I placed a togo order. I had requested 4 soy sauce, I only received 2, I also didn't receive a fork or napkins to be able to eat my food. I called to talk to a rep, a young lady picked up and thought it was funny and laughed and said "oh sorry we didn't put a fork in the bag and the person that packed it must of forgotten." I asked to talk to a manager, she let me know that a manager was not there. A manager or lead such be on site to supervise and monitor. Clearly who picked up doesn't know how to properly handle customer service and needs more training. Very poor experience. read more

first review ever but i had to Super Bad service. It had a made an online order 2 family meals at 11:15 to be ready by 11:53. I arrived to the restaurant at 11:25 because I was going to add another family meal and figured they be busy... by the time I finally ordered it was about 11:45 so I asked them about my online order that I had already placed... The cashier asked and it was like no one heard I gave them another 5 min to figure it out... I had got tired of being so patient I stood at the counter had to ask again and this time cashier walked to the manager to ask and behold my boxes with stickers where ready with no food but where prioritizing walk ins... I left at 12:30 do you think that's fair? my first meal got cold... Guadalupe I know it was busy but the same way you attended Mr Catering was not fair vs my experience. Thank You! read more

Got an online order with my boyfriend I believe the person that helped us was named Evelyn. She was a younger girl with a bun came in around 8 and she was super sweet very much great customer service, which is something I look for when I go into restaurants one of the other staff forgot something on my boyfriend's plate and she was so quick and attentive to put it on right away. Overall, the way she handled the situation was just so sweet. While I watch a lot of the older people be rude and have a plain face she was the only one with a smile!:) definitely love the younger people that work here! read more

The chow main was undercooked had a really weird texture. Some of the broccoli definitely sat under the lamp way too long.. I won't go to this location again read more

Panda Express - Chinese Near Me - Goleta, California

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Miserable readiness. The food was fine, though the chicken, a little undercooked, but they are always out of the things I'd like on my plate and right at dinner time. They were out of Kung pow chicken for which I waited, during which time they ran out of string bean chicken, which I also waited for. Bad management. read more

I was going to review this Panda Express... so I am. Basically, I don't usually review places unless they are super awesome or super not awesome. This place was both at the same time. Ok... let's get started... They wouldn't give me a sample. Yes, I am that guy--the guy who loves samples. One of my fondest memories as a child was going into 31 Flavors and sampling all 31 flavors. Hahaha, just kidding--but I do love getting samples. They fill me with happiness and nostalgia. After COVID ended, samples came back. Panda Express has so many cool dishes, and I just wanted to try a few. The last Panda Express I went to had samples. This time? The lady said no samples... So yeah--the food was good, but no samples. BUT THEN--here's the twist: They had a bunch of flavored tea drinks, and they offered me samples! Yaaaasss. I sampled some of their new teas. They were pretty good! Oh, and FYI--places that offer samples sell more. That's a fact. You ever wonder why they have samples at Costco? They sell more. Follow me for more great Yelp reviews. read more

Guadalupe and her team were super friendly and fast! Loved the food! Yes, it's Panda Express and not a four star restaurant but it's great for what it is :) read more

When you order $25 worth of takeout and then one of the entree choices that you pick is listed as chicken with green beans but when your order arrives, you just have a large portion of green beans. There's literally no chicken in there. I would've never ordered that entrée if I knew that it was gonna come with no protein.! I've always had good experiences with panda express but I'm thinking it's probably because it's come from the other location at La Cumber plaza or downtown. Will definitely not order again from this location and I will make sure that if I do order again it's either La Cumbra plaza or the downtown location. When you spend $25 plus a five dollar tip it's pretty annoying on top of the iced Mango tea being waters down and flavorless You would think that you would train your staff that if something is out of stock or not as advertised, you don't go and give it out on a delivery order ! I was gonna order pizza. I should've just stuck with the pizza. I wouldn't be annoyed right now. I came back to edit my review too bad there's not an option to give no stars. I hadn't eaten all day and then I order takeout and then get ripped off and then the takeout gives me diarrhea even before I can get to the bathroom 10 mins after eating it, and since this is the only meal that I have had today, no doubt from all the grease . sorry for too much information but just beware. The location is Fairview in Goleta read more

I'm sure you don't get enough complimentary reviews but here's one thanks to employee Kevin. I've heard every excuse for employees but this employee needs no excuse because he did his job very well. Specifically, he actually COUNTED OUT CHANGE to the cash customer in front of me! Many of today's cashiers always have an excuse as to why they can't count out change to a customer. The common excuse is the vast majority of customers use a CC and don't handle cash much any more. That's more important than anything these days! It also helps to ensure that his cash register will balance at the end of his shift. Kevin should be complimented by his boss that he's not only competent but looking out for the company so as to avoid petty cash losses that can add up over time. Kudos to Kevin! read more

Ordered catering and picked it up 5 mins early. Manager was super nice and friendly! They have a deal for free party tray for catering orders over $100. It wasn't online for the order but she offered it to us anyways. That one came out in just 5-10 mins. The place was clean and nice looking. The food was good and we were very happy! read more

Hey yelpers: Regresando a llevando a las visitas y las cosas que quieren comer xD, tocó Panda Express (no es de mis lugares favoritos) pero esta vez estuvo rico y no estuvo tan lleno .. La visita quedó encantado del lugar, es lo importante pero sentí tan gel que no tuvieran Hielo , gente hace mucho calor es necesario tener bebidas frías o mínimo mucho hielo. Sin más de momento la atención fue muy buena read more

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Portions were skimmed so hard with my online order. The guy also completely forgot about my napkins or sauces but included utensils when i put "no utensils" on my order. read more

What is going on? Now when you order a plate of chow mein and double of an entree, you get mostly chow mein and a small amount of entree. It was not like this a few months ago. Is Panda purposely cutting back on the entree to cut back on costs? This practice is especially noticeable when the server is a male vs female read more

There service I see this two people with other people and they give plenty of the foods but when it comes to us that we order 4 and they give us so little and then they were even laughing at me and ignore me to what I was saying.......... read more

I placed an online order with Panda Express, but when I arrived, they had no record of it. Luckily, I had my email receipt. Even though the place was absolutely slammed during the lunch rush, Yesenia took one look, said "no problem," and got me my food right away. I even offered a small tip for the team's hard work, and she just smiled and asked if I could leave a review instead. They were hustling non-stop with a line out the door, and Yesenia's service was top-notch. I couldn't recommend them more--big shoutout to Yesenia for turning a mix-up into a great experience! read more

This is the update from last month: I received 2 promo codes after leaving a feedback over the panda mobile app. Their customer service was very courteous and responsive, so I decided to give the Fairview location another try- Both times I got my orders correctly at the time it promised! Previous Review ( not posted ) from last month: I understand it's not easy working as food server so I try very hard not to post negative reviews unless it really needs addressed. I feel like I should now after reporting this situation & requesting feedback over two weeks ago via the app and get not responses. I recently got the Panda Express app. The first time went well and the order was ready 10 minutes before the estimated pick up time. So the second time I placed an order via the app, I ordered as I was leaving work and arriving there 5 minutes early. I went to check with the cashier when it's pick up time even I didn't get the pick up text. He told me the only family meal on the shelf wasn't mine. He didn't ask anyone to check on my order. Another 10 minutes went by, still nothing so I asked again and this time finally another lady came by said they'll make it for me! One customer got her food walked by and she told me they messed up her order as well. Another 5 minutes later I found out they gave my order to someone else.... What?! The whole time I didn't get an apology neither be informed when my order will be ready even with the manager was involved. Not until the very end, 30 minutes later waiting at the site, when my order was ready and handed it to me. I could have gotten the food much sooner if I just went in and order. That way my friends wouldn't be waiting extra half an hour for me to bring over dinner. I'll definitely think twice next time if I want to place an order over the app after this terrible experience. I know this isn't a fancy restaurant but the staff needs more training. Later I received the pick up text at 6:30pm when it was estimated 5:37 pick up time after placing the order. I'd say it was pretty messed up. read more

The customer service was very good and helpful. The food looks and taste very good. Very much recommend

I love it when one can see into the kitchen! It is clean, the food is exactly as described and expected. The vegetables and meats are perfectly prepared and pretty to look at in the case and on the plate. There are many items from which to choose. The servers listen attentively to which items one desires. The prices are reasonable. The dining room is clean, modern, spacious and well-maintained. There is room between tables and plenty of seating. Their food is good for dining in or for takeout. It's delicious either way. read more

Worst panda I ever been to. Workers are slow and I ordered my food for pickup and when I opened it at home, they gave me a baby amount of orange chicken and beef broccoli and stuffed my plate with rice and noodles. Young worker also had attitude. 0/10 no wonder y'all got 2 stars read more

It was one of those nights that I HAD to have Panda. It's been a few years since I've been to Panda Express and I was looking forward to that familiar goodness of their teriyaki chicken and chow mein noodles that I used to love so much. Unfortunately when my food arrived it was not very warm, they didn't give me much sauce so the noodles were dry, and cold as well. I was a little bummed, but it still had the overall panda flavor though so my craving was complete. They give a good amount of food, same as they did in the past, and I like to see consistency. The location is clean and in a very nice spot where it's not too crowded. I think I'll go more authentic next time I have the craving, cause it doesn't quite pop like it used to. Good for the price though! read more

Panda Express - Teriyaki chicken and chow mein - Chinese Near Me - Goleta, California

I don't know why this location has such a low rating. I usually always have a good experience here. Price, food quantity, and service is always great. Occasionally I might have to wait a long time for something. But that's like 5% of the time. The other 95% of the time is genuinely a great experience. Yusen and Raj are amazing! The staff is hard working and do their best during rush hour to knock the line down and get through countless never ending online orders. Keep it up! read more

This place is awesome, they are consistently good, friendly and quick. My normal order is plate 1/2 veggies 1/2 chowmein w/ orange chicken and teriyaki chicken. read more

I love Panda! The kung pao chicken is my favorite. Today I decided to try the new Shrimp item on the menu and was very disappointed with the amount in the container, especially since you pay extra for shrimp, which I don't have an issue with. It was barely half way filled. This is the second time this has happened to me here. The servers here are very friendly and work fast to get you through the line. Another thing is all the juicy goodness seeped through the lid cuz it was placed on its side in the bag and was all over the bottom of my bag. A little disappointing cuz I like to add that to my noodles but it's ok. The food is still yummy read more

Panda Express - Shrimp special, container not filled up - Chinese Near Me - Goleta, California

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All the night workers in their seemed like they were half fasting all the food. I went in @9pm and I received only broccoli when I ordered beef and broccoli! Also all of my honey walnut shrimp was NOT cooked all the way! Couldn't even eat the shrimp it mushy and undercooked. Started to make my stomach hurt. Also I have been trying to get ahold of them for almost an hour but no one answers the phone! read more

This location has gotten much better over the years. Place is always busy so the food is always fresh. Portions are always great at this location too read more

This was an awful meal! The beef in the beef and broccoli was in a sticky, thick, syrupy sauce, the rice was over cooked and blah, the chow mein was greasy and inedible. Even the Diet Coke was syrupy. If I was bulemic ...Ended up throwing it all away. read more

As a college student, I've grown to crave Panda Express despite its food comas and overly salty entrees + unflavored sides. I don't usually have issues with it, but today, I experienced the worst customer service I've ever had with the franchise. It's clear that this location does not care about customer health and safety, as you can see with the undercooked food in the previous reviews as well as with poor, inefficient business practices. All restaurants are being hit hard by the coronavirus. I commend people in the community who choose to be a patron to their local small businesses. For me, I caved into my orange chicken craving... only to realize I should've supported SB Chicken Ranch in the same plaza. I wanted my food to be as fresh as possible. When I ordered online, I put my pick-up time in 30 minutes so it'd be hot when we eat it. We drove 20 min to get there and waited for a bit to pick up (no one was at the front of the store and instead was chatting up together behind the counters). They gave us our bag, said goodbye, and then we drove home. When we got back to our dinner table, we opened our bag to see that half of the order was missing. Half of us don't have our food, and furthermore, it's going to be cold by the time we all eat. So we drove another 20 minutes there and back to get the missing part of our order. Overall, we spent 1h20min just on driving to the store. I called in during the ride to ask for a remake of our food since it's all going to be cold, to which they said yes. I had to talk to two people because the first employee that picked up just dropped the phone; I had to talk about my situation all over again once I spoke to the second person. I asked that for future customers, PLEASE call if you forgot to give us parts of our order. The employee said they had no way of contacting us. Uhh... we left our name, email, phone number on the online order. ??? That was just a bad excuse. Furthermore, they were unable to re-make the other half of our food that was sitting cold at home because we "already took it." It was an entire family meal. We ended up with the cold first half of the order and the re-made missing half order. Additionally, we were given a verbal coupon of 20% off discount on our next purchase. For that, we need to go physically order in the store and mention the employee's name who was speaking on the phone. "Don't worry, we'll write your name down," she said. Not only did the management here make us risk our time, gas, and health during this pandemic by making us take trips for their error, they also gave us a "verbal" coupon and want us to come physically use it instead of call-in or order online again. ??? At this point I'm just so confused. Why we didn't check our bag before leaving the first time? It was all that we were given along with a "goodbye" from the staff. We walked to our car and drove for 20 minutes home without any call. I'm seriously disappointed by the absurdity of this. Shoutout to my microwave for being the chef of tonight's meal because that's all we used for our cold, lackluster food. (They also skimped on the entrees.) read more

I came here today for some good comfort food in the lonely dark ages of isla vista. Instead what I got was some sick, demented kind of prank that turned the land of gumdrop rainforests and chocolate rivers into my worst nightmare. I walk in 30 minute line, which is not their fault. What is their fault is my cream cheese rangoons with no fucking cream cheese in them. I pay a premium for a warm fluffy dollop of cream cheese encapsulated in a crispy puff pastry but what I get is a lukewarm soggy fried ball sack with nothing but a wisp of the creamy cheese that belongs there. This is not ok. One star for good vibes read more

Panda Express - Creamcheeseless rangoons - Chinese Near Me - Goleta, California

Phuong is the cashier most of the time and hates serving just about everyone. Always in a terrible mood, should just quit. Been there way too long. Most of the time the scoops are garbage, especially if you are white. Witnessed proof of this multiple times. The sweet and sour sauces are all pre made and tiny. Need three of them to equal one. Same with the teriyaki sauce. Not even heated up or anything. Garbage. If Phuong is your scooper, she will put a scoop on your plate, and if it's too much for her liking, she will literally SCOOP A PIECE OFF YOUR PLATE AND PUT IT BACK. Unreal. If she forgets to put something in your bag and you have to ask again, it's like the end of the world for her. Garbage. Will not be back. Enjoy. read more

Bottom Line: Four stars for the staff here for staying calm and carrying on in the face of some real jerks. The people that buy food here are terrible to the staff. Cut these people some slack already - they are busting their backs to get you your precious orange chicken, ok? Calm your pits, Karen. Terrible. I have been in this location many times and a review is well overdue. I have overheard patrons yelling at the staff but today was worse than usual. The way that people off of the street talk to the employees here is horrendous. Just because it's a fast-food style place, doesn't give anyone the right to be a jerk. Today a lady in a power suit went full on Karen mode saying inappropriate things (in a snarling and very nasal tone) "IM CALLING YOUR MANAGER". My favorite part is that she left with her food and walked over to Chicken Ranch and used their tables to eat lunch! That's real class. So you didn't get as much food as you wanted, why not yell in an accusatory way until you've embarrassed the employee to the point where they don't have a choice. OR - maybe - just maybe - try being kind and discuss your concerns like a regular person. Chances are, they will make it right. THEY ARE ALSO PEOPLE, JUST LIKE YOU. Dont like it? Take it up with corporate as THOSE people are the ones that hand down all of the marching orders. Do you really think the people behind the counter getting minimum wage have a say in portion distribution?? They work for a huge company and they are doing what they have been trained to do because they don't want to get fired. Today I had to kneel down and explain to my son that this is not the way we talk to or treat people - especially within the service industry. I asked the staff if people were always that rude and they said "We are used to it". That's horrifying - nobody should have to ever feel as if they should get used to people being that rude. Why does my family keep coming back here again and again? Partially because we are lazy and don't want to make dinner every night BUT ALSO because the food is exactly what you think it's going to be. Its consistently good! Do they make mistakes? Of course they do! I'll ya'll in on a little secret right now..... people makes mistakes NO MATTER where you are or what you're doing. Thats life. If you cant live with that, start your own town and tell me how that goes. Im sure it'll be perfect. I have worked in service based jobs for much of my life and still do. Frankly, had someone spoken to me like that, they might have found themselves outside the building. I hope that all the folks working here get a nice big fat raise for having to put up with the public at large...because nobody deserves to be treated like this. Hang tough, Goleta Panda employees! read more

Andrew litty made fire bowl four me and he's such a good worker he made me feel so happy and his sweet eyes made me get butterflies read more

Panda Express - Pad Thai - Chinese Near Me - Goleta, California

Of course the Orange Chicken was the same as always for the boys. Unfortunately, for our Teriyaki Chicken, it seemed like it was the bottoms of the barrel: dried out, chewy, and several crunchy black pieces read more

Over a year ago, I already gave this panda express a one star review and of course the one time I go back they leave the lid to my to go order open and it spills everywhere. Again, cooks seems busy but whoever y'all pay to do the checking out and boxing up orders needs the boot. read more

It is absolutely beyond me that they discontinued the Beyond Orange Chicken (pun not intended). My wife is a vegetarian and was estranged when she read the news about her beloved fried tofu meal. Now, she doesn't see any reason to eat at Panda Express anymore. It's not uncommon for people to be vegetarian; why would you start to serve something targeted for this specific audience just to rip it away from them less than a year later?! Their happiness and access to this absolute treat didn't even get to last a year!!! On another note, as a non-practicing Catholic, I know that Lent is around the corner and many Catholics give up eating meat for this time period. I would assume they sure would appreciate if you didn't stop selling this meatless option in the midst of Lent. Do better Panda!! read more

I asked for a free sample, which they do. However, they said they stopped giving free samples because of the the coronavirus. Which is bullshit, they are just trying to save money. Sticking a toothpick into a small piece of food is not going to make a person sick. Besides, why bother serving food all together if they won't serve one small piece? They, actually have argoance to think that their customers are stupid enough to believe that serving a small sample causes the spread of the coronavirus. Think about it, if any employee has the virus, they should not be working, if any utensil, equipment and or surface has the virus then the place will be closed. I currently work at a kitchen and every employee is checked for symptoms by a nurse prior to clocking in for their shift. After, I mentioned my opinion about their current status of free samples, think they did something to my food, it tasted different, not the same as before. I could be wrong, just not sure. Anyway, a business that treats customers by lying to them, makes me question their ethics to the greater good of the people they serve. Thank you read more

Could of definitely been better. They did not provide me with my free cookie, cashier gave me attitude. :( no fortune for me

I will start off by saying I go here 3 - 4 times a month, and have been for the past few years. I keep hoping one day it will get better. Today was officially the last time I go here. Customer service is absolutely horrible here. They know who I am when I walk in, and you'd think they'd treat me with some type of respect and be nice. Maybe a 'hey welcome back!' ... I am here once a week. They know I get a 3rd entree every time, so the scoops of food are smaller than normal. I watch people get served in front of me with heaping scoops. Come my turn, it is approx 1/2 the amount. One time, I got 'too much' orange chicken, so Phuong put a piece back. Yes, scooped a piece of chicken off of my plate, and back into their bowl... ridiculous. The pre packaged teriyaki sauce and COLD sweet and sour, are also a miss. I have to get 3 cups of sweet and sour to equal one cup. I pour all 3 cups into 1. And it still doesn't overflow. Today I had my final straw. I asked for a water cup after getting barely enough food to fill me up (yes I got 3 entrees), and Phuong looked at me so confused. I said, 'can I get a cup for water please?' She says, it's in the bag. I said, no? And double checked... she still didn't believe me I didn't have a water cup yet. So she walks around the cash register, completely stopping the flow of traffic, and searches my bag for a water cup... I'm sorry?? What? This is the last time I go here. So Phuong and whoever else works here who doesn't like me, enjoy not seeing me ever again. With all that being said, Panda has great food if you time it right. Otherwise, you are getting stale orange chicken that is no longer orange. It is brown. Thank you for reading my review. And management, if you see this, please do something about it. I am just a single customer I know, but there are plenty of people who are not happy with the service at this location. read more

The servings for a 2-entree plate is so little that it's not even enough for my 6 year old. Service is getting worse and worse.

We got to go and they forgot our utensils so we are eating with our fingers. It's okay though.... we just used our hands.... thank god for fingers. would suck not to have limbs tbh read more

Panda Express - chow mien - Chinese Near Me - Goleta, California

Closed " until further notice" It is fast food so ... I found the food fresh, good variety, healthy, low fat, very salty. The restaurant, tables, and restrooms are plentiful and clean. I going down the cafeteria line the staff tends to yell at you about what you want from 10 feet ahead of you. This really hurts the experience because: 1) you don't know what you want because it is yet to far away. 2) you can't hear because they are screaming at you 3) it raises the tension because the server in front of you is screaming at the person 10 feet behind you. It contributes to a hurry and get it done attitude rather that a friendly "how can I help you" atmosphere. I am sure these highly compensated employees time is valuable, but not screaming is nice read more