The Fireside Room — Local services in Seattle

Two starts for slow and unfriendly service.

We had been at a nearby restaurant and were reading the history of the hotel and the Fireside Room and decided to stop by for a Saturday night cocktail. When we walked up, the hostess had major RBF and was not even remotely friendly or welcoming but I felt optimistic as she warmed up a little when I asked her about her night and was friendly. This is Seattle, sometimes the Freeze needs to thaw. I told them we were expecting four, although only two were there at that moment. We were seated at a spot for two and were waiting to be served water and have our drink orders taken when the others arrived, and brought an extra friend. Making five people. We made do with a couple extra chairs that were around, no issues with being at a spot for two.

But then we waited and we waited and we waited. It was probably thirty minutes before I was able to make eye contact with any of the waitresses. There had been waitresses circling that been bringing others drinks and water, refilling waters, ect, but we had been there for half an hour and not brought water or asked for drinks, despite trying multiple times to politely get the attention of someone. When we are finally able to get someone she walked off halfway through taking our drink orders to answer a phone call. Took another 12-15 minutes for her to come back and take our orders. A couch next to us opened up and we move to their spots to actually have the right number of seats. We did not wait for them to clear the few glasses, but we did stack the signed receipts in one tray. Magically, the waitress appear and snarkily said “wow ladies you could have waited for us to clear the table, no one was going to steal it from you”. None of us responded to her rudeness, but really?? We figured if we waited for you to clear it we would be sitting there till close because it took FORTY FIVE MINUTES for you to take our drink orders! And secondly, don’t be rude to your guests. Then once we finally got our drinks, at that point having been there almost an hour, we check the time and they’re closing in 20 minutes. We take our time to chat and drink the damn drinks we waited so long for, she has another little comment that’s wasnt quite rude enough to force a response but toeing the line when she drops off the check (still before close so we aren’t rude in being there yet), we pay our bill on one card so she doesn’t have to split it and still tip 20% because we have all worked in hospitality. We stay maybe ten minutes after close, but were not the last ones there by several people, because that’s how long the service made us be there. Get it together guys, seriously. Your bad attitude gave a serious sour taste to an...

I've visited the Fireside Room on 5 separate occasions in the past 2 years and have enjoyed it each time. I've attended the Silent Reading night multiple times (the first Wednesday of each month). I usually get to sit in a cozy chair in front of the fire where I usually order a glass of wine and a meat plate. In the past month, I have been here twice; once for a wedding and once for the Jazzy Brunch. The Jazzy Brunch was delectable! Jazz playing, while I visited with my friends over mimosas and a tiered platter of various cheeses, meats, and toasts. Our server was extremely kind and kept the coffee and mimosas flowing!

You can order meats and cheeses for $9/plate, or a 3-tiered platter for $24. Their toasts are absolutely delicious as well; we ordered the avacado and onion. The french toast was great as well; all their bread is very tall! Tip: the french toast comes with jam only. If you order it, make sure to ask for a side of syrup.

I took off one star because we arrived early and the woman at the booth in the main restaurant area was very inattentive to us and anybody else that walked in. Honestly, it's not that big of a deal, but it's nice to have a friendly and warm personality to greet you, rather than someone who doesn't look/act like she wants to be there. All in all though, we will...

The place just isn't the same since the remodel. I go every year for the holidays and this year was very disappointing. The room was SUPER NOISY (they've taken out the cushioned banquettes and squeezed in more tables in the center and perhaps this contributed to the noise level). People are packed in. The food was truly marginal. I had a chopped salad which had very little flavor. My friend had soggy cheese fries which were super salty. The server failed to notify me that the Happy Hour was finishing, so I ended up paying full price for the original Happy Hour wine. The parking situation is horrendous. Somehow, they've changed the layout of the driveway, and the poor valets are running around like chickens with their heads cut off. It just is NOT the pleasurable and classy experience that it used to be. I will look for something else next holiday...