Honesty

So, i had dinner at this out of town sushi bar and everything from the fish, presentation (beautiful presentation), atmosphere, service, etc. was good to great. However, the rice fell short and to me, the rice can make or break nigiri and rolls. The waitress and young chef asked me how the food was and I wanted to respond that the rice was under seasoned and overcooked. However, i did not. Because there weren't any abject failures, i just answered that it was okay with some contrived enthusiasm.

To me, there is a time/place for such honesty and i didn't think this was one of them. What would you do?

(typed with clumsy thumbs on a small screen)

They have no way of knowing that something is falling short if they aren't told. Any good restaurateur welcomes constructive criticism.
Of course if they ask and then dismiss your opinion, as happened to me a few months ago during a soft opening when I was told point blank that I was wrong, then let them keep their oddly prepared food.

I don't think I've ever had honesty met with a simple "Thanks for bringing that to our attention, we'll work on it"; it always seems defensive or turns confrontational, even just a polite email dropped directly to the chef that said "Hey, you might want to know what happened".Even at a Chili's (!) where you'd think management was used to people complaining! I still go back and forth with providing direct feedback, as I loathe Yelp with the burning passion of a million suns, just feels not super worth it.

I don't think I've ever had honesty met with a simple "Thanks for bringing that to our attention, we'll work on it"; it always seems defensive or turns confrontational, even just a polite email dropped directly to the chef that said "Hey, you might want to know what happened.

Agreed. Check out what happened to me when I asked for an honest answer regarding a simple menu ingredient at Mikado. (Under Mikado)

I think it bears keeping in mind that not everyone strives to be the best nor are they interested in anyone's opinion.

I had the opposite experience recently. I was at Taziki's for lunch, and had the lamb gyro. It was good but one piece was not chewable. It was right after they opened and an asst. gm came over and asked how everything was. I explained that I really enjoyed my meal, but did have an issue with one pice of lamb. I told her there was no need to do anything, that I ate everything else, and jut thought they would want to do. She was very gracious, explained that they break the leg of lamb down in house, and that they must have missed a tough piece. I said no worries at all, and that I would be back. She soon brought two desserts over despite my protests. They handled a situation that was no big deal the perfect way!