Pita Kitchen - Surprise — Restaurant in Surprise

LGBTQIA+ folks and allies, beware. If you’re queer, gender nonconforming, or a person of color, I strongly recommend ordering takeout or using DoorDash because the in-person experience was uncomfortable, disrespectful, and frankly felt targeted.

My partner and I came in together and had our initial order taken by another cashier. While we were waiting to order, TJ, the service member this review is about, came through holding a plate and asked us to step out of her way. There was significantly more space behind us than in front of us. She could have easily gone around/behind us but chose not to. That was already frustrating, but we let it go.

We got our food and left. A few minutes later, my partner went back in alone to order more pita. When she approached the counter, TJ looked directly at her and said, “What can I get for you, sir?” My partner has a clearly feminine voice and presentation, so when she spoke to place the order, that should have been a moment to self-correct, but TJ didn’t. When the pita was ready, she made it worse by saying, “the order’s for him”, pointing at my partner directly.

This wasn’t just a slip. It was two separate, deliberate choices to misgender my partner. And let’s be honest. If my partner were white, wearing the exact same outfit and hair length/style, this likely wouldn’t have happened. There’s a specific kind of harm that comes from being gendered incorrectly in public, and even more so when it’s racialized.

Yes, the food here is great. But that doesn’t give anyone a pass to treat customers like this. And I’ve never had an experience like this at their other locations - we’ve been loyal customers for several years. Respecting someone’s identity, or just avoiding gendered language altogether if you’re unsure, is just basic human decency at this point. If this business cares about inclusivity, they need to take a hard look at the people...

Service was good. You order at the counter and they bring the food to you and clean up your trays. A+ for that. The Atmosphere and music are nice. The music is at a reasonable tone and the dining room and botherooms were bother very clean.

It gets a 3 star for the food quality. I frequent many Mediterranean restaurants, and out of the ones I go to this is toward the bottom of the list, but there were a few good gems.

10/10 Gyro Eggrolls. The order is 3 egg rolls and a classic taziki sauce. A little expensive at 10.50 an order.

4/10 Plate dinner. Comes with a meat and 2 sides. The chicken Swarma and gyro are regular price, all other meats are a $2 upgrad, which is NOT typical at most places. Shawarma was dry and flavorless. The Greek salad was the gem. The rice was dry. The hummus was not my favorite at all, but not terrible.

They get big points for having gluten free pita bread options.

I'm likely only going to come back for the egg rolls to go, evryone else was...

We tried this place for the first time. We tried the chicken shawarma over a bed of rice and served with lentil soul served with pita and the steak shawarma also served with rice and pita. The chicken shawarma was delicious and the rice was very flavorful. The lentil soup was similar to split pea soup, it was a nice sized serving. The dishes were plentiful and served with a tangy yogurt sauce. The steak shawarma was a bit dry but extremely tasty nonetheless. The ambience is very nice. They serve your food at the table and is a sit down restaurant although you can order food to go. The location is a bit hidden but you can find it if you drive into the shopping center, you won't see it from the street. There is plenty of parking from the shopping center but when you go in, it feels like you're entering in the back of the restaurant. The staff is very nice and professional. Recommend if you're looking for a good...