The Capital Grille is a chain restaurant with locations all over the US. My first encounter with The Capital Grille was at Beverly Hills where Anita Lau of Mad Hungry Woman hosted a Happy Hour Event which was also featured by Allen Taylor Photography. Allen and I enjoyed the Bar Menu so much that we were thrilled to find out it was participating in the Costa Mesa Restaurant Week. We chose to have lunch here because the lunch menu looked just as good as the dinner but cheaper. We were so lucky we made the right choice. We got a lot of very delicious food at a very good price!
I had made a reservation for 12:45pm. When we got there, the hostess checked us in and then told us someone would take us to our seats. We waited and waited, for 5 minutes no one came! She finally took us to our table herself. Frankly I was not very happy. Once we were seated, it took at least another 5 – 7 minutes before our server finally showed up. I was getting a little frustrated. By then, I told Allen I was deducting 2 stars from the rating! Fortunately things did pick up after that.
We got our usual iced tea and were also served a bread basket. Loved the sesame crusted bread! They were warm and crunchy but soft and hearty inside!
Trying to maximize our dining experience, Allen and I usually order different selections from the menu so we can sample as much as we can. For first course, I chose the Clam Chowder and he chose Field Greens, Spring Vegetables with Shallot Champagne Vinaigrette.
The clam chowder was creamy and seasoned just right. Too often this was made on the saltier side, but this one was perfect. However, there were much more potato than clams.
My entree was Dry Aged Sirloin Salad with Gorgonzola Vinaigrette. I was wow’ed that it actually came with a big piece of steak instead of cubes or strips! Now, sirloin is one of the leanest cut and tends to be a little tougher to eat. Even though this was not melt in your mouth tender, it was easy on the mouth even at medium. The chimichurri sauce was one of the best I’ve had. I also enjoyed the salad but the steak definitely took the lead!
There were 2 choices for desserts; Flourless Chocolate Espresso Cake and Classic Crème Brulee. You guessed it, we got both. I had flourless chocolate cake once and didn’t like it at all. But this one tasted different, in a good way. At first bite, it was really bitter, and it got better the more I ate.
