Civility & Unrest — Restaurant in Bellevue

I've been to Civility & Unrest numerous times before. My company has spent large sums of money with them and we’ve always had a positive experience. Last night was the single worst experience I’ve had in any bar/restaurant.

My girlfriend and I entered the lobby where there was a large group of people waiting. I noticed several empty seats at the bar and we proceeded to two right in front of a bartender. We patiently waited while talking. After several minutes the bartender (manager?) from the opposite end of the bar came down and asked if we had shown our IDs to anyone. I informed him we had not and he responded with “that’s why we have a Please Wait to Be Seated sign over there", and then directed us back to the lobby. I’ve never know a bar that wasn’t open seating at the bar; typically those signs are for parties waiting for a table. We went back to the lobby where a host came over a couple minutes later and asked if we were with the large party in front of us. I told him we were not and he brought us back to the same two seats we were just at. We resumed talking and picked up the menus, while watching the bartender in front of us made drinks. After several minutes, the same gentlemen that previously told us to wait in the lobby came all the way back down and said "my bartender informed me you are both intoxicated so we can’t serve you”. My girlfriend attempted to engage with him while he quickly returned to his end of the bar. I asked the bartender right in front of us (who hadn’t moved the entire time) if she told him we were drunk, and she responded “I haven’t even spoke with you guys”. I attempted to understand why from both her and him, but it was clear his decision had been made.

This was my first time in my 48 years that I was targeted and discriminated against. I can say this confidently as we had only had one prior drink at Ascend and were clearly showing no signs of intoxication. It is extremely disappointing that this behavior still exists and we will be giving our future business to establishments that respect...

A group of 4 friends and I came to this bar last night at about 10pm. There was very few people inside but there was a sign that said “Please Wait to be Seated” so we did. After a few minutes the host greeted us to tell us we would have to wait for 10 mins so we could be seated. We asked if we could be seated at the bar sporadically (as there was enough available seats). The host said no, and that he didn’t want us standing as it was “against fire code” and not allowed. We did not intend to stand. He then told us he didn’t want to “overwhelm the bar tender”. Meanwhile he let another 2 groups of people in, one couple to sit down at a table and another group of 3 to stand at the bar. We were finally seated and it took more than 15 minutes for service. When our drinks finally came the server (who I believe was the manager or in some type of manager roll) said “sorry my bar tender is being a little girl”…. A comment that was completely unnecessary, offensive and out of line. I understand that restaurant service industry jobs are hard to fill but this situation was absolutely uncalled for. I believe we were treated poorly because we are in our mid 40s (as opposed to most of the clients in the bar) and we felt unwelcome here. This was the third time I have been to this establishment and have never experienced this...

It's definitely easy to find compared to other speakeasy type venues I've visited. Civility is in front and Unrest is open on random nights with a completely different drink menu. The drinks are $18 a piece, regardless of what you order. I figured if I ordered a drink off menu, I'd be charged appropriately, but no matter what you get, the price is the same. Gratuity is also included per check, even if it isn't deserved by a particular server.

I ordered an amaretto sour and the bartender confirmed that egg whites were okay; yes, I ordered the drink. However, the foam tonight was pretty pungent and it made the drink difficult to get through. I switched it out and the bartender almost mocked me about it. I'm sure I'm not the first person to change my mind over a drink but you don't have to act like I've never had an amaretto or whiskey sour before. The Alley in west Seattle has a great whiskey sour by the way!

The female bartender made up for the other guy. I had the one drink and left because of the prices and that situation. The bar back is the guy who completed the experience! He went out of his way to explain the history behind the bar and gave me a tour of the closed offf section. I would return for the live music because of...