Chi-Chi's — Restaurant in Saint Louis Park

This was absolutely not the Chi Chis I remember. What a complete disappointment. My coworkers and I were genuinely excited to revisit what used to be a fun, reliable place from the 90s and early 2000s. We thought we had found a new go to happy hour spot. Instead, it turned into one of the most frustrating outings we have had in years.

I arrived when the restaurant was not busy and let the hostess know that we would have seven or eight people. She assured me we would be fine and pointed out a table along the wall. She told us that once the customers next to it left, our group would be seated together. She suggested we wait at the bar until then. When those seats opened, they were immediately given to someone else. So the group arrived, and instead of sitting together as promised, we were scattered around the bar with no communication or care from staff.

The bartender acted as though serving guests was a burden. He was short, dismissive, and visibly irritated. Multiple coworkers commented on his tone without me even prompting them. When I went back to the hostess stand to explain what happened, there was a different hostess, and I had to start over. We waited nearly an hour, and when one of the tables finally opened, a few of us sat down so we could start getting settled. The original hostess had already clocked out and left by this point.

Then a man who appeared to be the manager approached us and chose to lecture us in front of the dining room about how we were not allowed to take a table and needed to speak to the hostess. I tried to explain, but he did not listen and treated us as if we were in the wrong. Eventually he dragged over another table so we could sit together, but the tone was already set.

The food was mediocre and bland, nothing like the Chi Chis we remembered. The service was awful. There was no hot sauce on the table in a Tex Mex restaurant. We asked once. Nothing. We asked again. Still nothing. On the third request the server finally brought two random bottles long after the food was cold. Her frustration with even that request was obvious and unnecessary.

We ended up with nine guests instead of eight, and the manager made it very clear that we were not welcome to bring in any more people. This entire experience felt chaotic, disorganized, and unwelcoming.

We have been doing happy hour once a week for seven years, and this is easily the worst experience we have had anywhere. We left disappointed, frustrated, and honestly a little sad. We came in hoping for nostalgia and good vibes. Instead, we got rude staff, broken promises, lack of basic service, and food that was forgettable at best.

To anyone local who remembers the original Twin Cities Chi Chis, let me save you the trouble. This is not the Chi Chis you remember....

In the 90's and through 2004, we used to go to Chi Chi's for dinner 5-6 times a year, and when they closed in 2004 it was disappointing. So, when we heard that Chi Chi's had reopened we were pumped. The new location which is located in the space formerly occupied by Rojo, in the West End area in St Louis Park, MN was converted nicely to Chi Chi's with an authentic feel. It is a nice space and a nice location, and I saw several people taking their picture in front of the trademark Chi Chi sign at the entrance. And the server, Sarah, was excellent, easily one of the best servers we've had in 2025. Beyond the location and the service, I do feel the new location has some opportunities to grow if they really do plan to emulate the original Chi Chi's. Although the menu contained the original Chi Chi's chimichanga, there was little familiarity after that. The chimichanga, which is a Chi Chi's classic, tasted excellent, and exactly how I had remembered it back from 2004. But that's where the similarities ended as to the menu. A big miss from the original Chi Chi's 2004 menu, which can be found online, and which is partially shown below is that the current menu does not include Chile Con Queso, which was a trademark item which we (and countless others) had every time we went there for dinner, and we often stopped by to have it in the bar as well. The new menu has a queso option, which I believe came from the original Rojo restaurant as did other things such as "Bowl" options which were not on the original menu. Also missing were classics such as the el grande burrito and fajitas which were staples back in the day but are not on the current menu and the side dishes for the entrees did not include the classic corn cakes, but did include sweet rice, which is also a Rojo menu item. Also the salsa tasted suspiciously like Rojo salsa. I have nothing against Rojo but if I want to go there, I will go to Maple Grove, MN. Chi Chi's had a trademark salsa, which they called their "fresh" salsa. Although after twenty plus years, I certainly can understand that there would have to be some changes to the menu. But if you're going to come back with the Chi's Chi name, i feel that you should have more if the original menu, items and not a merger of menu items from Rojo. Otherwise, I believe they will will lose the nostalgia driven customer base, which I assume they were counting on when reopening. A good starting point would be, at a minimum, adding back Chile Con Queso, and also, it would be good to see the el grande burrito, corn cakes, and fresh salsa back at Chi Chi's. Before going back, I will call to see if they have added Chile Cin Queso, and maybe some more of the original items, otherwise it's just...

Drove all the way for stewartville just to eat here. The ladies at the door,the older SA and the bartender next to the food was the best thing about the visit. 1,the waitress never introduced herself. She only came to the table 4 times. When I asked for Pico with my Fajitas she didn't tell me that it came with it. She wasn't warm and made me feel like I was bothering her. I don't know if she was under the impression that I don't tip good(stereo typing me, because I'm black) or what. Because she was warm and friendly with ALL her other tables. But guess what? I started working in restaurants at 16yrs old. And stopped 2yrs ago. I did everything in the business except for bartend. And I know how to tip. My tips START at $20. She only got the tip she got is because of my wife. The SA did more than she did. That's why I tipped him part of her tip. 2, when the runner brought my food, she auctioned it off. What you guys don't do pivot points? When I asked for more chips and salsa(couldn't find the waitress to get more),she act like I was putting her out. She did bring some back 5min later 3, a blonde 20'ish waitress was walking by, I said excise me 4 times then had to say ma'am before she answered me. And I have a loud deep voice so I know she heard me. When I asked her for help she acted like I was bothering her. Instead of getting me what I needed she went to find my server. 4, I went to the bar to get change and the bartender,his partner is a big Lions fan, and he treated me like I ran up a $500 tab and knew he was about to get a big tip.

Let me educate you ppl NOT all Black, Latin don't know how to tip. We know that you live off of tips. So we tip fat. NEVER judge a person by their race,sexual orientation, religion. You never know who will bless you.

I waited on some racist guest,I treated them like family. I got 100% tip. They came in every Fri. One night they waited 90min just to get a table in my section. Why because I didn't judge them by this tattoo.

There are very few could places to eat in Rochester/Stewartville. So I am known to drive 90min just to eat. I will think long and hard before I come back here.

You need to DO BETTER and BE BETTER

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