Capones Bar and Grill — Restaurant in North Platte

In nearly a decade of reviewing restaurants, I’ve only left ONE negative review before this—and that was 4 years ago. So if I’m taking the time to write this, trust that it takes a lot to push me this far.

TL;DR at the end if you just want the highlights. For those who enjoy a good trainwreck story… buckle up.

My husband and I were visiting from Colorado over the 4th of July and wanted to treat our kids and grandkids to a nice lunch before heading home. We noticed this restaurant next to our hotel (Tru by Hilton) and figured it was a perfect spot. It was about 1 p.m. and not busy. Our group included 5 adults and 3 small children. Our server took drink orders and my husband added a sampler appetizer (choose 3 items). Drinks came fast—everything else? Not so much.

45 minutes passed before anything else showed up—and that was only the appetizer and meals for me and my husband. We’d expected the appetizer to come earlier to tide us over since we were all hungry. Instead, it arrived alongside our meals, and for $16, it was just three jalapeño poppers, three tiny mozzarella sticks, and three small fried pickle spears. Seriously?

My husband ordered a small pepperoni pizza, and I got the Turkey Melt “Surprise.” The surprise? It came on dark rye bread—nowhere on the menu was that mentioned. I asked the server, and she said, “That’s how it comes.” I asked for it to be remade on white bread, which they did. But that was the last thing that ever came to our table. My daughter (who had also ordered the Turkey Melt and switched to white bread after seeing mine), my son-in-law (patty melt), my son (chicken bacon ranch wrap), and all three kids (mac-n-cheese and chicken nuggets) never got their meals.

Only three of us had fountain drinks; the rest had water. Refills? Nope. Not until we had been there over an hour and my daughter physically took 2 cups to another server. That prompted someone else to bring water and refill lemonade. At that point, my husband and I had finished eating—and no one else had any food.

By now, the kids were hungry and cranky, and the rest of us were just mad. My daughter asked to have the rest of the meals made to-go. Ten minutes later, they finally showed up—along with a $135 bill. No discount. Just… the check.

So we went to the counter. My daughter explained the situation to the cashier, who brought over the manager. She repeated the story, and he offered to remove the drinks and appetizer—bringing the total to $100. THE ONLY FOOD THAT CAME OUT was the 3 drinks and appetizer (plus my meal and my husband’s). That discount made no sense. When I asked if he’d even listened, he reluctantly dropped it down to $65. The manager didn’t show much concern or effort to make things right, so we just paid it and left. Honestly, if they’d just offered that discount upfront, I might have let it go, but that indifference on top of the bad experience was what pushed me to write this.

One last gem—when we got home and opened the kids' mac-n-cheese to reheat it, we were shocked to find it looked exactly like boxed Kraft Macaroni and Cheese. Maybe it wasn’t, but it sure did a great impression.

TL;DR: – Waited over an hour. Only 2 of 8 meals ever came to the table. – Appetizer sampler ($16) was tiny. – Sandwiches are $14–15 and only come with chips. Fries = $1.29 extra. – Turkey Melt “surprise” = served on dark rye bread (not mentioned on menu). – Drinks weren’t refilled until we asked other servers. – Requested remaining meals to-go after more than an hour. – No discount until we complained—first offer was only from $135 → $100. We insisted again to get it down to $65. – Kids’ mac-n-cheese? Looked like boxed Kraft. :/ – All 5 adults agreed: this was hands-down the worst dining experience any of us...

Staying at a hotel across the street. Was curious why a "Bar & Grill" would be open at 7:00 AM. I asked the hotel staff, which said they serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Walked over for breakfast. Had the eggs, hashbrowns, and hunk of Keilbasa sausage but wanted side of French toast instead of pancakes. The server had difficulty understanding what I wanted and had to repeat three times! Eggs were cold, hashbrowns too crunchy. The Keilbasa was split and grilled and was great! The French toast was great, albeit lacking in cinnamon flavor. They made up for it by serving warm syrup! They forgot my side of toast as I asked for sour dough. It arrived later pale in color and the consistency of Melba Toast. I could not eat it. The server apologized and took it off my bill. My bill, including the 15 % tip, came to $16.46. I can't rate Capone's higher than 1 because of these issues. Unfortunately, they use China that easily chips. My plate had a chip on the corner. One wonders where the chip fell into, hopefully not into anyones food. This issue alone can cause serious litigation problems for the restaurant. Unfortunately the dining room staff uses a gray utility cart to clear the soiled dishes from the tables. Then they use the same utility cart to serve the food with. Recommendations: When food is completed, serve immediately while hot. Closer supervision of kitchen staff and recipes. Immediately discontinue use of current China. Replace with non-chip china. Train DR staff to use trays...

Gotta say when traveling between Colorado Springs and Winona, Mn finding a good spot for breakfast can be a bit of a challenge. Food isnt’ all that great and service is only a wee better than that usually. But that’s not the case here at Capones.

First off, Christy server was PRO! Sweet, knew the menu, worked a room of 30+ folks like a pro just her and humans just don’t get a whole lot nicer than her. She’d kill it back home in COS and put many a server to shame. Bet she’s a local legend.

Next the story behind the name, seen some bad concepts and seemed odd a place in western NE was named after a Chicago mob legend. But the back of the menu filled you in on why. Turns out North Platte was quite the hot spot during the dark days known as prohibition and kept free men free of such silly laws.

What about the food you ask? Well first off the sausage patty is the best I’ve had, equally to my fav in Santa Fe NM that a James Beard award winning chef makes in house. Blown away. The sourdough bread was a smart option for my toast and it was so good I’m thinking it’s made in house or local maybe. Sure isn’t the cheapest option form Cisco most places use. Hash browns were solid and a little gravy on them wasn’t a bad idea (thanks for the tip Christy!).

There are many places I won’t ever go back to (Penny’s Diner) on I-80, but I’ll be back to Capones. May even try to get here for dinner because they are on the Nebraska Beef Passport and bet the...