Vessel
Seattle, WA 98101-2602
Phone:
05/15/2008 Posted by kimfrancisco
I have been to Vessel before and have enjoyed the ambiance and quality of food and drink. I booked a party there last March and rented the Red Room. I had spoken to the owner and we organized the party, and I felt comfortable that myself and my 20 friends would be well taken care of. We arrived the night of the party to find that the kitchen staff was not prepared for us ordering food - and even the drinks were slow to arrive seeing as how there were so many of us upstairs. They ran out of food before everyone had even ordered, and I was also surprised to see a much pared down menu than that of what was listed on the website. Having "beef bites" listed and then featuring potato chips and soups are 2 very different things. The chef and waitress were apologetic, and said that they had not been prepared for the food portion of the party. I told them I wasn't sure HOW this misunderstanding happened, due to us coming at 7pm (not a early or late happy hour/cocktail only time), and that the owner was clear that us meeting the room rental minimum could be achieved through both food and drink. I had over 20 hungry people on my hands, and the chef ended up running over to Purple Cafe and bringing over menus that we could order off of. This caused hassle with having 2 bills, and as the party organizer, it made it very difficult for me to enjoy myself because of all of the logistics involved. In short, I will never plan a party there again, and now know it's a much better venue for a quick cocktail. I would strongly encourage the owners however to not advertise hosting parties there if they cannot supply the obvious food and drink required. And while the wait staff was kind, courteous, and apologetic, I was baffled to find that the owner I had been speaking to did not return my emails or calls afterwards, when I voiced my dissatisfaction. To me that's unprofessional and just plain rude.
Pros: Ambiance
Cons: Parking, Can't handle large parties well, Not consistent with what is on their website, miscommunications internally
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