7 Dishes To Avoid Ordering At Capital Grille Steakhouse, According To Reviews

Capital Grille oozes luxury. With its refined atmosphere, attentive service, and a menu with some staggering prices, this upscale steakhouse and restaurant promises the perfect setting for a special night out with family and friends — especially those with a few extra dollars to spend. Despite it being one of many chain steakhouse establishments, Capital Grille ensures that you won't walk out of its beautifully monochrome doors without your purse being significantly lightened, but the rave reviews from satisfied diners don't seem to mind in the slightest. For the most part, the majority of what's served seems worth the cost. Elegantly prepared seafood dishes, extravagant steaks hand-carved by expert chefs, wonderfully curated wines, and unique twists on steakhouse staples all seem to be the siren's call for Capital Grille's repeat clientele.

However, not every single menu item shares the same amount of laurels. Even a restaurant as refined as Capital Grille misses a swing every now and then, and customers who've frequented this establishment have shared their feedback on which dishes to skip the next time you visit this upscale steakhouse. When holding a menu with enough pricey items to intimidate, it's important to make the most out of your special night out and avoid the dishes that failed to impress. Thanks to extensive customer feedback and reviews, we've put together a list of seven dishes to stay away from the next time you're planning an evening out at this luxurious steakhouse.

Capital Grille is known for its high quality steaks and seafood dishes, or at least its price points certainly bolster its reputation. However, for a whopping $81, its Porcini Rubbed Bone-In Ribeye doesn't seem to be worth the splurge according to customer feedback. On paper, the ribeye sounds delicious. Described as a savory, tender cut of meat that's been hand-carved by expert chefs and dry-aged for depth of flavor, the steak is drenched with a 15-year-old balsamic that's meant to complement the savory rub. Despite all the grandeur of its description, though, diners have reported that their ribeyes have been served with varying consistencies of quality, creating doubt around the quality of this dish.

The main issue with this ribeye seemed to revolve around consistency. Sometimes, the steak can be served more well done than a diner asked for, and other times, the ribeye may be gristly and fatty. More often than not, a customer has to resort to sending their dish back to be cooked more closely to their request or to exchange it entirely. Considering that Capital Grille prides itself on purportedly being an upscale steakhouse and restaurant, having such a prime cut of meat be served with such varying degrees of quality leaves a rather poor taste in the mouths of those who paid handsomely. As such, it's better to save both time and money and go for a dish that's a little more reputable.

What comes to mind when you're envisioning a delicious, well-cooked piece of New York strip steak? This particular steak — named for the NY steakhouses from which it arose in popularity — should boast a robust, beefy flavor. It should be bold on the palette and firm — not tough — in the mouth. Unfortunately, Capital Grille's version of this classic steak has severely let down customers, and the underlying issue seems to result in the doneness of the meat.

Cooking a bone-in NY strip is different from cooking the steak without it, as the bone insulates the meat during the cooking process. It takes an expert to grill this particular cut consistently, and from customer reviews, the chefs at Capital Grille have yet to hit that sweet spot. On social media, diners have shared pictures of their NY strips cooked well beyond their ordered level of doneness, the meat color thoroughly gray when the diner asked for their steak to be a little pinker. Others shared an opposite experience; their meat was pink all the way through except for its charred edges when they asked for a well-done steak. The poor level of grilling resulted in a poorly-made, tasteless meat that boasted none of the flavor that a good NY strip should usually possess. Disappointed diners shared they sent the dish back, and that they expected something much more stunning from this chain than a subpar piece of poorly cooked meat.

This popular and expensive cut of meat is a byword for fine dining, high cuisine, and the highlights of a special night out with loved ones. Such a reputation surely warrants experiences that gives credence to this famous steak, but Capital Grille's take on the dish sadly doesn't quite live up to the worldwide hype. As one of the chain's more affordable cuts of steak, the basic, 10-ounce Filet Mignon runs its customers for $40 without any additional sides or dressing. Such a price point should promise its customer a worthy experience, but some dissatisfied customers have to differ.

From a steakhouse that promises its customers artful dishes and fine dining, a proper filet mignon should be mind-bogglingly tender, juicy, and flavorful. However, diners have shared how their dishes arrived tough, meaty, and bland. A customer shared how his filet tasted very beefy with none of the promised flavor, while another diner's steak arrived at his table bloody and underprepared. Several reviewers thought that the single cut of steak was rather simple for its price. They also noticed how there was a paid option to request some extra add-ons, such as onions, mushrooms, and "fig essence" to elevate the filet. If a so-called premium steak needs additional costs to cover up its lack of good flavor or texture, however, it's probably better to just order another dish with all of that goodness already included.

If you're a frequenter at Capital Grille, you're probably surprised to see one of the chain's most popular and beloved options on this list. It's true that the Lobster Mac 'N' Cheese sounds amazing based on its description alone; what could possibly go wrong with a white cheddar and Grana Padano crust topping, al dente pasta tossed with a housemade sauce of cream cheese, mascarpone, Parmesan and havarti? Unfortunately, customers shared that this delicious combination of ingredients failed to live up to their expectations.

Macaroni and cheese, whether it's from a fancy restaurant or simply a fast-food joint, should at the very least be creamy and indulgent. However, a disgruntled diner shared that Capital Grille served this dish to him dry and lacking in texture. Another customer received their version of mac n' cheese with undercooked pasta instead of the al dente texture promised by the menu's flattering description. On top of that, another food reviewer revealed that his pasta lacked sauce, which is pretty damning considering the quality of a good mac n' cheese hinges on its creamy cheese sauce. When a restaurant charges $26 for a seafood-based pasta dish — especially an establishment that prides itself on a premium experience — the customer should receive an experience worth that amount of money, but that doesn't seem to be the case here. It's probably best to look elsewhere for a delicious macaroni and cheese dish worth the expense, or order something different off of the menu.

According to its menu, this is Capital Grille's take on a classic Surf & Turf, a popular main course dish combining red meat and seafood in an indulgent, oftentimes showy display. Critics say that the dish itself is often just an excuse to show off the wealth and extravagance of the household or restaurant serving two kinds of expensive meat. However, there's no denying the thrill the table gets when the server arrives with a plate loaded with the finest of what both the land and the sea has to offer. There are many ways to go about pairing seafood and red meat for a classic Surf & Turf, but the version that Capital Grille serves features hand-carved tenderloin and North Atlantic lobster drenched in butter. Unfortunately, even all of that quality meat can't save this take on the dish from not quite living up to customers' expectations.

While there's nothing significantly disastrous with this main course, diners shared that this Surf & Turf is rather unimpressive for its price point. A diner shared that both the beef and the lobster tasted unimpressive, even "blah." "For a dish worth over seventy dollars, I need more than just blah," the customer stated. Another reviewer commented that, while they didn't have any problems with their Surf & Turf, they thought that it wasn't the restaurant's best dish. They said it was probably better to order something else to make the occasion worth the outing.

Going by name and description alone, this dish sounds deceptively simple, and you'll be right to be wary about the quality. Basic culinary skills can distinguish a good cook from a great one in a matter of minutes, and something as simple as sautéing a vegetable to perfection can make or break any chef. Quality ingredients and a skilled chef's hands can make a huge difference; both can elevate an otherwise simple dish to something extraordinary. However, careless hands can just as easily bring a dish down, and according to customer feedback, that seems to be the case with one of Capital Grille's sides, the Sautéed Spinach.

This simple dish seems to suffer from a variety of slip-ups in the kitchen, which in turn leads to a disappointing experience on the table. One of these slip-ups revolves around the use of the garlic confit mixed liberally in the spinach; a customer shared that the garlic flavor overpowered the more delicate, natural flavor of the cooked vegetables. Another reviewer on OpenTable shared that their own version of the dish was served to them with too much salt, resulting in a near inedible side that had to be rectified by the staff. With such varying degrees of quality affecting the quality of the Sautéed Spinach, prospective diners will be better off ordering the more beloved and popular Creamed Spinach for only a dollar more than the sautéed variety if they're looking for a quality vegetable side to go with their main course.

At $14, this starter is one of the cheaper offerings from Capital Grille. Described by the chain as "a simple yet flavorful starter of butter leaf lettuce and heirloom tomatoes with Parmesan vinaigrette," this dish hinges its worth on simplicity and quality. At a steakhouse, the salads often take a backseat to the finer, protein-filled focuses of the restaurant — and the Field Greens seem to be one of the unfortunates that suffer from lack of focus. According to customer feedback, this salad is not quite worth the expense despite its simple appeal.

In a dish this simple, it could be easy to leverage blame against the ingredients, but that doesn't seem to be the case with Capital Grille's Field Greens. Instead, customers noticed a lack of flavor in their salad, specifically in regards to the promised Parmesan vinaigrette. At the table, the server offers to add cracked black pepper to this salad, but a few diners noticed that their dish lacked any dressing besides that black pepper addition. Others shared that their salad contained a few extra fresh vegetables, such as radishes and carrots, but it lacked any real flavor in their dressing. The amounts of the vinaigrette flavor varied, leading to an inconsistent experience for an otherwise average dish. For $14, even a minimalist salad should be at the very least stunning enough to justify the price. With many other cheaper options available, customers are better off looking elsewhere for a simple salad starter.

Using customer feedback to determine what dishes missed the mark in this list of recommendations, I went through multiple reputable online forums. I specifically targeted restaurant reviews and feedback that addressed concerns, as well as negative feedback on specific dishes that failed to satisfy customers. To avoid citing sources from outdated reviews, I made sure to only consult reviews within the past year. I also made sure to cite from a variety of individual reviews to avoid favoring one person's opinion over a general consensus.