I Hate Vessel
I'm never going back to Vessel. Ever. It could be the last place left on earth serving liquor and I still wouldn't step foot in there again. 
My companion and I were checking out Memphis at 5th Avenue Theatre this weekend and decided during intermission to indulge in a couple of shots. Apparently, the folks at Vessel deem this behavior socially unacceptable. They treated us like cockroaches from the minute we stepped foot inside.
"Hey! Can I get two shorts of Hornitos?" I asked the bartender.
He gave me a nasty look. "We don't have that."
"Too fancy of a place for that, huh?" I joked with a smile.
"Yeah, actually. We are."
"Okay, let's do Patron."
The bartender glared at us again, and then proceeded to pour the shots as if it were an incredibly painful task. The cost was around $30. (I regret tipping him.)
Now, I get that Vessel is supposed to be posh. The bartenders are skillful and make some incredible cocktails. But does that mean they can serve up said cocktails with a major dose of attitude? And does asking for Hornitos really justify their treating me like an ignorant asshole?
We were watching a musical next door, for fucksake. It's not as if we were poorly dressed or rowdy. But the servers gave us continuous nasty looks and we left feeling humiliated. I don't give a shit how swanky your bar is. I expect good service after coughing up $30 bucks for two measly shots. I certainly don't expect to be ridiculed for what I order.
No wonder Vessel is always half empty.
9 comment(s)
Audrey says:
If you wanted shots, maybe you should've gone to Elephant and Castle across the street.
Posted On: Monday, Feb. 9 2009 @ 1:23PM
Mike says:
Yeah, I can't say that I'd pop into Vessel for a couple of shots. And I've never had the service be anything but gracious.
Posted On: Monday, Feb. 9 2009 @ 1:30PM
Betty says:
Sounds like Vessel needs to pull the stick out of its ass if it wants to survive. An over-priced bar treating patrons like shit in the middle of a recession? Yeah, good luck with that.
Posted On: Monday, Feb. 9 2009 @ 1:53PM
Kelly says:
SWEET! I recently moved here from NYC and have been looking for more places like this. I'll pop in next time I'm homesick.
Posted On: Monday, Feb. 9 2009 @ 2:10PM
Chris K says:
Fairmont Oly's Shuckers, just up the street treats me like prince even though I dress like a degenerate 20-something who works for an alt-weekly.
Posted On: Monday, Feb. 9 2009 @ 2:13PM
sara says:
It doesn't matter what kind of beverage you order, as long as you're acting polite and aren't totally shithoused. If you ask nicely and don't look like you just rolled out of the gutter, there is absolutely no excuse for your server to be condescending or scornful, no matter how "posh" the place is. That's just common business sense. To me, being incapable of treating all of your customers with respect is not classy, it's pretentious, and what that says to me is that you're more interested in the appearance of your business than staying in business.
Posted On: Monday, Feb. 9 2009 @ 2:30PM
Tyler says:
I would be very curious to see how Vessel responds to this?
Posted On: Monday, Feb. 9 2009 @ 2:48PM
Jenyum says:
I hate pretentious bars.
As a short girl, here's how it usually goes for me:
1) get ignored
2) get carded
3) get condescended to
4) get ignored again
5) never go back
Posted On: Monday, Feb. 9 2009 @ 2:48PM
Jay says:
"I would be very curious to see how Vessel responds to this?"
Well, if the moderator allowed comments, then perhaps there would be a second side to this story.
I go to Vessel a lot, and I do not have ANY question that the author has some issues that have less to do with Vessel as it does with her version of the events. It's a shame that the Seattle Weekly will allow such poor writing to contribute to their paper.
Posted On: Friday, Mar. 6 2009 @ 3:06AM