I used to love this place. Fast and fresh. Just got home with food for the first time in a couple years and have to say "what happened?" Soggy and bland and half empty boxes. Wow. I always get the teriyaki chicken, the sauce was thick and spicy. Now they give out packets of watery bland sauce. And standing in a long line at 3pm?? What?!!!! Will not miss this place. Makes me sad. read more

By now you should know what to expect at panda express. In general the food is served quickly and store-to-store the quality is consistent.

Haven't been to Panda for two years and never this location. Visited at lunch time and it was fairly busy. The only word to describe my two item plate is dry. Dry rice, dry noodles, even orange chicken was somewhat dry. Maybe they expect you to drown it in one of the sauces. Disappointing. read more

Very disappointed. Food quality severely lacking. Some overcooked. Some undercooked. Noodles are different than they used to be and not in a good way. We were looking forward to a nice lunch but what we got was not worth the price charged. Dont think we will return to this lication. read more

I ordered online and it took over two hrs to get our food. It said it was ready at 7:58pm and we didnt get the food till 8:45pm.. We had to keep waiting for food to be made, yet we had to wait outside while the people that walk in get the first grabs of the food... Yet i ordered an hr earlier... read more

i ordered a little of food under the name Alan and i waited for an hour and they still didn't give me my order a worker named Julio said that they were making my order but it never came read more

I had the worst service at this Panda Express when making a to go order! The employee was rude and did not understand anything I was asking! Eventually, I was at the end of the order and as I asked one more question, the person I was speaking to hung up on me! I have eaten at many Panda Express, but here in Santa Maria, Ca. has probably the worst customer relations in any restaurant I have experienced! read more

Small portions on one plate vs the other. Had to wait for 2 entrees to be prepared even though it was an odd time between lunch and dinner, and they usually aren't out like that. Also, hitting on my husband in front of me. Not the best customer service, petite cashier with her name starting with an "M". You made for a great story though. read more

I love Panda Express, but this location in specific has noticeably lower quality tasting foods in comparison to other locations nearby in the Central Coast. Something needs to be said here cause Panda Express is supposed to be tasty and delicious, but whenever I come here my food is always stale and lacking in flavor. The service on the other hand is decent, but not great. read more

Very disappointed with the customer service. We ordered through a delivery app and received the wrong order. However, our problem is not with them but with the restaurant. We understand this is a difficult time for everyone. When I called the restaurant to inform them of the mistake, they were unapologetic and unconcerned. They said I had to call The delivery company and there was nothing they could do about it at the restaurant. If I had received and apology or felt they were sorry at all about the mistake, then I would have gladly waited for the correct order to be delivered or I would just drive there to pick it up. My meal was absolutely ruined and I will not be ordering from Panda Express again. From what was explained to me over the phone, they put the order together and leave it on the counter for any random person to pick up and deliver. They do not double check that the right order is going to the person who ordered and PAID for it. I am not the only Marie in the city of Santa Maria I discovered last night. Maybe a last name written on the receipt as well will help fix this issue in the future. I was also told this was the first time this mistake was made. I seriously doubt that. And just a side note, the delivery company did apologize and offered a total refund. read more

What a joke! I ordered my online meal to be picked up at 5:45pm. I arrived at 5:40pm and left at 6:55pm empty handed. The pick up area had 35 people waiting to pick up their orders - seriously, 35 people. When I arrived most of them were already complaining that they had been there an hour. That should have been my clue. In the 1:15 time that I waited, 10 people were given their orders. What a mistake - one that I will never make again. I called customer service while waiting and demanded a refund. BEWARE! read more

This location of Panda Express is now off of my lunch list. This last visit made me sick. They obviously let the food sit too long, before it needs to be thrown out due to time/temperature rules. When I got the food home, it was soggy and mushy. I had the Honey Walnut shrimp and the Orange Chicken with half and half for the side. I love Panda, but this location has gone WAY downhill as far as food quality is concerned. They need cooks that care and serving staff willing to throw out old food. read more

My son loves the teriyaki chicken,perfect for kids who are picky eaters. I always get the orange chicken,Sometimes it's a hit or a miss I've gotten chicken that has been cold you can tell it was sitting there for a while and other times it was freshly cooked. Overall I really like Panda Express and I'm giving a 4 star. The place is always clean and I like the outside patio. The food IS good when you get it fresh. The only complaint I really have is the portions they give. I don't eat much wich is why I get the bowl,Today I got the bowl with orange chicken & I only got 6 pieces on top I had to take from my husbands plate because it wasn't enough. read more

If this place doesnt get it together, it will close I went in on Friday about 4:20, thete was about there was a couple and a lady in front of me.but, there was 5 people waiting by the register cause they had already ordered.i askedthe lady what was going on are they waiting gor food? She said i dont know but they are ALWAYS SLOW HERE! THEY FINALLY FILLED THE PREVIOUS PEOPLES ORDERS. Then two girls started taking orders.by this time a HUGE line formed behind me, there was 4 people counting money, laughing talking, taking their time with no regard to the people who were trying to kerp up with the rush! The manager had No Regard for the order takers.she had her back to the crowd and wouldnt turn around! There was about 15 employees behind the counter not really doing anything. One giy acting like hecwas sweeping for a minute! Who ever owns this place is getting ripped off.FIND some people who want a job! Cause these guys were all just walking around doing nothing. read more

Nice run place with decent food :) read more

Panda Express - Chinese Near Me - Santa Maria, California

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Panda Express is good food and for the most part is consistent. This being a new location, the food was good that we got for take out. The service absolutely sucked. The cashier charged us an incorrect amount, claimed she was doing the right thing when she was just adding random items to our bill instead of what we ordered. The over-charge was very small. Usually something not worth taking the time over. It is the principle here, especially since the manager Oscar was more interested in claiming that the overcharge from his cashier was no big deal. Whatever, just like you said... right Oscar? This entire order will have to be disputed with my credit card company. All this time and effort over something the workers at this Panda Express has caused and didn't want to correct. How many others have been ripped off for such small amounts that most won't care I would ask of this location as well as how many more until the cashiers ring up the correct orders and charge the correct amounts? read more

I love coming to panda express if I'm in a rush and want to get Chinese there always is a line here during lunch and dinner it's pretty popular you also can taste all of the dishes before purchasing which ones you like and if you do not want carbohydrates you can substitute for mixed vegetables to make it health-conscious for you. Everything is freshly made right in front of you and for being fast food it really doesn't taste that way. You can get a bowl option or entrées with a couple of different meat choices you can't go wrong by coming to Panda Express read more

First off, I'd like to thank absolutely no one that works here. It was my first time here and I needed help understanding what everything was and how many portions I was able to have. The employees were rude and unhelpful which left me irritated and a long line of irritated customers behind me. I asked the employee "Betzy" if one of the entrees has sugar in it and she said no. Later while eating it, I realized that the sauce was LOADED with sugar. Not to mention, my dish came with 3/4 sauce and 1/4 food. Before I end this, there was one more irritating incident that happened to me. The employees clearly don't speak the best English and when I asked them how many scoops I get she thought I was asking for "double" the portion size so she doubled my serving with something I didn't ask for which made it cost more and it was too hard to translate with her that this isn't what I wanted. read more

Panda Express - Chinese Near Me - Santa Maria, California

Even for pandanexpress this location is horrible. Bad food, bad service, poorly ran. Stay away.

Slowest service known to mankind. They literally just leave you outside baking in the sun and even when they've cleared out numbers, they still leave you there, and don't communicate anything. Food is actually great but customer service and communication is legit s*** read more

Always take so long and did not prepare food on time. They should know better when it comes with busy lines.

Got in line at 6:15 on a Wednesday with 2 people ahead of me. The server begins to line up 8 or more to go boxes and begins filling them for what must be a call in order. The Server ignores us plus the additional 5 or 6 that join the line. All the sever said was I'm sorry as she smiled. A manager should have stopped this and served the people that were present and in line not a phone in order. Poor service for sure. I left along with others. Lost business! read more

I guess that using the word sad and disgusted would be an understatement. I ordered a plate with chow mien, orange chicken, and sweet chicken. I asked to wait for fresh chow mien which turned out to still be dry and unappetizing. Along with the chow mien was 3 small pieces of sweet chicken and maybe 7 pieces of orange chicken. I really don't understand why there is such an extreme rationing on the portions of food. I haven't been this disappointed since my last encounter at kfc, and I have to say, I refused to eat my food. One thing is for sure, I will NOT be returning to this sorry excuse for an establishment. read more

Worst place to come and eat. The veggie egg rolls were raw no point in spending my money here. Quality of food was ehh no flavor what so ever. I'll take my service elsewhere. read more

Panda Express - The veggie egg rolls were raw, so no point in eating them. Quality of food was ehh no flavor what so ever. - Chinese Near Me - Santa Maria, California

Horrible management! treats their employees horribly. i've heard co workers talking about each other behind their backs! even the managers themselves. Always picking on certain people's appearance. totally unacceptable. read more

So much for saving time by ordering online. Total fail. Not only was my order not ready but I had to produce a confirmation number...after which I waited an extended amount of time. The manager was not helpful at all & obviously did not care. Jump ahead a month & my son tried to place an order online & the service was not available at all & when he tried to phone in an order... they refused to do that. What happened to non contact food service? Total fail, Panda! I would give negative stars if I could... read more

The food was amazing. We came on Sunday night I had orange chicken my wife had Beijing beef was on point in every way. We had Luz that came to our table to make sure all was ok. I ordered an extra Beijing beer bowl to go for lunch tomorrow. I tried to tip her and she refused. I am honestly impressed with the food an service here. They now have a customer for life. Thank you to luz and the rest of the staff. Well done this is how a restuarant should be. read more

My wife and I enjoy coming here when we don't feel like the same old fast food. Downside to this particular Panda Express is the insane wait time. That also speaks for how well it is doing. Unless you go at a very odd hour, you are met by a line out the door. Of course, anyone who has gone more than once expects this so I can't dock them points for it. As for quality of food - it's Panda Express. What do you expect? Cheap, fairly tasty, quick ordered Chinese food. You get your money's worth. My only real complaint is they are ALWAYS out of potstickers....and I love me some potstickers. I demand more potstickers!!! read more

Placed an online order, went to pick it up and it took another 15 minutes after the time it said it would be ready to get my order. I had to ask twice, meal was not prepared. Employees prepared it once I asked and was waiting in the front while multiple others got their food. Poor customer service. read more

I rarely write reviews. I am Southern CA born and raised almost 60 years so I am used to having a huge selection of any restaurant as well as from multiple locations of those same restaurants within a 5 mile radius. I moved up here 11 years ago and am so disappointed in any industry here. People do not want to work for their paychecks. They don't seem to know that they are suppose to provide a service in order to earn said paycheck. I have been to many Panda locations here and in San Antonio Texas. They are all consistent in cleanliness, food preparation, food quality, and service. My husband usually goes to pick up the food inside. He is from the central coast and this is his only experience with Panda. We rarely eat out and usually bring it home. He has had negative experiences each time, but I will not speak to that since it is his experience and not mine. I also wasn't there. I will speak to one time when we had not had Panda in probably a year and I had a craving for Kung Pao chicken and ordered the side and not the dinner. Since it is a luxury for us to be able to eat out, it was so disappointing that when my husband got home, my chicken wasn't in the bags. I called and the manager was very and sincerely apologetic . He then cooked a fresh batch and delivered it to our home himself from Santa Maria to Orcutt and it was piping hot. I was so impressed with his old school sense of ethics. I rarely get good service of any business on the central coast and I believe that it is because I am used to So CA. I also believe that that is why I appreciated his handling of the mistake even more than normal. I gave 4 stars due to not going there myself but only 1 time. The stars are for the consistency in the quality and flavor of food each time my husband has picked it up and brought it home over the course of about 7 or 8 years and of course to the way the manager handled the whole situation. read more

I love Panda Express! This one was great, as panda express restaurants are usually well run. If you like panda express, come to this one!

Whoever the manager there is not watching the employees very well or he/she could have been part of the problem, we walked in around 2pm today and there was a group of about 5 just laughing and joking with each other as we stood there waiting to order, they were joking about calling each other "bobo". Half the containers of food were almost empty, we only saw one guy cooking, just poor customer service all around. Then there is no seating inside yet so we were going to eat outside however the tables were filthy, they apparently have employees that aren't busy enough, perhaps get one of them outside to clean the tables. I'm not sure they care enough for their customers well being. read more

There are a few staff members here who are on point and friendly, but more often than not I find the service leaves a lot to be desired. My son and I enjoy coming here a few times per month - and while the food is of consistent quality - I have grown more wary of this place due to some of the staff. In particular, there is a certain cashier whom I mistrust. I have dozens of archived receipts from this restaurant which prove there is one certain server who likes to creatively ring up my orders - which results in me being overcharged or shorted food. I'm mentioning this here in the event other locals have experienced something similar. Regardless, my son and I love the Panda so we'll continue to come here with managed expectations. read more

Food is great. Service is good. Cleanliness is non-existent, floors and tables are filthy, I would never eat in there.

GOD SO YUMMY MY FAV RESTAURANT yasssssssssss so nice and so yummy I ca man eat this for lifeee

Worst service. The floors are sticky and gross. Our food is always cold. We order online, just so we can run in and pick it up. The order is always AT LEAST 10 minutes late. They never have what we ask for. They always forget something. This specific branch is horrible. read more

I ordered online pickup. Prior to ordering it estimated my meal would take about 20 minutes, then it told me my pick up time was in one hour. I showed up at the pick up time and they were 35 minutes late. On top of that they were out of soy sauce AND chili paste. I don't blame the employees, seems to be a management issue. Won't be wasting my time here again. read more

Food wasn't on time. Ordered ahead of time with an ASAP pick up time. 5 minutes over time. AG Branch has better service...

I've only been here a couple times, but every time I go their cashier isaihs is always super nice, energetic, and has a cute smile. the lines their are pretty long though, but the food is always good read more

Always like going to Panda Express when I need quick food. Employees were friendly. It seems like the other Panda Express always give me a little bit more Chaw main. read more