Pao
2824 Plaza Dr, Springfield
(217) 546-4660
Recent Reviews
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Overall 3/5. Server was great. Appetizers were hit or miss, egg rolls were delicious while deviled eggs and shrimp cocktail were okay. Salads were the best, 5/5. They did not have sushi which was not told to us making the reservation, at hostess stand, or even before we ordered our drinks which was disappointing. The rice dishes were on par with Panda Express but 2-3x the price. I’d maybe come back for drinks /appetizers or to give the sushi a try but would not order off the entree menu again.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 5
Best food in Springfield, IL
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Excellent food and service. Classy establishment and great local restaurant.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Martinis were so good !!! The lobster dumpling are special, small yet carry a wonderful flavor. Scallops were great and so were the desserts.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
My husband and I have been wanting to try this place for a while and finally went tonight. The steak egg rolls were probably the highlight of what we tried, but they were not anything special. They reminded me of something you could get at Chili’s or even from the frozen food section at the grocery store.
We split a sushi roll next and did not even finish it, which says a lot because we have never left sushi unfinished before. It was very bland and lacked flavor.
For our main course, we shared the prime rib with garlic mashed potatoes. It was okay, but nothing that really stood out. We could not even bring ourselves to finish one plate between the two of us.
Unfortunately, we ended up leaving and going somewhere else afterward just to feel satisfied. Overall, we were disappointed and would not return.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 3
Food was great once again, enjoy the bone in pork chop. last night it took a bit longer for the food to come out.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 3
The good:
This is probably one of the few restaurants open after 10 PM in Springfield and that’s why we went there. We were a party of 7 celebrating a friend’s birthday.
Their Cajun pasta- 4.5/5
Sea bass- 4/5.
Sushi- 3.5/5
So overall there were a few things that we tried that were good and this restaurants late open timing is definitely a plus (that is if you would go there a second time which is questionable)
The bad:
The Pao chicken was flooded with pao sauce which made it hard to eat more than 2 bites of that monstrosity. That was a negative 5 out of 5. I went back and looked at photos of that thing on their page and my food was definitely not supposed to be floating in their sweet and sour sauce. All of their other food we ordered was over “meh”. Just plain “meh”.
The ugly:
Now, there was one person in our party who was vegetarian(I know😌). So we asked what was vegetarian on their menu and were told they could make a California roll that was vegetarian. Although skeptical, we went ahead and got it but sure enough it had real crab in it! When confronted about it they said sorry, but you can go ahead and order the veg rolls now! No accountability for what should be considered a serious error in the food industry.
The verdict:
It is a decent upscale restaurant with some good items in the menu but clearly the way it is run with poor service, but inconsistent and flatly bad food and lack of accountability, is what will never make me go back there.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 1
Good food, ok service.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 3
Very nice food! Excellent service!!
My girl friend and I with my niece and he husband recommended, they live in the neighborhood.
Slow service for as few customers as they had on a Tuesday night 9PM 10 June 2025. I had the Tuscan salad with Sirloin. The meat was so stringy it would not cut with a knife had to use my fingers to pull it apart (my guess was sirloin tips). Salad was made mostly of pieces you would normally not use in a $25 salad.
Nice staff, however very slow service. Would not recommend this place to anyone. Don't live in Springfield but I have lots of family and friends in the area told everyone of them about this experience. If things don't improve we don't expect this place to be open for a long time. Over priced even for average food.
Atmosphere: 1
Service: 2
Restaurantji Recommends
Our severs name was Pam, we went there for my friends birthday. She came back to the table after everyone had paid and tipped mind you and proceeded to complain about it not being enough. There was 7 of us and we all tipped her 20%. Which was more than enough. She then proceeded to say she should’ve charged us the 22% equity. Overall the experience was very unprofessional and we will be speaking to the owners of the establishment.
Food is Excelent! Cocktails aren't quite as impressive... We basically tried Everything!
Way to many loud mouth Karen's and Kenneths.. If they wasn't so loud and ignorant, it might have been a great place to revisit. But,,, since I'm me and don't wanna hurt people. Maybe not!!!
Great steak. Also had the special deviled eggs. So flavorful really enjoyed the food
Food is mediocre and service is extremely slow. Came here at 5:30 for dinner reservation and ate the first bite of my entree at 8:30pm. Would have left except I already ordered. The Pao steak was tough and the Pao chicken was essentially the mandarin orange chicken you can find at Panda Express. Dine at your own risk.
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