor that tasted less Middle
Eastern to me than some of the other chicken items. It does not matter, though, because
this is probably Capers' best item.
The Chicken Shawarma had a good seasoning and flavor, but tasted a little greasy
at first. Now, though, I do not think the "greasy" designation still applies.
The Penne Pasta with Chicken was a delight because it was so much better than
ones I usually find in restaurants. Gradually they seem to be reducing the amount of
chicken in it, but it still has a very good flavor.
I read from another source that the Fried Chicken was made using the recipe from
the old
Sleepy Hollow Restaurant that was a long time
Oklahoma City favorite. This was short lived, though, and I heard that the chef from
Sleepy Hollow is no longer at Capers. The fried chicken has been disappointing on my most
recent visits to Capers, and I would say to go to Cajun King (a mile west on N.W. 63rd St.)
if your main goal is to get fried chicken.
The Pizza was good, and was certainly better than many I have tried in the city.
Although buffets many times emphasize quantity over quality, I found good quality at Capers,
particularly when trying the different chicken dishes. Having such a great variety of different side
dishes was a bonus because many of them were quite good as well.
The buffet is divided into a part for vegetables and one for salads (including tabouleh
and hummus). I generally like to get most of my side dishes from the salad section, especially
now that some of them seem to be much improved. A few of the items from the vegetable section
are also very good (such as the Moroccan Minestrone, a vegetarian minestrone soup served
as a daily special on one of my visits).
The Lentil Soup is generally not as good as at other Mediterranean restaurants, but
which is something I usually like to include as part of my meal here.
The Falafel has been a major disappointment, being hard, dry, and salty.
The desserts as a whole were excellent, but individually I thought better versions could be
found at other restaurants such as baklava (Nunu's and Camilya's), bread pudding
(Cajun King), and rice pudding (Taj). Bread pudding is probably the best dessert served
at Capers (with the rice pudding also being a good choice).
Of course the good part of a buffet is that you get such a wide choice of items, and this
is really why I continue to enjoy my visits to Capers.
Bread basket
Hummus, tabouleh, cous cous, and grape leaves
Chicken kabob (left), penne pasta with chicken (front), rotisserie chicken (right), and
chicken shawarma (back)
Counter-clockwise from the left: fatoush salad, spinach salad, hummus, grape leaves, tabouli
| My Comments in a Nutshell |
What I like most:
|
RESTAURANT DETAILS
RATING: 23
Cuisine: Mediterranean
Cost: $$
Hours: Open Daily
Accessible: Yes
Smoking: No Smoking
Special Features: Buffet
Most Recent Visit
Sep. 29, 2014
Number of Visits: 6
Best Items
Rotisserie Chicken, Shawerma Chicken, Fatoush Salad
Special Ratings
Chicken Kabob: 
Rotisserie Chicken: 
Chicken Shawarma:
Fried Chicken:
Penne Pasta with Chicken:
Pizza:
Grape Leaves:
Hummus:
Tabouleh:
Cous Cous:
Lentil Soup:
Moroccan Minestrone:
Tomato and Cheese Soup:
Fatoush Salad:
Spinach Salad:
Falafel: 
Green Bean Sharmoula:
Rice Pudding:
Bread Pudding:
Baklava:
| RELATED ARTICLES |
|
Apr. 5, 2013 :
Capers Update
Sep. 29, 2012 : Capers New Review |