The Capital Grille — Restaurant in Dallas

Where to start:

I am no stranger to the customer service and food to this brand so going to this location I already had my expectations BUT my experience was a lot different which in turn made me decide I will not be going to this location ever again! First and foremost, I usually go to the location in Plano regularly because they never failed in the great service provided but this night particularly on my birthday I decided to go to this location at the last minute because my prior reservation at another restaurant in uptown didn't fall through so I came here. Per usual, I was really happy with The Captial Grille accepting my last minute reservation but also preparing my table of 5 with a personal birthday note and confetti all within ten minutes before my arrival. Everything was fine from my dinner, service, birthday dessert, and drinks. I expected nothing less but here's where they went wrong. I had a Sony camera under my table hidden from sight so when my party wrapped things up and left I forgot my camera which I called over and over again back to the restaurant but no one answered. Strike one! Because I never had to call repeatedly for someone to answer even when the restaurant was about to close so I had made it my mission to call the next day. Called repeatedly the next day at opening time for an hour and no one answered. I had to call the location in Plano to call them to get an answer. Next, when I finally did get an answer, I explained the hostess what happened and asked if they seen it, she automatically had a rude attitude and told me that the closing manager hasn't seen it and if they did it would be in the lockbox. How do you know that if you didn't even get off the phone to check first? So I asked her to go check and she put me on a quick hold to come back and repeat the same thing. I told her the server/server assistant are the only ones that clean the tables (this I know because again I am no stranger to how the restaurant does things) but she wasn't trying to listen so I said forget it. Strike two! Then I contacted corporate whom I guess had contacted the restaurant manager which almost a week has passed so when I talked to the manager, he kept repeating over and over that no one has seen it and the procedure if a guest had lost something. In the same breathe insinuated that maybe a guest came by and took it which in my mind I know a guest would've have taken it: 1. It was hidden under the table from plain sight. 2. It was closing by the time we finished so I know no other guest were getting seated. 3. Again I know the servers clean the area. I had even asked if they could get the camera footage to see what happened but he told me "they dont have cameras in the dining area" while also downplaying that his workers wouldn't want my camera like a 1000+ camera is easy to come by. I just laughed it off because at this point I knew it was gone. It's just sad because I would assume with a restaurant with high standards would lie and have people who don't practice integrity would be working for them. All in all, at least I had enjoyed my birthday...

My husband and I dined at this location last night, 11/13/23. We selected this restaurant above many others to celebrate our wedding that took place earlier in the day. Our reservation was for 8:45 (this was booked for the two of us by family). We both work in the service industry, and I was a little worried that our reservation was at the tail end of their service hours. I called ahead and asked, "are you sure that we will be as welcome as any other guest that dines earlier in the evening?" I was assured that they are prepared for two hours per table. We arrive and are taken to our booth. The restaurant is beautiful and warm. 10/10 for ambiance. Our server takes our drink order. My husband ordered a glass of wine, and I ordered a signature cocktail The Bohemian. I was very disappointed by the cocktail. It wasn't a well crafted cocktail, and it wasn't very balanced. I took one sip and did not touch the drink for 35 minutes. During this time, our server saw that I had not continued to drink the cocktail, but she mentioned nothing and did not ask how it was. It was only when she asked my husband if he wanted a second glass of wine that she bothered to see if I wanted something else. The original drink was comped, but I was really disappointed that, for level of service I expect for an establishment of this calibur, it took much too long for my server to check in with us on how we were enjoying our beverages. We received our appetizer very shortly after our original drink orders, and the lobster and crab cake app was delicious. We were enjoying our appetizer and bread basket when we were interrupted by a busser/server support/another server asking if we were finished with our appetizers yet. I was in the process of chewing as this question was asked. The moment this happened I already knew what was happening. Closing time! Hurry up! We received our food in a timely fashion. My filet was delicious and cooked to a perfect medium rare. The porcini ribeye my husband ordered was not worth the money. Cooked to temp but over-charred on the outside (because the kitchen was in a rush!) and the sauce we found very acidic. The sides were an afterthought. I love creamed spinach, and I would not order Capital's again. Mashed potatoes were passable, and I've had better elsewhere. We informed our server upon our arrival (and being asked what we were celebrating) that it was our wedding day, and, until the last 15 minutes of our time at the restaurant, I would not have known what was done to make our experience special. We received a dessert plate, and it felt like we given all of ten minutes to enjoy it before we were promptly handed the check.

Overall, we were not impressed with our service or experience at this establishment at all. For such an important day to us personally, and for the money we spent, I was not happy with our experience. I will not recommend this location to others, and I do not plan to return.

If you are planning an anniversary or celebration, please...

Second visit, first dinner, first holiday. Had this been my first visit, I wouldn't go back. A woman walked us to our table and pulled out my chair, then stood there waiting for me to sit. This would be nice if my date didn't do it, but this employee lingered too long and my date normally does it. It was an awkward moment. I didn't want her there after she showed us to our ridiculously small table, yet there she was in that crammed space. I've never had a tiki bar in Florida screw up a Cosmopolitan, but this place managed to make it subpar. I do not recommend. Appetizer for 2? 5 (odd number for 2 people) amazing prosciutto wrapped mozzarella. We truly enjoyed those. Sides: decent au gratin potatoes, good truffle fries, and well, who screws up asparagus? It claims on the menu that the asparagus was steamed. But I think the hard, blackened mess was too crunchy, burnt and flavorless. Shay, our wait person, did nothing to fix this. That burnt pile of grossness just sucked up space on that miniscule table. Main: I ordered the most excellent seared tenderloin with lobster. The steak was fantastic, and the lobster was great. My date ordered a very bland steak precut with wild mushrooms and fig essence. We do not recommend. It needed A1 or something classless for flavor assistance. His main tasted and had the consistency of a senior citizen type of meal at Golden Corral. After dinner, Shay, our helpful but condescending wait person asked if we'd like dessert and coffee. The coffee was surprisingly great (I should've skipped the cosmo) but we never saw the dessert menu and she asked about refills about ten or fifteen minutes after we needed one. Overall, my first experience was a five. Fantastic waiters, great food, great atmosphere. My second experience I sat at a dinky table and stared at a picture of pears and grapes, felt belittled by staff, and over all felt like a toddler at the kiddy table during the holidays with crabby family, while feeling like a bother for asking for anything. This was supposed to be a romantic date night and we probably would've had more fun and intimacy at McDonald's, which I hate. If we attempt another meal here, it'll probably only be lunch. I prefer the atmosphere and the staff, and food is top notch. I'm giving an attitude here, because it's not in my nature to be rude or mean to staff, especially when it's a busy holiday. I understand that stress can be a factor in some of these issues, but they needed to be said. I wasn't expecting perfection, but I was expecting greatness. My steak and the appetizer were the only things that lived up to that expectation,...