Silver Lyan — Restaurant in Washington

We spoke to the SL team over the phone twice about our reservation, requesting the Hanami Picnic for 4 and once we arrived were told that we were getting a general seat in the trophy room with no access to the food or drinks from the Hanami event.

When we sat down, two other groups next to us said "we are in the same boat, as the reservation site was not clear." Both I and my friend called twice and confirmed our reservation specifically for the picnic.

The staff was not nice. The host was rude and told me I did not have a reservation for four. That was until I showed him my email confirmation. We were reminded twice that we only had the table for 2 hours before and during seating. He also told me " we might have an opening up for the picnic at nine" which never happened. Eventually someone lifted our time restriction on the table. So there was no need for these pointless, unwelcoming and awkward interactions with the staff.

Two members of our party drove over an hour and a half for this. I made the reservation well in advance and we double checked, again closer to the event to make sure we were reserved for the Hanami picnic even though my credit card on file had not been charged yet.

We spent $600 sitting in a limbo wondering if we were going to actually experience this picnic or not, only to be told 45 minutes in that we were not going to, because everything was premade per reservation.

They gave us "Hanami Spritzes" on the house. It was embarrassing.

I think there needs to be a serious overhaul on training for customer service & experience when people are paying a mid-to-luxury price point. A big issue seemed to be a massive sense of entitlement from staff who shrugged their shoulders at us and never offered any helpful solution.

Beyond the site being unclear for many (not in my case) The SL team is not prepared to take nor edit reservations over the phone, nor were they equipped with any sort of problem solving skills.

*This is an edited version of an email that I sent to their general email account. The first, asking about reservations a month ago was never...

I had been wanting to go for a while. So my wife took me for my birthday. The place looked awesome! Still having the old bank vault door at the entrance is a nice touch.

We arrived shortly before 10pm and immediately were put on a 30 - 40 mins. waiting list. No surprise. We adjourned to the above Cafe Riggs. We were notified via txt when the seats at the bar opened (up earlier than expected). We were pleasantly greeted by one of three bartenders at the front bar.

Ok so the drink menu is very comprehensive. But for non-speakeasy goers, not in the way you might think. It is very descriptive not only for the contents of the drink but also the drink itself. Now for those that grabbing drinks are is apart of the evening's events this may not be for you. Here the drinks are as much the event as your conversation. Sometimes, more often than not they are at least a great conversation starter.

The bartenders or rather the mixologist worked together as a very fluid team. It appeared each had their areas (behind the bar) that they were responsible for. As they called out drinks they would move in concert with one another. This produced very beautiful and well crafted concoctions. They all generally seem to very much enjoy what they were doing. they also seem to have mastered the art of being friendly and engaging but not intrusive or overbearing.

This speakeasy is not for drinkers as much as libation explorers. this is for people who want everything around them to be an experience, the atmosphere, the people they are with, the drinks they are serviced.

The music was loud and clear and you are still able to hear the person beside you or the mixologist. This ambiance was very nice. The lighting was well placed and appropriately atmospheric.

This has set the bar as I now begin tour of...

I stayed at Riggs Hotel so it only makes sense to check out Silver Lyan at the basement of my hotel. Interestingly, everywhere I dined and asked the server where to enjoy good cocktails, most of them will name "Silver Lyan" as one of their recommendations, so it was cool to check out this bar where many suggested.

Moment I walked in the basement, you can't really see an entrance, you hear low volume of music, not until I seen someone walked out of nowhere from a curtain, I peeked and realized Silver Lyan is right behind the curtain.

The hostess greeted me and asked for my reservation and then proceeded to guide me to the bar area which I preferred as I can interact with the mixologist and ask them for recommendation.

The bartender who was serving me was marvelous, she provided me with lots of great recommendations, you can tell that she is very passionate with the cocktails as she was super focused in pouring the right amount of ingredients to each drink. She was so very knowledgeable and can even tell the background story of these drinks and how the names of some of these cocktails originated from.

She recommended me the "Superman 2" and "Smith Island Snap", they were both delicious. And of course, the real starfish and seashell embedded into the ice cube in my Smith Island Snap drink was something I never seen before. That was cool!

And I finished off with a Suntory Hibiki Japanese Whiskey.

I highly recommend anyone to come visit Silver Lyan. It's cozy, nice ambience, great vibes and it's a...