Went to the new Capital Grille in the Oxmoor parking lot off Shelbyville Rd. I have to rate this overall equivalent to (at least) Ruth’s Criss’s or Morton’s!
Made reservations a couple of weeks ago, and 7:45 was the earliest we could get (for four people). The tables are not crowded together, and with subdued focused lighting and earth-toned furnishings the overall feeling was one of relaxation and peace; we were prepared to spend the evening dining! BTW, the restaurant was around 70% full, so my guess is that they are limiting the number of guests the first few weeks as a “shake down” before going full speed.
There is a nice bar with tables for service, and a decent main dining area from which the kitchen is partly viewable (and quiet), all adding to the relaxed atmosphere. There are several private dining rooms at various sizes surrounding the main dining room.
We started with appetizers. My wife and I split an order of two lobster-crab cakes at $25. They were nicely arranged on a smallish plate, with a side of chilled corn salad and a light dressing. They were perfect, with large chunks of crab and visible claws of lobster meat, and no visible filler at all! A great start to the meal.
In all previous visits to Capital Grilles I always had ordered a steak, but saw some lamb chops enroute to our table and decided to go that route. My wife and I split four double lamb chops (eight regular rib chops!) along with a side salad. The lamb was perfect . . . served rare in the center (as requested) but with a charred almost crunchy exterior, and sitting in a wine reduction sauce which I sopped up with some of the rolls on the table (four kinds of bread: French, pumpernickel, crunchy rolls, and lavash crisps). The salad was everything we wanted; a simple mix of field greens with some cherry tomatoes and a nice Parmesan vinaigrette dressing.
Our friends had the salmon (described by them as having real salmon flavor, unlike a similar entrée they had last weekend at one of our finer restaurants) and a seared rare tuna steak (crunchy outside and totally rare within, served over rice, and a huge portion I’d guess at 12-14 ounces!).
We spoke with the beverage manager (and acting manager) after dinner, both to rave about our server and complement the meal. He informed us that they had selected their staff from 500 applicants, and keep their staff through high pay and respecting the workers (hopefully true, as everyone we met was an outgoing professional). He also told us that each Capital Grille has an in-house butcher to take care of the meat, and gets seafood deliveries five days a week.
No dessert, as we were pleasantly full.
We go out to dinner a lot, and tend to judge restaurants on a “worth the money” basis; in other words, we tend to expect more from an expensive place than a neighborhood ‘joint.’ In every respect the Capital Grille was very expensive, but rated a “highly worth it” in our rating system.
I only wish we could afford to visit more often!