Ben Paris — Restaurant in Seattle

I initially wrote the email below on 2/26/2024. It has been over a month and because the restaurant chose not respond, even to just acknowledge receipt of it, I have decided to leave it for a public review. A simple "Thank you for your feedback" would have sufficed but as a Director of Customer Experience, I find it distasteful.

Dear Management,

I am writing to express my thoughts regarding the dining experience my husband and I had on Valentine's Day at your restaurant.

Our initial encounter with Ben Paris in 2020 left an indelible impression of excellence. Since then, I have had the pleasure of introducing various groups of friends to your establishment, and my husband and I have enjoyed several delightful date nights, consistently encountering outstanding food and service. However, our visit on February 14th, 2024, proved to be distinctly different. Our server, Sabrina, initially greeted us with what appeared to be a charming and quirky demeanor. Regrettably, this energy quickly dissolved when she inquired about our dietary preferences and allergies. Upon my husband's disclosure of a Blue Cheese allergy and my own preference against it, Sabrina's response was marked by skepticism, leading to an unnecessary exchange. She questioned him “Is it truly an allergy … or a preference?” He reiterated he is indeed allergic and I just do not care for it. Sabrina reacted with undue defensiveness when my husband innocently inquired about the possibility of a "Chicago-style" preparation for his steak. Furthermore, our wine pairing experience was marred by delays and an apparent lack of attention, culminating in a passive-aggressive remark regarding staffing challenges. “Thank you for your patience with only one bartender for the entire restaurant tonight.” It was at that moment that the table next to us remarked that their drink service had also been slow and their pairings were also coming out after the courses were finished - so they did not receive the ”pairing” experience.

The evening took a particularly unpleasant turn when my husband discovered two long strands of hair within his meal. Rather than addressing this issue with empathy and professionalism, Sabrina's response was dismissive and even bordered on disdain. This was compounded by her assumption that we desired a complimentary meal, which was not the case. She whisked the plate away and returned shortly after stating “I’m so happy you were able to enjoy a free meal today.” I found that comment incredibly strange because why would you imply that there was anything enjoyable about having a strangers hair in your food? When the bill was received, we inquired about what deduction was made and while speaking, she kept repeating her words and starting over, as if she was trying to remain calm. She then said she took $45 off which is the equivalent of the entrée “because you didn’t like your meal even though you ate the majority of it.” At that point, my husband clarified that he never asked for the meal to be taken off the bill and that he never said he did not like it. He in fact, was enjoying it, he just wanted the plate taken away as it was unappetizing. She then said “I apologize I did not hear you correctly, I did not hear you say there was hair in your food. I missed that part, I apologize that I did not hear you say that. I now understand why you did not want the meal.” My husband stated he wanted to pay the bill and Sabrina snatched it and insisted on taking care of the entire check. She stated “no gratuity will be expected either, have a good night.” And stormed away.

Throughout the evening, Sabrina's behavior oscillated between robotic and confrontational, leaving us feeling deeply uncomfortable. Even as we prepared to depart, her parting remarks only served to accentuate the disconcerting nature of the entire encounter. “I’m so happy you were able to enjoy a meal on the...

🚩🚩🚩WANT TO DROP $$$ FOR AN OVERPRICED AND WAY BELOW MEDIOCRE DISHES AND DRINKS??? LOOK NO MORE, THIS IS A PLACE TO BE FOLKS! THIS PLACE IS SOMETHING ELSE… OUT OF THIS WORLD! 🚀 🚩🚩🚩

WE SHOULD’VE JUST GONE TO LUDI’S… If we could turn back time, we should’ve chosen to line up at Ludi’s rather than to come in at this overpriced and disappointing place.

If you want to waste your money and be disappointed, come to this place! Bonjour to you!🙂‍↕️

Decided to come in for brunch. The atmosphere was nice. But little did we know that we would be served with disappointment… Don’t get me wrong, our server was kind and all the staffs were nice, but do understand that this is mainly towards the dishes and drinks. They were royally disappointing… Oui Oui!!! This has got to be top notch and by far the worst and most overpriced brunch we’ve been to… We ordered 4 things total: Baked Eggs Shashuka, Black coffee, Ricotta Pancakes, and the star of the show, the one and only questionable and imposter “matcha” latte. 👏🏼 Two drinks and two dishes = $60+ total. The regular black coffee did not even taste good… That’s already a red flag about this place... 🚩 I should’ve just gotten up and left at that point… I would’ve been better off with a keurig coffee at the doctor’s office waiting area… 👀 and fret no more, let me introduce to you the stars of the show, and the most disappointing part of this experience were the “matcha” latte and the ricotta pancakes… 👏🏼 When the imposter “matcha” latte came, we were really confused as it straight up looked like just a cup of milk… The cup even said MOO! 🐮 The matcha latte looked or tasted NOTHING, I repeat, N-O-T-H-I-N-G like a matcha latte, instead it was just an expensive $7+ cup of milk. We wanted to complain, but we ended up just leaving it alone and not drinking it… Money wasted. Not sure what the barista was doing or how well they know their stuff, but there was ZERO taste of matcha and not even a hint of green color of matcha in the drink. It felt like ZERO effort was made into the drink. They need to rename the revise their menu… Instead of “matcha latte”, they could just say milk… The “matcha” latte was filled with disappointment. In fact, legend has it that Ben Paris is still figuring out what matcha is… This is embarrassing and offensive to the Japanese people. Imagine if they were to come in and order a matcha latte… But it’s actually just an overpriced cup of milk… And the ricotta pancakes were so undercooked that I was BATTER off without them. No pun cakes intended. There were barely any fruits as toppings. I must’ve missed the memo to come in with my own fruits… 🤔

Well there you have it folks, if you want to drop $$$ and be royally disappointed, come on in… 🙂‍↕️

I would like to thank you for the chance and opportunity of disappointment that you have served us through your dishes and drinks. Truly an unforgettable experience that once is enough! NEVER AGAIN. Au revoir!

Merci,...

The pancakes were disappointing….

We found this place on TikTok and saw it had good reviews. Super cute inside, very light and open. Pretty art on the walls, full bar, and their kitchen is tucked away in the front of house.

We were sat right away and it was pretty full inside. It took a while for a server to come to our table. The table next to use, which was there settled in way before we got there, hadn’t even had their drink order taken.

They have a lot of different cocktails and mocktails. I was hoping for some nice coffee/espresso drink options, but on the menu it’s tucked away in the bottom corner.

They have breakfast and lunch options with a few sides.

We ordered the Pineapple Mimosa and the Seasonal Punch- which was rum, passion fruit, and other citruses. Both were delicious and not too strong. There was one woman behind the bar making all the drinks.

We ordered the Ricotta Pancakes, the Baked Eggs, and a side of Bacon. The pancakes were extremely disappointing and not worth ordering. For $19, you get two small pancakes, a few mushed fruit pieces, and a lightly vanilla tasting custard sauce. The pancakes were cooked well and the ricotta made them moist. The Baked Eggs were egg-cellent 😂. Slight spice, so much flavor, topped with an almost garlic bread focaccia which was delicious too. Great for dipping in the shaksuka sauce. Almost like a soup? Bottom of the skillet has the eggs which are crispy. Topped with feta and crispy chickpeas and some herbs with oil. We LOVED this dish.

The bacon wasn’t crispy enough but was very thick.

We ordered the Carrot Cake for dessert since the meal wasn’t filling enough thanks to the what should’ve been considered a side dish of pancakes. The table next to us ordered it and we started drooling. We had to have it. It was so moist and topped with granola and macaroons. The macaroons were strong in their individual flavors of coffee, vanilla, and we think mango or orange? They were a little cold almost frozen with the icing inside and a crunchy outside not so soft. The granola combined with a bite of cake was a fantastic choice. The crunch of the sweetened granola with the moist carrot cake was perfect.

Despite the slow to start service, everything else was smooth and our waitress was nice. She seemed to be the only waitress.

The pancakes should’ve either had another pancake to make them worth it, or larger in side. They were...