One of my Christmas presents this year was a night out compliments of my husband. He didn’t tell me where we were going. Just one of those, “get in the car, let’s go” things.
We ended up at a steakhouse both of us have been wanting to hit up for a while now, The Capital Grille. Now, we are no strangers to steakhouses. I like mine rare. He likes his medium-well (I need to work on getting him to change his mind on that). We both think Ruth’s Chris is so-so and agree that Abe & Louie’s in Boca Raton is excellent. We rarely (no pun intended) entertain the option of dinner at an Outback, Lonestar, LongHorn or someplace similar.
We had an 8:30pm reservation on Christmas Eve Eve at The Capital Grille on I-Drive in Orlando. We arrived promptly and were seated promptly. A booth was requested at the time the reservation was made, and that request was honored.
The restaurant was busy but there were still a few tables available and there were several seats available at the bar.
Like a Morton’s or an Abe & Louie’s, the décor of the restaurant was classic steakhouse. Plenty of dark wood and dim lighting. Although the backlit etched glass scattered throughout was a bit of a throwback to the 90’s.
Our server, Todd, came over and introduced himself and took our drink order. Two Martinis. Filthy. He explained the menu as well as the additional features for the evening.
I started out with a staple of steakhouse menus, the French Onion Soup. I will admit, I had higher expectations for this one. While the crock of the golden broth was big, the flavor was not and neither was the amount of onions. It was more beef broth than anything.
My husband opted for the Clam Chowder which was thick and contained a good portion of clams. It was served with a side of oyster crackers. While I’m not a fan of clams or clam chowder, I took his word that it was good.
Next up for the mains. We both ordered steaks and added a lobster tail. I went with the 14oz Dry Aged New York Strip, medium rare. The steak had a delicious char to the outside and that cool, red center inside that was soft as butter. Cooked perfectly and was delicious.
My husband ordered the 10oz Filet Mignon, medium-well. Again, a great char to the outside and was flavorful. I did sneak a taste and despite being cooked medium-well, it was a great steak.
The lobster tails were large, not your 4oz tail that you would expect to get at some places. While I didn’t ask what the size were, I would peg these around 8oz. They were tender, sweet and simply delicious. They were offering two of these as an entree, by the way, which would have made an excellent choice as well.
When it came to sides, we ordered two which were large enough to be shared. First was the Soy Glazed Brussels Sprouts with Bacon. Now, I remember as a young child (many years ago) absolutely hating these things. But recently they came back into the spotlight and are a highlight to many a menu. Whoever decided to cook these things with bacon is pure genius. These were no exception. They had a nice char to them and adding the soy sauce was a nice compliment.
Our second side was Sauteed Spinach with Garlic Confit. I will admit I’m not a spinach fan at all, no matter how much garlic you add to it, or how you prepare it, I’m just not going to like it. However, the spinach was fresh and had a hint of garlic taste to it – nothing overpowering.
We had a lot of food. Big steaks. Big tails. No room for dessert. We even passed on the bread service.
Now, The Capital Grille is owned by Darden Restaurants – the company that also owns the Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Seasons 52, Yard House and more. They’re also the ones who used to own Red Lobster. Even though The Capital Grille is considered a chain, it didn’t feel like one and the steaks and service was excellent. I would put our experience here on par with Morton’s and Abe & Louie’s.
Courses were served with perfect timing. Todd our server was attentive throughout the dinner. Our water glasses were never empty and his recommendation for an after-dinner cigar bar was spot on!