Panda Express — Restaurant in Los Angeles

Panda Express has 3 stations…..

Today something happened to me that I’ve never experienced in all my 33 years on this earth, and mind you I’ve experienced racism. But what happened today was unreal. I walked into the Panda express located at 1603 wilshire blvd LA Ca, 90017. There were 4 people in front of me, 2 finishing station 2 and 3 entering station 1. Station 1.(Order) The lady asks me what I’d like. I explain I’d like 2, dual entrée combos. I explained what I wanted, for both. After which she wrote on both containers, my name and the items that belong in the combos.

Station 2. (Entrees) The lady says hi (calls me by name written on container)… she reconfirms what I ordered, after which she asks, “Is there anything else I can get for you today? Fried wontons or egg roll?” SHE BEGINS CLEANING* I reply yes may I have a large teriyaki chicken please. She informs me it will be 8.99 and asks is that amount ok **while walking away with and empty dish, to which I reply “That’s fine”. She then comes back to continue cleaning while the cashier finishes with the people in front of me. (She hasn’t given me teriyaki chicken). The lady at station 1 begins filling orders for both station 1 & 2. Then another employee comes over and begins cleaning around her and kinda shoving her out of the way. At this point, the cashier who is at station 3 (the cash register) calls my name from the containers that were filled and ready to go. The man who has been cleaning this entire time while I stood in front of him watching as the cashier finished with the people in front of me. I turn to the cashier and say “I’m still waiting for food.” The girl who walked away comes back and says, “You wanted teriyaki chicken right?” I reply yes. The guy cleaning says something to her, she replies the girl at station 1 needs a 30 minute break. Another girl goes to station 1. People in back of me are now being helped. I still haven’t gotten my chicken. But no one has requested teriyaki chicken, as I am standing in front of where it is, and have not moved. Yet the entire restaurant seems to be moving around me. The man who was cleaning around station 2 area has now taken over cleaning the enter counter of station 2. He tells her to go do something and continues to clean. After I lie to you not, the 4th person has been helped I say kinda loudly, to the man who has had his head down and not made eye contact with the extremely large black man standing less than 3 feet in front of him, as the entire line moves AROUND me because no one is getting any teriyaki chicken and station1 is filling orders while I stand there and look stupid. So I finally get my chicken! After I spoke up. My fault for waiting so long? Station 3(Register) As I am now ready to finally approach the register, there is 1 person in front of me. And after they are done being helped I stepped up to the register, and the cashier began speaking to someone else and then walked away. Another girl came to the counter, and began pulling cups out of the cabinet. People walked by, and people are still being helped and now I have people behind me looking for a cashier as well. It was at this point I said in a very loud voice, enough be sure everyone heard. “Ok, STOP!” Everyone including the kitchen stopped to look at me. I said once the screeching halt of hustle ended. “Since I’ve been in here all I’ve seen you do is clean instead of help ME! I’m standing here with money in hand ready to check out. Can I please be helped!?” It was at this point the man who ignored me (possibly a manager) told her to just help me and check me out please. The girl who was under the cabinet in front of me stops and takes my money as if she is doing me a favor. And then after I leave proceeds to help everyone else as if it were her job. Finally after walking out I had to stop and realize what I had just experienced. It was the most bizarre thing I had ever seen. It was either they didn’t want to help me, or they were just that crappy at customer service that the managers say clean before you...

Overall: 3.2/5 (online order pick up)

We ordered two bowls online during their BOGO promotion of their new beyond orange chicken which is priced as a premium item. Pick up was simple - you just walk to the pick up counter and provide them your name. They forgot to give me utensils and sauces like I requested though.

They skimped on the amount of food per bowl. The chow mein and fried rice weren't good & bland. The rice was really dry. All the proteins were good though - honey Walnut shrimp, beyond orange chicken, Beijing beef. We had better honey Walnut shrimp at other locations though. The beyond orange chicken was actually a lot better than expected. It had a crunchy texture and good flavor. I thought it was the best protein out of the 3 we got.

Overall, I think the Panda Express locations in the Bay Area provide better tasting food and portion sizes. Feb 2023 Review: 3/5 stars

I ordered in person this time so the portion size was a bit larger than ordering online but the food was not as good. We got two plates which were $11.15 each since we got a premium item (extra $1.25).

Honey Walnut Shrimp - The batter was soggier than before so it wasn't crispy at all.

Black Pepper Steak - Okay. Probably the best of the 4 proteins.

Honey Sesame Chicken - Not good.

Orange Chicken - Disappointing but better than the honey...

April 2024: New management and no more problems. Coupon issues resolved. Lines are still occasionally long, I guess that can't be helped until the new location at Vermont opens and maybe relieves some of the customer pressure. Food quality improved, and workers more responsive and helpful.

Previous 1 star rating now 4 stars, I'm adding a FIFTH star in appreciation of improvements.

Jul. 2023: As of 7/2/23, management at Panda Express 1603 Wilshire Bl Los Angeles has rejected three free a la carte entree coupons from customer feedback as "expired" WITHIN VALID OFFER TIMEFRAME. By my count, Panda Express owes me three entrees. CORPORATE HAS BEEN COMPLETELY UNRESPONSIVE TO MY CALLS AND MESSAGES.

Feb. 2023: Serious problems with quality and service. LONG lines, soggy food. ½ hour wait for orange chicken, bejing beef and honey walnut went soggy while waiting, STILL NO FRESH ORANGE CHK AFTER ½ HOUR, left empty-handed. Wasted gas and about an hour of my time incl driving and parking, ended up eating some...