The Capital Hotel is an unexpected little gem in Little Rock. Last-minute dinner plans led me to this stunning downtown landmark and put it at the top of the list for places to stay next time I’m in the area.
The building has a doorman, so you are immediately aware it’s going to be an upscale hotel, but walking in, I was blown away by all of the well-maintained architectural details and impeccable interior design of the hotel lobby. Accessible from the lobby are two restaurants: a more upscale option, One Eleven, and a more down-to-earth bar, Capital Bar and Grill. My party chose Capital Bar and Grill as a more laid-back option. The restaurant didn’t accept reservations, but that wait was only about 15 minutes or so, which my party spent at the bar.
For starting drinks, I ordered a lovely, fragrant Cabernet, and the other two people in my group ordered Moscow Mules, which looked amazing. The Raspberry mule was highly recommended, and I made a mental note to try it on a future visit.
Once seated for dinner, we started with a charcuterie & cheese plate as an appetizer and I was amazed at how delicious all of the meat and cheese options were, as well as the spiced pecans (I regretted not ordering these as a standalone appetizer in order to get more). If one person ordered this for themselves, it would have been more than enough food for a meal.
After staring longingly at an adjoining table’s fries, we also placed an order of parmesan truffle fries for the table. They came with a side of ketchup and house-made ranch – the ranch was by far the best dipping option, and we ran out of it before finishing the fries.
For the main dish, I ordered the chicken fried steak, and it was just as wonderful as it looked – flavorful batter and perfectly seasoned gravy. It came with a mixed green salad that had an excellent dressing with a light balsamic dressing. Due to the previous pigging out on charcuterie beforehand, I was sadly only able to finish about half of my main dish.
After dinner, we wandered around the hotel lobby for a bit. It was so beautiful! Gilded marble columns, stained glass in the ceilings… even the bathroom was gorgeous. If you’re ever in the downtown Little Rock area, it’s worth a stop in, if only just to have a look around.
