You’ve seen Gordon Ramsay say it to restaurants who he was asked to save – “when did you stop caring?” You’ve seen Robert Irvine ask it, “Why are you doing this?” to restaurants that are upside down and serving poor food with worse service.
After a disappointing meal at an unnamed restaurant, that had us at the Chef’s table – where no one interacted with us, we decided to move our 16 person holiday party to another restaurant.
Capital Grill was where my staff chose, after having decided not to repeat the other restaurant.. What we received that night was an amazing dinner.We had no expectations, beyond a good steak and appreciating one another’s company.
Where to begin – what distinguishes this restaurant from our previous experience was this: we were taken care of. We felt that service given wasn’t an obligation, it was a pleasure. The executive chef wasn’t famous, but she took the time to come to our room and say hi, ask if we had any questions, and even offered a tip for someone asking about how to grill a steak. The wine list was expansive, but so many places have that wine list, but I hadn’t looked over one page when the sommelier appeared and asked what my preferences were or if I had a wine in mind.
The waiter knew us from before – was endlessly helpful, friendly, and not imposing.
The food- delicious, and not over powering. The atmosphere – well, the mahogany walls with paintings of Arizona political figures did not shut down the friendly nature of the entire staff.
Every restaurant has an off day – just like hotels. What distinguishes the great ones from the mediocre is the follow up. Capital Grill made it a point to follow up the next day and ask about our experience and the other restaurant – well it had to be prodded. Its ok to have a bad night- but do follow up.
So I have to ask as Gordon Ramsay did “When did you stop caring?”