The Capital Grille
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.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1990
- HeadquartersOrlando, United States
- Headcount501–1,000
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
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.
The Capital Grille firmographics
Firmographics- 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
The Capital Grille industry classification
Industry- 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
Where The Capital Grille is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Orlando
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
The Capital Grille business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | The Generous Pour Wine Event - Flight of Majesty |
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Dinner Service |
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Lunch Service |
| Other | One time/ perpetual license | Metal Gift Card |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels6 records
The Capital Grille product offering
Product offeringCore 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
Companies that use The Capital Grille
Customer profileNamed customers2 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
The Capital Grille technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
The Capital Grille partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Duckhorn PortfoliocoreDuckhorn 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
The Capital Grille competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect 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
The Capital Grille social profiles
Digital presenceThe Capital Grille financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
The Capital Grille leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
The Capital Grille subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries9 records
The Capital Grille funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
The Capital Grille M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about The Capital Grille
What does The Capital Grille do?
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.
Is The Capital Grille a public or private company?
The Capital Grille is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was The Capital Grille founded?
The Capital Grille was founded in 1990. It employs 501 to 1,000 people.
Where is The Capital Grille based?
The Capital Grille is headquartered in Orlando, United States, in the North America region.
How does The Capital Grille make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Restaurant Dining is the primary driver. The others are private Dining Events, gift Cards and special Events and Wine Programs.
Who are The Capital Grille's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Ruth's Chris Steak House, Eddie V's Prime Seafood, Morton's The Steakhouse, Fleming's Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar, Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steakhouse, The Palm Restaurant, Smith & Wollensky Restaurant Group and STK Steakhouse. Broad incumbents are LongHorn Steakhouse and Seasons 52.
Does The Capital Grille have an API?
No public API is recorded for The Capital Grille.
What industry is The Capital Grille in?
The Capital Grille's product category is Fine Dining Steakhouse. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THAFACAE, Steakhouses & Seafood Restaurants, with a secondary code of THAFAEAI, Lounge Bars & Hotel Bars. Its NAICS code is 722511 and its SIC code is 5810.