Food is ok. Nothing special. From what the locals tell me, it isn't as good as in the past. I would just call it average. Better than Panda Express, but nothing really special. Service was quick for the take out, but I got there at 5. So an early order. The cashier, order taker, waitress was very busy with phone orders and take out, but she managed well. The food was ok. Nothing to rave about, but eatable none the less. The chicken tasted old like it had been prepared earlier in the day and added to our chicken dish. Again, it was just ok. Can't say much about the ambiance since I ordered take out. At 5 there was one couple sitting at a table. I'll go back, but am still in search of something a little more special. read more

Used to eat here quite a lot when we lived in the area. Used to love the corn chowder so was very disappointed to learn they removed it from the menu Another favorite was the egg fu young. It was melt in your mouth delicious. Not anymore. We were very sad to find that things have changed. We'd gone out of our way to stop in while visiting the general area. We used to take friends and family there as a treat and recommended them highly to others. Couldn't do that now. So unfortunate. Oh well, nothing is more constant than change. read more

Ordered here for take out for the first time. pros: -quick, -food was hot, -provided a lot of sweet and sour sauce cons: -given wrong order ( I ordered the hong kong style crispy noodles, and I got veggie chow mein) -veggie chow mein was very dry, plain, non flavored -shrimp with broccoli was disappointing, broccoli was mushy and old tasting -started to get stomach ache within 1 hour of eating the food I would not return. Maybe we ordered wrong food? and other items are good? Not sure, but I wouldn't risk it again personally just based on our experience unfortunately read more

Panda Inn has been our go to for Chinese since way before Covid. Last night was our last night eating there. We ordered a normal amount of food. It was good as usual. The bill came and it seemed a bit high. I handed over my credit card not thinking about asking. The slip came back to sign and she had entered a $14 tip for herself and didn't mention it to us at all. The tip for our tab should have been maybe $10. I was so in shock that I didn't say anything then, but I will be calling and speaking with management when they open. Not only is she incredibly rude, she is scamming patrons and giving herself an insane amount of money for a tip. We always tip well but this was ridiculous and theft. read more

Middle of the road American Chinese food. Nothing terrible, but also not as great as other places in Santa Cruz County. A little bland.

Taste homemade and fresh! The food is amazing if your passing through or a local . Try this family owned place it's a hidden gem

This has always been a favorite. Food is still pretty decent but stince the new owners just before Covid I have noticed the standards slowly declining. They used have an amazing corn chowder (lunch or dinner) first they dropped the crab from the recipe then once Covid hit dropped from menu never to return. Now it's hot and sour sup for lunch or bust. Beef has become cheaper too like most other Chinese restaurants in the area. Their Wor Wonton soup is pretty awesome as are most of their lunch/entrees so still one of the better restaurants this side of the hill but not as inspiring as it used be. I hope they bring back the original menu and up the price a shade because that is what really set them apart from everyone else (ABC included) read more

This place is sorta hidden by BofA, but has nice ambiance, good flavor, and the wonton wrappers actually have meat in them in the lunch special. read more

Panda Inn - Here we see fish lunch special - Chinese Near Me - Aptos, California

Great ambiance! Great place to eat, everything is fresh and tastes delicious! Got the chicken salad in the bowl. Two can share, portions are very generous! I think it's the best Chinese food in all Santa Cruz county! Prices might seem a lil high, but the quality is definitely shown in the fresh vegetables. read more

Panda Inn - Chicken Salad - Chinese Near Me - Aptos, California

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Found this little gem last minute on the way back from Santa Cruz with the family. The portions were very good, food was fresh, extremely tasty, and the prices were very reasonable. Orange Chicken, sweet and sour pork, and cashew chicken were all very good. The chicken egg rolls were awesome! The waitress was very nice and on the ball. Would love to come back. read more

Yelp says they are closed. It is 11:38 a.m. on Thursday. I called the restaurant, and they said they were open. Just an FYI to to call if you see the closed message, it may be incorrect. We have been taking friends and visitors to the Panda Inn for years, but today may be the last time. The food quality was not even close to the previous quality. And the amount on my plate was really small compared to previous portions. read more

Love this place. Used to come here when I was in junior college. Really good food, good stuff, fresh and just the cleanest flavors. I'd been wanting to come for a while por Covid so I had to stop and got this black bean beef with asparagus lunch plate. A place I won't stop coming too read more

Panda Inn - Lunch special. Beef in Black bean with asparagus. So so good - Chinese Near Me - Aptos, California

Weird location stuck in behind Bank Of America in Aptos...but well worth the odd parking situation. The Chinese chicken salad is the best ten dollar meal you can hope to have. Simply terrific. Friendly service and fresh food is a great deal. Their Kung Pao Chicken is very authentic. Well done. read more

It's decent. I wouldn't go out of my way for it, but if you have a craving for Chinese, it will fill the need.

love this place!! My only wish is that it was open 7 days a week. My go to is the garlic cashew broccoli and orange chicken! Their orange chicken is unique and comes with their sauce separated from the pieces of chicken. I love it because I'm a sauccceyy person and I can fully dunk my chicken and really get it fully sauced! There's always extra sauce leftover, which says a lot about their portions! read more

My wife and I just had dinner at The Panda Inn in Aptos, located in The Deer Park Shopping Center on Rio Del Mar. First time there since it changed owners at the beginning of September 2024. Had an order of Potstickers as a appetizer. They were great. The outer crust was the best I've had. Not the normal thin type but more substantial with great flavor. Since we wanted to sample the menu AND have lots of leftovers to take home, we ordered 4 entrees with some white rice. I'm a big fan of garlic eggplant and it was super, I also had Gong Bao Shrimp. It was not overly hot 9actually could have had a little more heat, so I'll just ask them ti spice it up a little more next time. A little more peanuts would have been nice ti give it a little more crunch. Big the shrmps themslves were large and juicy. My wife had Chow Mein noodles with Bar B Q pork. Good noodles. She really is a fan of sweet and sour dishes and she thought the sweet and sour chicken was excellent. The new owener Yanna stopped by our table and we talked for about 10 minutes, about her journey so far. Family run and doing good so far. I hope her place will become a success for her. She has plans to make slow and steady improvements to the menu as time goes on. We will be back as regulars for in dining and take-out. read more

Good food ... go occasionally... nice and quiet inside. As of February 2019 looks like take out only -- see posted photo. read more

I have lived in Aptos for 21 years and for years I patronized Panda Inn and it was great. I've been there twice in the last few months and the service and food if awful. My first visit I paid $35 for a small Won Ton Soup and single order of Beef and Asparagus which was horrible and the rice was completely dried out. I went back today because I've been ill with a stomach ulcer and just ordered the small Won Ton Soup $15. The absolute worst part is both times the woman at the cash register was so incredibly rude and did not even say thank you. Disgusting, horrible food and service. They will never get another dime of my money. Don't waste your money at this establishment just to be treated disgustingly rude for awful food and high prices. read more

This is my go to local Chinese takeout place. It does not disappoint. The hot and sour soup is delicious. The honey walnut shrimp is amazing. I haven't had a bad dish here and it always satisfies. There is usually plenty of parking in the lot. read more

Food is somewhat bland and the friendliness could use some energy. The woman who greeted us seemed to be very sad and apathetic. We will try again soon. read more

Oh man has this place gone downhill. I used to come here when the prior owner had this restaurant. And I go back to mid 1980s coming here. The food was always fantastic. Now it isn't. It isn't bad but it isn't good either. The beef is batter dipped! Uh, what a huge disappointment to my regular Szechwan beef. The sweet and sour pork wasn't sweet or sour. The noodles weren't good. Just a bad way to spend $70 for 4 meals. Sorry, but unless the food improves greatly, that ends it of being the best Chinese restaurant in the county. Go somewhere else. I'm done with Panda Inn. read more

Where to start...this meal was just awful. The egg rolls were dry and looked like fried paper towel wrappers. Thick and greasy...and flavorless. The sweet and sour pork was fried pork with no sauce in a box. No vegetables and no sweet and sour sauce. What? Just horribly awful. We threw it away. The pork chow main was, well, nearly porkless. There were like four slices of thick, unchewable pork. The noodles were fine. This was a$55 dinner. Complete, disgusting waste. read more

Panda and serves up fresh, delicious Chinese food. It is by far the best in this area, and I find the dishes to be healthy.

Cute place inside. Not busy at all, it's 4:42pm. Ordered lots of food: chicken salad, fried prawns, Mongolian beef, chow mien, fried rice, orange chicken, gung boa chicken, crispy noodle with veggies. We are hungry and I was told they have chicken breast, but I'm skeptical. Well it was chicken breast! The pork fried rice was good, very flavorful. Mongolian beef was thin sliced and tasty. Orange chicken had a nice orange sauce and white meat. The gung bao chicken had small chunks of chicken and chunks of water chestnuts both looked similar to each other wasn't spicy this dish was ok. The chow mien was tasty. Daughter enjoyed the crunchy veggie noodles. Chicken salad was good I would have liked a different dressing but still good. My boys loved the prawns. Overall a good meal, we would come back to try other dishes. read more

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Have been going to this restaurant for 15----17-----20 years, WOW A DOWNHILL RUN, Got take out, person at desk RUUUUUUUUDE person. 125.00 of takeout plus tip, even though rudy person. Food very shy on shrimp, scallops, chicken that I payed PREMIUM price for crap, WORST MONDAY NITE FOOTBALL DINNER EVER, I have never giving a REVIEW. My friends told me they had went down hill. read more

Tasted some wonderful home cooking at Panda Inn. The vegetarian dumplings are flavorful with the right amount of seasoning. The dumpling wrappers are tender. Definitely a little gem in Aptos. read more

Horrible service, horrible people, horrible hospitality. Had the nerve to even close a door in our face as well. Will never give my money to this establishment, and I will never be back. read more

Easy to order with my credit card. Quick delivery. Good food Hot when we received it.

I haven't been here for years and was really disappointed with the food quality and service. The lunch menu clearly states that it comes with tea but our waitress said that we need to request it. The egg rolls didn't come with sauce and when we did get some, it smelled and tasted like it was left open in the fridge for a month. The hot and sour soup was very hot and spicy but not sour at all. Needless to say we won't be coming back. read more

They are so stingy about their chili sauce and after over the 10th time from ordering here, I have reached peak annoyance. Whenever you ask for an extra or just one, they roll their eyes and act like it's the worst possible thing you could have asked for. They only fill those tiny to-go containers halfway or less and never want to give you one more and they're rude about it. Like fu*k dude. Can I have two or at least one filled to the top without you throwing me attitude. God damn. read more

Panda Inn - Like wtf man. Every god damn time. - Chinese Near Me - Aptos, California

I am typically not fan of this genre of food, but this place has my vote of confidence. I tried both the broccoli and beef, sweet and sour pork... both were so pleasant to appease my appetite! Also crispy vegetarian egg rolls we're delightful with the sauces they provide! The atmosphere was also really nice with warm lighting and the fluorescent lights are replaced with a bit of unique artwork inside each one of them. The service is attentive and polite. read more

Panda Inn - Chinese Near Me - Aptos, California

We had dinner there the other night with our in-laws. My father in-law loves the sizzling rice soup and the sweet and sour pork. We had both with other items as well and they did not disappoint. The food was very good, the only down side was they appeared to be short handed so service was a little slow, but I'll tell you the one person that was working was going 100 miles an hour.. A+ to her. Highly recommend the vista, you'll be glad you tried it. read more

This used to be my go-to spot. I only went here because my new place is closed mondays. I ordered the orange chicken and there was no orange sauce in my order. Which is lame to begin with since it should be mixed and then boxed anyway. I was essentially given chicken nuggets. The chow mein was some wimpy, sad looking spaghetti noodles. I like the fat noodles, doesnt everbody? With baby noodles its more like spaghetti stir-fry. Lastly, I asked for sweet and sour to go with my pot stickers. I was given a quantity that would suffice one, maybe two potstickers, not an order of 6. When I got to the restaurant to pick up my order, the host looked confused and wasted about 5 minutes not finding my order. I went to my truck to get my phone with the order confirmation and it magically appeared... Not going to go back, would not recommend. read more

This is a cute little restaurant tucked away in the Deer Park Shopping center. In between BofA and CVS. I've only ordered food on two occasions for take out, both times it was ready when promised- hot and delicious. I had the veggie chow mein. It had great flavor and lots of veggies. read more

Panda Inn - Vegetable Chow Mein - Chinese Near Me - Aptos, California

Awesome! Food was excellent, best Chinese I have had in a long time. This was my first visit, but wont be my last! read more

Me and the family order Panda Inn once in a while but whenever we do the food is amazing! Big portions and the guy who works up front is very kind and friendly! I also love their soups and to have this restaurant near me in Aptos makes it that much better! read more

Came in for a late lunch while visiting from out of town... Very nicely decorated and intimate. The lady who was serving me was very nice and friendly. It wasnt busy on saturday but the giants are in the world series and they play today... I ordered the generals chicken. It comes with a choice of soup. Hot and sour or clam chowder. I chose the hot and sour... It came out very quick and very hot. Just how i like it. And it was very thick and lots of chicken. Just as i was getting into the soup, my dish came out... Large portion and nice presentation. The generals chicken was good, crispy outside and very chunky and tender chicken inside. The sauce was very thick and it seemed it may have been cooked too long. It did have a hit of burnt taste to me. Over all the whole meal was very good and very filling. Price wasnt the cheapest but it didnt break the bank either. read more

Panda Inn - Decorations in the light fixtures - Chinese Near Me - Aptos, California

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The Best Chinese cuisine in all Santa Cruz County - that is what I'd say first. Low noise, friendly service, pleasant atmosphere. Divine dining close to home. The lemon chicken had delicious tender chicken and zesty yet not overbearing lemon flavor with good batter. AMAZING Egg Fu young, plenty of gravy and crispy edges to die for. Steamed rice is chewy and moist. Tea is hot and fresh. The chicken chow mein was good, too. Fresh vegetables and scrumptious meats in all dishes. My favorite though, was the vegetable spring rolls - crispy, fantastic ingredients, happiness. I would recommend this place to everyone. read more

Panda Inn - the best dinner! - Chinese Near Me - Aptos, California

Not your usual Chinese food, It's fancier. My wife and I have eattin here many time over the years. Good atmosphere, no blaring tecno music or big screens tv's just some soft background music to enjoy your food. Service is also good and polite. A bit hard to find but certainly worth it. read more

Not bad but not great. Very generic. I wouldn't suggest there orange chicken. Reminded me of trader Joe's frozen chicken. Chow mein and fried rice was ok. Only go here if you live near and don't feel like going far. Also wait time was 45 min read more