Panda Express

My kids like Panda Express so we eat there every month or so, especially when we’re rushing to and from sports or other activities, because the food is pre-​made and supposedly «express.»
Well, after visiting several Panda Express restaurants around the valley, these guys get the lowest review of the bunch.
The service here just blows. We are never greeted when we go to the counter to order; in fact, we are studiously ignored. Today it was 6 people standing there, avoiding eye contact with us for almost 2 minutes. That’s not okay in my book.
They were out of one the sides we ordered (mixed veggies), so they set all our food aside to get cold, including plates that were complete, while they waited for more veggies. When I asked if we could at least have the plates that were done so some of us could start eating (we were in a hurry), they were huffy with me. Then the girl who was helping me dished herself up a huge plate of food and plopped down in the dining room to eat. Nobody else seemed to even know or care we were still waiting for our food! By this time we’d been waiting 15 minutes.
When we finally got our food, what a disappointment. Again, we’ve eaten at Panda a lot, so we know exactly what to expect, and this was sub-​par.
Teriyaki chicken: shriveled, probably hours old. Was left uneaten on the plate.
Chow Mein: Burned, dehydrated noodles. Greasier than normal and not very good.
Broccoli Beef: Should have been called Broccoli Broccoli. Two tiny slivers of beef.
Fried Rice: Good
Mixed Veggies: Hot and fresh (considering the 15 minute wait, they better have been!)
One dish deserves a special shout out: the mushroom chicken. It was hot and seemed fresh… until I bit into a large, sharp piece of plastic (for added flavor?). Either somebody wasn’t paying attention and dropped it in (which is bad), OR, somebody dropped it in and just didn’t care (which is worse). Either way, that’s a fail.
With all the options for a quick dinner when you’re on the run, this Panda Express drops off our list of places to visit.

Showed up at 9pm and they close at 930. Expecting some things to be out but not everything. No fried rice, very few chicken items and sparse amounts of what was left. The food they did have looked like it was sitting since 7pm. Nothing that was out was being made. No fryers were running and no ovens. We were one of about 6 other people who left without being greeted or welcomed. This isn’t the first time we have eaten at this location but we did walk away and get café rio instead. We will be back but not anytime after 5pm.

I placed an online order at about 1:00 to be ready by 4:30. I got off work early so I called to have it pushed up a bit. The girl didn’t seem to know what I was talking about much, and when I got there at like 4:27 they hadn’t started to order. Well I stepped up and they still gave me a sample despite having already ordered, and since it was so close to the time and they hadn’t started it yet, they gave me a free drink while I waited. But they got it out to me so fast I only had time to fill up my drink and choose a table before they brought it out to me. The server was very friendly and accommodating, I would definitely recommend it! I was happy with their customer service.
One warning though: if you go when it isn’t very busy or on a slow day, the food won’t be as fresh. So go during the rush times and you won’t regret it! :)

Panda Express is great when you want Chinese fast food. Their fried rice is great & their chow mein is also good. The entrees are also excellent. My particular favorites are Kung Pao Chicken, Beijing Beef (which is especially good when fresh,) and String Bean Chicken. The String Bean Chicken can be hard to find, but this location seems to have it all the time, so that’s a definite plus!
The only thing that’s kind of a downer is that there’s a «hit & miss» factor with the portion size. It all depends on the staff member you get… some people are skimpy on their portions while others are extremely generous. If they could fix this, it’d definitely be 5 stars!

Initially I wasn’t a fan but I came back a second and third time with people from the office and both times were much better than my first visit to this location.
The hard part is that it can be hit and miss. On a busy day when they are going through food quickly, you’re likely to get fresh food. When you come outside of the rush or on a day that is not busy, you can get food that has spent more than it’s fair share of time under the heat lamps and that doesn’t taste good at all.
Since it is not cook to order, try to come at the busier times to get fresh Americanized Chinese food that is pretty good.

panda is always bomb! the staff was laid back in a good way. will come again

I got an email from Panda Express. In this they gave me a free serving of Thai Cashew Chicken. No purchase required. Now that is my kind of offer. It is a no brainer to go try this out.
I got in there and the guy that waited on me was beyond helpful and pleasant. I noticed that there was none of the free offer cooked up. He told me it would only take a few minutes for it to get done.
The cook didn’t seem real happy to come out and cook this but did. It only took a few minutes just like he said. While I waited he offered me free samples. Such a pleasant guy.
Not a big fan of the free Thai Cashew Chicken but it was free so the price was right. The rest of the food I ordered was Orange Chicken and the Noodles. Both of those were wonderful.

I like panda. your typical Americanized Chinese food. When I’ve got a noodle and walnut shrimp craving. This is my spot.

I do like Panda but it always floors me that they are so stingy with the soy sauce. I spend 20 bucks on two meals and some egg rolls and get only two packs of soy sauce.

Why I continue to eat at Panda Express is beyond me. There was a time that I really liked their orange chicken and the beef and broccoli was yummy too. But recently I’ve been really disappointed with not only the quality of the food but the really small portions. There was a time not too long ago that I could get a 2-​entrée plate and it would be piled high with fresh, yummy, succulent orange chicken, more than enough for one meal if not for leftovers later. These days the quality of the food seems to have gone down A LOT and the portions have also been cutback significantly. This is sad because for fast food Chinese, the Panda Express used to be kind in my opinion.