Seattlest: Give Me Good Service, or Give Me Death

LIbertybar

Sat, 05 Apr 2008 16:33:13 -0800

Well, as owner of Liberty, I have to say that for the first six months or so - when most of these reviews were written - things were as described. When Liberty was first imagined, I had been living on the 'Hill since '91, and in this neighborhood since '93, so I was very happy to find this location. And, knowing this area, I thought that sushi would be the perfect addition to the neighborhood. We have Thai, but no sushi. We have vegan Chinese, but no sushi. And, since many of us love sushi? A great fit. But, like many new bars, sometimes it takes a while to make all of the puzzle pieces fit, and our first six months or so was a good example of this relevant truism. So, yes - the sushi at the beginning take a while, and sometimes still does, to tell you the truth. It gets rather busy here, and with room for just one sushi chef, this clever idea of sushi sometimes is problematic. We do our best to get the orders out in a timely manner, but... Anyway, it's '08 now, into our second year of operation and we now are on our fourth menu change, with more vegetarian options, more tasty and unique rolls, one of Seattle's most expansive liquor lists (you bourbon lovers will be in bourbon heaven) and since we use fresh juice for each drink, some of the best cocktails in town. Stop on by. Sorry y'all about the mess in the first six months. Andrew

Rick KLU

Fri, 30 Jun 2006 19:01:56 -0800

Well, Liberty has some issues for sure... Sushi was invented as a quick snack for gamblers back in old school Japan... Instead, at Liberty you will gamble your time on what should be simple food. I have never seen an order go out faster than 1/2 hour. So bide your time folks or forget it and go to a "real" sushi place that has different kinds of seafood rather than just a few selections varied by the "fluff" that is recombined for "different" items. All that aside, the owner is rather arrogant and I would be surprised if he ever apologized for any inattentive service... It IS likely however that he will blame you for it!!! I would encourage anyone to go somewhere else...

Randy

Wed, 17 May 2006 16:02:16 -0800

Sorry to hear about the poor restaurant customer service. We offer restaurants a system that allows their customers to discreetly signal the waitstaff for assistance. It helps resolve some of the issues you described. Hopefully the owner does a google search and finds this review. If you go to Liberty again, and something similar happens, please feel free to write our url on the check :).

AA

Mon, 15 May 2006 08:47:59 -0800

I went to Liberty on Saturday evening and had the same problem. Restaurant was fairly busy, but not packed. Drink orders came out quick enough, but we probably waited a good 45 minutes for a few rolls, a couple nigiri, and a sashimi plate. Could not believe it. I won't be going back for a while. I'll let them work the kinks out first.

Michael

Fri, 12 May 2006 19:25:24 -0800

The timing here is awesome: I just met a friend there for after-work drinks, and she wanted sushi, and I thought maybe I'd try again, so I ordered the Rainbow Grocery rolls. Ease into it. The bartender took our order. Then the waitress started her shift and asked us if we wanted anything. We told her we'd ordered. She came by in a few minutes with water she said somebody had told her we wanted. A half-hour passed. She came by again, and asked if we were still waiting for our order. We said yes. She went off to light some candles. Another half-hour passed. My friend had dinner plans, so we got up to go. The bartender asked if we'd enjoyed everything. "We enjoyed what arrived," I said. "We didn't get our sushi." "Oh, well, just the drinks then," he said, looking at the bill. I paid. We left. We were standing outside working out dinner plans, when the bartender comes out and says, "Hey, I apologize, your order went to the wrong table. Would you like a free order? It'll just take a minute." But, you know, who has that kind of time?

Michael

Fri, 12 May 2006 15:17:49 -0800

I had a traumatic experience with a bad anemone that I haven't been able to shake. It contaminated the whole sushi experience for me.

Audrey

Fri, 12 May 2006 14:58:19 -0800

Yeah, the table next to us said that if having enough rice is problematic, perhaps they should just stick to something easy like sandwiches...although then they'd probably be out of bread.More importantly: "don't like sushi"? I don't understand.

Michael

Fri, 12 May 2006 14:47:55 -0800

Ha, that's the second time I've heard from someone about them being "out of rice." It boggles the mind. However, as I don't like sushi and they are offering $3 well gin & tonics during Happy Hour, I have emerged relatively unscathed -- it only hurts when I laugh (and my kidneys shut down).