Pick Up Stix

I was looking forward to trying this place for the prices and freshness claims. The food was so sweet and cheap tasting that I wish I hadn’t eaten anything. :(

The girl that took my order was very friendly. Ordered the Mongolian Beef… which should’ve been called Mongolian Onion instead. The meat itself was tasty. It comes with a side of rice, ran me about $ 10. Large portion, but like I said, mainly onion.
Would I come here again? Probably not, considering I received mainly onion in my entrée after having paid well over $ 10 for that and a container of steamed rice. Didn’t like the fact that they also charge $ 1.99 extra if you want noodles instead of rice.

Service: The service is wonderful! The staff are very patient and understanding. They are nice and helpful. Perfect customer service; they do what they can to give you the right information
Food: I don’t really eat meat that much, but I do eat chicken breast once in awhile. The meat here is great! It’s also very tasty. It’s a better version of Panda Express. It’s fresh as I can see how the chef makes the food from behind the counter.
Atmosphere: Modern and colorful. This is what I like. It’s small, but the atmosphere of the place makes up for the space. There is still enough room for me to eat when I am here though.
OVERALL RECOMMEND

I remember eating at a Pick Up Stix years ago, and it was filled with flavor. I come here every now and then. It’s a hit or miss for me. I guess it’s dependent upon who is cooking your dish. I was a bit disappointed that I ordered a couple dishes a few days ago, and the person didn’t even let me know that I had the option of ordering a lunch combo. It was my fault for not thoroughly looking at the menu, but she could have mentioned their lunch combo. At least I would have been able to have Cream Cheese Wontons with my meal. By the way, I like their Thai Coconut Curry with Noodles.
They have a frequent eaters rewards program. All you have to do is enter your cell phone number, and after you’ve frequented their location a certain amount of times you’ll receive a free meal. Don’t forget to take advantage of the lunch combo!

I was hoping the food would taste better than Panda Express since it’s made to order. Sadly, although the food took a long time to prepare, the taste was a total disappointment. I ordered the house special and although edible, did not taste good, and was definitely not worth $ 8.59 before tax. There are other restaurants in the plaza with better food. Skip this place.
Service was pleasant enough but food took way too long to come out. Also, we saw other people that came after us receive their order first.

Solid food if you know what to order. Nothing really authentic about this place, but it beats Panda Express lol. Couple of drawbacks is that you can’t customize your order and the MSG that is secretly added. They advertise there is none but I know people that work there and they add a lot of MSG to their food, infact more than traditional places. But that’s nothing to complain about, all the best chinese and thai places add it. They cooked my order in under 5 minutes… so fast. 10 minutes later I was in a solid MSG coma… that’s the best part XD

This place is insulting on so many levels.
First, their menu is displayed on flat screen monitors, which use a lot of electricity. I thought we were supposed to be conserving energy. But, I suppose if you’re a trendy, yuppie type or happen to own stock in a nuclear power plant or oil fracking plant, it’s great. Maybe they think poisoning the water supply and setting us up for another Fukushima type disaster is better than chopping down a tree in order to print a few menus.
Secondly, the service is non existent. When I went in for lunch late one afternoon, there were three employees «working» and NO customers in front of me. After standing at the counter like a dummy for almost ten minutes, I was never even acknowledged. They didn’t greet me nor did they say something like «we’ll be right with you.» Needless to say, I eventually walked out and went to Baja Fresh about 100 feet away, where I received excellent service.
I will never go back to Pick Up Stix.

Pick Up Stix is making a huge comeback!!! You must give it a try.
Out with the old and in with the new!
Pros:
Excellent Food — House Chicken rocks!!! Kids love it!
Yummy white chocolate or dark chocolate fortune cookies.
Very Clean
Great Service
Ipads for the kids to play while you wait for your meal to be prepared.
Cons:
Nothing

This place is terrible which is unfortunate cause I love eating at pick up stix but the last time I ate there was surely my last. I ordered the chicken chow mein and it was mushy with uncooked meat and no flavor whatsoever. I wouldn’t give em a single star but I had to in order to leave a review. Don’t go here!!!

I like the dining atmosphere (very clean, well kept, and lots of tables and room) and the service at this particular location. It was my first time dining here, so I had questions and the guy at the register had lots of helpful tips and recommendations.
I particularly liked the chow mein noodles, which had some really good flavor and delicious after-​taste. I also ordered the chicken with veggies (Thai plate), which in my opinion was a little better than average. It tasted fresh and healthy. I understand you’re looking at around 500 or so calories per serving. There are 2 servings per meal, so I don’t think it’s as unhealthy as some of the competitors nearby.
I want to try some of their beef and shrimp to see how it measures up. But I’d say, you get a good Americanized Thai/​Chinese food meal here at a reasonable price (I paid about $ 11 for noodles and the entrée). Will try it again.

I really loved the restaurant. the house special is the best and lettuce wrap!! the food is very fresh and made to order. The costumer service is really good
If you think Panda Express is good…
You will be Amazed

After a truly dreadful meal from Grandview Palace I feel compelled to write a review for my favorite standby for quick and healthy Chinese food.
Pick Up Stixs appeared in Pasadena a year or two ago and is consistently great. I often have the grilled bourbon chicken and my partner has Kung Pao Tofu with extra peanuts and no zucchini.
The restaurant is clean and modern but not really the kind of place that I would go OUT to eat. I think of it as take-​away only. But others may disagree.
Counter service is very friendly and they care clearly trying to make a success of this business in a somewhat saturated market. Give it a try!

Havent been to pick up stix in a longgg time. I used to go to the location in Northridge and it was pretty good. They used to offer a delicious plate of noodles, rice, salad, and chicken.
When the Pasadena location opened, I decided to try it and order the same plate. Come to find out, they dont have any plates of that sort :(i was very dissapointed. I ended up ordering the noodles and a grilled chicken dish. The noodles were good but veryyyy plain with nothing inside. The chicken was super plain and had no taste.
My boyfriend kept telling me not to go but I wanted to try it out myself. Sorry to say but he was right. Sorry pick up stix, not a fan!

I think all my check-​ins here say it all. I come here a lot. I come here because its good. I was thrilled beyond belief when they opened this store. Before I could only get it when I was in OC or Riverside County.
The food is always hot and fresh. Not greasy like some other Chinese food can be. I don’t feel awful after eating their food either. My favorites: House Special Chicken, Mongolian Beef, and Pad Thai.
I just wish you could order online and pay when you pick up (vs paying online).

I can’t find my previous post to update but my previous review was just 1 star. I received a comp meal to make up for the disastrous meal I had on my first visit. I wasn’t going to use it because bad is bad, but being that I was in the area yesterday and short on cash, I decided to use it. Glad I did.
I ordered the Thai Coconut Curry chicken with brown rice and chicken egg rolls. The curry chicken was delicious. And the manager, Ian, truly went out of his way to earn my business back. The chicken egg rolls were a bit soft on the inside but that is because those are frozen to start with. I recommend steering clear of those. The brown rice was a bit goopy but not bad.
Ian, thr manager, had given me an entre coupon for another visit. Honestly, that was a very smart move. I have to say that this third visit did the trick. I came back today and ordered the same dish with white rice instead of brown and it was perfect. And even tasted better than yesterday’s. Seriously. Always get the white rice as the consistency is much better.
The staff was very friendly and aware and the store was very clean. The restroom is always spotless which says A LOT.
So I have to say, we’ll done team. You have earned my business back. P. S. you earned my sister’s business as well.
And thank you, Ian!

Was feeling a little hungry after doing some grocery shopping and saw this place next door. Was quite disappointed with the non-​chalant attitudes we got from the employees here. Seemed to be more interested in their conversations than working and servicing their customers. Felt like I was standing in line for a good 5 minutes until someone noticed me and took my order. Service I experienced matched the food. Had their Kung Pao with vegetables and peanuts and Mongolian with soy, onion and rice noodles. Beef. Both entrees over powered with its sauce. Will stick to Panda Express.

First time in this location, will NOT be the last. Found the staff extremely helpful and attentive.
Food was GREAT. Love that it is prepared Fresh as you order, so just know you will not just walk in and walk out.
Ordered a chicken dish and the pieces of chicken were WHOLE pieces of chicken breast meat not that chicken «surprise» at other places.
Fried Rice was very tasty and very enjoyable.
All in all, great option for quick to go Chinese. Will be back for sure.

Damn, should have read reviews before coming. My frozen pf Chang meals taste better. No wonder it was empty on a Sunday afternoon

Consistent in what you get. You don’t come her for authentic Chinese food, you come for fast serve but higher quality than panda and the mom and pop shop.
Tip. You can get dumpling steamed or fried instead of wonton in combos.

I don’t really understand why someone would rate this place 1 star. It’s clean it’s affordable and it’s tasty. The comparison to sit down Chinese restaurants is just silly. This place is like Panda Express. It’s the Chinese Chipotle.
I first found pickup stix in Orange County and was sad it wasn’t available where I lived. So as you can imagine I was super excited when it popped up near my home in Pasadena.
So here is my recommendation. Get the house chicken. Really that’s my favorite and the only thing that calls to me when driving by. It’s one of those dishes that I just get a craving for and nothing but this fills that calling. The other items are great but for some reason the house chicken stands above the rest.
If you want a quick bite and feel like Chinese this is an excellent option.