Capitol Bar and Grill is part of the new QT Hotel in Canberra, replacing the old Rydges Lakeside Hotel. I’ve heard good things about the place and headed there for weekend lunch with my partner.
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| Entrance from the back of the hotel |
We walked in from the back of the hotel to a very large and spacious restaurant area. Checked grey and black carpet cover the floors with plenty of seating options from banquettes to large benches plus some outdoor seating. Black and yellow seems to be key colours used throughout the restaurant.
A long shelf filled with ornaments, vases, books and plants provides a privacy screen separating the dining areas.
Pictures of politicians line one end of the restaurant.
I thought these were pretty funky!
There are two massive climate-controlled fridges on either side of the bar holding many wines and spirits. The bar itself is impressive with lots on display.
On the other side of the bar lies a lounge area with a modern fireplace to warm you up. I hear this is a popular spot for low-key Friday arvo drinks.
As we were there for lunch, the menu was quite limited compared to the dinner menu. Sadly, the much raved about antipasto bar was not open for lunch. But the table does look like it means serious business with those meat slicers.
A (crooked) shot of the fridge completely filled with Cape Grim beef and its ages.
I decided on the ‘I only have minutes steak’ rib eye ($35) that came with anchovy butter, watercress, shallots, horseradish salad and shoestring fries. I like that the menu states it is cooked no less than pink. When this came out, our waiter was holding a tray of about 5 different types of mustard to go with the steak. What to pick? I chose the waiter’s preferred option of the dijon mustard as its sour but also sweet. This steak was juicy, pink in the middle just like the menu stated, and just perfect. I could smell the beautiful herbs sprinkled on top making me drool. I really enjoyed the salad too. A whole bowl of fries was provided – far too much for us to finish.
I love that the plates represent the capital with images of new and old Parliament House on them.
My partner ordered the Pollies Pie ($32) made up of dry aged beef braised in Barolo wine, tiny champignons, pea and mint mash, potato mash and a wine gravy. Quite expensive for a pie but it was HUGE. The wine gravy was poured onto the pie in front of us. The beef was amazingly tender and the puff pastry was flaky and delicious.
Inside the pie – yum!
I’d picked out my dessert before my main – the Capitol Grill classic profiteroles ($18) filled with crรจme pรขtissiรจreand vanilla ice cream, then drowned in Valrhona dark chocolate sauce with chocolate waffle balls on top. The dark chocolate sauce was slightly bitter but I thought it was a good option to balance out the sweetness of everything else.
I enjoyed my meal here even though prices are more on the expensive side. Capitol Bar and Grill seem to know how to cook its beef which is fantastic. Given the amount of space inside, I found the lunch-time sitting to be very quiet – great if you want to have a good conversation with someone. I’m planning on going back for dinner for that antipasto bar!
Capitol Bar and Grill are open for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
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Foodgasm 8/10
