The Capital Grille

We had a wonderful experience last night celebrating our 3^rd wedding anniversary with our 1 year old son. The waitress went above and beyond accommodating us and our son. From the special note on our table when we arrived to her bringing berries for my son to eat while we ate our salads so he was entertained. Everyone was so nice and we were able to enjoy our special adult evening, even with a toddler at the table.

My boyfriend and I have been coming here for the last 4 years to celebrate the New Year. We are always able to get a reservation at 11:00 pm NYE, which is the perfect time to have dinner and ring in the new year. For 2016, we came and were seated quickly. It was pretty busy, but it wasn’t total chaos. Our server was very friendly and quick to bring out our drinks. We ordered French onion soups and were given bread. The bread here is good and always warm! Instead of ordering our normal filets or filet Oscars for our entrées, my boyfriend and I decided to get something different. I got the seared tenderloin with butter poached lobster tails and my boyfriend got the dry aged porterhouse. We also ordered the truffle fries, because I love fries. Our soups were good, but had a little too much cheese for me. My steak and lobster tails came out perfectly, but my boyfriend’s steak came out more medium-​rare than medium. They were happy to take his back and cook it a bit more. They even took my plate to keep mine warm while they cooked his! They also brought us fresh fries when they brought our food back. For dessert, I always ALWAYS get the cheesecake here. It’s sooooo good. It’s made with ricotta and is brûléed on the top. The strawberry coulis it comes with is to die for. As a bonus, for New Years, we got little hats and tiaras and free champagne! We will definitely continue our New Year tradition here!

I was hesitant on giving this place another try bc of my first experience. However, the manager sent me a gift certificate to give them another shot and I’m glad I did. The Kona New York strip was seasoned and cooked to perfection. Every bite was mouthing and my pallet was at ahhh. We ordered Brussel sprouts with bacon and the lobster Mac and cheese. The sprouts were the delicious and but the Mac could have been more cheesier. Overall service was great and our server was very accommodating. I would definitely come back for special occasions.

This is my fave steak house of all time. I keep trying others to see if we can top their Kona bone in steak but never have we been able to find one. My favorite is the staff, especially Agnes. She’s amazing. And the lobster Mac and cheese may make you cry with joy.

Absolutely delish! Everything I had. Lobster mac n cheese, Brussel sprouts with bacon, NY strip with Gorgonzola and truffle on top… AND the crème brûlée! The custard had a different texture than most, it was less pudding-​like and more corn mealy but still good.
I went for dinner and didn’t have lunch that day. Which seemed like a good plan because I was able to eat ALL of my meal.
Greg was our waiter and was terrifically attentive. Great service all around too! Worth the price!

I’m usually in the minority when it comes to food preferences. I don’t love American frosting. I love offal and cartilage. I don’t care for pulled pork. I don’t love mac ‘n’ cheese. I’ve probably lost your Unilocal trust at this point, but hear me out. I tried The Capital Grille’s lobster mac ‘n’ cheese recently and saw Jesus. It was the best damn MNC I’ve ever eaten. I’ll return and order three portions… for myself. The noodles are, what I think to be, sedanini rigate and the cheeses are havarti, white cheddar, mozzarella, and grano padano. Not too thick or cheesy with a very nice breadcrumb crust. Lobster chunks are tender though not so plentiful. Please do me a favor and order this.
As for the steaks, which are TCG’s specialty, I would highly recommend any of their dry-​aged options. I ordered the dry-​aged porterhouse steak, but customized it to have a porcini rub with 15-​year-​aged balsamic glaze. It was magical. In case you aren’t familiar, the porterhouse cut is a T-​bone — NY strip on one side and filet mignon on the other. I always prefer to eat my steaks medium rare, but am highly disappointed when my steaks come out medium, so I tend to order rare just to receive medium rare. No problem at TCG as they guarantee the right temperature. Oddly enough, I prefer the NY strip over the filet, but to each, their own.
For appetizer, I would recommend the oysters. Very fresh and are accompanied by red wine vinegar with garlic, horseradish, and cocktail sauce.
Service here is phenomenal. Our designated server was extremely knowledgeable about every item on the menu and was extremely helpful as I was having a tough time deciding on a steak. She was also the one to disclose the types of cheeses in the lobster MNC. I will surely be replicating it at home.
If you’re looking for a great spot to celebrate, please consider going to the TCG. There are multiple locations and I believe the quality of service and food are comparable. I will be back!

Both the food and drinks are top-​notch. The ambience feels like a 19^th century men’s club — lots of wood and framed paintings of horses. I’ve come here for a drink before going out to dinner before, too, and was not disappointed! The drink menu is on an iPad which is neither a pro nor a con, just kind of different.

If you are looking for edgy or trendy food this is not the place for you.
If you are looking for impeccably prepared food served old-​style by knowledgeable and attentive staff, you are in luck. I’ve been here quite a bit over the last year or so and it’s comforting to know that your expectations will be met. I usually know what I am going to order, and I know exactly how it will turn out. My steak will be cooked exactly per my request and seasoned to perfection. They rely on the quality of the beef to hold it’s own, and it never fails.
The last time we ate there I deviated from my norm and tried their lamb chops. The four, double-​cut, chops were perfection with just salt and pepper seasoning which allowed for the quality of the lamb to shine through. Nothing else was needed.
My husband is a seafood tower lover and is never disappointed in the tower at The Capital Grille. Again, the dish stands on the quality of it’s product rather than frills or artsy preparation. Just impeccably fresh product.

I came with a group of 4 for restaurant week. I was the only one who had been before and was really excited about The Generous Pour event this year.
When we got there our table wasn’t ready yet but it was restaurant week so that’s to be expected. We had some really tasty but expensive ($ 15) French 75s at the bar while we waited which was maybe 5 – 7 minutes.
Our server was Sam and we couldn’t have had anyone better! He had great recommendations, encouraged me to try a wine that I liked and every time he came by our table got us laughing somehow. He was very prompt and responsive. Weeks later and we’re all still talking about him. He even told us hold affordable lunch is so I think we’re going to check it out soon.
The food… I always make sure to order the lobster mac & cheese even though it isn’t on the restaurant week menu because it is amazing! Everyone really enjoyed their salmon and steaks respectively. The wines were phenomenal. 8 this year and all female wine makers– nice touch Capital Grille!!!
I’ve been to Capital Grille’s in Dallas, Fort Worth and Detroit– was that by far the best!

My wife and I started our 2015 Fall Restaurant Week with an amazing three course meal at Capital Grille (Bethesda). We ordered Clam Chowder/​Caesar Salad, Filet Mignon/​NY Strip Steak, and Chocolate Cake/​Crème Brûlée. Of the 6 dishes, my wife loved only 1 out of 3 of hers and I loved all of mine. She felt her Filet Mignon and chocolate cake were subpar, which was strange because I thought they were great… Well anyways, my salad, steak, and Crème brûlée were perfect and in the section below, I’ll explain why.
Clam Chowder and Caesar Salad (⁵⁄₅).
She loved her soup, it was creamy and the consistency was spot on. It wasn’t overwhelming like most subpar clam chowder would be and it was perfectly seasoned. The Caesar Salad was alright, didn’t stand out too much but it was better than most. I loved the selection of croûton and cheese they sprinkled on top.
Filet Mignon (⁴⁄₅) and NY Strip Steak (⁴⁄₅).
Now, I have to be honest, I would rate the Filet Mignon a 4.5 and the NY Strip a 5, but my wife butchered the overall rating with a 3 for Filet Mignon and NY Strip… I loved the taste of butter in mine and it was medium rare like I asked. She ordered medium well, and it came out to be exactly that. Props for the accuracy of technique! I actually thought both tasted great, unfortunately my wife is the harsher critic.
Chocolate Cake (³⁄₅) Crème Brûlée (⁴⁄₅).
Hold up, I’m actually dying for another bite of both desserts, they’re both 5s in my book! Yet once again, my wife dropped the hammer — 1 for cake and 3 for Crème brûlée! Talk about harshness! I loved the taste of the caramelized sugar on top of the brûlée and the sweetness of the cake. The 2 dishes ended my dinner experience perfectly! As for my wife… Let’s just say I was actually glad I paid because, even though she doesn’t have to pay for dinner, I bet this is the one time where she would be angered at the thought of paying.
Well to be fair and objective, this restaurant and the experience is definitely a ⁵⁄₅! My wife probably had an off day, but that should not take away from the tastiness of the food at this establishment! I would love to come again! Yes… I!

Lunch date with my parents — pleasantly surprised by their «$ 18 plate special». A choice of salad or soup with a full entrée (and they weren’t just sandwiches! Yay!)
They ran out of corn bisque right as we were placing our order so our sweet server allowed us to substitute for their French onion soup instead. We also ordered their watermelon, feta salad and clam chowder to start. All of which were almost immediately brought to our table right behind their complimentary warm bread basket which we shamelessly asked for refills and gorged on. The soups were piping hot and flavorful — my parents couldn’t stop raving about. The watermelon feta salad was refreshing and perfect for the heat wave. My only wish was for the portion to be a tad more generous.
We couldn’t believe the presentation and portion of their main course! Beautifully assembled, dinner size portioned! Sirloin — cooked exactly as we had requested! Scallop — perfectly seared! corn risotto — the creamy, sweet, ultimate comfort food, lobster roll — the bread was buttery and deliciously toasted, the lobster salad — light on the mayo which I enjoyed but could taste that the lobster came straight from a can. Nevertheless, all the dishes exceeded all our expectation!
Overall — lunch was an awesome deal! Great food, Great service (our server was way polite — greeted me each time as «Ms. Wing»), I would bring any guests (or just myself) back in a heartbeat!

This is a place for meat lovers. Came here for a friend’s birthday celebration. I had the Delmonico Steak.
price: expensive (most of us spend around 50 per person)
atmosphere: fancy
food: lives up to its price
service: exceptional

I came here for a group event in a private room. I was fully expecting a generic steakhouse dinner, but what we got was so much more than that. We started with calamari and a really nice bread basket. Then our salads came — on huge dinner plates. This isn’t your standard little Outback Steakhouse salad. Then, onto the meat! I had one of their dry-​aged steaks — a bone-​in, kona-​crusted sirloin with shallot butter. It was melt-​in-​your-​mouth good. The entrees were served with mashed potatoes and asparagus. The desserts were served family-​style, and each tray came with crème brûlée, flourless chocolate espresso cake, and cheesecake. They were all amazing, but I could have eaten the cheesecake all by myself. I would not hesitate to host an event there, and look forward to returning without the group to sample more from their whole menu.

The Capital Grille has good steak and excellent service. I am impressed every time I go.
It’s also a finer alternative to take out on days you don’t feel like cooking.

I didn’t enjoy the DC location very much, since the steak wasn’t worth the $ 44-​$ 51, so naturally I had a low expectation for the Chevy Chase location.
Amazingly, the Chevy Chase location fared even worse. Our waiter had gotten our orders mixed up, the kitchen staff members put random plates in random locations, and we ended up trading our dishes around. They forgot to provide us steak knives, then my Delmonico steak was under-​cooked twice, even after the manager took it back to the kitchen. I didn’t have the heart to complain again, since my dinner party was almost done with their food by the time my steak came back from the kitchen. Sad to say, this also happened with my coworker’s filet mignon (undercooked).
I wish Unilocal had 0 star in its rating system, but the bright spot was their bread before your food is served; they were warm and flavorful. So order some good wine, enjoy some bread, and go somewhere else for a better steak and experience. Try Season 52’s filet mignon or Food, Wine & Co’s flat iron steak. There’s also Outback and Lone Star, who may not have better quality ingredients, but have cooks that pay attention.

My daughter and I went to Capital Grille to celebrate her new job. It’s an expensive restaurant, but, in our opinion, having been to their Seattle location, we thought it would be well worth the cost. At the Seattle restaurant, the service was impeccable (truly the best I’ve ever experienced) and the food outstanding (I need to finish my review on that one!). However, the story isn’t the same at this location.
We were greeted very courteously and shown to our table where we were asked if we preferred black linen to prevent transfer of white cotton onto our dark pants — very thoughtful! Our server came by and introduced herself and suggested the Stoli Doli (pineapple infused vodka) which is delicious. We placed our order and then our server didn’t come for AGES to check on us. Two other servers stopped by to ask if we needed anything. One then said that «[server] became unexpectedly busy.» Then our dinner came while we were still eating our appetizers and salad. Our table hadn’t even been cleared. No apologies from the staff, and I was forced to move my salad out of the way and place my appetizer on a bread plate. I could see this happening at a place like Chevy’s, but not a higher end restaurant.
We had the prosciutto wrapped mozzarella with tomatoes and that was fantastic. My beef tenderloins and lobster were out of this world. My daughter’s steak (au Poivre) was fine; not great, but not bad. The lobster mac and cheese was very good. We also ordered the au gratin potatoes. These were delicious in Seattle; however the potatoes here were intolerably garlicky. It was as if someone couldn’t remember whether they put garlic in so they doubled up. The manager stopped by our table to see how we were doing and we explained about the poor service and then the garlic in the potatoes. She was great and replaced them with mashed potatoes and those were fabulous. My daughter objected to a comment the manager made — she felt she insinuated that our dislike of the potatoes had to do with us and not a mistake made in the kitchen when it had to have been.
It’s really a shame. My daughter’s in DC for only a short while and I thought we could treat ourselves every time I come out to visit from California — this location is very close to where she lives. We’ll definitely go to a Capital Grille again — just not this location.

Although I’ve never been to this particular Capital Grille before, I have been to other ones. This location is pretty similar to the other locations, which dark-​colored hardwoods giving a sense of gravitas and luxury to the dining room. Recently, I came here as part of a large group. Unfortunately, the overall dining experience here was not quite as good as my previous experiences at Capital Grille.
The first major issue here was, believe it or not, cups. My water cup had a huge crack on the bottom (it looked like a spider web) and was chipped in several places on the rim. This wasn’t just a cosmetic issue… it actually could have been a disaster if I didn’t catch it and tried to drink from the cracked glass. It’s so obvious that I was kind of surprised it wasn’t caught by the people setting the table. One of the employees even poured water into it before I could tell him anything and when I told him, he just took the glass away… no apologies or anything, which to be fair, wasn’t a big deal for me but was still surprising considering The Capital Grille always tries its best to have impeccable service.
My other major issue was my Delmonico steak. I had ordered it medium-​rare but it definitely came out medium-​well to well-​done. The steak was gray-​ish, gritty, and dry. I didn’t really say much since my dining party was quite large and sending it back would have caused a big scene and extra time and all. But it was a little disappointing that the steak would be so overly-​cooked, especially given that you’re looking at the neighborhood of $ 50 for a steak.
On the brighter side, the side dishes (get it? okay I’ll stop) were good, especially the brussel sprouts (who doesn’t love them?). Surprisingly the French fries were pretty good too. They have a touch of truffle oil to give them a touch of savory umami goodness.
We ate a lot so we had some leftovers. They were promptly taken back, packed in a box, and given back to us. Unfortunately, they mixed up the food so I had someone else’s food. Lucky me… I got a well-​done quarter piece of filet mignon (the steak gods must have really hated me that day).
Overall, it wasn’t the best experience and certainly not one that Capital Grille is capable of providing. It was a little disappointing, actually. Next time, I’m going to stick to the one in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor.

I’ve heard great things about this place and was dying to try it. First and foremost, I must say the food was phenomenal! I came here on a Friday night with a great friend of mine and got seated right away without reservation which was a plus. I ordered the filet mignon and my friend ordered the lamb chop. Both were cooked exceptionally well. For our sides, we ordered the lobster mac & cheese and the cream of corn and it was MONEY! I definitely recommended trying them both for starters
The service was considerable and the ambiance was great for a nice date night or just a casual dinner. They also have a fine selection of wines to choose from if you’re a huge wine fan. The food was reasonably priced considering the quality of food you get. All in all, I was very pleased with my experience and I will certainly be back!

A truly lovely experience. Complimentary 3-​hour Valet Parking in the Bloomie’s lot. Friendly, welcoming host staff. Lovely décor (though the mounted animal heads and some of the old school paintings were just creepy, albeit fitting parts of the décor). Very impressed that they changed out cloth service to black linen to match our attire.
Lovely server. Knowledgeable, encouraging, though never pressuring. Loved the iPad drink and dessert ordering, and only having a one-​page printed menu. The dichotomy of the new tech with the old surroundings didn’t quite jive for me… but it didn’t distract.
Nice wine room, which we could clearly view from our table. Decent wine selection. Just varied enough to be interesting. Some regions not as well-​represented as I might have preferred. But suitable, and decent price points.
The steak tartare was nice. Huge portion. Well-​seasoned, just enough capers. Couldn’t really taste the presence of truffle. I also tend to prefer a raw egg than chopped hard boiled. But nice… though I didn’t feel compelled to finish the dish. Also odd that the crostini were not crisp to provide the texture contrast that was lacking. Solid app, large enough to share.
The star was the mozz wrapped in prosciutto! Astounding!!! Lovely pairing with the heirloom tomatoes. I want more right now!
Really appreciate that our server came back to inform us that our selection of sides could be served in half portions! I’m accustomed to steakhouses where the portion pictured is the full one. Not here! The sides are enormous! Good mushrooms, nice creamed spinach, PHENOMENAL AU GRATIN POTATOES, and that lobster mac. Good lord! The ONLY way the lobster could have been cooked more perfectly would have been to butter poach it… which would have ruined the dish. A near perfect rendition of this dish!
The steak au poivre was gorgeous!
The star, for me, was that famous Delmonico! MONSTER cut (done in-​house), bone in, perfect marbling, perfect sear, temperature nailed, gristle just melted in our mouths, and that 15-​year aged balsamic! How can I ever go back to the regular stuff??? One of the top three steaks I’ve ever enjoyed anywhere on the globe.
Man, oh, man are they generous with their dessert portions!!!
Good bread basket, surprised there was no amous bouche to finish the meal, though loved waiting the attentive floor and kitchen staffs, all working together to provide a lovely evening of perfectly timed service.

Updated lunch review. I previously gave this place a 4 star, but I would reduce it down to 3 because of their service. We recently came here for lunch (they still offer that $ 18 appetizer+entrée special), and were greatly frustrated with the slow and inattentive service. We came here multiple times during dinner and were satisfied with the service, but we will probably never come back for lunch again.
We arrived at the restaurant at around 1pm during the weekday. The restaurant wasn’t too crazy crowded and we went upstairs to be seated. Unfortunately, our hostess took us to the farthest back corner of the restaurant to have us seated, even though there were still empty seats in the main area. I immediately got irritated because I know that you can never get great services by sitting in the back, especially when the restaurant is only half full! Of course, I was not wrong about it.
Our sever was a young guy, and he would just drop our food and never come back. I ordered lobster roll with fries, and he ordered steak. I just wanted some ketchup to eat fries with, and ourwaiter did not come back until we were done eating steak and my roll. He also never asked us how our food was. This was even more frustrating because I kept hearing a manger going around the main room area multiple times and asking people, «How was everything? Did you enjoy our food?»
… Are we also not guests dining in your restaurant? Were we poorly dressed? No. I even got random compliments from sweet old ladies in the restroom, telling me how lovely my dress was. I have never received this kind of service at a top rated $$$ restaurant in my life. Whether I was eating lunch, a burger, or dressed casually, all other top rated steak houses had impeccable services. So shame on you, Capital Grille.
Foodwise, I do not recommend my lobster roll. Bread was hard and lobster itself was not too memorable. Their clam chowder is New England clam chowder, so if you do not like heavy creamy stuff, then I recommend butternut squash bisque. It tasted delicious, with a bit of curry like smell and smooth creamy (but not too heavy) texture.
To sum up the review, do not go to this restaurant unless you are showing up for dinner (much more expensive) or dining with older people.