Chopstix Cafe — Restaurant in Gainesville

Ok so my husband and I went there this evening. Started off great. Hostess was very friendly. First server started good, she helped my husband choose something since he’s never been there and explained menu items. Here’s where the problem happened. We get our appetizers…perfect…we wait for our entrees…and wait…they come! Husband said his food was good even tho he tried something new out of his comfort zone. I got my food, also something I’ve never had. I hated it. It had a peanut sauce on the side, which was not listed on the menu (yes I checked, twice would not have ordered if it was on the menu or told to me), I loathe peanuts. I would rather starve than eat a peanut. Buuuutttt I didn’t know that’s what it was so of course full dip into the peanut sauce right into my mouth. Ok no problem I will wait for the sushi I ordered and just not eat this or possible bring it home for the garbage disposal of animals or the teenager…but no one seemed to notice that I had pushed a basically untouched plate off to the other side of the table. So I waited…and waited…and waited..7 mins in fact. My husband had eaten to contentment by this point (he’s a fast eater). Me on the other hand still had no sushi, no refills on empty drinks, and no server had even bothered to ask if everything was ok. I had made eye contact with our original server twice and asked a different server for the menu so I could order something else. After another 5-6mins I’m still waiting for someone to come by. So at this point I no longer want anything and I just want to go. Then a random server comes (dk if they all share tables or what but still not the one we started with) asks me if everything is ok i say no and start to explain I hate peanut sauce blah blah no allergy then he says hang on and walks off. Ok whatever. Comes back with a different sauce. I look at him and say I don’t want a different sauce I just don’t want this anymore. He then tells me well I can’t take it back, I say that’s fine don’t take it back I’m telling you I’m not paying for this. Then he says something like ok or hang on I honestly don’t remember. Then JD, im assuming the manager or owner, came over. He was nice. Told him the same thing. I won’t eat it it’s not their fault but it should be listed on the menu in case someone does have an allergy. And since it wasn’t I wasn’t paying for something I wasn’t going to eat. (Btw I had full intention of paying, well at least my husband did lol) He said he would take it off the bill and asked if I wanted something else. I said no I just wanted to go home. My husband chimed in and said she hasn’t even gotten the sushi she ordered, JD said they got backed up and it wouldn’t be long. The sushi came out within two mins. First bite I get stuck with something in the roof of my mouth. Turns out it was a bone. Whatever it tasted amazing and I was hangry. Pulled the bone out and kept eating a few more pieces. Got a box. Got the check. And left. Again the hostess was friendly kind and had a great attitude. So basically what I’m getting at is yes I was a bit abrasive when communicating my concerns to the wait staff. Could I have been nicer? I’m sure I could have BUT I wasn’t rude I was firm and stood my ground and I matched energy. Would I go back? No probably not. That’s twice now I’ve gone there and either not liked the food or gotten a headache right afterwards.(not the restaurants fault totally a personal problem.) would I recommend them? Absolutely! They have a large menu with vegetarian options. Beautiful views. And for the most part the servers are kind. Not so much the younger ones but every seasoned server I’ve had has been FANTASTIC. The flavors are…different and interesting. But still a great restaurant! And the fact that they’re giving the staff a summer vacation to be with their families(sign on door about closing for summer) that’s a great thing for the staff. Hopefully there’s some kinda compensation but not my business. Definitely try this place. Decent prices for the quality and amount of food....

Just had a horrific experience at Chopstix cafe (July 3, 2025). We made a reservation over a week in advance for 5 people and specifically requested that we be sat outside due to two party members having asthma that is triggered in crowded indoor spaces. On Tuesday, 2 days before the reservation, we call to ask if we can add a sixth person and are told “Yes” and then hung up on with no further confirmation.

When we arrive at the restaurant on time for our reservation, there is zero parking available and people are filling in spaces in the grass and roadways. We go to the desk to check in where we are told our reservation was only for five, but after sitting around for fifteen minutes while workers deliberated, we were told they would “make six work”.

Another fifteen minutes go bye, now 30 minutes past our reservation time, we are finally seated. We are given a table inside despite specifically requesting outside seating for health reasons. We ask a manager if we can be moved outside and were told they would move us. Another 30 minutes of sitting at a table with no server in sight and no update on moving outside, we decide to leave as one party member is now having an asthma attack (and another member had an asthma attack as well after going outside).

When we get outside, we are greeted by our car being blocked in by 3 other vehicles that are parked illegally and there are two other customers blocked in as well that have been talking to management for 20 minutes asking them to find the owners of the cars. We also ask them to find the owners so we can leave (they were blocking both sides of the row of parking all the way to the fence).

Management comes outside and says there is nothing they can do and are generally more annoyed with us than anything. The other customers that are blocked in go inside themselves to find the owners of the car while the manager goes back inside and makes no effort to find the car owners. Eventually the owners are tracked down and cars are moved and we are able to leave (an hour after our reservation time).

This experience was absolutely abhorrent. Not only did we not get the seating we specifically requested, we sat for half an hour without even getting water, and no one seemed to care about the raging safety hazard that was the parking lot. Our two asthma attacks almost turned into ambulance calls, and an ambulance wouldn’t have even been able to fit into the parking lot. Obviously, we won’t...

I ate dinner here a few weeks ago and the dinner itself, the atmosphere, and the servers, were lovely. However, when my dining partner paid the tab, I paid the tip on my debit card, and the receipt they brought me to sign was confusing--unclear whether they had already charged the tip to my card. The server who brought the receipt did not explain anything either. So I wrote in the desired tip amount on the receipt and signed the receipt. A few days later my bank account showed I had been charged twice for the tip. I called to ask for a partial refund, and was told by a guy who sounded reluctant to help that a manager would call me back within the week. A week went by, no call from the manager. I called again and was told by the same reluctant guy that I need to call back on Tuesday at 11am. Since I am a flight attendant and got sent on a trip on Tuesday at 11am I was unable to call, so I called a couple more times, in the morning when nobody answered and in the evening. Got the reluctant guy again on an evening he said was too busy and the manager was unavailable. I told him I understood nobody could handle the situation right then but could I please receive a call back from the manager when the manager is available. He tried to tell me three times that the manager is not available right now, and I asked three times for a call-back when the manager is available. Finally he understood my request which presumably would require simply writing my name and number on a post-it note, but instead he put me on hold for ten minutes. When it became unclear if he would ever come back, I hung up and called back, and thankfully got voicemail. Left a voicemail requesting a call back from a manager. That was four days ago no call back. I called again today and received the same reluctant guy who finally wrote down my name and number. He informed me I need to have a paper copy of my receipt in order to receive a partial refund. Who saves restaurant receipts? The restaurant has my receipt, signed, no?? I will be contacting my bank to stop the entire payment. I was generous with my tip because I work in customer service and even tho I probably make less money than the servers I believe in treating people fairly. Now that I have had this much trouble I don't ever want to go back to this restaurant and will not be recommending it to my flight attendant colleagues even tho it is located closest to the...