Choupette Crêperie & Cafè — Restaurant in New Haven

Very disappointed by the customer service we received today. I've been twice before and in the past had a good experience (hence the 2 stars instead of just 1 star), so I recommended a friend join me for lunch here. It was her first time visiting Choupette.

Unfortunately, just about every part of the meal went wrong for us.

First, my friend was served the wrong dish. It contained ingredients she cannot eat, so we had to send it back and ask again for what she ordered.

When the right order finally did come to our table, it wasn't a finished dish. She ordered the Place D'Italie and it was clearly rushed out. It was so barely heated, even the cheese had not melted. Just cold, shredded cheese inside and a raw tomato slice on top. (Have a look at Yelp pictures to see what it's supposed to look like)

My friend noticed it was undercooked right away just by looking, but the waitress was already gone before she could say anything. My friend is too polite to make a big fuss, but she did not enjoy her food at all. It was like a bad, mushy sandwich wrap instead of a gooey, yummy melt.

After the meal and our plates were cleared, the waitress came back, put menus on our table again, and hurried away before we could ask why we were receiving menus instead of a cheque. We assumed she forgot we were her original table.

But then an unfamiliar 2nd waitress appeared and asked if we were ready to order dessert. Oh. So that's why the menus came back. I tried to save the experience by suggesting to my friend that their dessert crepes were much better. My friend ordered a coffee, I ordered a sweet crepe. I was told it would take just a few minutes.

Over the next twenty minutes, I was told again two separate times that my dessert crepe was "on its way." They gave us a cheque while we waited (including the cost of my dessert) and we paid.

We waited even longer. Finally, I asked the 1st waitress about the status of my dish I had ordered from the 2nd waitress. She had NO idea what I was talking about. We showed her our receipts, she checked the computer, and came back and said my order was "never put it in".

I paid for a dish that was never being made!

Okay, so first waitress puts the order in for real this time. We wait even longer. My dessert finally came and we rushed out the door, very late to end our lunch break.

From beginning to end, nobody asked us even once if our meal was satisfactory, and nobody waited more than a few seconds at our table for us to volunteer the information that it definitely wasn't. I get that mistakes happen, but even a little effort to make things right goes a long way. Instead, it was very, very obvious that our experience simply wasn't important.

Bleh, I am so embarrassed I took my friend here. She made it clear she's not interested in ever coming back, and I...

Pros: Cute spot. Lovely crêpe presentation (I forgot to take a photo) and interesting recipes.

Minor con: No decaf espresso.

Major cons: The savory crêpe texture was mushy, grainy and the flavor was a fail. I did not deconstruct the whole thing to troubleshoot it. Would I eat if I weren’t surrounded by great good options that don’t require forcing myself to swallow? Meh… maybe.

Further, the waitress was nice but her service was lacking. With maybe 3 other occupied tables, I sat with my food mostly untouched for several minutes and the waitress did not check in but maybe she was busy and I failed to notice. I took one bite of the whole thing and sampled tiny bits of different areas of the crêpe itself to try to figure out what was wrong with the texture and flavor.

I eventually brought it up to the counter to let them know that the texture was lacking and the flavor was not a pleasing one. She was kind enough to only charge me half price for the crêpe I wouldn’t eat and the hot water I ordered since there was no decaf. Would’ve loved to enjoy a coffee, a crêpe, some decompressing and writing. Instead, I spent $7.91 (50% + tax) on a crêpe that would have turned me off of crêpes if it were my first one ever.

I drove here specifically to enjoy a crêpe and a decaf espresso drink. One was a fail and the other is not something they carry: now I know and you do too.

Maybe their sweet crêpes have a better texture & flavor 🤷🏾‍♀️

I didn’t find their savory crêpes or service worth the time it took to find parking or the 50% of full price the waitress charged me to take a bite and regret putting it my mouth 🤷🏾‍♀️

As a customer service note, I wouldn’t have charged me for uneaten food that was not well prepared enough for me to want to eat more than the bite that let me know the texture and flavor were not appealing to me, someone who freakin’ loves crêpes and arrived excited to crêpe out.

That’s basic customer service 101 unless a business is on the...

One word. Amazing. I cannot read enough about this location their staff and the amazing crapes that they serve. I was in New Haven to visit a few students and took them out to brunch on a Friday midday. It was a little bit crowded, but we were able to get seated and opted to choose two savory and two sweet crapes to share.

The savory crêpes we chose were the Norvégienne and the Choupette (sans prosciutto, we substituted egg). The sweet crêpes we chose were the Tintin (new to the menu with speculoos (cookie spread) and bananas) and the “ when my mom is in a good mood” which has maple syrup, a soft cheese, berries, walnuts, and whipped cream.

They were all delicious and had uniques taste s so it would be hard to rank them. The buckwheat flour used for the savory crêpes was authentic and just divine. The fresh whip cream and fruit for the sweet crêpes made them that more delectable.

We were lucky enough to meet the owner Adil and even got to try one more crate a favorite of his not on the menu. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask anyone there. Stefany our server was helpful and even took photos for us. I wish they were locations all around the US. I can’t wait to get back to visit and try other crêpes on the menu.

Don’t miss out on this...