White tablecloths, premium steak and a well pressed wait staff all point to a certain kind of dining. There’s also usually a hint of glamor and a hush of exclusivity in restaurants that offer a little bit more. Both Ocean Prime on Wacker and Capital Grille a few blocks east in Streeterville have positioned themselves as reliable options in the higher end dining market. You could call their personalities complementary. Ocean Prime prefers lower lights and deeper hues, but they both exude an air of refinement that sets them apart from the typical casual dining restaurant.
Much larger in size and leaning more into elegance, Ocean Prime makes a grander statement. Capitalizing on its vantage point overlooking Michigan Avenue, massive windows gaze out on the Chicago River and iconic architectural landmarks to the north. Whether at tables or in booths, black leather graces the restaurant’s seating. Overhead, stylish art deco chandeliers shed golden glowing light. Sitting down to a meal leaves you with a sense of anticipation.
With a much smaller footprint and a cozy side dining room with just five or six tables, Capital Grille has a more intimate feel. Standing at street level on the corner of St. Clair and Ontario, stepping inside is like crossing the threshold into a haven of calm.
Look at any Yelp review and you learn that eating out is about much more than just the food. It’s about how you’re treated and how attentively you’re cared for. Are you made to feel welcome? Do you feel as if you’re even seen? There’s a difference between a restaurant being aloof and one being deferential. The mission of dining spots like Ocean Prime and Capital Grille is to smoothly dispense customer regard with an even hand. Both restaurants get high marks for the level of care they extend to their customers. Despite the perception that the type of food each restaurant serves and the prices they charge are geared to an older clientele, both attract the young and every stratum of the once young. From an observer’s point of view, both restaurants seems to care for all groups with equal consideration.
Because it functions so well as a glamorous back drop, it’s not unusual to feel as if you’ve stumbled into a fashion show when people are shown to their tables at Ocean Prime; especially on the weekend. When couples of any type are being seated for dinner, the waitstaff will usually ask if you’re celebrating a special occasion. With the cost of a steak entrée at either restaurant averaging $65 and a fish alternative hovering in the mid 50s, both restaurants are places people go to splurge.
With menus that celebrate indulgence, both restaurants tempt you with rarely offered appetizers like fresh oysters on the half shell. At Ocean Prime, you can even choose between east coast oysters and west coast. On one recent visit, a couple stopped in at the bar just to savor the coveted delicacies. Tired, and looking a little worn from a challenging day, their eyes and posture said the oysters were both reward and salve.
Despite similarities running rampant between these two eateries; each of them distinguish themselves by technique. Both restaurants also offer crab cakes and French onion soup as appetizers or first courses. But Capital Grille adds lobster to its crab cakes and Ocean Prime uses brandy in its French soup classic.
Whether you would choose one over the other might depend on slight variations on the menu on any given night. Moist, flaxy, and delicately sweet, the pan seared sea bass with miso butter, shitake mushrooms and asparagus at Capital Grille stands out as a particularly exceptional meal. Retaining the signature flavor of fish; whether it be trout, sea bass, or the common cod, may be one of the most difficult challenges a restaurant can face. Flavor profiles in fish are often so subtle they can easily be wiped away by too much or improper cooking. Finding a dish like the Grille’s sea bass is an achievement.
Fish dishes at Ocean Prime can be satisfying, but we’ve yet to find a seafood entree that equaled the simple perfection captured by the sea bass a few blocks east. Ocean Prime may have the advantage when it comes to steak. Judgements about either red meat or fish are ultimately subjective. The quality of food preparation at either restaurant is very high and disappointments are usually much more like quibbles than true dissatisfaction. Take the coconut cream pie at Capitol Grille. It’s a dessert that brings back intense memories and sky high expectations. Capitol Grille reimagines it as a tart with a crown of creamy peaks and a coconut cookie. Delicious? Yes, mostly. But having the expectation realized would probably have been better. Over on Wacker however, there are legions who will always be loyal to Ocean Prime’s warm butter cake.
Sure, both restaurants are chain affiliated. That doesn’t detract from how much they both add to the upper tier dining opportunities downtown. And the best thing about both is their embrace of the totality of the city. Bring all that makes you who you are and expect to be welcome.
Capital Grille
633 N. St. Clair
Closed Mondays
https://www.thecapitalgrille.com/locations/il/chicago/
Ocean Prime
87 W. Wacker
https://ocean-prime/chicago
