P.F. Chang's — Restaurant in Atlantic City

DO NOT EAT HERE!!! All the five star reviews with no explanation have to be fake reviews.. I am writing to express my disappointment with our visit to P.F. Chang’s at Tropicana on Tuesday, June 17, 2025. My family of five chose to dine there to celebrate my daughter’s high school graduation—her favorite restaurant—but the experience was frustrating from beginning to end and failed to meet even the most basic standards of service.

We had an 8:30 PM reservation and arrived on time, but our table wasn’t ready. While waiting by the fountains, the host—unable to pronounce my first name—shouted my last name across the restaurant, which felt awkward and unprofessional. When we approached, she told us the table wasn’t ready, despite a text I had just received warning our table would be released if we didn’t check in. I mentioned this, and she told me to ignore it—then announced moments later that our table was ready.

After being seated, we reviewed the menu and waited. Nearly 15 minutes passed with no greeting or drink order, while other tables around us were already being served. I returned to the host stand to ask if anyone had been assigned to our table. I also mentioned this had happened before—just a month earlier. A nearby server then said, “I’m your server, I’ll be over shortly.” She had already walked past our table several times without acknowledging us and didn’t return right away.

When she finally took our order, it took another 10 minutes to get our drinks. My husband and I both ordered beers, and I asked for a Blue Moon, which was served without a glass or orange slice. The server never returned so I could ask, and I saw her chatting with the bartender rather than checking on guests.

Our appetizers were delivered by a food runner. My soup was lukewarm, and the $18 lettuce wraps came with only four small lettuce leaves—not nearly enough for the portion of filling. I asked for more lettuce and was told it would cost $0.99. I agreed, but by the time it arrived, we had already finished the dish. The cauliflower appetizer came out with the entrées.

The food runner who brought our entrées didn’t know what he was serving, referring to items vaguely as “chicken” or “shrimp.” One daughter’s order was wrong, but we were too frustrated to wait again and just ordered her a replacement meal to-go. The server barely checked in. My husband asked for another beer and my son for water—neither was ever brought. The replacement meal took 30–35 minutes, and the server claimed she waited in the kitchen to ensure it was correct. Then it took another 10 minutes to bring the check. We had to flag down a different server just to get to-go boxes. Though we had considered dessert, it was never offered, and at that point, we were too disappointed to ask.

Despite everything, we left a $30 tip. The food was mediocre at best. My son’s sesame chicken was dry and flavorless, my shrimp tasted like it came from a fast-food chain, my other daughter’s lo mein was dry and looked old, and my graduate daughter’s meal had to be reordered. The total came to $246. My husband and I have both worked in the service industry and typically tip generously—$75 to $100 on meals like this—but this experience didn’t justify it. We also noted there was no manager checking on tables.

The next day, June 18, I called the restaurant and spoke to a manager. I explained everything, including my previous poor experience at the same location. He apologized and, without me asking, said he would send something to make up for the poor service—especially since it was a graduation dinner. He took my name, address, phone number, and email, and promised to follow up. As of July 1, I have received nothing—no call, email, or letter.

P.F. Chang’s used to be a reliable spot for quality food and service, with portions that matched the price. That clearly isn’t true anymore. The lack of follow-up from management only confirms that my concerns weren’t taken seriously. I no longer trust this location and recommend others DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY, DINE...

Despite the food costs rising over 20% or more I have been dining out every weekend. Why I mention this is to plant a flag in the fact I've experienced the quality and costs changes since even before the pandemic.

The location is inside the Tropicana. It is ADA compliant. It is only 2nd to Carmine's (next door) in crowds waiting to get in.

We made a reservation online without issue for a 5:30 PM seating. Arrived at 5:05 PM and asked if there was any seating earlier - nope despite plenty of seats on the main floor. The host said come back in 15 - 30 minutes. They are really inflexible on time, which tells me they are understaffed or something is wrong if you see empty tables.

One thing we did know was there was a basement or street level where there were plenty of guests. Not 100% full but closer to 70-80%. The limits were because of lack of kitchen staff.

Waitress was friendly and talkative. It did take awhile for the waitress to find her way to us. Hint - if you need anything let the wait staff know the moment they are at your table or it may be a wee bit of a wait for them to find their way back to you (not unreasonable but longer than usual).

Restrooms are clean and don't stink as many Asian cuisine restaurants are known for. However, there was toilet paper all over the floor. One thing that puzzled me.. you know that hole between the two basins where you toss your wet used paper towels? If you look at the photo, attached, you'll note inside that hole there was no trash liner! There were brand new wrapped rolls of toilet paper inside the hole. It means they were being subjected to wet dirty paper towels and whatever else was being tossed in there. There was a waste pail by the door, but the hole being right there in front of you... well you know.

Beautifully decorated with Terra Cotta Warriors, Prayer Wheels, Cherry Blossoms, etc. Which to me, represents Xian, Tibet/Himalaya, and Japan. Not sure if they were trying to be culturally Asia diverse but a nice touch.

We had a Spicy Chicken dish, and a Glass Noodle dish with Shrimp. They give you a choice of brown or white rice (hooray!). Now back to the beginning of my post. I have had lots of Chinese food over the years but P.F. Chang's has the right formula for their recipes. The best I've had thus far!

Menu prices were moderate to moderate to high. Hoovering in the 20's although a few entree items higher, and a few lower. Appetizers were a bit pricey for what was being offered.

Big bonus was Coke Zero. it seems there is a lack of restaurants serving the Zero's, only Diet soda which I hate the aftertaste of. I know the sucralose and aspartame not good for us either but sometimes you just want a cold soda or water. We're not consumers of alcohol, and cautious about our sugar intake (don't know what is in the food but at least the soda should not have any).

Received two fortune cookies after meal! Wow~

This located in the Havana Tower (building end closest inland).

A great place despite some observations, limited seating, and strict timing policy. Usually, Asian food is made from raw materials either fresh or frozen, typically most not from canned and typically the food is not nuked. If you're health conscious and are looking for something that may work with your health diet Asian may be the way to go.

Bon...

My mother and I decided to try out P.F. Chang's restaurant at Tropicana for the first time this past October. We had heard great things about it and we were given a comp for the meal by the front desk. It was not the best experience. We ordered the Chef's Feast, which was good. I had ordered this peach bubble tea, which was good and my mother ordered an iced tea. While we sat waiting for our food, one of the hostess stood near our table at the podium and stared at us the entire time we ate. She didn't smile or ask if we needed anything. Just stared and listened to our conversation. Like who does that? We didn't have to wait long for our food and I figured okay the meal looked good but our experience with our server, Gregory was not acceptable.

Gregory seemed okay at first but he wasn't particularly friendly, especially when I signaled to him that I wanted the check. His mannerisms changed and he completely blow me off. He was having a conversation with a white couple that has come in and sat at the bar. I waited awhile then I raised my hand again just to let him know that we were ready for the check but he made me wait for 20 minutes while he went back to his conversation with the couple. To make matters worse, when it came time to pay for our meal, we told him we were comped by the front desk, which was to make up for an error they made that inconvenienced us. Gregory pretended that he never heard of that and said that they were just taking money off of our bill but we insisted that the comp be applied for our meal. He was implying that the hotel doesn't do that and that he didn't know how to do it. When he realized we weren't letting him get away with the excuses, he went ahead and applied the comp with no problems.

I feel that the poor customer service was given to us because we decided to try your special. Should it matter what the customer orders in order to receive proper customer service? I guess Gregory figured since he couldn't upsell us then he didn't have to treat us with common courtesty. We saw all of these people waiting before we went in and decided to give your restaurant a try. All restaurant guests should be treated equally. We felt overtones of bias in our treatment and we were wondering why there was a clear distinction between how Gregory treated the couple versus us. We wonder why Gregory's personal bias allowed? We dine out often and usually receive very polite and friendly service. After this experience, we should have chosen the restaurant next door...