Panda Express — Restaurant in St. Albert

I went to this location at approximately 1pm July 19/2018 This was my first visit to this chain. Although they had many ‘options’, most of the pans were empty—really at lunch time?! I asked about the mixed vegetable side and was told they would make it if I wanted it. I wanted them to make it and then decide if I wanted it; I’d like to see what I am ordering. I was told it would be 5 minutes. The next gentleman wanted the steak and shrimp special that had a giant picture on the menu board and was promoted by other signage. He also received the standard answer—we’ll make it for you. It will be ready in five minutes. My friend went off to the washroom while we waited for the mixed vegetables. Several more customers selected and paid for their food. The man waiting for the steak and shrimp was given his food. He said ‘this is supposed to be steak and shrimp and there is not a single shrimp in here!” He was told that the choice was steak OR shrimp, not both in the same entree. Sorry Panda Express, the photo and associated promotional material clearly show the steak and shrimp together. Epic fail.

I watched as a worker washed their hands. This worker then reached into each of the bins/trays of precut vegetables WITH THEIR HANDS. The veggies were tossed into a bowl without using tongs/spoons etc or gloves. Each bowl of food is carefully weighed prior to cooking. After my friend came back from the washroom, I reported my observations and we both decided to go with the chow main instead instead of vegetables. Big mistake. The gelatinous mess was 50% noodle and 50% grease. Since it was lukewarm, it was a congealed, oily mess. Ugh.

As I exited the restaurant, I noticed that the floor had large pieces of sliced beef in numerous places. Failing grade for dining room cleanliness as well.

Skip this restaurant. There are many places in St. Albert to eat. Try...

Went through the drive-through for supper. Got 2 plates, 6 different items in total, all very bad. I've had frozen takeout from the grocery store that tastes better. We paid 30 dollars for inedible food that had clearly been sitting out to dry all day. Upcharge for beef but half the portion was vegetables. Fried rice was dry and was just rice, peas and dry egg. Vegetables were barely cooked. Beijing beef was, somehow, dry and soggy at the same time, same was the chicken. Noodles were more raw than al dente. I usually love Chinese take out so I can definitely say that this stuff is really, really bad.

1 star for the food.

When we asked for a refund, they said we could only get store credit or exchange for other meals, like we wanted more of the food. If 6 items on the menu are gross, what's the likelihood of the rest being the same?

1 star for service because they let us use our "store credit" towards bottled iced teas, but still only 1 star because we would definitely have preferred a total refund for the 30$ we spent. If I wanted 10 bottles worth of iced tea, I would have gone to the grocery store to get it for the fraction of the price. But out of all the things we could select for our store credit, that was the best option.

I honestly don't blame the staff that was on shift. I've been there. Instead I blame the management for the bad refund policy and subpar training of food...

Food is generally ok at Panda Express. Nothing to write home about. The reason I’m writing this review is because I was kind of annoyed/frustrated to witness two of the 3 employees speaking in Spanish to each other and totally making the 3rd younger employee feel left out because they don’t speak the same language and can’t joke around and be as buddy buddy with each other because they don’t speak the language. This is HORRIBLE culture and I know it’s prevalent in a lot of places but I am calling it out here in hopes that the Manager understands how inappropriate this is and speaks to their staff about this. Two other issues not related to food are: 1) the bathroom drains stink and really need to be on a regular deodorizer schedule where you pour some down the drain weekly or something, and 2) your front door is too heavy and needs service to...