My husband and I thought the Capitol Grille would be the perfect accompaniment to a night at the theater on Valentines Day, but we were sadly mistaken. Once our party of four arrived, our server STRONGLY suggested we order the special Valentine's Day 5 course meal. He also told us that if one person at the table wanted the special then we should ALL get it because it would throw the timing off everything. (aka...he would have to work a little harder.) Even though I couldn't decipher what was actually being offered on the special menu, one person in our group wanted it, so we all felt obligated to do so also. Besides, they only had a few other items you could choose from if you didn't get the special. So for $95 a person plus $60 each for the wine pairing we all anticipated culinary delight.\r
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The first thing that arrived at our table ""compliments of the chef"" was the tiniest teaspoon size bite of lobster salad you've ever seen. I'm not complaining, it was a ""gift"" after all, but it was definitely a clue to how the food was to be the rest of the evening...nonexistent. In the four courses before dessert all the food combined MAY have been 3 ounces. Thank goodness for chocolate mousse or I would have starved to death. It would have been nice if our server had poured the wine that paired with each course while we were actually eating that course...not after and onto the next. It would have also really been nice if the air conditioning weren't blowing so hard on our table that I had to wear my winter coat during the entire meal. It would have been super nice if, after spending all that time, money, and energy, we didn't leave the restaurant hungry.\r
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I have been to many fine resaurants and none have been so pretentious and a waste of time as this one. If you like your entire dinner to fit in the palm of a very small hand, then this is the place for you. As for me, the Capitol Grille is WAY too frou frou.
Pros: Hermitage Hotel is beautiful, near TPAC, the dessert was good.
Cons: Pretty much everything else was not up to standard.
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