The Capital Grille

Lovely Restaurant, Made our Anniversary Awesome!. I was devastated when I called my favorite restaurant, Manuel's on the 28th, to make a reservation for our 10th anniversary and learned that they had gone out of business. I asked many people for a good romantic restuarant, and got a few suggestions, but was not crazy about any of them. On a whim, I started surfing the web and came across the Capital Grille, and I am so glad I did! First, I was able to make reservations online which was very nice, and was able to make a special request, which I did, telling them we wanted a secluded table as it was our 10th anniversary. When we arrived, there was complimentary valet parking, which is nice since it is right at the entrance to Pointe Orlando. Upon entering, the hostess greeted us by name with a lovely smile, and wished us a happy anniversary. She escorted us to our table, which had been covered with red rose petals, which was a lovely touch. We ordered drinks, which came quickly and were outstanding, DH had a dirty martini which he said was very good, and I had one of their specialty drinks, The Bohemian, which was so good, I had another! It was similar to a bellini, a mixture of Absolut Peach, berry cordial and champagne, outstanding! Our server, Michelle, was very knowledgable, and made excellent recommendations. We had the Carpaccio & the calimari for appetizers, and there was plenty, we could have done with just one. I had the lobster bisque, which had huge chunks of lobster and a delicious sherry broth, DH had spinach salad, he said it was really good. For the entree DH had the Delmonico with some kind of cordial sauce and I had the filet with lobster in butter sauce, which was served over mashed potatoes (oh boy, nothing may be more yummy than rare steak, lobster & mashed potatoes all covered in buttery lemony sauce). Our steaks were cooked perfectly, just as we asked for them. For dessert we had Creme Brulee, which was plenty big for 2. The servings were so large, we brought home 1/2 the calamari and at least 1/4 of each of our dinners. The courses were well spread out, they were not running into each other, and we didn't feel rushed, which is nice, so many places try to speed you along. They also took our picture, and gave it to us at the end of the meal in a little cardboard folder, and wrote on the front the date, and the occasion, which I thought was very nice, a nice finishing touch. We were so full when we left, I thought I would burst, and everything was super good. We were there on a Friday night, at about 8:00, and while they were busy, the service was excellent, we never had to wait with an empty glass, or want for anything. The only possible con is that it is rather expensive, our total with 4 drinks, 2 appetizers, 2 dinners and 1 dessert and coffee was a bit over $200. I don't really think of that as a true con though, as I knew they were a more expensive restaurant going in, we spent what we expected to, but it is something to consder, this is not a cheap night of steak, but if I wanted that I would have gone to Outback, kwim? I will def go back for our next special occassion!…