Review: Terrible Beauty

[bangles]

Finally got a chance to try the new local Irish Pub. Arrived shortly after 7 to find it packed. Good for them! However, I will say we had to wait over an hour for a seat. But they had a musician playing who was really excellent (female, Irish-sounding, guitar), so that took the edge off. Once we were seated, service was sloooow. Waiter seemed to discourage us asking for water since they were running out of glasses. Umm…ok. Also was 0 help in breaking down the beer menu which was obscured from our view by a giant wooden harp. Finally got beers, one of which was in a VERY cracked glass with a giant chip in the rim – guess that’s what we get for ordering something in a glass;-). Food was good but took forever. Homemade chips were tasty. Husband had the reuben, which he liked, neighbors had burgers which they also liked. Admittedly, we didn’t eat the most Irish of offerings, so can’t comment on authenticity or execution of those. At about 10 a so-so band came on with the volume at full blast. I know this may make me sound like an old fart, but at least 50% of the people still eating looked to be in their 40’s and 50’s and I watched as they cringed. While I am in my 30’s I can say, it was impossible to hear my husband who was next to me, mere inches away. It was so loud that it distorted the music pretty badly – an issue I hear at Shadowland sometimes. I think it’s just the volume relative to the size and acoustics of the space. Seems to me TB is just new and still working out the kinks which is to be expected. They are a welcome addition to the hood. I’d go back again, but hope the owners might be more selective for their late-night gigs, maybe keep the volume up but at a level where people can at least speak to one-another until about 10:30 or so…then rock out.

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[squareeyes]

Thanks for your review.

I attempted to visit ATB three times and succeeded once – last Monday 7/11 around 7pm. It was amazingly packed for a Monday. I sat at the bar and, while it took about 10 minutes for the bartender to attend to me, I got my beer immediately upon ordering. My friends were already halfway through their meals when I arrived so I placed an order for “the Gaelic” a cold corned beef and cole slaw sandwich which took 40 minutes to come out so I ended up having a few bites and taking the rest home. It was a fine sandwich with lots of meat. One of my friends was charged for an extra beer so had to have them fix that on her bill.

I had wanted to order from the “quick eats” list on the back of the menu (about 10 items along the lines of sausage roll, pasty) but was told that this was actually the Renton menu and that the “quick eats” were not available. Bummer, I hope they rectify that soon as I already want to work my way down that list.

There was at least one person from a table doing her drink orders at the bar because [she said] table service was too slow.

Even without live music that place is LOUD. They could really do with some sound-muffling ceiling baffles.

I’m glad that they’re busy, but I do hope that they calm down a bit so the service issues and the menu-that-isn’t can be sorted out. As it is now I’m not going to spend any more dining dollars there but will drop in for a drink every couple of weeks to check on the progress.

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[Kimberley]

They have similar issues at their Renton location (we ordered from the bar because service was too slow) and then were charged for drinks we didn’t have.

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[Kevin]

All great feedback. Not really complaints, but observations. As for me, I think it best to give them several weeks or a month and then have a visit based on what I’m hearing here.

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[I Wonder]

Yes, I’ve never had those things happen to me in a bar.

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[Semele]

about two weeks ago (I think right after they opened)I had just flown back from Denver and had a friend send my husband and me a message saying to come meet them at ATB. Having been looking forward to going there once they opened and also being hungry we said sure! We get there and join them at their table and sit for close to thirty minutes why the waiter just kept walking by and ignoring the fact that we were there. We finally flagged down another server who took our order.

The origial waiter our friends had came back and very rudely asked who ordered teh reuben (me) without even a hey, sorry I missed you ect. he then said they were out of bread and were closing the kitchen. This was at 8:00pm. I undertsand he may have been frustrated that our friends had us join them, but I used to wait tables and couldn’t imagine ever treating a customer like that. We decided to leave and go to West 5 as we were so put off by the attitude we were given. We then got messages from our friends that they still hadn’t received their appetizers that they had ordered an hour prior (we already had our food at West 5).

It will be a very long time before I give them a shot again. I understand being new and running out of items, but what came across as outright hostility to its customers is a total turn off. it sounds like we aren’t the only ones with a similar experience.

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[The Velvet Bulldog]

A friend and I went in a couple of weeks ago sometime in the early evening. Not very many customers, but it still seemed like it took a while to receive her pork chops and my tuna sandwich. This tuna sandwich, BTW, plus an iced tea cost me $17 with tip and tax. And it wasn’t a killer tuna sandwich. So yeah, lesson learned–make the tuna sandwich at home and eat something more worth the money at the restaurant!

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[Zawitz]

I I love that we have a loud, busy bar, full of laughter and music right on here on California. They have been slammed since they opened so I think they may need time to iron out all the kinks. I went on a busy Saturday night, sat at the bar and got good service!

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[JimmyG]

Can anyone explain why they make the waitresses wear the ridiculous schoolgirl costumes?

I’ve been in many an Irish pub (in Ireland) and have never seen that get-up, or anything close to it on any waitstaff.

I get the impression with the management tarting up the waitresses that they’re looking to attract the young male set, but it doesn’t seem to go along with the rest of the place which seems a step classier than recycled Britney Spears costumes from one of her 1st videos many years ago.

Our waiter was cool but the fish and chips were merely meh, and the salmon and chips were anemic.

We’ll stick with Porterhouse for our beer and fish & chips fix.

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[richwseattle]

The missus and I went there last Sunday night and absolutely loved it. We arrived at around 6pm, found the place absolutely packed, but were seated within 10 minutes. Our server was attentive and friendly, though there seemed to be some coordination challenges as to who was bringing water and drinks.

Our drinks arrived pretty quickly. Dinner did take a while to arrive but I figured: hey, the place is busy, and relatively new. The food was SO worth waiting for .. truly awesome fare. I had the carmelized peach pork chops and the missus had the corn beef and cabbage. Both were awesome.

The drink I was given had been poured generously. I was very pleased — almost surprised — at how reasonable the prices for dinner and drinks were when the check arrived.

I’ll echo another poster’s observation that the beer menu is hard to see, being on a black-board at the back of the place. We really wished they had a drink menu. I can’t say I noticed the demographics of the place, because that stuff just doesn’t matter to me.

Patience may be needed as they shake out the bugs. I’m looking forward to going back. Count this a RAVE.

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[ElizabethElaine]

I’ve had two great experiences at A Terrible Beauty so far. The first time was the first week they opened, and although it was incredibly crowded, we got a table in about 20 minutes (I had heard the wait would be much longer). Service was a little frazzled, understandably, but good. And the food was amazing! I had the grilled cheese, and my friend had the corned beef and said it was the best she’s ever had.

When we went again during the street fair, we never thought we’d get a table, but we did in about 40 minutes. Again, service was good (but a tad overwhelmed) and this time we had dessert, which was awesome.

If you’ve had a bad experience or two here, maybe wait until the negative feelings fade and give it another shot. I will definitely be back.

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[DBurns]

We went for brunch yesterday and it was great! It was actually empty but for a few tables so get in before the word is out! Our server was awesome, engaging, adorable, Chaprice (I think that was her name) and of course it was wonderful to see the amazing Matthew Darling back in action… :)

.

The one thing that my friend was upset about (and we told them and they agreed!) was that their Mimosas are made with sparkling wine instead of champagne; but when we asked after tasting she gladly replaced with a yummy Bloody Mary and no charge for the rejected Mimosa! The first few months are always a challenge but this place feels like a solid addition to the Junction and the transformation of the inside is incredible!

.

PS Not really a fan of the costumes – couldn’t tell if they are serious or not? I, too, have been to Ireland never saw this attire!

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[WorldCitizen]

I’ve been in the restaurant/Bar industry for 18 years now. I won’t even bother with a new place till about 3 months have passed since opening. That really is about how long it takes for everything to settle in and be close to consistant. There are some exceptions, but they are usually corporate restaurants who have a built in support system. Places like this who are making it up as they go need a little time to figure things out…even if they do have another location.

That space they are in is deceptively large and complicated. I’m glad they are packing the house as the overhead must be a pretty daunting reality. It would be nice to see them settle into a groove sooner rather than later so as not to risk alienating the incredibly fickle crowd that is West Seattle.

Best of luck, A Terrible Beauty. See you in a couple months!

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[squareeyes]

After saying I wouldn’t spend any more dining dollars there for awhile, I have to eat my words. My boyfriend really wanted to go there for dinner last night, so we did. It took about 15 minutes to get a seat at the bar but we were able to quickly get a drink while we waited. Bartender was very attentive. I ordered the shepherd’s pie and BF ordered the caramelized peach pork chop. Both were very good, and I had plenty leftover for my lunch today. I’m not much of a beer drinker, but Irish Death was just right for me – a little dark, a little sweet. BF really liked his Supergoose IPA.

I am not a fan of the schoolgirl uniform the hostess was wearing — perhaps they were going for Christina Amphlett but ended up with Britney Spears. If they were going for Britney Spears — why?

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[jissy]

I went with a friend at lunch recently — had a burger that was DELISH!!! However my friend ordered the salmon salad that was underwhelming, he said no flavor at all really and wouldn’t order it again. There was no wait to be seated, however our lunch took about 40 minutes to be served and they weren’t very busy that day. Strangely they brought my burger BEFORE the salad with no mention of the salad & I had to ask when it would be coming out.

I’d like to go back but will too wait awhile. I agree on the noise level, too — restaurant was maybe 1/2 full and it was VERY loud.

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[2 Much Whine]

DBurns, not sure what the concern was about the champagne. Why would one waste good French champagne by mixing it with orange juice? I would think sparkling wine or Prosecco would be just fine. I’d be more concerned with whether they used fresh squeezed orange juice or concentrate. . . . .

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[Bostonman]

I took the family in for Sunday brunch, the wife got crab cakes and I got the Rueben and the kids got the fish and chips. I thought the food came very quick and it was all good. The kids ate it all and so did the wife. I ordered a bloody mary and other than it not being very spicy it was good. I really don’t get the significance of the outfits though. This was during the soft opening.

Fast forward 2 weeks and we tried to go in 2 times during the week after work. Both times had waits of at least 40 minutes. So, needless to say we didn’t wait. There are to many options in west seattle. The food is good but not worth waiting 40 minutes for it.

From there we went to the Bang Bar but left after we found out the happy hour is only for people sitting in the bar. We had our 8 month old with us so not an option. The bar was packed, the restaraunt was dead.

I will stick with Elliot Bay where I can get seated, the food is great and I love the beer.

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[DBurns]

Hi 2 Much Whine, my comment about the Mimosa was really meant to show the gracious and attentive customer service – I don’t drink Mimosas or champagne! Our friend didn’t like the drink, and when he told her he actually saw the bt use oj, white wine and spritz off the gun, she confirmed that they didn’t actually use champagne. He then googled “traditional Irish Mimosa” to give the benefit of the doubt :) but really just wanted a champagne and oj. It was no problem at all – the staff was wonderful and attentive. I’m not sure what kind of champagne should be used, or oj for that matter – sounds like a “real” Mimosa could get very expensive, you’re right!!

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[Sue]

I usually avoid new restaurants until they’re open a few months also. However, it was the Sunday of SummerFest and Elliott Bay (where we were headed) had a huge line, so we decided to give A Terrible Beauty a try. We must’ve gotten very lucky, as we waited less than 10 min. for a table (and that delay was due to the people in front of us having a wheelchair, and they had to figure out where the ramp was to get someone from the street up to the sidewalk when the ramp was blocked with their SummerFest patio). Service was very quick and the food very good. It was incredibly loud, but a fun, party kind of loud. I wondered if that was just SummerFest loud, or would be loud like that all the time, and from the other reviews, it does look like it’s all the time. As long as I know that, it’s not a problem. I just don’t go to a place like that if I’m not in the mood.

I do agree that they need to have a more visible display of the beer list though. It was so loud that it was hard to hear the waiter give us a list of what was on tap, so my husband just got up and went to the bar on the other side of the restaurant to look.

Oh, and I wasn’t there when Table 35 was in that space, but I love how bright the bathroom is now compared to when it was Ama Ama – it was so dark you could barely see, and you didn’t really need “mood lighting” in the toilet. So thrilled to find “normal” lighting in there. Definite improvement.

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[2 Much Whine]

Ewwww, white wine with club soda? Your friend had every right to complain. It sounds like they handled it properly but that sounds like a big no-no. I’m not in the restaurant business so perhaps that is a common substitution? Any experts out there know if this is common?

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[biankat]

Ewww x2. I’ve never heard of such a mimosa combo.

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[rw]

Two visits, both on Saturday evenings. I had the roast beef sandwich the first time, which was a bit too salty and no great shakes. I won’t be trying it again. The second time I went for the reuben which was ample and tasty, but too greasy. If they get the greasiness under control it will be a terrific menu option. My wife had the Irish stew the first time and loved it … and had enough to take home for a second meal. The second time she had the ceasar salad with blackened salmon. I was impressed with the size of the salmon filet she got for just an extra $4 over the price of the salad. The beers were excellent, and service good. The music was too loud, though, for my taste. This was early evening, so a folk singer, Erin McNamee, who was very enjoyable other than the volume. Toward the back and off to the north side of the pub are obviously less noisy than in the bar area.

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[Jiggers]

I’m betting the people who live in the apartments right across the street are loving the noise every night.

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[sw]

Made my second visit last night – still love the place. Server at the bar was a bit surly, but met my expectations. Beer & food were tasty. I have no issue with the schoolgirl uniform. :-) However – the guy on stage around 8:30 or so who screeched his way through Ziggy Stardust has to go. Yikes.

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[MarySheely]

We went for Happy Hour last Friday. We got seated relatively quickly, I loved the food (I am part Irish and have never had soda bread toasted and buttered but it was delicious) and we had a good time. I say hooray for them that they’re so busy! Keep it up!

PS Meant to add, I’ve seen the waitress outfits at traditional German beer halls and this was the first it occurred to me that, oh, right — ATB is Irish, not German.

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