Panini Kabob Grill - Brea — Restaurant in Brea

I can only speak for take out not dine in. DO NOT ORDER TAKE OUT FROM THIS LOCATION. So normally I wouldn’t waste time writing a review for a small error. However, this time, the attitude of the staff was completely out of line. I placed a very large order the night before. I went to pick it up after calling them to make sure it’ll be ready a bit earlier than the planned time. They said it’s fine.

I get there and a gentleman in the white asks me the name on the order and hands me a bag. He repeats the order to me. I confirm a second time, and ask “is everything in the bag” he says “yup everything is there and your salad is at the top the shelf” I said great, took the bag and the salad and accepted his words. On the way home they call my sister who placed the order for me and say “that guy who picked up the order just walked out without getting the other trays” now, mind you, the gentleman didn’t say anything about other trays and there was no other trays near the salad. I would’ve taken them and had no reason not to.

This is where it gets crazy. I come back and tell the manager what happened then some server in black says he served me and told me to get the trays and now there’s 3 new trays under where the salad was. I said no it wasn’t you but the manager didn’t believe me or say a word. No offer to check the cameras. No accepting of responsibility. No apology. They just say a miscommunication happened. The guy in the black kept blaming me and I’d never met him before.

I realized these guys are trying to gaslight me after placing a half a grand order. I realized they don’t want to improve their service or take any responsibility and told them I’ll never be back. No apology no help, nothing. All I wanted was something like “sorry sir, we didn’t realize it, we didn’t mean to blame you, we’ll do out best to never have it happen again” but no. They aren’t capable of good service. I’ll never be back, as I told them while they can that blank stare on their faces. I still can’t believe it.

Food was half good, koobideh was good but skirt steak skewers...

We didn't end up eating here today. But we LOVE the food. Their customer service is very questionable. We arrived at 7:03, put our name down for 4 people. We get a text message about 10 minutes later that our table is ready (outside). We noticed they gave the only family of 4 table away to somebody else. The Hostess knew they made a mistake, and she tried her hardest to get a table ready for us. About another 10 minutes we get our table outside. We sit there for about 5 minutes and see a table inside gets cleared, and I asked the hostess if we can sit inside instead. She said it wasn't a problem and they'll get the table cleaned right away. I even offered to leave the table we were sitting in so another party could have it, and she said it was OK to wait at our seats. The only waitress hears we're going to move and says "oh you're going inside," and we said yes. She doesn't bother getting our order. When our table is cleaned, they give our table away inside to another party, again. Luckily, the whole inside is beginning to clear. So we get a table about 5 minutes after the other party. We can see the hostess and other employees talking and looking at us. I am a little upset, but I understand things happen. What was upsetting was that the waitress who knew we were moving inside decided not to take our order and took the other party's order that took our seat the 2nd time first. That was the icing on the cake, and we decided to leave. I know I should've reached out to the manager then to let them know the poor communication with the employees, but now I'm really upset. I just ask to have better communication between the employees. If you make a mistake, try to fix it right away and not make matters worse. This whole ordeal took about 45 minutes. Considering everything, it was not worth eating there...

I’ve been a loyal customer of Panini Kabob Grill for over a decade, enjoying their consistently excellent food and service at multiple locations. Unfortunately, my recent visit to the Brea location was a huge disappointment, marking the first truly negative experience I’ve had with this chain.

I ordered the Mediterranean salad, which I’ve enjoyed many times before, but this time it was a letdown. The portion was noticeably smaller than what I’ve come to expect from other locations, and the standard vinaigrette dressing, which always accompanies this salad, was missing. When I approached the counter to address the issue, the staff member was unhelpful and dismissive. I politely explained that I’ve ordered this salad countless times at other Panini Kabob Grills and the vinaigrette is always included, but he insisted it doesn’t come with it and gave me a hard time instead of resolving the issue. This lack of customer service and deviation from the chain’s usual standards was frustrating and unacceptable.

Sadly, this experience at the Brea location fell far short of the quality and care I’ve come to expect from Panini Kabob Grill. I hope they address these issues, as it’s disheartening to see a favorite spot drop the ball so...