The Capital Grille — Restaurant in Chicago

I visited this Capital Grille on 6/23/24 with one of my close friends. I’m not a normal reviewer but we had such a great meal and such great service I had to write one!

Service: our server was David and he was INCREDIBLE. Very knowledgeable about the menu, checked in often but did not crowd us, and refilled our waters & my lemonade frequently. David even gave some recommendations for good rooftop bars to check out after dinner (we went to Cindy’s per his recommendation and it was lovely!). Our assistant server was named Edgar and he was also wonderful!! Both David and Edgar always had a smile on their faces, were very kind, and always going above and beyond with nice touches like refolding our napkins when we went to the restroom, cold plates to serve dessert on, and checking in frequently. The manager on duty was Adam and I really appreciated him coming over to say hello and to check in on how the food and service was! I like when you get to see the managers and talk with them - especially when the service is so wonderful. Very nice guy and I can tell why the staff appear happy and to enjoy working there!

Food: oh my goodness, the food was sooooo good that I ate so much I thought my stomach would burst - but it would have been worth it!! I have Celiac disease so I eat gluten free and was very happy they had a gluten free menu for me to chose from and I did not get sick from cross contamination or anything after eating there! I got the NY strip steak as my main course. I get my steak ‘medium’ which can be tricky because it’s often either over cooked or under cooked to my liking (I most often eat steak at my country club in Minnesota) but the chef on duty, Luis, absolutely knocked it out of the park! It was perfectly cooked and the best steak I have ever had in my life. For sides we got mashed potatoes and asparagus. The mashed potatoes were to die for! They were incredible I wish I could get the recipe - so creamy and delicious. I will have dreams about the mashed potatoes. I like my asparagus a little on the saltier side so I added a little salt from the table to mine but it was well cooked! For dessert we got the flourless chocolate cake and crème brûlée. The flourless chocolate cake was the perfect ‘sweet but not too sweet’ cake and the crème brûlée was so good that prior to it coming out my friend and I said we were too full for dessert and ended up eating ALL of the crème brûlée. If I had been at home I would have licked the dish of the crème brûlée clean - so so so good! I also got lemonade and holy cow! Their lemonade has a touch of mint in it and it is so delicious I think I drank four glasses and wish I could have taken a gallon of it home with me. My only wish is that they had gluten free bread available since they provide a bread basket for the table.

All in all, an incredible meal and dining experience! I’m going to tell all my Minnesota friends to visit when they travel to Chicago - and I hope they also get David, Edgar, Luis, and Adam as their...

I want to preface this with a comment that this isn't supposed to be haughty. But when you eat at "fancy" restaurants with this price tag you expect at minimum an adequate experience. Very cheap, local restaurants in Europe run circles around this location.

This was supposed to be a "splurge" special meal with a friend from out of state for an event. It turned out to be an extreme disappointment.

This is the perfect example of how American restaurants have failed. A race to the bottom of cost and staff training, while jacking up the price points. Absolutely terrible for an insane price tag. The service was terrible. The food was terrible. The decor was poor and "just the surface" - look a bit harder and it was very clear it was the lowest budget item made in a gaudy faux design.

I'll start with the bathroom. Generally you want to check the cleanliness of the bathrooms to judge the restaurants overall commitment to being clean. It was a disaster. During a normal amount of tables, it was clear the bathroom had not been attended once. It was decorated in the cheapest American style bathroom. Horrible.

The staff were poorly dressed and poorly trained (I don't think at fault of their own, but the general business model.). Their "fancy" suites were ill fitted, wrinkled, and dirty. Clearly no attention to detail or holding the staff accountable (again, I don't think the individuals working were to blame). The staff poured drinks haphazardly, clearly in a rush, and spilled. The cutlery was incorrect or not given. Appetizer plates were not given. They were unfamiliar with the menu. Not "professional waiters" (which is a real, well paid job in other places.)

The food. Wow. Applebee's dressed up to look "fancy.". The meals were not special, or interesting culinary wise, or even had good basic cooking skills. My steak was poor. My "speciality cocktail" could have been a canned beverage from Walmart. My appetizer looked like premade frozen dish dropped on iceberg lettuce. The total? $300! I had a meal half as expensive in Denver that was magnificent and to pay double the price for such an inferior experience was offensive. Again this seemed to be the Applebee's model of "dumbing down" the menu to allow to hire line cooks instead of chefs. No actual skill in the kitchen (again, not bashing individual staff. Definitely an intentional business model.)

There was nothing redeeming or positive about the experience. Go to a local, small business with an actual chef and staff who care for 50% less and an actual...

On July 18th 2024, we had an awful experience with this restaurant. It was our first time in Chicago with our family. The last day we wanted to close the trip with a dinner in a meat restaurant. The Capital Grille - Chicago Downtown was close to our hotel and we decided to make a reservation.

We arrived on time, and we saw that doors were closed. We tried to enter and suddenly the host stopped us and told us the restaurant was closed. We told him we had a reservation confirmed by the restaurant and showed him the Number received through the OpenTable app. We claimed him there were people inside the restaurant and enough tables at that time.

He just said the reservations were canceled due to an internal event. We were surprised because we did not receive any cancellation message that day.

This person with any kind of decency said there was no chance to dinner that night, and we could submit a claim to customer service if we want. We told him we were international tourist and asked him to give us a table to end our trip enjoying his restaurant´s menu and requesting him an option to this negative situation for us. He just turned around, closed the door and let us outside. Suddenly, we were in a situation with no place to close our trip in a good restaurant. Without a reservation, it was very difficult to find a good place in summertime vacations.

We were so disappointed. And looking to my wife and kids I told them we will not close our experience with a bad experience.

So, I looked for other meat restaurants and we went without any reservation to Gibsons Steakhouse. The place was full. But I told the host the bad situation we experienced with The Capital Grille, and our frustration, especially as international tourists. But then, 5 minutes later we were sitting and being attended by great personnel and eating wonderful cuts of meat in a legendary restaurant.

So, do not waste time trying to make a reservation at The Capital Grille having the risk of receiving a cancellation of your reservation and being attend by the worst host ever. Without a doubt, go to Gibsons or another recognized and traditional premium meat...