Pick Up Stix Fresh Asian Flavors

Drawback. It takes forrrreevvverrrrrr to get your food. Went in for lunch, and it wasn’t even that busy. Made me think they had to go pluck the chicken before it was served. Other than that, not bad.

Best orange chicken! Ever! Customer service was awesome. My first time here, and I’m impressed. I will be back 100%!!!
And one more thing, it is very clean with a cool vibe.
(^_​^)

I had been faithfully going to a Thai place by my work for my wonton soup; after getting it from here, I will never go back to my old place.
Everything is made fresh and a cheap price especially for the San Clemente area. Definitely going to go back!

The food and customer service is one the best I’ve ever been to at Pick up Stix in years! Thx AnnaBelle! You went above and beyond to make sure everything was perfect! Cooks– bomb-​dignity good!

Went the other night and ordered three meals for me and my two kids. Got home and was amazed how small the portions are. My ten year old ate two meals by himself. I would have had to order $ 60 worth of food to get full. Never will eat here again what a rip off .,

This review is about service. I am not familiar with the menu here so when I asked the female order taker named «D — — -» what the difference was between General Orange Chicken and Orange Peel Chicken and she replied «the ingredients,» I was stunned. I thought maybe she didn’t understand what I had asked, so I asked her one more time what the difference was between the two items and she told me to read the menu because the ingredients were listed.
Once I realized she was not willing to help me, I asked if there was anyone else that could help me besides her and she turned around and asked a young guy to help me. He must have questioned her about why, because I heard her say «she doesn’t want me to help her.» (Actually, «D — — -»” I really wanted you to help me, but you wouldn’t. A simple explanation so that I didn’t hold up the line is all I needed.)
The young guy that took over the transaction handled everything very well. He explained that one dish was similar to Panda Palace and the other was spicy. Then he suggested we could request all white meat for an additional upgrade charge. It is because of his good service that I would even consider returning to this location. I’m betting that «D — — -» doesn’t last here long, or anywhere for that matter, with her current attitude.
By the way, we ordered the Orange Peel Chicken; Chinese Chicken Salad, fried Rice and edamame. It was all very good.

Looks good until the taste of the food which was so unprofessional and halfway cooked… it took so long too… my recommendation is to go to subway right next door and you will enjoy a lot more…

1003 Danielle you’re one of a kind.
Walked in and it was 3 minutes to closing time. There she was, a smile in her face and took our order. Asked if we could use the table outside as she was ready to lock things up, she said yes and came back giving us plates and napkins.
Food is much more pleasurable when the service is top notch and no matter where you are.
Thank you Danielle!

I am really happy with my dinner tonight.
The Mongolian Beef is really good.
New chicken curry is excellent.
I have been eating at this location since it wax opened and have never had a bad meal here. Thanks again :)
Staff was super friendly and well trained .
Management deserves a pat on the back too :)

Omg what a SHIT SHOW this place is! The ONLY thing good about this place is the poor cashier guy (kid), Brandon! Wow! Talk about having a rough gig! He needs to find a new job where he is actually appreciated and doesn’t have to work in such slop environment. Would NEVER come here again.
I live in north OC and stopped in with my 4yr old son on our way home from visiting family. –That was a mistake. The pick up Stix by our house is so nice and professional.
On this night that we came, a visit that should have been 25 mins turned into an hour+. Our food was burned. My egg rolls were wrong. We never got the complete kids meal. It was gross all around.
The phones were double ringing nonstop and no one had time to answer them so they just rang with this loud double chirping sounds without stopping the entire time we were there. It was so annoying. The terminals and printers were down so Brandon the cashier had to send everything and then rewrite everything and then manually post everything to the kitchen, which obviously left room for error and was not time efficient by any means. There was a short woman there with her hair pulled back that was dark complected with a heavy accent, not sure if she was a manager or what, but she didn’t seem very nice to the staff. The two cooks in the kitchen were busting their butt but they can only do what they can do. The dining room was packed with pissed off customers staring at the cashier like it this was all his fault. I felt so bad for him he was doing the best he could and he continued to smile but it definitely was a rough day for him. All of the customers made it seem like it was his fault, but when the systems are down like that they should probably consider modifying a little better. –Help from management at that point would have seemed like a good clear option.
When our food finally came out it was burned and soooooo greasy and wrong and disgusting. Would absolutely never ever ever return to this restaurant again. To say our experience was poor is an understatement.
But– keep up the great work, Brandon!

It’s nice to be able to county on consistency between locations.
LOCATION (Rating 4) The location is conveniently located close to the freeway and centrally located in San Clemente. The interior is well done, like most Pick Up Stix and kept clean. Their hi-​table seating along the window is a nice touch and not found in all locations. Because it’s in a corner of a busy center, the parking is not abundant. Exiting the location is a pain as you can’t make a left out of the center legally.
SERVICE (Rating 5) This is where this location excels. I’ve been here several times and the service has been stellar with happy faces and always helpful when it comes to applying specials, deals and timeliness of food out. It’s so easy to call in an order and pick it up on the way home! There is one young lady, who I think is the manager, who has made an impression on us more than once. She could easily be in an upscale restaurant environment and do well.
HOUSE SPECIAL CHICKEN (Rating 3) The caramelized white wine sauce and the chicken being fried is what makes this taste so good. I’m sure it’s not good for you, but it’s a winner on taste. They use dark meat to obtain the bolder flavors, but I wish they used some white meat in it as well as sometimes there’s a bit of gristle in the dark meat chicken that is just not fun to fine.
CHICKEN PAD THAI (Rating 3) This is OK, but not nearly as good as many other Thai restaurants around. I still get it every once in a while.
ORANGE CHICKEN (Rating 3) This is made with white meat and has a great flavor.
CHINESE CHICKEN SALAD (Rating 4) This dish is not always consistent and I’m not sure why. I’ve gotten it a few times and have been extremely pleased and then a few where it wasn’t quite as great but I still recommend it as it got a great flavor with the mandarin oranges setting it off and a good quantity of chicken.
THAI COCONUT CURRY (Rating 2) This dish just doesn’t do it for me. The curry sauce needs help and there are way too many peppers in the carton. They need to make the meat the main ingredient in my opinion instead of the peppers.
GRILLED BOURBON CHICKEN (Rating 4) The flavor of the grilled bourbon chicken is outstanding. I’m not a huge fan of it all being dark meat as the quality of the meat varies from visit to visit. If they mixed it with white meat this dish would be better in my opinion. However, this is my «go to» order typically as it’s relatively light, relatively healthy (maybe I’m pushing it here), and has a great flavor.
GENERAL TSAO’s CHICKEN (Rating 3) This has a very good flavor and if you like spicy, this is the dish to order. If I liked spicy more, I’d order this more often. To be honest, I think they should tone it down a bit.
CRISPY HONEY CHICKEN (Rating 4) While this entrée doesn’t have a «Wow» factor when it comes to flavor, it is very good and good quality chicken is always used it seems. These crispy pieces of chicken in a sweet honey sauce are perfect for someone looking for a good tasting, more mild dinner.

Food: This is a great alternative to Panda Express. The food, while still fast food, definitely doesn’t leave you feeling as near-​death as other places can. They’ve got some healthier (read: not healthy, but healthier) choices like Edamame & Lettuce Wraps. That being said, it is still fast food. The quality is fairly consistent, but it can be bland from time to time.
Service: The staff has always been very kind and helpful. I’ve been here a few times now, and each time I’ve been greeted with a huge smile and a kind greeting. The food is fairly quick & handed to me with another smile, so I can’t complain.
Atmosphere: It’s pretty good! Fairly typical fast-​food feel, but definitely boosted by the good service. They do have tablets near the entrance to distract kids and a TV in the dining area to distract adults, so I guess that’s a plus.
All-​in-​all, I’m a fan on those days that I just need something quick & filling.

We get deliveries from here very regularly and usually they go pretty smooth. Occasionally there are little problems as to be expected but they usually resolve them pretty well. Last week they had a little problem with the order and I complained to the manager Thomas over the phone and he went above and beyond to make things right for me! I am super impressed by his customer service which is the main reason I am writing this review! Will keep ordering!!!

The portions were small and not worth the price we were charged. We all ordered different items but had the same complaint… all the meat was too sweet.

I reluctantly tried this place again and to my surprise they delivered on time. Since that order, I have ordered about five additional times and each time the food has always been delivered on time.

The house special chicken is my favorite!
Not a fan of the kung pao shrimp. We had it last night and it was really bland.
If ordering to-​go, double check to make sure you got everything. They forgot the white rice for our order and we didn’t realize it until we got home to eat. We called them and they offered to deliver it for free, and they also gave us cream cheese wontons for free due to the inconvenience, which was really nice.

OK never again.
This place has gotten worse over time, it used to be good fresh quality Asian food.
Now the portions are smaller and the quality of the food is disgusting.
All the chicken dishes are made of the worst part of the chicken, I have never seen so much fat on the Bourbon chicken lately, horrible. The beef dishes don’t even taste like beef. Never again…

The cashier was great! My family and I came in around 3pm to eat a late lunch and she made us feel very welcome. She even gave us a special fortune cookie dipped in chocolate as a token of celebrating Father’s Day that day (06.15.14). It was really sweet of her. I’m just sad that I didn’t catch her name, but she really was a great staff at Pick Up Stix!
I give this place 3 stars because for the quality of food and the price you have to pay for it, it’s not the best chinese food I had. It did taste a tad healthier and lighter than most fast-​food oriented chinese restaurants which made me pleased with what my family and I had ordered.
I thought the food was okay because it seemed like all the same vegetables were packaged and used it every dish (carrots, water chestnuts, mushrooms, etc.). I ordered the pad thai with chicken. The chicken was larger than I had expected it to be and the pad thai was a lot more «slippery» than I would have liked it to be. I still finished the whole thing though. haha.
My cousin got the lettuce wraps which was a lot healthier of a choice. I wasn’t a fan of it though because the chicken had a lot of ginger in it and I could really taste the prevalence of the ginger in every bite. It was still a good portion for merely being an appetizer though.
Like I said, the food was okay, but the cashier/​staff was what really made my experience enjoyable here. Thank you for all that you did.

I’ve been here a few times over the past year and they’ve been pretty good with the consistency of the food. I also like that you can order online and pick it up after. The food is what I’d consider a fast, cheap, and easy comfort food for those days when I’ve had a rough week and I just wanna fill up on delicious, artery-​clogging, fattening Chinese take out.
I have to say, I love their energy in customer service. I like that they try to be friendly when you walk in or take your order. It’s stress reducing to not have to deal with another grumpy human being, y’know what I mean… There was once when a cashier gave a really good suggestion when I was ordering. I probably only had one negative experience with a worker here and even that was very brief that I shook it off easy enough.
5 stars because there doesn’t seem to have much of a competition. Panda Express is down the street but when I last tried Panda Express, I felt gross because it was just so starchy, greasy, and sugary. Not that Pick Up Stix isn’t but at least Pick Up Stix is tastier.
I love the house chicken special, garlic shrimp, and their tofu dishes are soooo good! I haven’t tried any beef dishes yet but maybe some time. The spring rolls and cream cheese wontons are also good.

Ordered only 2 eggrolls, taking over 15mins for them to get it… Still waiting. Really?