One drawback to reviewing restaurants is that, eventually, I’m bound to have cause to write a bad review. So it was with my visit to The Capitol Club.

To begin with, my presence wasn’t even acknowledged for the first five minutes I was in the restaurant. Once some finally came out from the back they seemed astonished by the fact that I was actually patronizing their establishment. Once seated it took nearly as long to get my drink and dinner order placed. I’m usually lenient when it comes to service, especially early in the evening but I was getting definite “don’t be here” vibes. What makes the service up to this point especially bad is that, aside from a woman who was picking up a to go order, I was the only person in the restaurant portion. When the time came to pay my bill, my server’s doppelganger showed up. While I still had food on my plate and a half glass of wine I was being asked, “Are you finished with your plate?” My jaw nearly dropped. When I was done eating my server was back at my elbow in a heartbeat. Nearly as fast as she whisked away my dishes she was back with the check. Where was all this energy when I was hungry and wanted food? So, in summary, service was very poor.

As for the food, it wasn’t a knockout but also wasn’t the worst I’ve ever eaten. I opted for the Lamb Shank ($19.00) and got exactly what I ordered. This was bone-in eating for sure. Not to say I’m squeamish about such things. After all I am the person who’s favorite meal was a whole fish with the head still on. But my hopes for the meal were one of less anatomy and more presentation. No matter, the meat fell off the bone quite readily. Lamb has a reputation for being “gamey” tasting if not prepared well. I’ve had both good and bad lamb, mine at The Capitol Club fell somewhere in the middle. Not overly gamey but stringy and overly fatty. It required a lot of help from the sauce on the plate. The sauce was the star to the dish. A spicy, rich Merlot sauce, I tasted hints of cinnamon, garlic, pepper and, I believe, cardamom. I soaked everything in it; bread, lamb, escarole, tomatoes and eggplant. It was these last two items that I felt the plate could have used a little more of. While slightly overdone they still retained a good bit of flavor and I found myself focusing on eating all of them I could find.

Had it not been for all the lamb mucking about on the plate I’d probably give the food a nod for the vegetarians out there. But as it stands the so-so lamb makes it an okay dish for carnivores. One thing is for sure; get your food to go.