Seviche - Goose Creek

OK, first let me say we are big fans of the Bardstown Road location of Seviche. We have been there twice and loved every moment of it. Now, for the bad news. We were excited to see the new location open on Goose Creek, since its so close to home. We have been there twice for lunch, and wow, it leaves something to be desired. On our first visit we were excited to see some of the same menu items we loved from the original location, as well as some new ones. However, the waitstaff was absolutely clueless, the food flavorless, and the whole experience a joke. We were shocked when my wife ordered a glass wine, which when brought to the table, tasted as though the bottle had been open for two weeks. My wife talked to our server about it, who offered no apologies, and no solutions. Our server seemed like someone who had recently been fired from Taco Bell, no knowledge, no charm, nothing. We waited at least a month and tried it again. We were disappointed by several of the new lunch items, and absolutely shocked by the drink prices. With no prices on the menu, I was pretty OK in thinking that a mojito and a margarita could each cost no more than $8, which would be a little high in my book. To my dismay, $10 each. No freakin' way. This is not what I have come to expect from Seviche. I can only hope that my next visit to the Bardstown Road location saves the day!

IMHO $10 for any non call cocktail is outrageous. Maybe if served from a rooftop garden with a view of something spectacular but there. Sorry, I agree, NO WAY.

[Robin Garr]

OK, first let me say we are big fans of the Bardstown Road location of Seviche. We have been there twice and loved every moment of it. Now, for the bad news. We were excited to see the new location open on Goose Creek, since its so close to home. We have been there twice for lunch, and wow, it leaves something to be desired. ...

Jim, sorry to hear you had such a disappointing experience at one of my favorite eateries. I hope you'll take your concerns to management, as Seviche has a very good reputation for doing what they can to make unhappy customers happy.

Can't speak to the drink prices, but for food and service, you might consider giving them another try at night. Although my experiences have been much better than yours, I do have to say that the gang out there seems to kick it up an extra notch for the evening meal.

I told myself that I would'nt respond anymore, because of the Seviche/Anthony Lamas HATERS. First of all, my top shelf drinks are 10$ and call are 6-8$ Jim, as I said in my e mail I am truly sorry for you rare experience at Seviche. I did'nt sleep very well and this is why I'm up at 5am I stand behind my restaurants with integrity, passion, and respect for our patrons. So this saddens me and hurts! I will address these issues and they will be fixed. In fact I just had a meeting Sat. disscussing pricing, customer issues, etc. I can have 10 great reviews and 1 bad one, but the bad one is what stands out and matters. The positive thing is that we can learn and grow from them, even if it's tough to swallow. I find it hard to believe the food was "flavorless" from the cucumber in the water to the lemon-pernod butter in the veggies, to the citrus-chile broths in the seviches my restaurants are full of flavor. As for the "taco bell" server that will be handled aswell. I take responsibility for these issues. It bothers me though, because I have alot of talent on my teams from my day Chef, night Chef, and managers. I am printing new menus today with some price adjustments. I think from the 5$ delivery charge from Southern Wine and Spirits to the food vendors have effected cost. Also, the fires in California have effected the citrus, avocados, etc whitch effected my restaurants. I'm from CA. and I don't think were out of line one bit. You get what you pay for. I fly my tuna in daily from Honolulu, serve Puerto Rican rum from where my family is from, in our drinks, etc. It bothers me too, that were compared to other Latin restaurants in town. We are nothing like these places, and I feel I helped introduced Latino flavors to Louisville. You might spend 25 less at another spot, but Seviche is a whole different place. I try and use organic meats, American tilapia, and so fourth. I try day in and day out to be consistent with my restaurants. I have failed, so now it's time to go to the drawing board and start over, whether that's making changes within. I promise I will fix these issues. They will start today. If anyone feels they were overcharged for the product at Seviche, please allow me to buy a drink and app. on me. As I said Jim in my e mail, please except a gift card. I don't want anyone feeling that Seviche in the highlands is better than on Goose Creek. I put all my energy in both places.I'm trying to get both places on the same page, and believe me I will or I'll die trying. Once again I'm sorry that we failed, on your experience at Seviche. I will address and correct ASAP

All:
I have eaten at Seviche Goosecreek on many occasions and have always, ALWAYS, found it to be outstanding. My most recent visit was Friday of last week with a group of 10. Service and food were top notch. Anthony was able to come out and see us for a few minutes at the end and was genuinely interested in our experience.
I do not understand why we as foodies would not let management know of a problem especially from a restaurant like Seviche.

I do believe that the service is better at night, but servers typically have fewer tables to servie at night. I don't mean to slight the lunch service, comparatively to other establishments Seviche's service is well above the norm.

Alan Rosenberg, the day Chef, would have wanted to know of flavor issues immediately.

For the record, I have been to Seviche Goosecreek a dozen or more times since their opening. I do not have an affliation to either Anthony or the restaurant other than my appreciation for the job they do.

Kurt

Anthony, please don't stop posting! Reading your responses (always very patient and polite) is one of the things which made me go to GC Seviche for the first time. My entire family loves it. We dine there several times a month, if possible. Last time for lunch, you were very busy over the grill and plating food!

-The atmosphere is awesome. It's upscale, but simple & comforting.
-We've found the service to be excellent and attentive. We often dine with our 22 month old, which is a major challenge sometimes. Every server has asked if we needed anything, brought crackers,ice and anything else we inquired about.
-I loved everything I've ever tasted. My favorite is the Blue Corn Tilapia...I have daily cravings for that dish. (Chicken Empanadas, too)

I find the pricing discussion interesting. There's usually not a gun to my head when I order a $50 bottle of PInot, I know costs me $21.00 at Liquor Barn. I guess I'm paying for the experience etc...BUT, wholesale bottle pricing will definitely make me choose one place vs. another. (ie Bristol and 60 West)

First off, my apologies to Anthony. I feel bad that I posted this in a public forum, instead of addressing these issues with him directly. Secondly, I want to make sure that everyone realizes that the first thing I said in my previous post is that my wife and I absolutely loved Seviche the two times we dined at the Bardstown Road location. After our first visit, we dragged our friends with us, going on and on about how good it was. I will continue to patronize Seviche, and Anthony, as I can clearly tell that Anthony is a great talent, and an asset to Louisville. I only meant to point out what I saw as discrepancies between the two locations.

As for the drink prices, I still stick with what I said. I have no problem paying high prices for wine and cocktails, where I see it as reasonable. To me, $10 is steep for a margarita or mojito, especially when the price is not published.

First of all Jim, You have nothing to apologize about. As I said, my apologies to you and your wife. I had a great meeting with my staff and we are going to re- train some of the servers. I've been getting ready for our busy season ( with the patio opening soon ) so we have been training servers at lunch. This was a mistake! I'm going to get the lunch staff on track. It's been tough, because lunch is not real busy, so I'ts hard to get servers motivated. Trust me, after todays meeting I think were all going to be a little sharper. The mojitos are 8$ now, so this will no longer be an issue. I found a rum that I think will not change the flavor of our style of the mojito. Please try the new location again. I think you'll see the difference right from the start. I know that Seviche is not for everyone and there are people who don't care for us. I accept that and understand this.

buen provecho!

Anthony Lamas

First of all Jim, You have nothing to apologize about. As I said, my apologies to you and your wife. I had a great meeting with my staff and we are going to re- train some of the servers. I've been getting ready for our busy season ( with the patio opening soon ) so we have been training servers at lunch. This was a mistake! I'm going to get the lunch staff on track. It's been tough, because lunch is not real busy, so I'ts hard to get servers motivated. Trust me, after todays meeting I think were all going to be a little sharper. The mojitos are 8$ now, so this will no longer be an issue. I found a rum that I think will not change the flavor of our style of the mojito. Please try the new location again. I think you'll see the difference right from the start. I know that Seviche is not for everyone and there are people who don't care for us. I accept that and understand this.

buen provecho!

Anthony Lamas

Nice response!!

Hello Everybody!!!! Anthony, I'm a big fan of Seviche, it's one of my favorite places to eat in Louisville. I've always had a great expirience, in both locations. I'm from Ecuador and I love going to Seviche becuase it makes me feel like I'm home. I can eat there every day!!

Hello Everybody!!!! Anthony, I'm a big fan of Seviche, it's one of my favorite places to eat in Louisville. I've always had a great expirience, in both locations. I'm from Ecuador and I love going to Seviche becuase it makes me feel like I'm home. I can eat there every day!!

Well, Cristina, welcome - great first post! I am a big fan of Seviche as well.

I think Jim (correct me if I'm wrong, Jim) is just saying he (as a fan of Seviche) noticed some service differences between the two locations and the two different services (lunch vs. dinner). Anthony has admitted recognizing some of the same issues - and lo and behold, he has already addressed them with his staff. He's even tweaked the drink price in response to the feedback. So I think we can all agree that Anthony is one of the most directly responsive chefs that frequent this forum. Anthony, I had noticed that you had tapered off on posting - I hope you'll feel the impulse to start posting again soon. I enjoy the way you interact with your patrons directly here in an everyday setting.