I can see why there have been other negative reviews for this place. We typically go to the S King St location. I walked here (1 mile) this morning to pick up some food for a potluck this evening. Got there at 10:30, which is the advertised opening time. Doors locked. Waited a few minutes, then knocked on the door. Gal inside said something which I could not hear as I was gesturing toward my wrist. Couple minutes later she opened the door and said "Come inside". She then started setting up the tables outside - there was one guy cooking at the wok. There was chow mein but nothing else ready. NO ENTREES at all. When the girl came back in I asked her why do they advertise opening at 10:30 when nothing is ready? She just gave me mean stink eye and walked away. Very bad reflection on Panda Express as a whole and terrible for business. Go to a different Panda, this place is absolutely terrible. I've never seen anything like this.
Buster B.
I was sad to find out that they don't actually serve Panda at this location but I was pleasantly surprised with the Kung Pao chicken and the black chick I had no idea that black chicken tastes better than white chickens but apparently they do. You have to specifically ask for soy sauce packets. I guess they do that because people steal the soy sauce packets. What a shame. I can just picture people wasting precious soy sauce if you're allowed to grab as many as you want. They've got their fried rice down to a science. They really nailed that!
Tom Smith
The best Orange Chicken ever. The panda needs to go international.
Jasmine
There's a young female staff whose service went beyond the imagination. It wasn't dramatic but I've never experienced that considerate service at any fast food places.
Myning C.
Has given this location several chances - on other occasions - limited selection and not fresh- tonight before the 7:30 movie I stopped by for a bowl- the starch I chose was the broccoli- the last of it - It was spoiled - tasted like old broccoli that was cooked from expired plastic bags - I understand it miust be slow at times at that location but broccoli of this quality should never be served!
Annalynn D.
This review is for Mary. (I assume she's the manager.. and if she isn't, she should be) Came in on the night after Christmas, it's busy but not bad. Mary was behind the counter to take our order. She made sure everything she put in the plate was fresh. If thy were making it, she said she would deliver to our table.. and in the midst of dealing with all the customers she's now walking around, asking people how they are doing and cleaning. In my opinion she is amazing. She made us feel like valued customers. She cared about the quality of her food. Amazing! Thank you Mary for making our night!
Katherine L.
My bf and I love Panda Express. Obviously it's not authentic Chinese food, but we appreciate it for what it is - tasty, fast and easy-to-satisfy comfort food. This is the closest location to us so we tend to walk over. We always share a 3-entree plate. I must have chow funn and eggplant tofu (if either aren't available, I wait or walk out) and the 2 other entrees are interchangeable. Today, we had the: *Chow fun - decent portion and cooked perfectly and tasty and not too oily *eggplant tofu - love how the eggplant is soft and soaks up that tangy sauce and the firm tofu adds textural contrast *honey sesame chicken (for the first time) - nice bit of crisp exterior with that sweet glaze, though not as tasty as, for example, their tangy orange chicken *Beijing beef - tangy and chewy, love how the fresh crisp sweet bell pepper compliments the beef. In general, the food and portions were good today. However, I give them less stars because they did not have chow fun nor the Beijing beef ready. They open at 10:30am and we came around 11am (and they couldn't have been THAT crazy busy not to be able to maintain their supply). We had to wait 5+ minutes for both. In our experience, it is not uncommon for them to be running out of food and not efficiently managing the flow of supply (and they don't seem as busy as other Panda Express locations). Often they don't have all of the food ready by when they open. Also, I wish this location served hot & sour soup. Tip: if getting the 3 entree combo plate, request that it all be in one plate (they tend to give you more than if your third entree is separated into that tiny Chinese take-out box).
elizabeth Alarcio
We visited your Ward store last night and noticed there's not much food to choose from. My husband says, they'll cook it as you place your order. Wow! That's freshness! I enjoyed my black pepper chicken, really tasty. But what impressed me the most was, when it slowed down, PAXTON went out and started wiping tables and greeted each customer that's dining and asked if everything is okay. When it got busy, he went back and helped behind the counter again. The next time around, it's NOEL's turn and did the same thing! I really appreciate this kind of service... You have an awesome team working for you. Even the cooks were busy whipping up food as ordered, they are fast! I don't normally leave comments, but PAXTON and NOEL really made a very good impression, I had to ask for their names! That's a perfect example of customer service. Give them a raise! ðŸ‘ðŸ‘
Mark A.
We go to Panda Express a lot, but not this one. Well, one day, we wanted something to eat and we were only a block away, so we decided to go to this location rather than drive to our usual one. We arrived at about 7:30 on a weeknight. Several of the bowls they use to hold the food were empty. I placed my order, making sure I ordered things they actually had. Well, I guess they didnt have enough of one, so they decided to make more. They told me it would only take 5 minutes to make, but it was more like 10-15. I also ordered some spring rolls, and for some reason, they didnt bother to get those together until after everything else was ready. When I arrived, there was no line and only maybe 2-3 people were seated. By the time I left, I'd say there were maybe 5 people behind me in line. Apparently, one of the people behind me ordered something I would have rather had, except they were out of it. For some reason, this was ready at the same time as my shrimp, even though I put my order in first. I would have preferred to have the beef instead of the chicken I ordered for my second entree. However, I noticed that rather than cooking a whole batch, they only cooked enough for about 2 people. So if I changed my order, one of them would have to wait for them to make even more Beijing Beef. It was the same thing with my shrimp - they made enough for 1-2 orders and that was it. This store closes at 9; an hour and a half after I was there. However, it was clear these guys were phoning it in. They were looking forward to eventually getting off work and that's all they were concerned about. They didnt bother to have the full menu on hand, and they only bother to cook the bare minimum to satisfy what customers were ordering at the time and they don't care if you have to wait because of it. I was not happy about having to wait and Im not happy that because of their minimalist attitude, I wasnt able to change my order without screwing up other peoples' orders. If you make a fresh batch of something and one extra person wants it, that shouldnt be a problem. Bottom line, I won't be going back here.
I don't often eat at Panda Express, but every now and then I get a craving for orange chicken. I like getting the bowl with half chow fun, half vegetables as the base and orange chicken for the meat. At $9, this isn't the best deal in town, but it satisfies my orange chicken craving and doesn't leave me feeling overfilled. I like this location because it's in ward center. I'm not above taking pandas in to the theaters and ward has a bunch of little tables outside panda and Starbucks if I just want to chill outside. On my last visit here, I came in 20 minutes before closing. A bunch of dishes were not in the display case as usual, including the noodles. I asked if it was possible to get noodles and they happily made me fresh noodles. I thought that was nice of them. They didn't have to do that, I could have gotten fried rice instead....
Anita Angton
Clean & Refreshing
Paula I.
I stop by here pretty much every week to pick up something for my husband and every time, I always have to wait for 5 to 15 minutes for them to cook something that I want on the menu.
Great and Fast Service.
I can see why there have been other negative reviews for this place. We typically go to the S King St location. I walked here (1 mile) this morning to pick up some food for a potluck this evening. Got there at 10:30, which is the advertised opening time. Doors locked. Waited a few minutes, then knocked on the door. Gal inside said something which I could not hear as I was gesturing toward my wrist. Couple minutes later she opened the door and said "Come inside". She then started setting up the tables outside - there was one guy cooking at the wok. There was chow mein but nothing else ready. NO ENTREES at all. When the girl came back in I asked her why do they advertise opening at 10:30 when nothing is ready? She just gave me mean stink eye and walked away. Very bad reflection on Panda Express as a whole and terrible for business. Go to a different Panda, this place is absolutely terrible. I've never seen anything like this.
I was sad to find out that they don't actually serve Panda at this location but I was pleasantly surprised with the Kung Pao chicken and the black chick I had no idea that black chicken tastes better than white chickens but apparently they do. You have to specifically ask for soy sauce packets. I guess they do that because people steal the soy sauce packets. What a shame. I can just picture people wasting precious soy sauce if you're allowed to grab as many as you want. They've got their fried rice down to a science. They really nailed that!
The best Orange Chicken ever. The panda needs to go international.
There's a young female staff whose service went beyond the imagination. It wasn't dramatic but I've never experienced that considerate service at any fast food places.
Has given this location several chances - on other occasions - limited selection and not fresh- tonight before the 7:30 movie I stopped by for a bowl- the starch I chose was the broccoli- the last of it - It was spoiled - tasted like old broccoli that was cooked from expired plastic bags - I understand it miust be slow at times at that location but broccoli of this quality should never be served!
This review is for Mary. (I assume she's the manager.. and if she isn't, she should be) Came in on the night after Christmas, it's busy but not bad. Mary was behind the counter to take our order. She made sure everything she put in the plate was fresh. If thy were making it, she said she would deliver to our table.. and in the midst of dealing with all the customers she's now walking around, asking people how they are doing and cleaning. In my opinion she is amazing. She made us feel like valued customers. She cared about the quality of her food. Amazing! Thank you Mary for making our night!
My bf and I love Panda Express. Obviously it's not authentic Chinese food, but we appreciate it for what it is - tasty, fast and easy-to-satisfy comfort food. This is the closest location to us so we tend to walk over. We always share a 3-entree plate. I must have chow funn and eggplant tofu (if either aren't available, I wait or walk out) and the 2 other entrees are interchangeable. Today, we had the: *Chow fun - decent portion and cooked perfectly and tasty and not too oily *eggplant tofu - love how the eggplant is soft and soaks up that tangy sauce and the firm tofu adds textural contrast *honey sesame chicken (for the first time) - nice bit of crisp exterior with that sweet glaze, though not as tasty as, for example, their tangy orange chicken *Beijing beef - tangy and chewy, love how the fresh crisp sweet bell pepper compliments the beef. In general, the food and portions were good today. However, I give them less stars because they did not have chow fun nor the Beijing beef ready. They open at 10:30am and we came around 11am (and they couldn't have been THAT crazy busy not to be able to maintain their supply). We had to wait 5+ minutes for both. In our experience, it is not uncommon for them to be running out of food and not efficiently managing the flow of supply (and they don't seem as busy as other Panda Express locations). Often they don't have all of the food ready by when they open. Also, I wish this location served hot & sour soup. Tip: if getting the 3 entree combo plate, request that it all be in one plate (they tend to give you more than if your third entree is separated into that tiny Chinese take-out box).
We visited your Ward store last night and noticed there's not much food to choose from. My husband says, they'll cook it as you place your order. Wow! That's freshness! I enjoyed my black pepper chicken, really tasty. But what impressed me the most was, when it slowed down, PAXTON went out and started wiping tables and greeted each customer that's dining and asked if everything is okay. When it got busy, he went back and helped behind the counter again. The next time around, it's NOEL's turn and did the same thing! I really appreciate this kind of service... You have an awesome team working for you. Even the cooks were busy whipping up food as ordered, they are fast! I don't normally leave comments, but PAXTON and NOEL really made a very good impression, I had to ask for their names! That's a perfect example of customer service. Give them a raise! ðŸ‘ðŸ‘
We go to Panda Express a lot, but not this one. Well, one day, we wanted something to eat and we were only a block away, so we decided to go to this location rather than drive to our usual one. We arrived at about 7:30 on a weeknight. Several of the bowls they use to hold the food were empty. I placed my order, making sure I ordered things they actually had. Well, I guess they didnt have enough of one, so they decided to make more. They told me it would only take 5 minutes to make, but it was more like 10-15. I also ordered some spring rolls, and for some reason, they didnt bother to get those together until after everything else was ready. When I arrived, there was no line and only maybe 2-3 people were seated. By the time I left, I'd say there were maybe 5 people behind me in line. Apparently, one of the people behind me ordered something I would have rather had, except they were out of it. For some reason, this was ready at the same time as my shrimp, even though I put my order in first. I would have preferred to have the beef instead of the chicken I ordered for my second entree. However, I noticed that rather than cooking a whole batch, they only cooked enough for about 2 people. So if I changed my order, one of them would have to wait for them to make even more Beijing Beef. It was the same thing with my shrimp - they made enough for 1-2 orders and that was it. This store closes at 9; an hour and a half after I was there. However, it was clear these guys were phoning it in. They were looking forward to eventually getting off work and that's all they were concerned about. They didnt bother to have the full menu on hand, and they only bother to cook the bare minimum to satisfy what customers were ordering at the time and they don't care if you have to wait because of it. I was not happy about having to wait and Im not happy that because of their minimalist attitude, I wasnt able to change my order without screwing up other peoples' orders. If you make a fresh batch of something and one extra person wants it, that shouldnt be a problem. Bottom line, I won't be going back here.
Restaurantji Recommends
Panda is Panda. Always as expected!
amazing
I don't often eat at Panda Express, but every now and then I get a craving for orange chicken. I like getting the bowl with half chow fun, half vegetables as the base and orange chicken for the meat. At $9, this isn't the best deal in town, but it satisfies my orange chicken craving and doesn't leave me feeling overfilled. I like this location because it's in ward center. I'm not above taking pandas in to the theaters and ward has a bunch of little tables outside panda and Starbucks if I just want to chill outside. On my last visit here, I came in 20 minutes before closing. A bunch of dishes were not in the display case as usual, including the noodles. I asked if it was possible to get noodles and they happily made me fresh noodles. I thought that was nice of them. They didn't have to do that, I could have gotten fried rice instead....
Clean & Refreshing
I stop by here pretty much every week to pick up something for my husband and every time, I always have to wait for 5 to 15 minutes for them to cook something that I want on the menu.