Panda Express — Restaurant in Gilbert

I hope this place is a franchise and the owner reads this. You need to make some changes.

I decided to give this place another try after just reading how disastrous 2024 is supposedly for restaurants. Sigh, so disappointing. Friday 5pm. I walked in and could see they have almost nothing to choose from. They had plenty of fried rice and plenty orange chicken. I wanted the family meal which is three large entrees and two large sides. I couldn't order the shrimp since they didn't have that ready. I had to go with two orders of orange chicken. I looked around to see what else they might have enough of and I asked the young lady if there was any chicken in the mushroom chicken. We laughed together because all we could see really was mushrooms. I said whatever, let's go with that. She was able to fill up the box about 75, maybe 80% and I said not to worry about it. (It's not her fault the place is poorly run).

I could see there was a shift leader in charge so I asked her - 5:00 not a busy time here? She tried to offer up that people might be choosing to do other things. Yeah, no wonder.

Panda Express has a decent overall pitch and menu but this location, (sadly), needs to close its doors or shut down for dinner if it's not profitable. You can see the review below about the walnut shrimp. I wrote that 5 years ago. I made a new promise to myself which is too never come back to this place ever again. That's sad because I liked their food but there are other places near here that are so much better ran.

I decided to post this warning so others are not disappointed. We were there yesterday and this was the 3rd time in a row for purchasing the honey walnut shrimp. They charge extra for this and then do not fill up the box. Three times a charm for only 2/3rd full and paying extra. We will not be buying this ever again. Be aware in case...

While Panda is one of our kids favorites, I would travel the extra 3 miles to avoid buying anything from this location. Coming home late from work Friday night I picked up the kids favorite Orange Chicken. When I got home every piece was dried out and crunchy. They tried to eat the less crispy pieces but gave up and went for cereal instead. I was really disappointed but as it was already late I decided to wait until the next day to stop by and return the food. I fully expected an apology (the food was clearly gross looking like had sat all day under heat lamps) but rather than getting an apology I was given a reprimand by the manager saying that I should have brought it back the same night. Are you kidding me? I said hey I had 3 hungry kids it was after 8 and no way should I be inconvenienced because of a lack of quality control on their part. Then she said hum looks like you eat some. She looked at the receipt and (this is no joke) started counting how many pieces remained. I said what are you doing? She said you ordered a two entree looks like just a little more than one entree is left. I said right, I am pulling a big scam I order two entrée and eat some of one and try to get my money back. She keep counting the next plate. In total disgust and disbelief I told her if this was her idea of customer service she could save the time counting and keep the food. I left and will never set foot inside that Panda again. What a disgrace to a...

If you've arrived at this location then I hope you're confused and meant to go to a better restaurant down the street. Look for the logo that doesn't look like they spent millions of dollars fine-tuning what they wanted their "message" to be.

On the other hand, if this was your intended destination then prepare for faux "Chinese" dishes mass-produced and perfected for bland American tastes and expanding waistlines.

Please don't be confused about the logo: no panda meat is served here. It's natural that you would misunderstand.

By the way, I heard a rumor that if you say the word "panda" in a manner not sanctioned by their legal department they have reserved the right to serve a fortune cookie with cease and desist inside demanding you to never do it again. Of course you'll comply because you can't afford to fight for your rights. (More Chinese goodness in the form of communism?)

After the latest marketing blitz, obviously your shallow, brainwashed-by-commercials existence can't fathom that other, non-chain restaurants exist in the universe. But it's a free country so you might think about broadening your horizons someday.

(No intellectual property or corporate attorneys were harmed in the creation of...