The Capital Grille

What The Capital Grille does

The Capital Grille is a fine dining steakhouse chain founded in 1990 in Providence, Rhode Island, and now wholly owned and operated by Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE: DRI), one of the largest full-service restaurant operators in the United States with 1,800+ restaurants and 135,000 employees. The brand operates roughly 60 locations across major U.S. metropolitan markets, specializing in dry-aged steaks (aged 18-24 days on premises and hand-carved by in-house butchers), fresh seafood, and a wine program featuring more than 350 selections with Coravin preservation technology that enables rare bottle-only wines to be served by the glass.

The business model is primarily direct-to-consumer fine dining: in-restaurant dinner service (from 5pm daily), weekday lunch service, private dining events for corporate and celebration occasions, takeout via online ordering, and gift card sales (including eGift, plastic, and premium metal cards at $1,000-$2,000 price points). The wine program is a meaningful revenue and brand differentiator, supplemented by seasonal events such as The Generous Pour summer wine tasting series (in 2026 featuring a six-wine Duckhorn Portfolio flight for $38 with dinner entrée purchase). Supporting infrastructure includes a mobile concierge app, an OpenTable-integrated reservation system, interactive iPad wine lists, and an email loyalty program called The Insider eClub. The Capital Grille also operates The Capital Burger as a sub-brand targeting the 'luxe burger' segment.

Revenue and unit-level financial performance are not separately disclosed because The Capital Grille is reported within Darden's consolidated financials; industry benchmarks and the comparable Ruth's Chris Steak House acquisition (~$375M for ~$460M revenue in 2023) suggest The Capital Grille generates roughly $300M-$500M in annual revenue. Recent portfolio actions—including new openings in Nashville and Livonia (March 2026), the closure of the Skokie, Illinois location after only three years (May 2026), and parent-level rationalization of the Bahama Breeze brand—indicate active portfolio curation rather than uniform expansion.

Name

The Capital Grille

Legal name

Darden Concepts, Inc.

Website

https://thecapitalgrille.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1990

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

The Capital Grille is a U.S. fine dining steakhouse chain founded in 1990 and wholly owned by Darden Restaurants, operating roughly 60 locations serving affluent consumers and corporate clients with dry-aged steaks, fresh seafood, a 350+ wine program, and private dining.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Fine Dining Steakhouse

NAICS

Full-Service Restaurants (722511)

SIC

Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810), Retail-Eating Places (5812)

akta.pro primary industry

Steakhouses & Seafood Restaurants (THAFACAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Lounge Bars & Hotel Bars (THAFAEAI)

Keywords

• Fine dining steakhouse
• Dry-aged steaks
• Restaurant dining services
• Private dining events
• Wine program restaurant

Headquarters

HQ city

Orlando

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Restaurant Dining: Fine dining restaurant sales from food and beverage consumption. Dinner service begins at 5pm daily; lunch served Monday through Friday until 4pm. Reservations strongly recommended. Average check includes premium steaks, fresh seafood, and world-class wines.
2. Private Dining Events: Revenue from hosting private events, meetings, and celebrations in elegant private dining rooms equipped with state-of-the-art media capabilities including webcasting and high-speed internet.
3. Gift Cards: Traditional plastic gift cards, eGift cards, and metal gift cards (for purchases $1,000-$2,000). Purchase $1,000+ in gift cards and receive an additional card worth 10% of purchase.
4. Special Events and Wine Programs: Seasonal wine tasting events such as The Generous Pour summer wine program featuring curated wine flights paired with dinner entrées.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Capital Grille is a fine dining steakhouse chain that sells on-premises dry-aged steaks (aged 18-24 days), fresh seafood, and an award-winning wine list of over 350 labels in an elegant Art Deco-style dining environment. It complements core restaurant service with private dining events, online ordering and reservations, a gift card program, and a mobile concierge app.

Product overview

The Capital Grille is a fine dining steakhouse restaurant chain operated by Darden Restaurants, offering a single unified restaurant brand experience. The core offering centers on dry-aged steaks (aged 18-24 days on premises) and fresh seafood in an elegant setting with world-class wines. Supporting services include private dining rooms for events, an email loyalty program (The Insider/eClub), online ordering and reservations via website or OpenTable, gift cards (traditional, electronic, and metal variants), and a mobile concierge app. The Capital Grille also operates a related sub-brand, The Capital Burger, which offers a luxe burger experience. Special seasonal programming includes The Generous Pour wine tasting events.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• The Capital Burger: A sub-brand dedicated to creating the luxe burger experience in a relaxed, yet refined atmosphere. Operated under The Capital Grille brand umbrella with its own careers page.
• The Generous Pour

Products and services

• The Capital Grille Restaurant (Fine Dining Steakhouse) Fine dining steakhouse offering on-premises dry-aged steaks (aged 18-24 days), fresh seafood, and an award-winning wine list in an elegant Art Deco atmosphere with African mahogany paneling. Dinners served nightly from 5pm; lunch Monday-Friday until 4pm. Reservations strongly recommended.
• Private Dining Events Elegant private dining rooms with multiple seating configurations, customized menus, dedicated servers, and state-of-the-art media capabilities including webcasting and high-speed internet. Designed for business meetings, corporate events, celebrations, and special occasions.
• Gift Cards (eGift, Plastic, and Metal)
• Online Ordering and Takeout
• Online Reservations
• Mobile Concierge App (The Capital Grille Concierge)
• The Insider (eClub Email Program)
• Wine Program (World-Class Wines with Coravin)
• The Generous Pour - Flight of Majesty Wine Event Annual summer wine tasting event featuring curated wine flights paired with chef-curated dinner entrées. The 2026 'Flight of Majesty' edition features six Duckhorn Portfolio wines.
• The Capital Burger

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 10.7 million pounds of food donated to those in need since 2007
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Duckhorn PortfoliocoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 29 June 2026Duckhorn Portfolio wines featured in The Generous Pour summer wine tasting event. Six prestigious Duckhorn Portfolio wines offered as a flight for $38 with dinner entrée purchase from June 29 to August 30, 2026. The partnership includes Goldeneye, Duckhorn, and other Duckhorn Portfolio labels featured in curated wine selections.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Ruth's Chris Steak House: Ruth's Chris Steak House is an upscale steakhouse chain also owned by Darden Restaurants. It is the most direct comparable brand, offering a similar fine-dining steakhouse experience with similar target customers and price points, and is the most internal cannibalization risk within the Darden portfolio.
• Eddie V's Prime Seafood: Eddie V's is a Darden-owned upscale chain focused on prime seafood and steaks in an elegant setting. It directly overlaps with Capital Grille on the fine-dining seafood-and-steak occasion and competes for similar affluent customer segments, though with a slightly more seafood-forward menu.
• Morton's The Steakhouse: Morton's is a long-established upscale steakhouse chain (now part of Landry's). It competes directly with Capital Grille for business dinners, special occasions, and the same affluent customer base, with a similar dry-aged steak and wine-led menu structure.
• Fleming's Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar: Fleming's (owned by Bloomin' Brands) is an upscale steakhouse positioned around prime steaks and a notable wine program. It competes directly for the same business dining and special occasion use cases, with comparable per-check pricing and a similar premium experience focus.
• Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steakhouse: Del Frisco's is an upscale steakhouse chain (now under private ownership following the Del Frisco's Restaurant Group acquisition). It competes head-to-head with Capital Grille in major metros on prime steaks, seafood, and an extensive wine list, serving the same affluent customer base.
• The Palm Restaurant: The Palm is a heritage upscale steakhouse with locations in major US cities. It targets a comparable clientele (business dining, special occasions, power lunches) and competes on prime steaks, Italian-leaning preparations, and a strong wine and beverage program.
• Smith & Wollensky Restaurant Group: Smith & Wollensky is a classic American steakhouse with both company-owned and licensed locations. It targets the same affluent diners and special occasion use cases as Capital Grille, with a dry-aged steak menu and similar wine program emphasis.
• STK Steakhouse: STK is a modern, design-led upscale steakhouse brand (under The ONE Group). It targets a slightly younger affluent demographic but competes directly for steakhouse occasions with a comparable per-check profile, presenting an emerging threat to traditional fine dining players like Capital Grille.

Broad incumbents

• LongHorn Steakhouse: LongHorn is a Darden-owned casual steakhouse chain with hundreds of locations nationwide. While positioned at a lower price point than Capital Grille, it is part of the same parent and represents the broader Darden steakhouse portfolio against which Capital Grille's premium positioning is calibrated.
• Seasons 52: Seasons 52 is a Darden-owned upscale-casual concept focused on fresh seasonal cuisine and an extensive wine list. It overlaps with Capital Grille's wine-program differentiation and competes for some of the same affluent adult diners seeking elevated dining experiences, though in a more casual format.

Market position

Strengths1 record

Weaknesses1 record

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks1 record

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/capitalgrille
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/DardenTV
• Facebookfacebook.com/thecapitalgrille
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-capital-grille
• Instagraminstagram.com/thecapitalgrille

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Capital Grille