The Fonte Bar at Rainier Square — Restaurant in Seattle

Update: they have now childishly blocked me, my business and many of my clients on 8 different instagram accounts. I had to see if the instagram still existed via my sister’s account, and sure enough, they took the time to block me everywhere. Unprofessional! Make this right, Fonte.

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I’m Not Mad, I’m Disappointed

Scratch that, I’m both. As someone who makes an effort to support local businesses, I was elated to see that Fonte was moving into Rainier Square and that they were expanding by offering a cafe AND a restaurant. I work with the building a lot, so this was an added bonus to be able to do some work at Fonte and enjoy their menu weekly. The servers are absolutely wonderful, I usually have Alice who is kind enough to let me plug my laptop into the service station because there is only one other outlet in the whole cafe area (a major miss, in my opinion).

So why the 1 star review? Last week, I was wrapping a shoot up in the building and thought I’d go to Fonte for a Steak Caesar and a Diet Coke. I saw that my normal spot was open and made my way over to the seat, got my cord out and plugged it into the outlet that I always use. All of a sudden, this angry man starts aggressively yelling at me (like fully yelling), telling me that this is personal property and that I can’t be plugging in there and how he has to buy chargers on Amazon all of the time because people steal theirs (?????). Making me feel extremely uncomfortable. Then looks me in the eye and says “I don’t expect YOU to get it”. I stared at him in shock, a tear streaming down my face, and said “I can leave if you want me to”. He then proceeded to storm off in a huff like a toddler. He then came back a few minutes later to angrily tell me that, "THIS IS A RESTAURANT!!!!!!" Which is confusing in and of itself... I see people all around with laptops. What is the issue? Unknown.....but very classy of him to yell that at me on top of everything else.

I was so taken aback by his behavior to a customer, I promptly asked the young guy working for the owner’s email. He asked what happened and, upon me telling him, confirmed that he always also lets people use those outlets. No issue.

I email Paul, the owner, recapping the situation… and get a ChatGPT reply with zero personality (see below). He did not take accountability for his staff, and he also defended the behavior of Mike, his angry employee. This was especially disappointing to me, as I did my best to explain the situation in a very leveled way. An owner who doesn’t put the customer first? Big yikes!!!! I emailed him back (also below) and asked why he’d defend this man’s behavior, to no response.

In summation, I’m deeply saddened by these events. I wanted to love and support Fonte so much, but Mike and Paul have made me feel extremely unwelcome. A simple apology could fix the situation, but given the chance, they chose to defend the bad actions. Terrible customer service. I will no longer support them and hope that you also choose to go elsewhere. Thanks for...

Ideal venue for a party or team event of around 100 guests. There are plenty of seating options, open spaces, and gathering areas for folks to come together and socialize. Mike Sylvester is the Manager and he made party planning a breeze. It was the easiest event I've planned in my 10+ years of event planning. Mike was responsive, flexible with our changing plans, and helpful with recommendations for the menu. Our event was from 5:30 - 8:30PM on a weeknight and we had complete use of the space with no other parties. The team that worked our event was professional, friendly, and accommodating towards our group. The food was delicious and they made sure it was well stocked throughout the nights. We selected the following from their menu: Fonte Cheese Board, Caprese Skewers, Belgian Fries, Grilled Zucchini, Hummus Plate, Ahi Tuna Tataki, and Teriyaki Chicken Skewers. The beverage options were great (full bar) and service moved quickly - never had to wait long for a drink. Several people shared what a perfect space it was for our group and that we should come back here again! I agree - we will definitely come back so long as our group fits within the space. This space is perfect for a milestone birthday party, holiday party, team event, or...

Not really sure where to begin here! I’ve come here once before for cocktails with coworkers and had a great time and thought the drinks were phenomenal! Went back this time and ordered some items off the HH menu and drinks.

The server began with taking our order (without a notepad of any sort). First, there were no cutlery or plates brought to us and we had to ask for those. Second, we ordered an NA drink and an alcoholic one came out, at which point the server deflected by saying that ‘we had moved spots’ (we hadn’t). Third, a BLT came out for my coworker who ordered an avocado toast (he’s vegetarian) and the waiter tried arguing that we did indeed order a BLT and moved to the spot in which he took our order to argue his point (again, obviously we hadn’t).

When I asked for the check, I had to correct it twice with the waiter, and when I suggested he use a notepad next time he told me ‘chill out’ (at this point he still hadn’t apologized for his aggressiveness).

The fries were soggy and the burger was cold, so I wouldn’t really recommend food here. Drinks were still great though, so there is some...