Chutzpah Kitchen — Restaurant in Maplewood

On 7/20/23, called and placed a pickup order. Drove 35mins away from my house to pick up my order. Upon my arrival at 8:40pm, my order was not ready and I had to wait a few minutes which was totally fine. My order was ready and the person at the register handed me the food and said goodbye. I told him I hadn’t paid yet and then he proceeded to take my payment.

I looked through my order and noticed I was given baba ganoush in both chicken platters instead of hummus as described on their menu. I asked why I was given that instead of the hummus and was told they were out of hummus.

Normally, the customer is supposed to be notified if an item is being replaced with something else (or so I thought). I looked down and noticed about 5-6 packs of hummus laying in the refrigerator next to the counter. I told him I don’t eat Baba ganoush and asked instead for hummus which was packed in the refrigerator. He said absolutely no way because the pre-packed hummus in the refrigerator was “SPECIAL”. He also said the amount of hummus in the prepackaged container was over twice the amount compared to hummus provided in the platter ( which is wrong because it looked about only 1/4 bigger)

I said ok, I’ll make you a deal and will accept ONE pack of hummus for the two platters instead. He insisted saying, “no, I can’t offer you the special hummus. Are you going to pay for the food or what?”.

I was totally stunned because there I was bargaining to pay more and receive less and yet, I was told absolutely no way. He said he had to speak to a manager to give me the SPECIAL hummus. I told him ok, ask the manager. He said he couldn’t and still insisted saying “are you going to pay or what?”.

Everyone else waiting in line was asking why he couldn’t give me the hummus and he shrugged every one off.

At that point, I was so stunned that I was craving this food for a few days and drove over 30mins from home to receive such poor service.

I told him that’s fine and I no longer wanted the order. He let me walk out without the order.

Long story short, I placed an order for two chicken platters and a side of flash fried eggplants totaling probably $45-50 bucks and couldn’t get it because of a $5 pack of hummus at 8:50pm closing time. My loss because I drove so long to get there and ended up eating someplace else.

I found this place about 4 weeks ago and have been there about 3-4 times already because when I find something good, I keep going back. The food is really good but the bad service left a horrible taste...

I love Chutzpah. The food is delicious and the service is fast and friendly. My family and I have been going here for years.

The reason I'm giving just three stars is because - slowly - the portions (for the platters, at least) have been getting smaller and smaller. It's shrinkflation. My wife and I are not the kind of people who like to overeat. The portions are still decent if you don't have a big appetite, but let me tell you: they have gotten MUCH smaller over the years and you are still paying the same or more money. It's kind of annoying.

I hope that the owners realize people are paying attention to this. If I noticed it, others probably have, too. I understand things are getting more expensive but at least be transparent. I'd much prefer a higher price than less food in my plate....

I really wanted to like Chutzpah Kitchen after hearing the hype, but unfortunately, it completely missed the mark. The falafel was dry, the hummus lacked flavor, and the portions felt stingy for the price. I ordered takeout and several key components (sauces, sides) were missing—no explanation, no apology. For a place that brands itself on bold flavors and "chutzpah," everything tasted surprisingly bland.

To make matters worse, the staff seemed rushed and dismissive when I tried to call about the order issues. I expected vibrant Middle Eastern street food, but what I got was overpriced and underwhelming. Definitely not worth the trip.

Also, Cultural...