Panda Inn

Super impressed with the food here and pleasantly surprised by the atmosphere. I ordered «panda beef» which was just a mixture of crunchy, sweet, spicy goodness. Thoroughly impressed with this place and will definitely be back.

First time trying this place out and I’m really glad we did. The host at the front was very inviting and even offered to get us waters as we waited to get drinks from our server. He definitely goes the extra mile to do his job. Our server was excellent and truly professional. The food itself is amazing. I had the chicken in garlic sauce, which was pleasantly spicy and delicious. The egg drop soup was a good start to the meal and the white chocolate dipped fortune cookie finished the meal with a bang. We will definitely be back to experience this restaurant again.

*orange chicken — great flavor and hearty portion
*beef with broccoli– big chunks of beef and fresh broccoli
*chow mein –average
*fried rice — average and appeared to be more brown rice than actual fried rice
*fortune cookies with white chocolate — unique and delicious!
All in all good fast Chinese food but not mind blowing

Located on the fifth level (top level) of the Horton Plaza mall, Panda Inn is a full sit down restaurant that primarily serves Mandarin cuisine. I had a pleasant dining experience during lunch. It took approximately an hour to complete my meal, but it was relaxing. I ordered the Spicy Trio which includes chicken breast, beef, shrimp and fresh vegetables medley in a spicy garlic sauce for $ 10.50. I loved the fact that it included soup and salad. I had a choice of either egg drop soup or hot and sour soup. I chose the egg drop soup which was delicious. Finally, my spicy trio came. I devoured the dish. The service was also great as my drink was constantly refilled. I would love to come back here again, although this time around, I would take the elevator up to Panda Inn instead of the escalators. I believe there is an elevator close to Nordstrom.

A destination for Chinese food lovers like myself! I made the pilgrimage up here for lunch. The lunch menu is at the front of the regular menu and it’s quite a bit less expensive. I tried the spicy eggplant with fried tofu. It was excellent. See photo. The service was also fantastic, they were very attentive and it was not too long of a wait. At lunchtime, it’s a fun place for a fairly upscale experience at a reasonable price. Of course one of the highlights was getting the famous white chocolate fortune cookie. All in all I’m longing for another opportunity to come back!

My new favorite Chinese spot! I do caution you though… if your used to dragon king on the corner mom and pop type of place this will be very different. This is actually gourmet chinese, with traditional dishes but presented gourmet style along with slightly different ingredients from the usual. It’s located at the very tip top of Horton Plaza Mall next to Mad House Comedy Club. Beautiful location I might add… where you can see the view of downtown if you choose to sit outside. Cute little candles on the tables so very romantic.
For food I chose, there crab wonton as a starter which were devine! Not like these rinks dink ones from usual Chinese restaurants, no these ones ate huge! And very cream and are actually stuffed to the max. For my entrée I got a full order of panda rice, which was fried rice topped with mushrooms, shrimp, scallops, peas, and oyster sauce which made the rice very flavorful. Kind of reminded me of soy sauce. Service was great I received Norma and she was awesome.

I would give 3.5?for the food flavor if they put pork in my assorted wonton soup (they forgot) and minus one for my service Jimmy terrible waiter– he didn’t bring crunchy noodles or hot mustard-​sweet sour sauce, I had to ask he seemed irritated and ended up brining a tiny plate not even enough to for the soup. I had a dot of hot mustard. My combo lo-​mein was much thicker and rounder type noodles then authentic Chinese restaurants use.
For 23 just for soup and a small late of lo-​mein — the service should have been excellent. I always leave 20% even more sometimes, he undeservingly got 15% just in case he had to share it, he personally deserved 5% considering I had to ask another waiter for more water, more crunchy noodles and the check!
It is the most expensive Chinese Restaurant around but I don’t care if you get what you paid for-​this was lacking. Next time WANGS even though it’s out of the way…

Panda Inn is a decent place for groups, has okay food, and reasonable service. If you sit in the back, you are treated to a view of the federal building and the Metropolitan Correctional Center (federal jail), though it’s not unpleasant.
I’ve been here many times before because this is a Chinese restaurant that is American friendly. In other words, this place is a step above Panda Express. But it’s no healthier.
I’ve tried several dishes here throughout the years. I’ve had the Singapore noodles, chicken wonton soup, Phoenix chicken, spicy chicken with vegetables (green beans and mushrooms), and fried eggplant. The problem with most of their dishes if that they are heavy, often fried, and overly sweet. I suppose those qualities mean that it’s friendly to the less adventurous palate though.
Of all those options, I recommend the Singapore noodles and the wonton soup. The Singapore noodles are made with rice noodles, some vegetables (like peppers and carrots), a light curry wine sauce, and a protein of your choice. It’s not authentic, but nothing here really is and at least it won’t leave you feeling like you need a nap. It’s also not a lunch special option.
The same is true of the chicken wonton soup. The broth is light and doesn’t have too much flavor. There are a few vegetables and plenty on wontons. It’s light and probably one of the healthier options on the menu.
I hated the eggplant. Not only was it sickly sweet, but it was greasy and lacked flavor. I felt sick after eating it. It’s available on the lunch discussion menu.
The Phoenix chicken is like Orange Chicken. Fried and sweet with a very slight kick, it’s alright, but nothing is ever crave. It’s also pretty heavy. It’s advisable as a lunch special.
The spicy chicken with vegetables is okay. It’s covered in a thick dark brown sauce. It’s also got a slight kick for those who like spicy, but nothing that makes you reach for your water.
The meal ends with a fortune cookie dipped in white chocolate. It’s my favorite part of the meal.

This was actually one of my husbands bookmarks because he likes Panda Express, which is owned by Panda Inn. I was skeptical, but let me tell you that this place is completely different as far as taste and ambiance goes compared to Panda Express. I’m so glad that I tried Panda Inn and enjoyed it enough that I stopped at their Pasadena location for lunch a few days after my visit to this San Diego location.
Park in the parking garage of the Horton Plaza. You will need to get your parking validated, so don’t forget to do that. If you are picking up a to-​go order or eating inside, make sure to give your ticket to the hostess inside Panda Inn and they will validate it for you so parking will be free. I think the ticket said there was a 3 hour limit, but read your ticket and make sure. Panda Inn is located at the top level on the Horton Plaza. You will climb what feels like several sets of stairs and go through what also feels like a maze to get there. Thank goodness the food is worth the reward for the smidge of hassle it takes finding this place for the first time!
I loved the décor inside. It’s done very nicely and the people working were very friendly and helpful. They have booths and tables, but also to the right of the restaurant they also have a small and cozy bar area. You can sit at the bar or at one of the high-​top tables and watch TV. There is also seating right outside the restaurant. Prices were fair and portions large. With your meal you get the usual fortune cookie at the end, but here they give you chocolate dipped fortune cookies wrapped in bright colored foil. Cool! There was also plenty of white and brown rice to go along with the food.
Minced Chicken with Lettuce Cups ($ 7.50) — This comes with 4 lettuce cups, but I asked for extra and it wasn’t an issue at all and it was free. The portion of the chicken is huge, so 4 lettuce cups just will not cut it unless you plan on putting some of the chicken over white rice which is totally delicious. The chicken tasted great, the lettuce was crisp and I loved the toasted almonds. Winner winner chicken dinner.
Wok-​Seared Mongolian Beef (small $ 11) — Sliced beef with garlic, green onions, bamboo shoots and spicy sauce. Not all menu items claiming to be hot or spicy actually live up to being spicy, but this dish certainly did just that! It packed a lot of heat and great flavor. Hubby and I both loved it and I’d definitely order it again.

Question: What kind of Chinese place (even upscale) not only doesn’t offer Almond Chicken, but doesn’t even have any almonds anywhere on the premises? Very weird…
Moving past that… a group of 8 – 10 girlfriends and I go to Panda Inn every few months (we reserve their back room, because we’re sometimes loud and obnoxious — which the servers find hilarious since we range from 40-​something to 70-​something!) We order several appetizers and several (family-​sized) entrees, and share everything, so we’ve tried a wide range of dishes.
My favorites are their Honey Walnut Shrimp, the Mango Duck Salad (never seen anything like it anywhere else!), the BBQ Ribs, and the Veggies Potstickers. The side of Green Beans, the War Wonton Soup, the Kung Pao Shrimp, and the Cashew (since they didn’t have almonds) Chicken, are favs of some of the others. And the CHOCOLATE DIPPED fortune cookies are a treat (and they’ve always given me good fortunes!)
The service varies with the various servers we have had. We’ve had a server on Monday nights (Ricky, I think) who is always very attentive. This time (Tuesday night) we had a woman — don’t know her name), who didn’t check on us as often, but did an adequate job, and gave us no problem taking 9 different credit cards!
This isn’t your «hole in the wall» place. It’s in Horton Plaza, and upscale, with a very nice atmosphere. The food is consistently good. They changed the menu since I was there last, with most, but not all, the same dishes. All in all, a consistently-​good and pleasurable experience

Went here for lunch on a Sunday with my family for my mom’s birthday. Located at the top level in the Horton Plaza shopping mall, it’s an Americanized Chinese restaurant but the food is pretty good. The décor is clean and has some slight Asian influences. Get your parking pass validated before you leave!
We ordered a few dishes to share family style which included:
Tea smoked duck: similar to Peking duck in other Chinese restaurants, the duck skin was crispy and the meat was tender. It wasn’t overly oily like other places make it, so that was a plus.
Sizzling scallops and asparagus: the scallops had a good crispy outside and a tender inside, and the sauce they put on it tasted similar to the black bean sauce for the fish.
Fish in black bean sauce: tender pieces of fish and this dish had a little kick. Quite tasty.
Sautéed mixed vegetables: simple sautéed baby bok choy, shiitake mushrooms, water chestnuts, zucchini, broccoli and bell peppers. The menu said there was lotus root in the mix too but our plate did not come with it…
Three flavors sizzling rice soup: the soup was good, the broth was light and refreshing and the crispy rice pieces were a nice textural contrast. Loved the bamboo shoots in the soup.
Overall a really good meal, but a little pricey. But I know with the price we’re paying we’re getting a bit better quality as well. The white chocolate dipped fortune cookies they offered us at the end of our meal were stale though.

I’ll start by saying these things:
1) I’m not used to nice Chinese restaurants.
2) I probably won’t venture over to this restaurant very often at all.
3) It’s definitely not a bad choice to eat here.
I’ve been here on two occasions. Once for a group dinner, and once for a buffet lunch meet-​up with a friend who worked in the area. Both times, I ate well.
What I find invigorating is the fact that they don’t try extra hard to appeal to all these pansy hipsters by offering Asian Fusion nonsense. It’s basically nice-​quality Chinese food. Taste that is similar enough for Chinese people, service tolerable enough for butt-​kiss-​demanding Americans.
The message I’m trying to convey is this:
As a restaurant, I have no qualms. It’s actually really good for what it is. At the same time, ‘what it is’ is something I can’t quite decide is something I can stand behind or not. I’m used to places that are a bit more raw, a bit of «Cantonese hospitality» like they have at Jasmine on Convoy, so I can only speak for myself in that department.
So, without actually claiming to be a fan of this place, I would absolutely recommend it for a nice meal.
TIPS:
— Since this place is in Horton Plaza, definitely validate your parking before you return to your car. And make sure you don’t stay for longer than 3 hours, or else they’ll start charging you.
— As mentioned in other reviews, do not confuse this place with Panda Express. Not the same. Unlike Panda Express, Panda Inn is actually Chinese.

WOW! Expensive!
Sizzling crispy garlic chicken $ 15.00: Never sizzled at our table. When I order a sizzling dish, I expect it to keep sizzling for at least 2 – 3 seconds before it dies down. This dish however did not live up to my expectations.
Upside down crispy pan-​fried noodles $ 10.00: The crispy noodles came out in a pyramid shaped form (which looked great), but at waiter’s tray stand they were flattened onto its plate. By the time the noodles made it at our table, it was just another crispy noodle dish. So disappointed with final presentation.
BBQ pork fried rice: We have had better fried rice than this. Not worth ordering it.
Overall, we are very disappointed with the quality of the food considering how expensive they are.
Lunch specials are only Mondays thru Fridays. Even at that, plan to spend no less than $ 10 an item.

No, Panda Inn is not related to Panda Express. Panda Inn is a Americanized Chinese restaurant located on «floor 5» of Hortons plaza. Expect to be lost in Hortons maze before finding it.
Craving some Chinese food but didn’t want Panda Express. Sure at panda ex I might have gotten a better deal for my money, but the greasiness was probably not worth it, besides panda ex has gotten stingy on portions and high in price. I came upon Panda Inn using my favorite app ( Unilocal) and decided to come.
They have good lunch options. I chose the spicy combination (shrimp, beef, and chicken) in a brown sauce with white rice. They also give you salad, an eggroll and a soup to go. Most places don’t give that soup unless you eat in! Also the food comes with a white chocolate dip cookie! The portions weren’t big but there were lots of food items to get you a good full. I love their fortune cookie because anything dip in white chocolate is good!

Thos place is really good.
The crab wonton are so delicious.
And the Mushu was mew to me but definitely good kinda new.
Then we ordered some hot tea that was good too
Enjoyed it with the gloomy weather we have been having specially looking out the window in the back the fog covering the buildings in the sky.
As for dinner I believe everything was delicious even my friends thought so too no complains.
~Nice place ~ has good service ~ good inside and outside view of the down town san diego sitty ~ friendly ~ good food~

Located on the top level at Horton Plaza, it’s a nicer atmosphere. It’s not authentic Chinese food, but compared to the other bland choices in the surrounding vicinity, it’s a decent, albeit, pricey option.
Their hot & sour soup is yummy and the best deal on the menu ($ 6.45 for a bowl for 4 people). Entrees are mid-​range pricing (~$ 13) but at least the serving size is decent. Service is friendly, but you do have to flag them down for a water refill.
The asparagus dish was awesome, as was their lemon chicken and garlic chicken. The crab cream cheese appetizer was more cream cheese than crab. My friends loved the pork fried rice. I appreciated the generous portions and the fact that none of the dishes were overly salty.
The weakest item was the garlic shrimp noodles. It was not an asian dish. It was spaghetti on a plate w/​some shrimp. Hardly any garlic flavor. We all agreed that was the only «bad» dish.
They give you white chocolate dipped fortune cookies wrapped in pink or red foil. Nice touch.
3 hrs. free validated parking at the mall.

Bbq pork roasting oven
Scent rises into the air
Red in afternoon.
Bbq pork was one of the most delicious things my mom use to make. Oven could not contain the delicious scent. It started as a splinter of a scent but after an hour it was more a redwood forest. I’d wait in kitchen to get a sample of the delicious pork as it was taken out of the oven and a piece was sliced off to confirm it’s doneness. Ahh… Soft tender pork, caramelized bark, and the most wonderful flavor. I miss my mom and her delicious bbq pork.
P.J. suggested I try this place. I was intrigued as this is a sister restaurant to Panda Express. This place is nice. Nicer than PF Changs as they have white table clothes here in addition to the classy décor. Service was excellent. I tried the bbq pork pan fried noodles. The bbq pork was very good. Flavor similar to what Panda Express use to make. The sauce was good but the quantity of sauce had me thinking this dish was more like how lo mien is sauced. The noodles were a bit more chewy than I like. I’m use to the noodles being pan fried more crispy and then sauce being poured on it restoring the moisture. Overall this dish is pretty good. White chocolate covered fortune cookie was excellent. I love white chocolate and I love fortune cookies so I found the combination of flavors delicious.
I don’t go to Panda Express anymore after they stopped serving bbq pork. Panda Inn is very good. I prefer it to PF Changs but my fav spot remains Imperial Mandarin for their delicious bbq pork pan fried noodles and bbq pork buns. :-)