Capitol Bar & Grill Restaurant — Restaurant in District of Canberra Central

As guests staying at the QT Hotel, we came down to dinner to a smart, hip looking restaurant bar area with a quirky political/media theme. We were promptly told there were no tables. We notes that 75% of the tables were empty, but they replied they were only opening the tables near the bar. We had two choices: perch at a 50cm diameter bar table, or sit in low lounge chairs and hunch over a coffee table. We chose the latter mainly so as to have space to fit the plates. This meant only two of us could sit side by side in very uncomfortable high backed lobby showpiece chairs, while the other two diners sat 4 meters away on the other side of a large faux leather divan. We were given the menu; only later, halfway through a dinner which the kids were literally unable to eat, did the staff mention the kids menu. By that time they had bulked up on bread. The food was very over priced: $52 dollars for a steak, which came with the kind of pepper sauce you’d get in a country pub, a bit of watercress dumped unceremoniously on an enormous plate, some dressing in the kind of stainless steel gravy boat that you used to find in hospital tea rooms, and a bowl of fries. My wife had the lamb ($42), a pile of fatty ribs smothered in an attempt at yoghurt mint sauce. I had one bite and felt like I needed a shower. My daughter had the prawns, which the chef had left in their shells and sliced lengthways, apparently in a failed effort to look artful. This however made it necessary to scrape the thin film of meat from the disintegrating shell with utensils, making the dish inedible: it had to be sent back in exchange for two desserts, which took forever to come. While we waited, a cockroach settled on the divan eyeing our used crockery. We finished feeling greasy, uncomfortable and out of pocket. My advice: maybe worth visiting for a pre dinner cocktail if you are staying at the hotel, but avoid the restaurant unless you’re in the mood for overpriced pub grub in a slightly...

Attempted to attend the bar this evening to have a light meal from the bar menu before attending a show. I had called the Monday prior to hoping to attend on the Saturday evening, I was told it was not necessary to make a booking and there is no online option to book at the bar. When we arrived there was a group of wedding guests, another section with an event sign and then multiple reserved signs on tables. I’m unsure as to why we were not offered this reservation option over the phone, as multiple tables for two had reserved signs. It was difficult to get to speak to any staff member. I asked for a menu at the bar and was told I don’t know, granted she did eventually find me one. When the majority of what appeared to be wedding guests filtered off to their next location in the hotel, we took a vacant table. There was no signage to indicate this wasn't an option. I went to the bar to order food and drinks. There were two others waiting to order and staff that passed through did not make eye contact and one remaining staff member was making cocktails. While I was waiting, my husband was approached by a staff member who said “this area is reserved for the wedding party” (despite it being now vacant) and when he said we were in the process of ordering food to that spot he just responded with “yep not my section” and told him to leave. It would have been helpful if the staff member I spoke to on the phone gave a better indication of how unlikely it would have been for us to walk in without a reservation. Considering wedding parties serving entire sections at peak times would surely occur nearly every Saturday of the year at a major venue like this and they would be well aware of this ruling out the possibility of walk ins. We left without ordering anything and will not...

Genuinely surprised how this restaurant is almost 4 stars on Google. My review is very objective and based on my own experience. My fiancé and I stayed in QT hotel for few nights over the Easter weekend, so we had to have breakfast everyday in this restaurant. To be seated, you'd have to wait at least 10 minutes until you were acknowledged by any staff member. You could tell everyone is busy and staff are too stressed to even smile, except for Parisa who was the only staff who was professional, smiley, and amid the chaos, remained very hospitable. Coffee is good, but the breakfast menu is a joke. I think the head chef should genuinely look at this menu to realise how dull and pathetic it is for customers. While the Waffles were sold out, the few very other options were ridiculous by all means. We tried the green eggs, the Benedict, and the very sad mortadele. Mind you, this is a 5 stars venue where you'd expect to pay money for meals and service that doesn't match what you expect whatsoever. I attached some photos to see the presentation, in reality the serves are small, the presentation is horrible, a toddler could have done a better job. Service was poor, despite someone cleaning the tables, you could still see food crumbs on all tables. The hotel is exquisite with amazing services but the restaurant is the very wrong spot for a breakfast. I gave feedback to one of the staff who didn't know what to say. Our 3 days breakfast experience was really below 1 star. I'd spend my...