Panda Express — Restaurant in Meridian

Overall this is a pretty solid location with good food. Normally it is a good experience why I still have it 4 stars. I will say our order tonight I was very frustrated by the service. I will say they were very busy. But they were not organizing themselves well at all. I ordered online. Got there and very big line. The manager was doing all the online orders but was not checking with the people waiting for online orders. She was just putting it on the shelf (which is not accessible for customers to just grab theirs and go) and going to make the next one. She ignored a group of us after putting up multiple orders. The guy who was doing dine in register was trying to check for online when he was super busy but would not check on the new orders put on the shelf unless you asked. In the time there waiting for my order (which was done 12-15 minutes after estimated. Which again they were busy) I watched about 6 groups who were walk in (2 large groups) order and receive their food before mine got completed. The dine in register guy was nice but seemed to be annoyed with me asking (I had to ask 3 times (when I first arrived, after multiple orders had been added to the shelf and the 3rd time when I knew my order had been completed) cause there were roughly 5 or 6 orders put on the shelf and no one was checking to see if it was the orders of the people waiting. 3rd time I asked it was mine that was completed

I will say it was busy. And the food was still good. But the manager handling online orders should have been checking in with the online customers as she is the one that sees the names and the orders. And not forcing her staff member who was busy with dine in to take care of dine in customers and have to continually check if an order was completed when he was super busy as well.

For time reasons - we got there 20 mins after we ordered and were in the restaurant for 20-25 minutes and in the time we were there the manager who was doing online orders from what I could see did not talk to her staff at all. She just made the orders and didn’t direct or communicate to her team or anyone.

She should have been helping with online customers. Props to the register guy (even though I think I annoyed him) he was doing so much...

I’m usually not one to write a review unless something is particularly bad or good.

My husband and I had a long trip; We had just driven home to Meridian from Twin Falls on March 14, 2024. We had stopped at the nearby WinCo for some groceries following our trip, but grocery store pizza just didn’t sound good. We had no idea this Panda Express was even here, despite living here for many years. We love Panda Express!!

When we walked in, we were quite worried. The line was long and there was not very many people up front. The girl with black hair near the front of the food line (by the fried rice and chow mein) appeared stressed but kept cool nonetheless. She was okay.

However; the young man at the register was the best fast-food employee I have ever come across!! His name was Henry and he was a tall young man with short hair. He gave my husband and I a military discount (as my husband served in the Air Force) and we had a nice conversation about the Air Force. He seemed to be the only employee really doing anything… He was cleaning up the lobby, cashing people out, filling up the sauce containers, helping other people with egg rolls, all with a kind, welcoming and genuine smile.

Henry really helped our long, dragging day become amazing. His smile and service made my entire day. If I ever visit this location in the future, I will specifically ask to talk to Henry.

The lobby was clean and tidy. They had every option we liked and it was fresh and tasty.

Thank you, Henry for making our experience at the Panda Express on Progress avenue so wonderful!! We will definitely be returning in...

Manager Mary Jane is a treasure. I ordered on the app and drove over to dine-in for a late lunch. My order was ready, so I sat in the CLEAN dining room to enjoy my meal with a few other tables. It was mostly quiet and I could concentrate on my reading. My order was nicely packaged with everything I could need, including the receipt to check my order. I had the Beijing Beef bowl, which was perfect; Warm, but not too hot, delicious, balanced, not salty, not slopped in the bowl, perfect ratio of beef to veggies. I got on a bed of Super Greens, which were crisp-fresh-cooked, bright green and yummy. I also had the Chili Crisp Shrimp on White Rice. Just the right amount of heat & spice. Big fluffy rice and again the perfect portions as in the Beijing Beef. The rice had ample red peppers and onions. I can't believe that I ate both bowls completely, as I had planned on taking some home for later! Looking around, everyone seemed to be happy, there weren't any Karen sightings. All the employees were working hard, continually doing what needed to be done without any unnecessary chit-chat. I approached the manager to give her my compliments and even though there wasn't any customer currently in line, she was busy in the kitchen. She approached with a smile and we had a nice conversation. I must say that I have had previous mixed feeling about Panda Express, but if all the other locations are as super as this one, then I will be coming much, MUCH more often. Thank you to everyone...