Capital Grille

Capital Grill in Mexico City is one of many international franchise locations of the famous USA chain of high-end steakhouse restaurants. Capital Grille’s trademark is a “private country club” atmosphere. The walls in the Mexico City restaurant are decorated with oil portraits of famous Mexican entrepreneurs. The Tiffany-shade chandeliers and “hunting club” type decorations, reinforce the “exclusive club” ambiance of the restaurant. That, and the extremely high prices by Mexico City standards, make it clear that Capital Grille is designed to cater to the affluent, including those that work at or frequent the Mexican Stock Exchange building located across the street. It is the city’s most popular destination for entertaining business clients.

All the steaks at Capital Grille in Mexico City are imported from Kansas. Their specialty is a variety of cuts of aged corn-fed beef.

After a two-year stint in Buenos Aires, a big steak didn’t quite have the allure it used to have. I saw a Surf n’ Turf on the menu. Eight ounces of prime tenderloin with four ounces of lobster. Lobster in Latin America is a bit rare. I suppose it’s a bit rare everywhere except possibly Maine and Nova Scotia. At any rate, that combination sounded extremely attractive.

The Capital Grille Surf n’ Turf is served as two small medallions, topped with a couple of two-ounce pieces of lobster tail. The whole thing is drizzled with a tarragon butter. The tenderloin medallions were a perfect medium-rare. Tender enough that you could cut them with a fork. And those bits of lobster tail slathered in that tarragon butter were like butter themselves (only better).

I ordered a half-order of what was described as potatoes au gratin. What arrived was a big twice-baked potato stuffed with cheese and bread crumbs. It was seasoned magnificently. It was almost as tasty as that steak and the lobster.

Service was flawless. Absolutely, flawless. From what I can see all the waiters speak English. Or at least they assign English speaking waiters to tables the hostess believes have English speakers.

How good was this dining experience? Capital Grille is one of the top five steakhouses in Latin America, and the best in Mexico City.

The steaks at Capital Grille in Mexico City are incredibly expensive. If you come from Manhattan or Sydney, you won’t blink an eye. But by Mexico City standards this place is very, very expensive. You can plan on spending US$40 (800 pesos) or more for food and beverages per person, excluding wine.