The Capital Grille

Houston has several upscale places to chose when it comes to steak. We had never been to The Capital Grille, but I had always heard good things about it. The parking lot is small and they offer complimentary valet parking. If you like to park your own car I recommend making an early reservation.

The inside of the restaurant is really mescaline with dark wood panel walls, animal mounts and rich colors. It’s very tastefully done.

Our waiter Seth was fantastic, we enjoyed his company and enjoyed talking with him and appreciated the attention to detail he offered.

The website menu does not have pricing, but I will tell you it’s a little pricey. We started out with the Pan Fried Calamari with Hot Cherry Peppers $13 (Calamari sautéed in garlic butter until golden crisp. Then tossed with a house blend of peppers for a nice, fiery finish.) They where delicious. The hot peppers saved the dish which I don’t recommend this dish if you don’t like spice. I would have liked to have a dipping sauce with the calamari in addition to the peppers.

We also split a cup of Lobster Bisque $11 (Lumps of the sweetest lobster are sautéed just to your liking and added to
a luscious bisque. Dry Sack Sherry is drizzled over the delightful affair.) A little on the high end for the amount you get, but one of the better flavorings bisque that I’ve had so I recommend trying it.

As for the main course I ordered the Porcini Rubbed Delmonico with 12 year Aged Balsamic $43 (The classic cut of a Delmonico steak seasoned and broiled to create delicate porcini mushroom crust with a light drizzling of premium 12-year aged balsamic.) Instead of the T-bone I had them use a filet mignon instead. I absolutely loved this dish. The steak is cooked a little rarer then I would have liked a medium rare so you might order it medium instead. I’ve learned nicer steak places like this under cook it more then places that don’t know how to cook a steak. The balsamic just sings in your mouth and finishes off the dish perfectly.

D ordered one of the special menu items. Seared 8 ounce Tenderloin with 8 ounce Butter Poached Lobster $66 (Our seared tenderloin served with fresh lobster, cooked slowly in butter to bring out its flavor and tenderness.) Although the flavors where good, we both agreed that the price was a little too high so I wouldn’t order this again. 

The Capital Grille does half portions on all of their sides except for the Lobster Mac n Cheese so be sure to ask about that if you want to try out several of them. We ordered the Lobster Mac n Cheese $15 (Baked Campanelle pasta and fresh Lobster meat, tossed in a Mascarpone, Havarti and Grana Padano cream sauce, topped with Panko bread crumbs and grated white cheddar.) and a half order of Au Gratin Potatoes $6 (Hearty slices of potato are layered with cream and a wonderful combination of cheeses. Topped with fried onions and potatoes, this is just the kind of food you want to take comfort in.) The lobster mac n cheese could have been a hair better. The noodles where a little more firm then I would have liked and we had 2 pieces of lobster in ours. The au gratin potatoes had slices of onion as well as the crispy onion on top which made it taste like you bit into an onion. It totally over powdered the dish and really made you not want to eat it because you can’t taste your steak after trying a bite.

We where overly stuffed from our meal, but Seth wouldn’t let us leave without a champagne toast and Classic Crème Brulee (Tap through a crisp caramelized sugar crust to the creamiest of custards below to see why this remains a perennial favorite.) This was not added to our bill so it was a nice surprise of him to bring us dessert. I’m a little picky when it comes to crème brulee and I have to say that this one delivers! As full as I was I could have licked the dish.

Would I come back? Probably not unless someone really wanted to go there. The restaurant is defiantly nice, but the high prices are a turn off for me. Look online for sites like www.giftcardgranny.com or others who offer discounted gift cards to get a small % off your meal.