P.F. Chang's — Restaurant in Fairfax

I find my self uncertain on how to start. First, we moved to the area a little over a year ago and have been disappointed with the availability of Chinese food since we got here. Add to that, that I am dieting and one of the few things I seem to be allowed to have is well prepared Hot and Sour soup. Then with the absolute train wreck that Pei Wei Hot and Sour soup has become since COVID, we are left with P.F. Chang's.

We had been going to the P.F. Chang's at Tysons until recently but stopped because of service issues there. So, given our starting point, we are willing to drive a little to find a place.

So, now let’s start the review of this restaurant, the Hot and Sour soup was fine, it could have been a little warmer, but still passable. The large chicken chunks in it were a welcome surprise.

The real issue was the service. Actually, the only issue with this visit was the service. Crystal, I assume that was our servers name it was on the bill, was seriously less than par. An while I do understand that she was at the end of her shift, based on her discussions with the other employees while doing her self-grooming, you still have to provide service.

So where to start:

1. I understand they were having some sort of shift meeting, behind our table, but seriously, please do not stand there 5 ft from my table and pick your nails. One of the last things I want to hear while I am trying to eat my food is the click of you picking your nails and trying to get whatever is under your nail out. I hope she washed her hands after that.

2. I understand that I tend to drink more fluids than the average bear, and I would agree that it is likely excessive, but only getting 1 refill during the meal and my cup being empty for 90+% of the time I am eating is not cool. Plus, she stood there and watch me eating the ice because my drink was empty and did nothing. Of course, neither did any of the other servers walking around. I know this was clearly a problem based on my wife's drink cup. She is the slowest drinker in the world, so if her cup is ever empty for any amount of time at a restaurant it is clearly unnormal. She also only got 1 refill. We didn't even get a courtesy offer of a refill while paying the bill.

3. Back to the soup, my wife didn’t get the little fried crunchy stuff with her soup. And of course, Crystal never visited while we were eating the soups to find out. Overall, she only visited for the absolutely minimum mandatory times, to take our order, deliver the food and provide the bill. While some places we go servers can go overboard checking on us... that clearly wasn't the case here.

4. I am unsure how I can feel that her demeanor was cold, despite barely visiting.

5. At the end of the meal, I am sure she knew that we weren’t happy, because she didn’t bring any fortune cookies. While I can understand she might have been “thinking ahead” to not bring me one, but clearly with my wife eating a noodle and battered chicken dish, she wasn’t concerned with carbs.

We tried to be happy from the start, and use please and thank-you's. I remember trying to be happy looking forward to getting some good food.

I wont damn the restaurant for ever based on this experience, we will try it again, but we will certainly ask for a different server next time, if she happens to be ours.

Side note: we did leave a significantly less than normal tip based on the quality of service. Even when we are upset we tend to leave a 20% tip, but her little snippiness at the end, made me barely leave 7.5%.

I cant believe I just wrote a 1 page essay as a...

Very disappointed in this location’s service. My wife and I went in for dinner. The hostess told us they were going to wipe down a table and then seat us. She asked us to give her a second. My wife and I step aside to wait as requested and two other couples came after us and were sat immediately. My wife went back up to ask if our table was ready and the hostess's said “oh Sorry” and we were lead to a small table between 2 larger families. The table they sat us at was right next to where we were standing and it didn’t get wiped down as she stated. At that point we felt devalued as customers and we left. I decided to call and let them know that their hostesses were forgetting about guests andI was transferred to Greg and told he is the manager on duty. Greg confirmed that he was standing there when the incident took place. According to Greg, PF Changs does not operate on first come first serve policy, but instead does “rotation”. He said because the table we were to be sat at was being wiped down other guest after us could be sat immediately because their table didn’t need to be wiped. He also said he was there when the hostess sat the guests that came after us and emphasized that it wasn't “discrimination”. I told him I didn’t consider it as discrimination just a simple case of forgetting about the customers that you told to wait and that were right in front of you. He doubled down that she didn’t forget us and proceeded to tell me her saying she was “Sorry” wasn’t because she had forgot us. Initially he said that she didn’t apologize but then changed to say she apologized but not because we were forgotten. In the end I was very disappointed in all we went through just to be sat at a table, but the phone call with Greg really made me upset. As a service provider if you make a mistake, admit it. Don’t try to cover it up and hide behind a lack of accountability or integrity. The hostess apologized and acknowledged the mistake. But Greg, as a manager… do better. I hope that the PF Chang corporate team can ensure that he has corrective training on customer engagement that he really needs to support the franchise. Being on a call with a manager that says he was present during a situation, who also did not intervene, and continued to misrepresent the events on the phone afterwards is very frustrating and disappointing. I don’t plan to go back to PF Change for some time and if I ever do it will not be at the...

I went to this location on January 25, 2025, there were 5 other PF Changs closer to me, however, this one was the only one that had high reviews; after eating here, I do not know why the reviews are high. First. the atmosphere, the tables are crammed too close together, I could not even take my coat off without bumping into the person at the next table.

Next the service, I ordered an appetizer (dynamite shrimp), a server dropped off an appetizer at my table, it was not what I ordered and the server had left before I noticed. I waited a couple of minutes before I saw my server and got his attention, I told him the wrong appetizer had been brought to my table. The server took the plate off my table which had been sitting there for a couple of minutes, took it back to the kitchen and was gone for 5 seconds and then brought the same appetizer back and gave it to the table next to me; he should have had the cooks prepare a new appetizer rather than giving the appetizer that had been at my table for a couple of minutes, he did not know if I had touched the food or eaten from the appetizer.

Next our server bought our entrees, the server placed an entree in front of me, which was something I did not order. I told him that, after I had talked over the food, and he picked up the plate, went into the kitchen again for 5 seconds and then came back out with the same two plates and gave them to the table next to us, once again, he should have had the chef prepare a new entree, when he had placed the plate in front of me.

I find it ridiculous that twice in one setting the wrong plates were put at our table and both times the server picked up the wrong plates and gave them to the correct table, which was next to us...obviously the party sitting next to us, did not realize what had happened on both occasions.

I will never be back to this location or any PF Changs, being that this one had high reviews, I would hate to see how the other locations are.

Lastly, the food was lackluster at best, not bad, but definitely nothing to...