Dining Out

Capital Grille
Decadent Downtown Dining
For a Top-Notch Steak Dinner, the Capital Grille is Worth the Trip
By Cassandra Wentworth

The Capital Grille might be a national chain, but the owners know how to make locals feel right at home. When you walk into the restaurant’s lobby, chances are the first face you’ll see is that of Steelers icon Art Rooney, staring down from a large portrait behind the hostess’ station.

Throughout the restaurant, the richly appointed red walls are lined with grand portraits of Pittsburgh legends. Together with the white linen table clothes, bowtie clad waiters and suited maitre de, the décor adds to the luxurious atmosphere of the fine dining establishment, located at 301 Fifth Avenue, Downtown.

Inside, subdued lighting and dark colors produce a comfortable ambiance, perfect for relaxing over a long meal or unwinding with a cocktail at the sizeable bar. Dining areas are separated into several rooms, with the lounge on one end and several divided rooms on the other, creating a sense of intimacy. Soft jazz plays unobtrusively in the background, and miniature candle-lit lamps at each table add to the feeling of sophisticated dining.

The scene creates the perfect setting for indulging in the Capital Grille’s decadent dishes. There are several options for getting started, including the assorted seafood that makes up the cold shellfish platter appetizer. While the ingredients themselves are enough to make the dish order-worthy, this starter’s main appeal is the presentation. It arrives at the table in a raised bowl spilling over with colorful shrimp, one-pound baby lobster and freshly shucked oysters. If seafood isn’t to your taste, other appetizers include the grilled steak tartare, with hand-chopped filet mignon, sweet onion, capers and hard-boiled egg.

For my first course, I selected the mozzarella, tomato and basil with eight-year-aged balsamic vinaigrette. The large red and orange fruit paired with creamy cheese and tangy dressing was a delightful precursor to my main dish, sesame seared tuna with gingered rice. While the mild fish was some of the best I’ve ever tried, I was still jealous of my dining partner’s dish, the chef-recommended Kona-crusted dry aged sirloin with caramelized shallot butter. The restaurant is known for its dry-aging process, which is done on premises for all steaks, from filets to 24-ounce Porterhouses.

Other dinner selections that evening included the filet Oscar, a 10-ounce filet mignon, served with steamed asparagus spears, lump crab meat, drizzled with house-made Béarnaise, and the double-cut lamb chops, which come grilled to your liking. (And I feel compelled to mention the fantastic bread basket, which my partner had to physically push away to avoid filling up before his steak.)

For an ideal end to the meal, desserts included crème brulee, cheesecake, white chocolate mousse and fresh berries in vanilla cream.

Regardless of what one selects for the main meal, the Capital Grille has a wine to complement it. The wine list is significantly longer than the menu, with choices ranging from a $450 bottle of Cristal champagne to a $30 bottle of Hyatt Vineyard Riesling. With more than 400 wines to choose from, deciding on a bottle can take much longer than selecting a meal, indeed the wine list takes up twice as much menu space as the food, even in its reduced font. The Capital Grille has temperature-controlled wine rooms visible to guests through large glass panes. And for those with a personal favorite, wine lockers for regular guests greet diners near the hostess stand.

The Capital Grille’s attentive and courteous staff never lets a wine glass stand empty or an unused utensil remain on the table. The cuisine does not disappoint, and the vibrant yet soothing setting makes diners feel at home. Though it’s only been open locally since Labor Day, it seems the Capital Grille has found a home of its own in Downtown Pittsburgh.

The Capital Grille is open for lunch Monday through Friday 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. and for dinner Sunday, 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.; Monday through Thursday, 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.; and Friday through Saturday, 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. Reservations are recommended. It can be reached at 412-338-9100.

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