Panda Express — Restaurant in Los Angeles

I placed an online order and arrived shortly after, knowing my food should’ve been ready. Even though the system mistakenly listed the pickup time as 12AM, I explained to the staff that I was already there and ready to pick up. They told me they’d prepare it, but instead, I ended up standing there for nearly 20 minutes.

What makes it worse is that it’s Panda Express—it’s cafeteria-style. The food I ordered was literally sitting right there in front of me the entire time. I could see it. Nothing needed to be cooked or prepared fresh. They just didn’t prioritize my order or acknowledge my wait. I could’ve made the plate myself faster than they did.

This isn’t the first time I’ve had an issue at this location either. On another visit, a staff member gave me the total before even asking if I wanted a drink, which I did. It’s like there’s no interest in offering proper service or attention to detail.

This kind of careless treatment is frustrating, especially for something as simple as picking up an online order. I hope this location seriously reevaluates how it handles mobile orders and customer...

I'm giving 4 stars because the very polite and nice-looking guy who helped us was doing a great job. The place was not very busy, not so much that we should've been standing there several minutes without even one person bothering to say, "I'll be right with you." There were no signs showing which end of the counter to order, and no cashier sign on either end. Even finding our way pretty quickly to the correct place to order, we stood there long enough to wonder, with people standing right in front of us, what was their problem (?). Finally a blonde guy with a nice smile asked what we'd like and we ordered. The almond chicken was good, the lowmein was excellent, fried rice was good too. The place was pretty clean, prices were moderately steep considering the amount and the wait. Personnel need a course in customer service. Generally the people standing in the store, masked and in line, are the ones spoken to first, even if they have to wait a few minutes. It's not the waiting that I mind, it's being ignored, direct questions and all. I would give it 2 stars if not for one employee quickly...

Food was served quickly. Ordered a bowl order with half fried rice and mixed greens with honey walnut shrimp. The rice was very bad and crusty however. The veggies were good and fresh, the shrimp was okay and served a decent amount (this location does not seem too stingy unlike other Panda 🐼 locations!). The service was BAD, honestly Panda needs to start developing some sort of separate mobile order fulfillment station. I needed to wait for five different mobile orders to be completed before me, and two of the guests behind me in line left because of the long wait time. I was unable to leave unfortunately because my bowl had already been started but was not ready yet. Busy location but very quick once all the mobile orders are done. I will most definitely not return to this location nor recommend it to anyone unless it is literally your only choice. Buyer beware, the fried rice...