Pei Wei Asian Kitchen — Restaurant in Knoxville

I've been eating Pei Wei for about 11 years in this location. I've always loved it. But recently something has changed. I don't know what exactly but something. Maybe management? I notice there seems to be fewer customers now. I can remember struggling to find a table when I visited, now, the restaurant is mostly empty. The food is mostly the same but somehow different in some way, can't quite put my finger on it. I tend to get more meals that just aren't good now. As I write this I sit here staring at a meal I can't eat. I really don't want to be wasteful but I think someone dropped the salt shaker in my food. There are barely no veggies and my chicken is dry and has some sort of crystal type "stuff" on it. Very sad, I keep trying to enjoy it, but this might be the end for me. I'll give it a few years and see if it changes but for now I'm marking this one off my list. Too many other much better places to enjoy...

Due to the overwhelming number of restaurant options in Turkey Creek, I'd never been here before today. For fast casual Asian food, I always defaulted to Panda Express, and the Panera Bread directly next door always used to win my business instead. Now that it's closed down, I decided to give this Pei Wei a try, and I'm so glad that I did. I ordered the spicy drunken noodles - my chicken was juicy and flavorful, the veggies tasted fresh and crisp, and the sauce and noodles were perfectly spicy without being overwhelmingly hot. The service was wonderful, the gentleman who took my order (Michael I think?) was friendly and very kind, and he brought me my food almost immediately, 5 minutes at most. Everyone looked like they were working very hard, other customers seemed like they were enjoying their food just as much as me, and it was very clean. I can't wait to come back and try more of the menu....

Don’t get sucked in on accident like I did. The place was filthy (see attached picture for food covered ground), the food is way overpriced ($20 for an entree and drink), and honestly the quality is only slightly better than Panda Express. Food was quick and hot, but for $20, the portions should be bigger. Probably won’t go back.

Update 8/8/22: they asked me to reach out to corporate, which I did, and still no reply. As it stands, if you go and have a bad experience, they won’t make it up to you. Even more of a reason to avoid going.

Update 10/2/22: Still no word. Avoid this place like the literal plague.

Update again (10/3/2023: One year after this review, I put in contact info to the corporate site and never heard...