The Capital Grille — Restaurant in Indianapolis

My boyfriend and I decided to celebrate our 5 year anniversary at The Capital Grille, and could not be happier with the experience. Rob was our server and he was absolutely perfect. He, along with his colleagues, were perfect throughout the night. Water half full? Instantly a refill (small detail: they would refill the drinks without interrupting conversation, nor making a distraction, which is super appreciated). The sheer decorum of the establishment and staff is something to respect as well. For example, my boyfriend went to the restroom and put his napkin on the table without folding it - Rob came pretty quickly afterward, grabbed the napkin, folded it nicely, placed his clean spoon on top of it, all while making funny small talk with me about a local event coming up. To have that kind of attention to detail, so when my boyfriend returned to his seat it looked perfect, is special to watch in action and is something to appreciate. When I booked our reservation, I put in the note that we were celebrating our 5 year anniversary. I had no idea that they would do anything about it, and just kinda threw it on there as a "why not?". When we walked into the door our host immediately greeted us, and when I told them the name it was under, he told us Happy Anniversary. He walked us to our table, and to our surprise, there were tasteful decorations and a note that said happy anniversary. About 10 minutes after, I realized that the card was actually an envelope. I opened it to a lovely note with signatures from the entire staff. To be honest, as a younger gay couple in Indiana, this was the most special any establishment has ever made us feel. We haven't even gotten to the food yet - I ordered the Kona Crusted Dry Aged NY Strip with a side of Lobster Mac n Cheese and my boyfriend ordered the Sliced Filet Mignon. At first they accidentally sent out regular Mac n Cheese, I wasn't even going to say anything, but Rob to the rescue noticed immediately there was no lobster. He quickly took it back, and the Executive Chef quickly brought out the dish and apologized herself. While completely not expected, it was a great sign of respect to us, which we appreciate. The food was absolutely perfect. We both ordered our steaks medium, and they came out perfect medium. My Strip had so much depth in flavor and I knew I was in for a special meal. The Filet was so bright and complex in flavor unlike anything my boyfriend had tasted before, but loved it. The lobster Mac n Cheese was again perfect, so rich and creamy. I barely saved enough space toward the end and told Rob I was interested in a dessert menu. Rob cleared our table, packed our leftovers for us, and kept the secret. He then surprised us with glasses of Champagne and a dessert (which we were not charged for). The chocolate mousse was to die for with a rich coffee flavor throughout, the berries and cream were so bright and fresh, and the crème brûlée was the best I've had. My boyfriend also chose to to have the wine special "The Generous Pour" which was 7 glasses of wine to go with the meal. Rob was again perfect with balancing the number of glasses on the table and quickly taking away ones finished. Overall, our experience had us leaving already thinking about when we were going to come next. I can not give enough praise to the incredible staff - we had so many interactions with different staff members and every one of them was professional, courteous, and friendly. We truly appreciate the dedication, and cannot wait to come back! Thank you for making our Five Year...

I had really high expectations when I made a reservation for Capital Grill for our first wedding anniversary. It was made for a Tuesday night, so I anticipated that it wouldn't be too crowded (but just in a case). The outdoor and indoor decor is really quite beautiful - no complaints on that. We got seated promptly upon arrival. However, the problems started after that. We saw two other tables get seated (groups of 2 and 4) after us - and get quickly introduced to their waiter within 5 minutes of getting seated. All while this is happening, my husband and I are hopefully assuming perhaps our waiter was just very busy and needed a few more minutes. That's fine - we'll wait. Twenty minutes later and nobody has seemed to notice or acknowledge us. We were trying to make eye contact with anyone that worked there but we were completely ignored. I had to go up to the hostess to ask for help in locating our waiter. She apologized...and 10 minutes later out waiter arrived. From beginning to that point, 30 minutes total to even get introduced to our waiter. At the point the tables across from us had their wine and appetizers. He apologized again for the lateness, but seemed to rush through gathering what we wanted to eat/drink. I saw the other tables nicely walked through the menu and have their questions answered but it seems he was trying to just make up for lost time. I also saw them receive their waiters business card at the end, ours did not even offer his (which I'm assuming he was ashamed at the service as well). When I come to Capital Grille and I'm willing to put down $200 on a nice meal, I expect a great, personable dining experience. If I wanted to be hurried and ignored I'd go somewhere else. The food was great - I will give it that (filet and lobster tails). But above all, customer service should be the #1 priority. And this particular Capital Grille fell dramatically short. Even if it was a mix up and perhaps everyone assumes you have been taken care of, it never hurts to ask if they have been. Don't assume. It's a shame I have to look back at our first wedding anniversary dinner, and think of this experience. There are plenty of other steakhouses we've been to with excellent waitstaff and equally comparable food in the Indianapolis area, I will take my money there next time unless something dramatically...

Impression: You walk in and instantly feel old school yacht club or old school boys club. You almost want to find a lounging chair, pull out a cigar, light up and drink a port or sherry next to a roaring fireplace.

Pros: The food is overall good. I attended on a Devour Downtown night so everything was more competitively priced. That being said, a meal for the two of us still cost $200 including tip. We ordered an upgraded steak from devour menu, bottle of wine, gin/tonic glass, and two cups of coffee over dessert. For appetizer I had a ceaser salad, entree bone-in Kona with mashed potatos/green beans, and dessert creme brulee. All were very good with the exception of the steak... now to my cons.

Cons: I asked about which to order, a filet mignon or the bone-in dry aged crusted Kona. Two very different steaks but I wanted the one that they gave the most love to. The waiter said the Kona was their special and what they are known for so I went for it. If that steak is what they are known for... they should be embarrassed. I ordered it medium and it was overall closer to medium well. The center only had a hint of pink. It was also sold to me that it had an exceptional rub... and unfortunately I disagree. In fact I could barely taste the rub. I was pretty disappointed with my steak. I tried my partners filet mignon, and it was good... but again, not a whole lot of flavor or rub. Nothing that says "wow". Another person at my table committed a chophouse sin and ordered A1 sauce and you know what, I don't blame them. For being a "chophouse," I was let down... again. Btw, this is not my first visit to this restaurant in particular and I had the same issue last time.

Conclusion: If you want to burn money, go for it. The appetizers, sides, and desserts are great. The wine selection is also great. I ordered a $40 bottle of malbec and was not disappointed. But the steaks just don't do it for me. There isn't anything that makes it special or apart from other steakhouses. Capital Grille will continue to be a Devour Downtown location for me and only at the request if my friends want...