Peter Z.
Yelp
We had a not so pleasant experience at Alice for a birthday celebration. Please note that this review doesn't focus on food because we couldn't fully enjoy it, so it wouldn't be fair to the food.
Some background, my partner has Retinitis Pigmentosa, which makes her legally blind. She has night blindness among other symptoms, so we always bring a small table light to dimly lit restaurants to help her see. It's always set to the lowest of six settings, pointed down at the table, in order to minimize disruptions to others.
After being seated, we turned on the light so my partner could read the drinks menu. After the drinks were served, the server asked if we could turn off the light when the food arrives. My partner explained that she is legally blind, and the light helps her see, so the server went and discussed with the head chef. The server returned and asked if we could move to a different table by the edge, which we did. We asked if we could still use our light, and the server said yes, then asked if we could turn the light dimmer because "it's just too bright".
So although we were permitted to use our table lamp, their attitude had already made us feel unwelcome. My partner felt bad for using the light and only used it to see the food when her poking around blindly with the utensils didn't work out too well. It's heart-wrenching to see her trying so hard to still enjoy her food and experience after being discriminated against because she felt guilty that this happened during my birthday dinner.
While the restaurant was very concerned about our table light, they were not so concerned about tables that chatted loud enough that we heard their conversation more clearly than the servers' explanation of the dishes. Which was how we learned that one person at that table went a Michelin 3-star restaurant for their engagement where the restaurant was even more dimly lit, so much so that they didn't remember anything they ate because they couldn't see (thank you stranger, your story made my partner feel better). Perhaps the fine dining experience is not meant for the visually impaired. In addition, there was another table beside us using flash photography for their food. I never knew that random flashes was less distracting than a constant source of light. Perhaps I could've asked them for the pictures so my partner could clearly see what she ate?
Interestingly, that 2-person table also attempted to change their seating from face-to-face to perpendicular from each other. They wouldn't have been in anyone's way, but they were convinced by the server that sitting face-to-face would make the dining experience better. It's almost like the chef envisioned her perfect dinner guests, and is forcefully molding all guests to her vision.
Overall, the food was probably great, but we could not enjoy it. It felt like any deviation from the "standard" is heavily frowned upon. I also agree with other reviews in that the service was indeed lifeless, almost robotic. Perhaps the atmosphere is a reflection of the meticulousness of head chef, which I do respect. The presentation details of her food was immaculate, for those that can see what they were eating anyways.
One of the positive things that came out of this experience is that we learned to always call ahead to make sure using a table light won't be an issue. I believe that my partner deserves to enjoy the experience as much as anyone else.
For anyone visually impaired, we 100% recommend a similar price point tasting menu restaurant that is very very close to Alice. That restaurant is better lit and also offers amazing vegetarian options!