Hye Life Cafe & Bar — Restaurant in Bellevue

I was super excited to see this place open up and wanted to visit before I moved, so I went there with my family for my going away lunch today. Therefore, I was very disappointed to receive such mediocre service and to even write this review. This place has high reviews but I noticed it is for banquets and booked parties, not for regular dine in customers.

When my family and I arrived (5 people total), we were the only customers there. The owner did tell us that since they were newly opened, they did not have many items on their menu, which was indeed true, as we had to change half of our original choices. Okay, no big deal.

The 2 stars came from being ignored, and me having to come up multiple times to ask for our food. After ordering, we waited 45 minutes. In that time, our waitress didn’t come by once to refill our water or update us. I finally got my order of khachapuri. We waited more, and then the waitress brought out the pilaf and pelmeni. At this point, only 2 people in our party had food. The waitress promised the rest was “coming out right now”. Okay, since it was coming right out, we decided to wait to eat together.

We wait 20 more minutes. I asked another waitress (a short young woman with black hair) for an update. She said she would check for our food, and then never came back to answer lol even though I saw her glancing over at me

I go up to the bar AGAIN, the owner promises it would be right out. I waited another 10 minutes, then the rest of the food was brought out, with ONE ITEM STILL MISSING.

Why was the food not brought out all together? Especially with a half hour difference. Did they expect some people in our table to eat while the rest waited 30 minutes?

Also, in the middle of our waiting, 2 more tables filled up. There were 2 waitresses, plus the owner, and three tables. No way they were busy.

Finally, as we were almost done eating, the waitress comes back and says “oh did you get your pirozhok order?” We say no. Then the kicker is- I watch her walk over to the bakery display, pull out a pirozhok, heat it up in the microwave, and then bring it over. So the item that was literally already cooked and just needed to be microwaved was brought out last- after more than an hour from when we ordered it.

This entire time, I had to keep coming up to the bar and asking random staff for food updates. Nobody came to apologize, nobody checked on our water refills, even at other restaurants they would offer a free appetizer or to comp some food. I would get it if they were busy, but they weren’t busy. We spent around $77 on our order. The food itself tasted okay and portions were small. Totally overpriced for what it was. If you want absolutely divine Georgian food with friendly and fast service, I highly recommend Skalka on the Seattle waterfront.

The only positives were the nice decor, clean bathrooms, and great location with plenty of free parking. And since this was my going away party, I got to spend more time with my family since we waited forever for the food lmao Again, it seems the high reviews are from people that book the place for a party. Would not recommend if you’re a regular dine...

One of the worst experiences I’ve ever had in any restaurant. The owner of this place was incredibly rude and unprofessional. From the moment I walked in, he acted as if I was bothering him by simply being there. He spoke in a hostile, disrespectful tone, with absolutely no courtesy or basic manners. There was no greeting, no smile — just pure arrogance and aggression. I have no idea how someone like this is even allowed to run a business. I left feeling shocked and uncomfortable. Save yourself the trouble — go literally anywhere else.

The response to my review was even more telling. Rather than owning up to the terrible service or showing even a shred of accountability, they doubled down with a defensive and arrogant reply. They denied everything, accused me of lying, and basically told me not to come back — as if that solves the problem. That kind of aggressive attitude toward a paying customer is exactly why this place deserves one star. If you value respectful service and professionalism, avoid this place. They clearly don’t care about their guests — only...

Delicious food and awful customer service and the owner who were sitting there cared less…

No one ever pour water when it’s empty and no one asked if we liked the food. No one smile and not even one person friendly!

Then they came to us and told us that we have to leave because our table is reserved now for next customers.. hmm? What! We are sitting here and I said well I reserve the table as well first and we are still here… So my friend said to me let’s order dessert and see what they will tell us so we told the waiter that we are going to order dessert now and they at first wasn’t happy about that.. and then finally 25-30 min later brought us the dessert.. and again empty water glasses and we have to ask to pour water.. They should learn customer service since you are her in USA!

The food is very delicious I have to say it and presentation of the food on plates are great as well. No complains here.. but.. customer service is horrible, for real! I hope the owner would do...