Capital Grille Generous Pour

Nice to see this client back with its old MSC. I hope it continues beyond the two shops that each location is doing this month centered around the Generous Pour promo.

If only one guest orders the Generous Pour there shouldn't be much of an issue going over reimbursement unless both guests get especially expensive entrees. Taking photos of the bottles wasn't hard either (and if there was an issue I think you could just tell the server you want a photo so you can remember which bottles you liked).

Our server poured the three whites and then 40 minutes went by -- one of the whites wasn't finished and she made it clear that she would bring the reds after all the whites were finished. Finally I just told her to bring the reds. Is that how they are supposed to do it?

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Lucky you. CG is one of our favorite restaurants. Hmmmm, I think I need to go and pay for this, lol. The venue may have changed things up regarding how they pour. Just report as it happened.

They call it a tasting but also a generous pour. So are you getting six glasses of wine between you and your guest to fully consume, or is this supposed to be a tasting when you taste and spit?

@NinS wrote:

Nice to see this client back with its old MSC. I hope it continues beyond the two shops that each location is doing this month centered around the Generous Pour promo.

If only one guest orders the Generous Pour there shouldn't be much of an issue going over reimbursement unless both guests get especially expensive entrees. Taking photos of the bottles wasn't hard either (and if there was an issue I think you could just tell the server you want a photo so you can remember which bottles you liked).

Our server poured the three whites and then 40 minutes went by -- one of the whites wasn't finished and she made it clear that she would bring the reds after all the whites were finished. Finally I just told her to bring the reds. Is that how they are supposed to do it?

It is definitely a "drink the whole thing" not taste and spit! Six two ounce glasses and you can get another glass if you like one particular one. At $45 per person I think it would be an excellent offer for wine fans.

Do both guests have to do it or can one and share it?

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One person if it has not changed from years ago. Nin S can tell you more I suppose.

@MsJudi wrote:

Do both guests have to do it or can one and share it?

I used to edit these. It used to be one was sufficient. I would assume the same now.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/10/2025 07:54PM by audrialyn30.

Ughhh I was so mad when I saw the email. I logged on right away and all the locations were already taken. I am crossing fingers that it stays around for more months.

It can be just one person. If it were two you'd probably go over rembursement. As it happens my guest (the designated driver who probably drinks less than a glass of wine a year) took a tiny sip at my suggestion, at which point the server -- who had been absent for large stretches -- rushed over and loudly berated us. While of course it would be wrong for two people to each have half of each glass without paying for two people, the message could have been conveyed much more discreetly, especially considering that most of the wine ended up getting tossed. It pretty much killed the vibe of the night.

@NinS Oh boy. I agree, server was not cool.

@NinS wrote:

It can be just one person. If it were two you'd probably go over rembursement. As it happens my guest (the designated driver who probably drinks less than a glass of wine a year) took a tiny sip at my suggestion, at which point the server -- who had been absent for large stretches -- rushed over and loudly berated us. While of course it would be wrong for two people to each have half of each glass without paying for two people, the message could have been conveyed much more discreetly, especially considering that most of the wine ended up getting tossed. It pretty much killed the vibe of the night.

That should NOT have happened. The pour sizes are enough to share. It’s none of the servers business who drinks what. These are SAMPLE sizes not full glasses.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/11/2025 12:42PM by audrialyn30.

They were picked up here before an email even went out. I would have been all over that. Definitely one of the shops I enjoyed doing.

Here too, they were gone before I knew about them. There are several locations near me but only one was listed and gone already.

FYI these shops could not be self-assigned unlike most of this MSC's shops. I've seen this happen with a few other clients too, typically bar integrity shops where you have to have some shops under your belt before they'll assign it.

Although I have a long history with this MSC, over the years I've occasionally canceled a shop or gotten less than positive feedback from an editor because I forgot to take a photo of a soda or something like that, but that didn't stop me from getting assigned this shop.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/11/2025 04:05PM by NinS.

I put myself on the wait-list and I am crossing my fingers there is a last minute cancellation or someone didn't look closely at the alcohol requirements. I'm glad to hear you could not self assign. It always makes me wonder with these type of shops if one shopper got them all because they were the first to see it.

This is one of my all time favorite shops. I am so glad it’s back. I was too late to get one assigned this round. Congrats to those who did!!!

Is this the MSC that uses this shop as a carrot for its stacks and stacks of undesirable and low/no pay jobs?

I did one before the pandemic. Only one person should drink since by the time you leave you are plastered!!

I completed this shop. The server did ask if both my guest and I would both each like the Generous Pour, implying we wouldn't be able to share.

The three whites came out first which included a rose. Personally, it was easy to down. One of us ordered the fish, in addition to the required steak. I finished the whites, which went well with the fish. The reds went well with the steak. While I could have finished the reds, I sampled each and left some unfinished.

Yummy!!!

Please don't feed the MSF trolls!

Feeding the MSF trolls bread or other human food is detrimental to their health and the environment. It can lead to malnutrition, disease, and behavioral problems in trolls, as well as water pollution and the spread of pests. Trolls are capable of finding their own food sources and don't require human assistance.

I did not have to do any other shops in order to get assigned two Capital Grille locations. To my knowledge this MSC has not used this technique since before Covid.

@bptexan wrote:

Is this the MSC that uses this shop as a carrot for its stacks and stacks of undesirable and low/no pay jobs?

The head of scheduling, who used to that, is looooong gone!

I'm on the wait list too. I doubt it will come to fruition. We love that place and jump at any shop there even though neither of us are crazy about wine. But from what I gather from the above posts, only one person is supposed to drink the wine? Why would the staff care if I split it with my husband? There's no way we would both order tasting pours. Can someone clarify this? And is it an MSC policy or a Cap Grill policy?

I think CG policy. My server couldn't be nicer, but when ordering, he let me know that TGP was for each individual diner and couldn't be shared. However, he didn't mind that we shared entrees.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/21/2025 10:15PM by paniconmon.

I told the server that my guest and I would share, and she was fine with that. How can a restaurant police who drinks what?

@paniconmon wrote:

I think CG policy. My server couldn't be nicer, but when ordering, he let me know that TGP was for each individual diner and couldn't be shared. However, he didn't mind that we shared entrees.

@MSF wrote:

I told the server that my guest and I would share, and she was fine with that. How can a restaurant police who drinks what?

@paniconmon wrote:

I think CG policy. My server couldn't be nicer, but when ordering, he let me know that TGP was for each individual diner and couldn't be shared. However, he didn't mind that we shared entrees.

I don't know. Ask my server. $45 per person. I suppose the location that I visited views it as like a buffet.

My family went this past weekend, not a shop. Two generous pours with 5 guests. The server said per person. We were not policed. Our Mom drank a glass of the rose and our DH's drank 2 of our reds. They refilled all. What a delicious dinner! In the past, pre-covid, shop
or not, we have never had an issue with sharing the GP. I don't think you're supposed to though. We love the Capital Grille !

@MickeyB wrote:

This is one of my all time favorite shops. I am so glad it’s back. I was too late to get one assigned this round. Congrats to those who did!!!

FYI, I just received word back from the MCS's scheduling dept that "the Capital Grille assignments were a limited time assignment only for the month of July." :-(

Awwww, shucks. This was a new routine. Whites and reds at the same time. In the past, I recall the server coming and just filling up a 2 oz. or so glass as you dined. Those days it was way more 'GENEROUS.'

This is such a moot point as I will never get this shop, but I can't let this go. How is it like a buffet if it's limited? As long as my guest is 21+, they can have a sip of my drink, a spoonful of my soup, a slice of my steak.

FWIW I did not mention my server's chastising us in my report because for the amount at stake (no pun intended!) I didn't want to risk having the location push back about the two sips that were "shared." Plus I had plenty of other service detractors to detail.

On our second location the server explained at the outset that whites would come before reds, and I said I would probably not finish all the whites, so the times flowed much better. But they forgot the amuse bouche! (BTW it was some sort of streak and blueberry thing at the first location.)`

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