Hi-Spot Cafe — Restaurant in Seattle

Let me begin by saying I’m not writing to debate tipping etiquette—I’m writing to address theft.

During my recent visit to your establishment, the service could be generously described as disjointed. We waited 20 minutes to be seated, another 20 minutes before anyone acknowledged us to take an order, followed by an additional 40-minute wait for only part of that order to arrive. A final 15-minute delay produced cold sourdough toast and French toast—an unappetizing punctuation mark on an already disappointing experience.

There were no apologies offered, no updates, and certainly no concern for the basic standards of hospitality. It seems your staff assumed our patience without ever earning it.

Still, I paid my bill of $64.55 and, out of sheer principle, left a $2.45 tip, totaling $67.00—a number that already felt generous under the circumstances.

Imagine my surprise today when I noticed I’d been charged $81.00.

That’s an unauthorized charge of $14.00, and it transforms bad service into something far more serious: fraud. I have filed a claim with my bank accordingly.

To be clear, the issue is not the money. It’s the arrogance of assuming it was deserved. This kind of behavior doesn’t just reflect poorly on one server—it calls into question the integrity of the entire operation.

I suggest your team reviews the policies around gratuity and payment processing, and more importantly, reflects on the meaning of earned service versus...

The atmosphere is very cute and welcoming, love the concept of cafe above a coffee shop, clean and well lit. We came in at 9:45 on a Monday morning, and were seated quickly. At first the waiter was quick with water and a drip coffee, but the latte that was ordered when we sat down didn't arrive until after our food (20+minutes). The menu looks and sounds INCREDIBLE. However, our food came out luke-warm. I asked for a refill on my drip when waiter dropped the food off, and waited 10 minutes or so before I got up figuring I would just get the coffee at the stand downstairs instead of bothering the waitress again. She quickly came over with the pot after seeing me finally get up to get my own coffee. The waiter was also constantly calling my wife and I "babe," "sweetie," "angel," etc which was excessive and off-putting. By the time I had coffee with my breakfast, the luke warm plate was cold. "Spicy" potato's were under seasoned, and the corned beef hash consisted of some inconsistently hacked up beef slices in a wet pile of hash browns and mush celery. I would love to try this place again, maybe it was just a tough Monday for those working? It really was disappointing. We had high hopes. Maybe will come back another day and give it...

On a random autumn Tuesday morning I was deliberating between a few places to go for breakfast but eventually decided on the Hi-Spot Café. I put in a call for the El Pacifico to go and my order was taken by one of the friendliest café employees it has been my pleasure to encounter. The phone etiquette was top-notch and you could really hear her fun/cool personality come through. About ten minutes later I showed up to pick up the smoked salmon omelette and appreciated her rapport with the other customers too. It really gave the café a homey feel where the employees know the customers and their orders by heart. I left there really happy that I chose Hi-Spot Café for breakfast. To add, the café is cute and quaint and I regret not having gone before the pandemic so I could have enjoyed eating there. To wrap up, the omelette was very nice with a nice dollop of a creamy dill sauce that is a natural pairing with the smoked salmon and the breakfast potatoes were nicely crisp. Finally, the raspberry jam was that vibrant red and tasted fresh with tart and sweet notes. I really recommend anyone to go to Hi-Spot for that hometown café feel. Their service is really what...