Sparrow — Restaurant in Kirkland

4/12/24. Left a roughly 10% tip for a final charge of $76.55 (63.63 (subtotal) + 6.46 (tax) + (6.46) tip).

4/19. Discovered my credit card was over charged by $7.54. Appeared someone decided to change the tip to an even $14. (63.63 + 6.46 + 14).

Accident? Purposeful?

4/19. Reached out to Sparrow.

4/20. Heard nothing from Sparrow, so I started to prepare my dispute with my bank.

4/30. Had not received ANY response from Sparrow. A $7.54 adjustment appeared online for my card.

So, what’s going on here? I had receipts. I rarely keep receipts for services. But the service just gave me a feeling to hang on to them. Do you want a place where you can leave feeling confident that you won’t later be overcharged? Or a place where you feel like you better grip your receipts? No response. I reached out directly to the merchant first and received no response – even to this day (5/2). Do you want a place where management will engage with you over a dispute? Or a place where the only way to get resolution is through your credit card?

Step back and look at the bigger picture. Sparrow never inquired as to why I only left a 10% tip. They should have first addressed the over charge. And then said something like, “I see that the tip amount was only 10%. Would you mind telling me if there was an issue with the food or service?” Bam! What an awesome opportunity to obtain interactive feedback.

The fact that Sparrow made no attempt to inquire about my experience is more egregious than the overcharge.

So, am I just cheap and always only leave 10%? Or were there issues?

To my left, at the bar, was a couple. To my right were four unbussed (dirty) seats. I was there for maybe an hour, and the seats to my right didn’t get bussed until just before I left. The couple to my left departed about half-way through my time and their seats remained unbussed.

I ordered a glass of wine. After more than just a few minutes, the bartender returned and said something like, “So just having wine this evening?” Huh? A normal bartender would go ahead and ask for a food order. A great bartender would say something like, “That wine would go great with X.”

After I my entrée was served, the bartender didn’t return to ask me about it until maybe 15 minutes later.

The bartender passed by my now empty wine glass about six times. If I have to flag someone down for service, then you should tip me at the end.

I finally ordered a second wine and the bartender poured it into the same glass.

Was given a bill for around $55, but then the credit card bill was for around $70.

The unbussed tables initially were just an aesthetic issue. But it’s a bad sign when they stayed that way for about 50 minutes. SOMEONE should have cleared them. Where’s management? You should have a standard in place – like all tables must be bussed within X minutes.

Great service providers offer suggestions. I can imagine your servers going to a table at the end, shaking their head no and saying, “You didn’t want any desert, right?”

ALWAYS check back with a guest within one minute after the entrée has been dropped off.

ALWAYS asks the guest if he/she wants a second drink BEFORE the current one goes empty.

ALWAYS pour a new glass of wine into a NEW glass (when ordering by the glass).

ALWAYS communicate and take ownership of mistakes. The discrepancy between the bill and credit card bill was because apparently the bartender realized her forgot to add the second wine – but he said nothing. How about, “Oops. I printed the first bill too fast. Here’s a corrected receipt.” Just COMMUNICATE.

Get back to basics and deal with simple fundamentals, as they are more important than your nice wood ceilings. I didn’t eat the wood, nor did the wood provide any service. Focus on contents and not the cover.

Your prices are high, but NOT an issue SO LONG AS the price is commensurate with the service. Either raise your service or lower your prices.

The TV. Reasonable minds can differ as to whether there should be a TV. If you are trying to complete against Red Robin – then go ahead...

What a disappointment. What a joke. Have no idea how this place fetches so many stars from so many reviewers. I went here for an earlyish dinner midweek with 5 other folks who had high expectations.

I can see how some might like the atmosphere, but for me, it's as if someone took an old diner and tried to infuse it with a poser Silicon Valley vibe, replete with a live wall. Everything felt inauthentic and misplaced.

In terms of the food, I knew things might head South when we ordered "bread" for the table for six bucks, IIRC. The waiter called it "our homemade focaccia." What showed up were 4 lightly toasted slabs with the color, consistency, and heft of UV-damaged styrofoam. They wouldn't even hold up to firm butter, which they desperately needed to be consumed without hopelessly desiccating one's palate. I don't often meet a bread I don't like. I'm not sure this stuff even deserved that moniker.

The consistency and taste of the "bread" were to be found again in the polenta that accompanied the scallops in that main course, ordered by two in our group, which I tasted from their dishes--like someone took polenta mix from a 5 lb bag, worked it with water in a giant vat until firm, took an ice cream scoop to plop it on the plate, stood back and declared "voila!"

The scallops I did not try because, on the first bite, my dinner mate struck sand. The four supposedly large scallops in that dish were anything but, and served on top of "pork belly" that looked grey, flaccid, and unappetizing. On the bright side, the server comp'ed the two scallop dishes that were hardly touched, much less eaten.

One of us ordered the ribeye, rare. He reported it was cooked nicely and had a nice smoked flavor. I'm glad, because the presentation was abysmal--thinly cut, presented in the center of a white plate, with not a sprig of garnish or any sort of panache. I know it's a la carte, but, c'mon...do something to church it up a little for $65. I notice now a picture on their website menu that in no way resembles the steak that was served.

My swordfish came with a small portion of mixed vegetables that were decent, but nothing special. A bit over-buttered. The swordfish itself was tiny -- 3-3.5 oz -- and had the bloodline in it. It was cooked perfectly. I ordered the lemon butter sauce on the side. It never arrived. Because of the scallop fiasco, I never asked for it.

The best dish appeared to be the burger, which was greedily devoured by the young man in our party with rave reviews. It was big and filling enough that he shared his fries with the rest of the hungry table who had ordered seafood.

Those fries were, by far, the best thing I ate there...

We decided to try Sparrow last night, a new restaurant in our neighborhood that now occupies what used to be a tavern. Not knowing what to expect, we didn't bother to search online first or make reservations, we just stopped in and we're glad that we did. We were greeted by a couple of young men who were happy to give us information about parking and seated us in the bar (because we didn't have reservations and they were completely booked in the dining room and patio), which we were fine with. Everyone we came in contact with seemed happy to be there and genuinely interested in making sure we were having a good time. Jasmine was our server and was very attentive, making sure that everything was to our liking without being intrusive. Alex stopped by to see how we liked everything, and when I told her that I thought the Pork Belly they serve under the scallops should be crisp, not soggy, she took my suggestion to the chef immediately. (It wasn't really a complaint, just a comment. The scallops were very good, and cooked perfectly, but in my mind when I read the menu, it seemed like the pork belly should be crispy and it wasn't.) I offered the comment as a suggestion, not a complaint, but these folks take customer feedback very seriously and the chef offered a complimentary dessert as "compensation" for my disappointment. Except that I wasn't disappointed at all and we had a marvelous time! We're definitely going back, and are grateful that we have such a great place so close by that offers both excellent menu choices (the spicy tuna tartare was exceptional, too) as well as top-end service. We've only been there once, but already we feel like regulars! (If you decide to go, make a reservation - although only two months in, they're already being discovered and you don't want to be disappointed by not...