P.F. Chang's — Restaurant in Carlsbad

I dont understand the high ratings. Im not high Class at all even though, i can be. Im ok, eating a burger, on the sidewalk from a street vender..... Water..... contained a ton of floaties and was dirty.... not just my glass, the entire table.... dude, i could have brought my own bottle water..... Let me guess, its tap, which is ok, but the dishes weren't clean? White Rice... my kid. MY KID asked me why it was hard and stale. I had to explain.... maybe it was old, from yesterday, this morning or overcooked or not enough water in the rice cooker so it came out harder.... My kid inserted his fork from top into it and lifted...... it was like a plate came up.... i told my kid to be happy he has food..... Pad thai w. chicken.... there was no chicken and the dish was over cooked.... like noodles were hard from over cooking, tofu rock hard from over cooking....... they also didnt have any hots, no chili, no sweet chili..... the scallions were 4 to 6 inches long.... what chef does that? you are suppose to cut them up....... what the hell? the salad. it was nothing but iceberg lettuce.... ok house salad sure.... but wheres the carrots? cabbage? what? wheres other ingredients?

honestly, for the cost, find a street vender or food truck, your water wont have floaties in it, your food wont be overcooked and im sure it would be more authentic than..... this place.... was this microwaved? is p.f.changs a microwave setup? no cooking? even microwave dishes from healthy choice, from p.f.changs brand comes out better..... do youselves a favor.... find a local, thai or Vietnamese.... place, a place you wouldn't want to enter by looks and im sure the food is 5 star, fresh and proper.......there wont be crap floating in your water because they serve u a bottle..... I would have had better quality food at IN N OUT and at 80 percent off the cost of this place. Im visiting and just disappointed in the quality and reviews ive seen..... are you all blind? look at your water in your glass...... you see the crap floating in it? also... the staff seemed annoyed and i didnt even tell them about the food quality i mentioned here..... i asked them to take old dishes away, i literally had to stack my new dishes on top of my dirty dishes because the tables were too small......to eat. then what? either take old dishes away, or have bigger tables.... where the heck do we place the appitizer plates when we are done? on the floor? no? then dont get upset when i kindly ask, can you please take these dishes away to make space for the entres....... is p.f.changs suppose to be high class or higher class? then why the hell am i stacking my entre dish on top of my old used dishes to make space to eat? what the fark? ok, fine, see my post as im the problem and complaining..... 20 to 40 a person for this crap? i must be the problem. Again, ive had street venders at cheaper price and...

Disappointing Experience at P.F. Chang's - September 7, 2024

I recently visited P.F. Chang's in Carlsbad on September 7, 2024, at 7:20 PM, with a party of 11 (5 adults and 6 kids). Unfortunately, the experience was far from what we had hoped for.

We arrived as walk-ins and were informed by Blenda (with long black hair) that large groups should make reservations or call ahead. She told us there were no available tables and that we would need to wait 25 minutes, even though the restaurant was only 50% full. We were added to the waitlist, and I received a message that our table was ready. However, when we went to be seated, the table wasn’t prepared. We waited in the designated area, only to receive another message that our table had been canceled.

When I approached Blenda for clarification, her attitude was dismissive, and she didn’t apologize for the mistake. It was frustrating and uncomfortable, but I decided to wait a little longer to avoid ruining the kids' birthday celebration.

Eventually, one of our group members asked to be seated separately, and the staff combined some empty tables in the corner to accommodate us. This solution could have been offered from the beginning, and I was confused as to why it wasn’t.

Throughout the interaction, Blenda repeatedly reminded me that large groups should make reservations, which I acknowledged. However, her tone and response felt dismissive and insensitive.

Whether the restaurant does not want to accommodate large groups or if this is their policy, it felt as though I was being given a lesson for having dined there. I am paying for food and service, including a guaranteed tip for groups of 8 or more. Is this kind of service acceptable?

While the food was excellent and the servers themselves were friendly, the management’s handling of our situation was extremely disappointing.

Following this incident, I sent a complaint to the corporate office 4 days ago and received an email from the local restaurant partner suggesting further discussion. I responded but have yet to hear back. It seems that this restaurant has no intention of resolving the issue. I would not recommend this location to anyone, and I certainly will not...

My second eating experience with P.F. Chang's with kids (first was in Waikiki Beach) - and certainly I would summarize it as disappointing. Similar to other reviews, presentation of the initial plate (Kung Pao Dragon Rolls) was pretty with smoke coming out of a transparent cover, but the food itself fell far below standard. We order pork dumplings and they, too, were stale and not soft and delightful - instead they were dry and old.

The only item that came out well was their signature lettuce wraps. The Kung Pao Brussels Sprouts were satisfactory - a bit charred and oily, while also very tasty.

Our server seemed to be having a bad day - or just has a less than gracious personality. When he brought out the water, we mentioned that our daughter prefers no ice, and he said, oh, there's barely any in there, and it will be the same temperature anyway - i.e. he rejected our request for no ice.

The child portion of egg noodles (with chicken and a side of broccoli) is extremely small, and this seems consistent at all P.F. Changs. We ordered a second one, and asked if it was possible to swap out the chicken and broccoli for extra noodles, and were told no, so we said, that's fine, just bring out the same. However, our server ended up "accommodating our request" without disclosing he'd charge us 71% more - which was not okay. The charges described "extra chicken" and substitute broccoli.

And finally, there was the snarky comment after we ordered the chicken lettuce wraps, kung pao brussels sprouts, pork dumplings, and kung pao dragon rolls - and he said something like, "oh, you're only having appetizers?"

On the ambience side, the decor was pleasant, bathrooms are well appointed and clean. I noticed the architect or designer artistically integrated a fire sprinkler into every light fixture so that it wrapped below them to be able to effectively put out fire while blending in. We also ordered a signature cocktail - which was nice. So, perhaps Mondays are an off day for the main chef and top servers, and so food quality and service...