They bloody fooled me!
With their rich mahogany paneling, suit-donned staff, cozy lighting and impressive artwork; I walked into the Capital Grille expecting a 
To the Capital Grille’s credit, it took me a little while to work out I was in a chainy. Like I said, the place is decorated beautifully and romantically for that matter. You’ll find the staff impeccably dressed providing even better service, and it even has personalized locker type boxes for those wankers, I mean fancy people who like to leave alcohol at the restaurant to show off to their golfing buddies.
Actually, for any of our readers who’ve seen/know about these lockers, what’s the deal??? Mandy, bless her, knew straight away what I’d gotten us into but didn’t have the heart to tell me.
Anyways, it all started to come unstuck for the Capital when I saw the menu. The thing was huge. I’d say A3 in Australian terms. Restauranting 101 states that all the best restaurants keep it small and simple. Following this, the next thing I noticed was the other clientele. Or lack thereof. 8 o’clock on Thursday will be packed in most restaurants worth visiting.
Whilst I’d planned a disastrous dinner, we like to share and learn from all of our dates. Lesson learnt here, especially for the lads, do your research and stay local!
Cheers, Brett
So, as Brett mentioned above, the Capital Grille left much to be desired. I think what angered us the most was that it was Restaurant Week in Seattle - well, that's not what angered us, but the results which came from that...
What a GREAT way to bring new clientele into your establishment and show them exactly what you're made of, for the fraction of the price.
We HAD to take advantage of this promotion. Brett had walked by the Capital Grille and thought it had a very steak-housy-fun-classy vibe to it, and thought he'd pull out all stops and take me there, out of all the restaurants to choose from for Restaurant Week.
We arrived and, like Brett said, were blown away with how classy the interior looked. Was really nice and moody. Not "Mandy-before-she's-had-her-dinner-and-is-starving-and-angry" moody, but the good kind of moody - soft lighting, big overstuffed booths, jazzy music, 30- and 40-something's clinking martini-glasses in the bar after a hard day's work.
We were escorted to the front section and seated in our own private booth at the far wall. Was a cute little area all our own. But then we looked around and noticed who we were sitting by: the jeans-clad guy still wearing his convention badge... and the lady who was on a date with herself... and her iphone... and the tattooed and tattered young couple who was friends with the busboy and came for free bread and bottomless diet cokes.
Yes, we were put in the rejects section.
Both Brett and i went to the bathroom multiple times just so we could get a glimpse into the real restaurant. Where all the action was happening.
We should have expected it. He and i showed up in our jeans and track jackets - not exactly the dress code for a fancy place like this. Learned our lesson quickly.
I digress.
The thing that irked me the most, is that when we ordered, and our food arrived, it was clear that the food we chose was cooked in bulk and had most likely been sitting in the back in a massive pot for quite some time.
Now, this is certainly just my opinion, but the mashed potatoes and the creamed spinach were both left virtually untouched by two ravenous 20-somethings who were desperate for food... This speaks volumes of its quality.
Brett's steak was not properly cooked, and my salmon was dry and tasteless.
Throw at least a sprig of rosemary on there or SOMEthing. We understand that they probably have a ton of people ordering off the Restaurant Week menu, but this is also the opportunity to wow potential new 'regulars'... a chance to show folks just what you can do in the kitchen.
We were thoroughly disappointed, because the place has so much potential. And VERY cool art. Our waiter was attentive and never left us wanting for more water, bread (the bread was AMAZING!) or the check...which we were all-too-happy to request once our wine glasses were empty.
I'll agree with Brett on this - if you're hoping to wow your lady with a great steak dinner, go local; or at least go sometime besides Restaurant Week... where you're just another number.
The Capital Grille
1301 4th Avenue
Seattle, WA 98101
(206) 382-0900
thecapitalgrille.com
Romance: 3
Cool Ambiance/Interior: 4
All Around Service: 4
Cost: $$ = entrees from $14 – 22
Would we recommend it? 2: Once was enough for us. But was really well-reviewed on Yelp, so you never know! Give it a chance if you want!
4 comments:
Being in the biz for 30 years, I am disappointed that you would dismiss, out of hand, all chains (to the point of even having a seemingly derogatory nickname like "chainy"). In my humble opinion, there are just as many independents that have issues as "chains" - trust me, I've worked for all kinds of operations, chains and independents. What is it specifically about chains that is a wholesale problem? Seems like a very, very broad generalization.
Sorry anonymous but we haven't yet had a good, fresh meal on a date at a chain restaurant. Let me stress that, on a date. If you know of any good ones. And I mean good ones, let us know, we'll try it out.
To add to Brett’s response above, it’s not that all chain restaurants are terrible – they just don’t happen to offer the same as independently owned restaurants.
Most chain restaurants that we’ve experienced don’t pride themselves in their menus or ingredients the way that independent shops do – there just isn’t the same thoughtfulness there. That’s not saying we don’t eat at them from time to time – when we’re wanting a quick, easy and/or affordable meal.
But if you’re wanting to take someone to a special place, have a special evening where you feel that the establishment truly cares for their ingredients, their food, their delivery of married flavors in a well thought out and constantly evolving menu, then the Keg or Red Robin are not going to be the places Brett and I recommend taking him or her. That’s all.
This is so sad -- I LOVE CAPITAL GRILLE, and I am always incredibly impressed by them. Their lobster mac and cheese is the best!!!
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