SWeL Restaurant

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Tessa! This is the best pizza in Seattle! We don't control the delivery services. We don't control how far away you live. We would prefer that all dined in. That is the experience that we set out to do. COVID forced us to bend to the will of the consumer on the couch. I personally hate the expense and quality of every delivery I have received. The only difference is that I was not expecting anything except calories. Only order food for delivery (from anywhere) if it is a necessity. Though I am sorry you were disappointed and blamed us for it. Response to response, This review is not about us. There is no hotel within walking distance of us. I’m still sorry you received poor service from somebody else.

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So sorry you weren’t inspired. We are shooting to make you feel cozy and welcomed. I wish I didn’t know why things are expensive. Seattle is tough and comes with many expenses both seen and unseen. I really hope it will change one day, but right now, all of the restaurants are struggling with expenses.

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It took me a couple of days to reply to this because it just didn’t sound right given the servers and bartenders that were on that evening. They have never, ever, had a bad review because they are sweet and kind and giving. I talked to all involved to get the full story (you left out some important details in your telling). It sounds like you were having a great night with your colleagues and left very happy. Then, when you went to your car, parked on a public street near SWeL, you saw that somebody had made it very difficult (not impossible) to get your car out of the parallel parking space. That’s very frustrating. It happens in most large cities. There are many bars and restaurants and apartments around us, but you assumed that the culprit was a guest of ours. I understand that too, not knowing the city you are visiting that well. When you came in to ask your server if she could go ask all of her tables (that you could see from where you were standing) she told you nicely that it wasn’t possible for her (she was very busy serving other guests), but the bartender made time to do so. He went to each table and asked them if it was their car. There were the 3–4 you saw, plus tables

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Gilberto! So glad you loved our servers! As far as the cream in the cream based pastas go, there was a red sauce option (rigatoni) which is really amazing. Both of the other pastas do contain cream in them and it is noted on the menu. Sorry that you didn’t choose something else without the cream.

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So sorry we didn’t fit what you like. I hope you find the spot you enjoy!

Business reply on Google

Shoot Armando! Wish I knew how to help you on this…

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Hello Emily K! I just finished responding to Trey’s review on yelp (Trey Every Day!). I promised myself that I would try to spread sunshine and rainbows… So… I’m so glad that you enjoyed your bruschetta! But… I would have tried to address your perceived blandness, and I would have loved to have you come in so we can talk about what is happening in labor market, the food supply, the commercial rent market, inflation in general and finally, I would have addressed your shout out of $100 bill (when in actuality, you also had a non alcoholic beverage and still your total was $76 (I can do nothing about sales tax and tip)). But, because you gave us 2 stars on yelp and said you were never coming back, and you gave us 2 stars on google and said you were never coming back AND because your internal review on Resy that only we can see is 4 stars and said “really tasty food” I’m wondering what’s the point?

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Hi Sim. I’m so sorry that your evening was not what you were expecting. Fridays and Saturdays are very tough to come in without a reservation. That night was not as frantic as other Fridays, but still every table was full. The table that we told you had paid and they told the server that they had to go, looked like a fast lucky opportunity. We believed them. But… they continued to talk and talk and talk. If you had a reservation we could have asked them to move to the bar, but because you were a walk-in, we had to let it play out. I did communicate the issue to you in the bar many times. At each time you all were so nice and so understanding. I had no idea about your coming appointment and I had no idea you were getting upset. I’m so sorry. When a different, unexpected table turned up, which is a 4 top table that we removed the chairs from at the request of the guest that night, we jumped on it quickly. We brought the chairs back in and set it up for you guys as fast as we could. I feel bad that your experience was ruined. I wish that I had known all your constraints and I would have not been so optimistic with my belief in what the other guests said. But it’s too late now for you

Business reply on Google

Thank you so much for the kind things you said about our restaurant. We love the staff and we love the food. Things are crazy expensive for us these days. Your Old Schoolhouse Bourbon Barrel Aged Stout is no exception. This is my favorite beer right now. It is 11.5% alcohol, similar to wine, so we don't give you a tumbler of it (I've made my own mistake with this). It's expensive for you, because it is expensive for us. In fact, the margin on this product is worse than the other beers. I'm sorry you felt deceived, but truly, when you look at the costs of these products, here and elsewhere, you will see that it is right in line. Quality staff and food cost us all money.

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Hello David. I would assure you that the 50/50 burger is exactly 50/50 based on weight before cooking. I saw Jorge grind it 3 times myself to make sure the sirloin and bacon were mixed evenly. Not sure how you can base your conclusion on your guess. The “Troll King Filet Wild” (on our seafood distributor invoice) is exactly what we order and receive. I feel like your review is a little bit like me guessing what kind of person you are from the few words you used - added with a bit of my own personal bias and history - and coming to the conclusion that you don’t know what your are talking about - maybe you like to see your own words, opinions and reviews online. Probably neither of those things are true, but I’m just Trump guessing here what I believe. Trusting my feelings. Next time ask and find the evidence before your guessing hurts more than a 3 star review. My knee jerk emotional reaction was mostly benign.

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Ooooh! So sorry Andrea. Spice level is so so subjective! Wish you would have told us so that we could have either a) offered you items without spice before you ordered or b) replaced the items you ordered after you remembered that you don’t like spice. Posting this review of 3 stars helped neither of us. I’m not sure why some people are so scared to use their voice at the moment where it can actually help them instead of publicly broadcasting the result of a feeling. It feels a bit like holding your hand on the burner and then, instead of removing your hand, complain loudly that the burner was too hot.

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Thank you Bryna! We love our food too! We also agree that owning a restaurant within the city of Seattle is prohibitively expensive. The rent, labor and general costs are all very high compared to just outside the city limits. In hindsight, we may have ran to the suburbs in order to keep our prices low. And about the lighting... I look so much prettier when the lights are dim... Hope this helps, we'd love to see you again.