Long winded, you're forewarned.
Our family stopped by to have an early dinner... this around 3:30pm on July 30th, 2025. We entered the lobby, the place was quiet, and noted especially so: there wasn't any receiving host staff at the front desk when we entered and there were only three parties dining in the main area, but someone showed up in under 2 mins to take us to our dining table.
So, notably and mentioned, the dining area of unoccupied tables and space was palpable, where comparing years back situationally, summer, mid-day... was still odd.
We were led in to the first booth, there where appetizer sized plates already on the table, but no eating utensils were there... the combo, though not unreasonable, was odd as the host/hostess bringing folks in would have handled that - but not the case that day, apparently.
Pausing the review, I have to say now that we live close by, and have been going to this particular restaurant, on and off, for nearly a decade, this in addition to patronizing the chain in different cities and states for over 25 years, so we're familiar with the brand, and familiar with the changes locally, especially those since the onset of Covid moving forward. Most recently, we at the Atlanta Airport PFC which was a great experience.
Having said this, comparatively, the overall presentation of the local restaurant signals "downward" and "struggling" to us, this a continual, gradual over those last few years, sad, but painfully obvious.
So to continue the review, we were seated.
Server is nice and prompt. She took our drink order, and we ordered appetizers... a double order of potstickers; the dinner order was done at this time.
Drinks took a hot minute to show up, considering the lack of diner traffic, it seemed a while.
Pot stickers came, we dug in and they seemed heated, then sat, then reheated to fill our order. The noodle portion of the potstickers dense, like dry-dense; not moist like they had been in times past.
Of note, we had to ask for utensils after the appetizer was delivered.
Moving forward, we had ordered two entrees: Mongolian Beef and Crispy Honey Chicken; we also ordered a chicken lo/chow mein. This essentially is our "PFC regular order".
We dug in and signs of already warmed, then rewarmed food, at least for the lo mein and Crispy Chicken, was present.
The lo mein's chicken was dry, like overcooked dry, sitting under a salamander dry as the noodles were not moust, but again, kind of overcooked-dehydrated presenting. The Crispy Chicken's serving portion was noticeably small, where the bed of white rice noodles they were on was voluminous in comparison and the chicken/sauce combo was oldish, with the sauce being oddly a different color, tasting much like raw honey added onto the plate after a sauce was prepared, and this was atypical for the dish. This was my wife's order and she took one bite, pushing it away.
Adding insult to the dining experience? The square "appetizer" plates that were on the table before we arrived? They were the dinner plates for the whole meal.
My rant: lThose plates are small, too smallish for the purpose of sharing dinner entrées as the dining style suggests. Now, this isn't a local thing: the PFC at the ATL had the same plates and just a weird change at the brand level that I don't support as a patron - personal choice. End rant.
The only entree that turned out was the Mongolian Beef, but it was in smallish proportion, like the chicken, as well. Serving size seems a crapshoot compared to years past and I've no idea what dictates the randomness of what one receives after the order.
So, for the privilege of eating very average Chinese, early dinner dine-in, we paid $106 plus change, adding to that the tip.
To me, the cost is not worth the experience, at least at this chain PFC locally.
Food had the texture and taste of being "old", on top of being expensive for what you get in the first place, and the chain itself seems to split its retail between the restaurant and the take-out/pick-up business for folks wishing to have food delivered. The service suggests this as does the quality and quantity of the food provided - but I think this is the world we now live in. For the price though, the dine-in experience could have been better, or at least par with what they used to be, perhaps an unreasonable expectation on my behalf.
Skip? Give it another try? We're on the fence. Hope this review helps. read more