Happy Accidents — Restaurant in Albuquerque

This is an extremely lengthy review, but context is definitely needed in this scenario. I have never felt so compelled to write a review. I went into this place after reading some terrible reviews, but wanted to give this place the benefit of the doubt. Granted, some people thrive off of negativity and just want to complain at every chance they get. This is by far the worst customer service me and my group have ever received.

We had been eager to try out this new distillery as it sounded exciting and new to Abq. My wife and I were planning a visit for her birthday and the plan was to invite 21 people. Their site said they didn’t take reservations. There was no number available for their establishment anywhere so I emailed asking if there would be room for everyone (which we knew wouldn’t all show up). The owner, Kate, wrote me back stating they didn’t take parties larger than 10 (which was not posted in their website at the time of our visit). This is perfectly understandable. I responded to her email to inquire further about this policy asking if it would be possible to have separate tables (the rest of our guests were okay sitting separately, they simply wanted to experience this exciting new place) to ensure we wouldn’t break their rule, but received no response. Only 14 people showed up. While people started arriving, we asked again about getting the extra 4 people a separate table. Kate expressed her disdain and asked if I was the one who sent the email about the 21 people, and I confirmed that it was me. I let her know I responded to her initial email and hadn’t received a response about the separate tables but still wanted to bring business as this was an up and coming restaurant in the midst of rough times. She rudely replied “Well, I already told you that we don’t serve tables larger than 10. That’s just not our business model” which again, we were fine with but she was giving us an ill-mannered run around, eye rolling at our question about getting a separate table.

I will back track the story a little for context. When we arrived, they stated their rule about not being able to split checks. This was perfectly fine and we were more than willing to abide by this rule so we put all drinks on my tab. No big deal. At first it was our immediate family of 6, so about an hour later, as everyone else started showing up, and the table reached the 10 person capacity, a group of 4 went to the bar. Keep in mind, the bar was completely empty. The bar tender was nice and welcoming until they asked if these 4 were with our group. They said yes, but not to worry, they understood the tab splitting rule and would like to start a separate tab as if they were new customers to prevent violating their rule. Once the bar tender heard they were with my group he immediately became rude and unwelcoming. Not only that, at this point Kate THE OWNER was, yet again, eye rolling and topped it off by slamming drinks on the counter. After leaving, my sister posted on her Instagram story about our experience at Happy Accidents and the owners who run the Instagram page, proceed to act profoundly unprofessional and fight with her via Instagram stories. Apparently, this isn’t the first time this has happened. Someone who saw these posts reached out to me on instagram and shared their experience, showing screenshots of Happy Accidents direct messaging them and basically asking them to reveal their place of work and saying “…funny enough you still won’t tell me where you work. Would totally suck if the tables were turned huh?”

I urge you to heed the warning of all dissatisfied customers. Great drinks! I'm sure the food would have been good too, if we had gotten a chance to try it. Giving credit where credit is due, but the drinks aren't worth the bad experience. Being a supporter of Nob Hill local businesses this is not the local business that I want to support. There are other great establishments that have earned the respect of their customers that actually deserve your hard...

I went in with moderately high expectations for the drinks, but I was surprised by just how good they were. I'm typically not chasing a showy presentation, but I went for the “For the Gram” anyways. The bubble dome and its subsequent popping was fun, but even without it I would order the drink again—it was fantastic. My partner started with the “Knotty by Nature”, a riff on a mai tai that seems to outshine its source material in every way.

It's probably worth addressing some of the bad reviews for this place. I reviewed a few dozen, and it seems like people coming here have very rigid expectations for what they want it to be. If you're the type of person that thinks a bar should be what you, the customer, wants it to be, and that the customer is always right, you might not have a great experience here. On the other hand, if you are looking to be delighted by the creative expression of an incredibly talented bartender/mixologist and happy to respect that there are a few reasonable rules, you will probably love Happy Accidents. What are those rules? Well, they don't seat larger parties (over 6), they don't put parties over 3 people at the bar, and they expect you to act like an adult. Pretty easy stuff.

Oh, and yes, they pre-batch their cocktails. If you don't sit at the bar, the only tell is that they come out quick. These drinks are complex, nuanced, and delicately balanced. There's absolutely no way they could make this model work making these individually—the prices would rival the best cocktail bars in London. As it stands, they're eminently affordable, but they rival the best cocktail bars in London in their flavor and execution.

The food was great as well—I had the spinach and artichoke grilled cheese, and my partner had the steak. Alas, they cannot pre-batch food the way they can drinks, so the prices are a touch higher. If you're drinking too, the check balances out anyway. We wound up having two rounds of drinks and walked out having spent about $100 before tip, which compares to places we go regularly with less expensive food.

The above is my experience walking in on a Friday night at 8:30pm. We're only in ABQ for a few days so I won't have a chance to come back here to see how it is from night to night, sadly. I'd love to come back, though. In fact, Happy Accidents is going to be a great reason to come back to ABQ...

Happy Accidents is a unique establishment that is serious about mixology and scene. It's certainly not surprising that they've achieved accolades over the past few years for their prestigious mixtures but the (sit down) bar experience can sometimes be intense, overdone, and formal in a way that might not match their (genuine) intentions.

With a long suite of complex concoctions and titillating titles, it can be both dazzling and dizzying to determine what to imbibe. The drink you get will most likely be a delicious, expertly-prepared combination of ingredients you may have never considered mixing. But with the variety of unique ingredients and unknown proportions, it can be difficult to know whether your choice will match or clash with your pallette and expectations (or to communicate with the bartender about the details).

The place is obviously trying to be a fun, creative bar that excels with cocktails and is managed by cool servers, cool mixologist creators, and a cool owner. Playful elements and colors surround the physical space.

Perhaps it is just in the juxtaposition, then, that the place sometimes feels less comfortable and free to enjoy - as if the place is a little too serious about itself and how it manages the customer. It is a sit-down, order-from-your-table bar without common hang-out or activity spaces. Waiting on the other side of a rope and being escorted to a table by a host feels like attending a fancy restaurant, not being able to fit an extra person can make the place feel unaccomodating, choosing a drink from a long menu on a tiny cell phone screen can be overwhelming or a little complicated, and getting a drink that you dislike or which contains an allergen is an unhappy accident I've had to sit with a time or two.

Happy Accidents is unique and a worthwhile place to check out (at least once!), but some elements inhibit it from being a comfortable or relaxing hangout/meetup space. I've been several times before and will probably join people there several times more but, next time, I'll try to more distinctly adjust my Albuquerque/Nob Hill expectations and perhaps I'll order a simple beer versus a more complex...