Reviews
Like sashimi or carpaccio, some reviews are better when they’re fresh and raw. Below are some of the wonderful things that have been said about us in the media. In addition, click here to see what some of our other guests have to say about us. Have your own comments to share? Let's hear them!
Awards and Media Reviews for Cap City Fine Diner and Bar:
To submit a review of one of our restaurants, please use the list in the upper left to seelct a specific location.
Columbus Monthly 2007 Readers Poll
Best Italian: Marcella's
The hectic and crazy-loud ambience in Marcella's — Cameron Mitchell's newest and best mini-chain concept — suits its ebullient and bold-flavored food. Specializing in small plates to share, the fabulous fare at Marcella's is surprisingly affordable, too. Try the addictive caponata (roasted eggplant with capers, olives and raisins), pillowy gnocchi in browned butter with chopped walnuts, top-notch pizzas such as the Sicilian (a major meat munch), superb salads (like the Insalata di Scarola), and the best tiramisu in town.
Best Dessert: Cap City
Cameron Mitchell's more upscale joints sometimes attract the most attention, but his updated version of the vintage diner remains a favorite of anyone who's after tasty post-dinner fare. Treats include the Banana Foster Bread Pudding (with delicious rum caramel sauce) and the 24K Carrot Cake (with decadent white-chocolate cream cheese topping), as well as unique takes on more familiar desserts. Both the Grandview and Gahanna locations are perfect for grabbing some sweets on the cheap.
Best Splurge Restaurant: M
When you splurge on a great meal, you expect the finest food and a sumptuous atmosphere. Cameron Mitchell's signature M offers the best of both. The creative menu features Asia-via-California flavor mash-ups, while the riverfront location is elegant and stylish but not stuffy. Don't forget to have a drink at the soothing, cool-colored bar.
Best Dining Service: Mitchell's Ocean Club
As soon as you enter Mitchell's Ocean Club, you realize you're not visiting a place as much as a time. The cool wood-paneled decor, live music from the piano bar and even the servers' crisp white coats all evoke the Rat Pack era, when fine dining meant elegant food as well as impeccable service. The attention to detail continues right down to the signature martinis, which are shaken tableside and poured over dry ice — the soothing atmosphere literally bubbles from your cocktail. That's as classic as it gets
Best Asian: Molly Woo's
Best Romantic Restaurant: M
Best New Restaurant: Marcella's
Best Pie: Cap City
While Cap City's chocolate cake is by far the popular favorite, what would a great diner be without pie? Whether it's cherry, pecan, or apple, Cap City's baker makes each and every pie, including its crust, in house daily. The result? Pure satisfaction you can count on in each and every bite.
Wouldn't it be nice to reach the age of 40 and realize your life dream? Cameron Mitchell, the creator of Cap City Diner, owns 18 other restaurants in three states that cover nine different concepts in dining. Between the two of us, we've had the pleasure of experiencing the majority of these culinary endeavors.
As the old expression goes, we were trying to "kill two birds with one stone." Mindy and her friend, Michelle, needed new running shoes and Mindy and Randy needed to get a review together. The athletic shoe store just happened to be in the same complex as Cap City Diner in Gahanna off Hamilton Road, so the dilemma was solved. We arrived a little past noon, with rumbling stomachs, and were pleased to be seated quickly even though the place was bustling with the work crowd.
When we saw the impressive dessert offerings in the display case we knew we better save room, so we skipped appetizers this visit. We hope to return to try wh! at the readers of Columbus Monthly Magazine consider the city's best potato chips: Maytag bleu cheese potato chips ($6.50) -- an odd combination of crunchy chips, tasty Alfredo sauce and tangy bleu cheese with scallions.
Cap City offers an extensive menu, plus daily specials. All of us were interested in one of the specials for the day -- the crab cake sandwich ($8.95), but we let our guest have first pick. Michelle graciously gave each of us a bite of the generous crab cake which was served on a toasted English muffin, topped with smoked cheddar cheese with a side of spicy horseradish sauce. Mindy wavered between the smoked turkey Reuben ($7.95) with Swiss cheese, coleslaw, red onion and mayo on rye and the Tuscan grilled chicken salad ($9.95) -- penne pasta, garlic cheese bread, Romaine lettuce, Roma tomatoes and roasted portabella mushrooms, tossed with tomato basil vinaigrette. She enjoyed her selection of the large salad but wished she had ordered her dressing! on the side. When Randy noticed multiple orders of Cap City Diner mea tloaf ($8.95) coming out of the open kitchen she looked no further. This stack of buttermilk-chive mashed potatoes, meatloaf, wild mushrooms and chili onion rings, covered with BBQ gravy and surrounded by broccoli appeased Randy's heartier appetite. The only disappointment was the broccoli which was not as fresh as it should have been.
Most items are available for lunch as well as dinner. A few of the more unusual caught our attention: pecan crusted pork chop ($8.95/16.95) served on cheddar-chipotle mashed potatoes, candied pecans, spinach, and shallots all covered with an apple cider glaze; salmon saltimbocca ($9.95/16.95) -- pancetta wrapped pan seared salmon served on wild mushroom risotto with artichoke relish and a sage and chive butter sauce; and Diner vegetable plate ($8.50/10.95) -- an angel hair pasta cake with goat cheese, portabella spring roll, grilled asparagus, sauteed spinach and vegetables covered with sweet basil marinara sauce.
Cap City Diner! has a nice kid's menu ($4.95/lunch or dinner). Children will certainly be as tempted, as we were, by the house made pies and desserts. It was a tough decision, but we all voted for orange dreamsicle cake ($5.50) -- our childhood treat recreated. This seven layer confection with an orange cream cheese icing is awesome.
We hope to come back to find out if Cameron Mitchell's stated goal is true: "To be better today than we were yesterday, and better tomorrow than we are today." This time was three and one-half forks; next time, who knows?
Copyright (c) News Journal. All rights reserved. Reproduced with the permission of Gannett Co., Inc. by NewsBank, Inc.
August 2004
Though this Cameron Mitchell hotspot is traditionally packed, there is always a warm buzz floating through the air that never turns noisy and imposing. The bar on weekdays during happy hour is full of smiling people enjoying appetizers at half off.
Cap City’s tasty food and mannered staff are respectable and dependable. The restaurant runs like clockwork, a result of everyone subscribing to the same simple concept: No matter the request, the answer is yes.
Manager Brian Scheren’s calm and collect demeanor is impressive. Both he and the entire staff sincerely want you to have a good time and feel at home while you enjoy a great meal; that can only lead to a success story at every table.
Because there are so many poor meatloaf imposters out there, we chose to feature Cap City’s version ($8.95) as a reminder of how this ultra American dish, when made seriously, can make you smile all over. Even your mother will shake the hand of this dish…right after it smacks the smile off her face.
Cap City Fine Diner & Bar, located in Grandview closed for a complete remodel and the new design was recently unveiled.
Cap City, which first opened its doors in October 1995, was Cameron Mitchell Restaurants’ third restaurant and second concept. After nine successful years, the restaurant features an entirely new color scheme, new paint, carpet, light fixtures, woodwork and booths. The bar has been updated with a new bar top and the raw bar has been outfitted with mosaic tile.
Located near Ohio State University in the Grandview neighborhood, Cap City offers the taste of diner favorites with an upscale twist: The meatloaf is sliced extra thick with buttermilk chive mashed potatoes and french-fried onion rings finished with barbecue gravy. Several new selections have been added to the menu.
Salad lovers will enjoy the new fresh and tasty Greek salad with romaine lettuce, field greens, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, peppers, kalamata olives, feta cheese and creamy garlic dressing. A new Monday Blue Plate special is the Chicken Parmesan with spaghetti, marinara, broccoli, and Alfredo sauce.
Cap City Gahanna Executive Chef Brian Wilson has developed two mouthwatering additions to the Famous Large Plates. Horseradish Crusted Salmon with sweet potato and Yukon gold hash, spaghetti squash, carmelized fennel and applejack reduction and “Chips on Fish” featuring Yukon gold potato crusted Boston Cod, coleslaw, tartar sauce, capers and malt vinegar beurre blanc.
Everyone knows to keep your fork at Cap City since dinner isn’t complete without a slice of one of the homemade diner pies. A new heavenly dessert selection has been added to the menu. The Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Pie is made with Oreo Crust, peanut butter mousse and chocolate ganache. For more information, please call (614) 291-FOOD (3663). Cameron Mitchell Restaurants, LLC, operates nine different concepts encompassing 24 restaurants and a catering di-vision in Columbus; Cleveland; Cincinnati; Pittsburgh; and Lansing and Birmingham, Michigan: Chicago; and Indiana-polis. A second Mitchell’s Fish Market is set to open in Livonia, MI, in January 2005.
Concepts include Cameron’s American Bistro, Cap City Fine Diner & Bar, Columbus Brewing Company, M, Martini Italian Bistro, Mitchell’s Fish Market (a.k.a. Columbus Fish Market), Mitchell’s Steakhouse (a.k.a. Cameron’s Steakhouse), Molly Woo’s Asian Bistro, The Ocean Club and Cameron Mitchell Catering Company.
Cameron Mitchell’s Cap City Fine Diner and Bar in Gahanna received a makeover in December. The updated space features warmer colors, lots of wood tones and a more upscale feel, says general manager Tom Markgraff. “We put more ‘fine’ in ‘fine diner,’” he says.
Cap City’s bar top now is made of vivid red stone, but the fundamental change at the bar is the diner’s use of fresh-squeezed orange and grapefruit juices. Even the bloody mary mix is made fresh. “The quality is far better than it’s ever been,” Markgraff says.
Another Mitchell venture, Columbus Fish Market in Grandview, also was updated recently with a new color scheme and design. Fresh fruit-infused drinks can be found at the Fish Market, as well as all other Cameron Mitchell Restaurants except Columbus Brewing Company, which will adopt the practice in the spring.
Columbus Dispatch Readers' Poll
Best Meatloaf
Best of Citysearch 2006
Best Brunch
Best Dessert
Best Group Dining
Columbus Monthly
#1 Diner: Cap City Fine Diner & Bar
Best of Columbus 2006 Readers Poll
"Readers couldn't stop commenting on the meatloaf and the chocolate cake!"
This Week
Readers Poll: The Best of 2005
Best Casual Dining
Best Diner
Columbus Monthly
Reader's Poll 2005
Best Diner
This Week
Reader's Poll 2004
Best Casual Dining
Best Diner
July 2004
Best of Awards
Columbus Monthly
Best First Date
Best Diner
Best Potato Chips
America Online
City's Best 2004
Best Brunch Spot
Best Comfort Food
Best Family Restaurant
This Week
Reader's Poll 2003
Best Casual Dining
Best Diner
Columbus Monthly
Reader's Poll 2003
Best Diner
Best First Date
Columbus City Scene
Comfort Food
January/February 2003
Steve Stove
"These Cameron Mitchell twins advance diner cuisine to a whole new level, serving a wide variety of upscale dinner items, including the signature stacked meatloaf and mashed potatoes with barbecue gravy, the grilled salmon club sandwich and specials like pot roast and liver and onions. Save room for the scrumptious, super-sized desserts-they are not to be missed."
TOP Picks: The city’s can’t miss restaurants
The Other Paper
January 18-24, 1996
"Again, Cameron Mitchell had his ear to the ground and knew the neo-diner trend would go over big in Columbus. It has. From the day it opened, Cap City Diner has packed the house every night, thank to its upbeat mood and sensational food. It’s polished and fancy, and the cordial wait staff is neatly outfitted in crisp white shirts and vests. On the menu are fancy versions of old diner favorites."
