Panda Express — Restaurant in Merrifield

I once read a fortune cookie from Panda Express that told me I was on the path to prosperity. Some may call me biased, but it's hard not to like a restaurant that gives you a fortune like that.

Panda Express, particularly this location, is like my home away from home. Almost every significant moment of my life has happened at this very restaurant. It's the place I went when I used to watch movies by myself over at Mosaic. It's the place that I would go after a tough day at the office or a hard night of studying. It's the place I took my girlfriend on one of our first dates. It's the food I brought to her parents one night when I was asked if I could pick up some dinner. It's the food that FUELED our wedding planning after I asked her to marry me. It's the first place we went after we sealed our vows on the altar. It's the place we went when we dropped off our newborn daughter for her first evening away from the house. It's the place we went when we wanted to have a family dinner together. It's the place we went when we had our second daughter and didn't want to cook. And the story goes on...

From sticky pleather seats to the fake tile floors, this fast food chain is stained not just with orange chicken sauce, but with memories. Sweet, sweet memories. My friends, you don't find a restaurant like that every day.

Sure the portions might be getting smaller, but perhaps it's just because our hearts are getting bigger. Maybe the food is sometimes a little stale, but perhaps it's because our senses are invigorated the moment we walk through the door?

This is a special place, a magical place...dare I say,...

Had a terrible experience at this location. Stopped and grab dinner for my girlfriend and I on my way home from work and ordered two plates. When I returned home, I noticed that my plate was missing the orange chicken that I had ordered and the noodles were covering it to make it look look like it was there. Then called the location and told them what happened. I was very polite and understanding as I am sure this can be a I was very polite and understanding as I am sure this can be an easy mistake in the fast food industry. They put me on hold and then came back. I asked her if I was able to come back and get the full order and they said yes. My girlfriend went as I had just returned from work. She told them that we are the one who called and provided the receipt. Both female she dealt with were extremely standoffish and rude to her. The lady then grabbed a new plate and it’s about to add the chicken. We then put it away and took the plate that we had brought back, it was cold, of course, and added the food to that plate instead. Which probably is not the best health safety practices. Then shove the plate into a bag through the receipts into the bag and stuck it in her face. Just a sliver of customer service when you make a mistake...

I came to this restaurant on 2/20 at about 1pm. I went through the drive thru to pickup my mobile order. I always place my order through the mobile app so by the time I get there, it’s ready. When I got to the speaker (10 minutes after my order was supposed to be done according to the email) the lady said “if you have a mobile order show me the confirmation at the window” . As I pulled up, she said to come inside because It wasn’t ready. They told me this the last time I was there to pickup an order only for me to not receive my order until 30 minutes later. My order was sitting there on the counter for quite some time before someone actually helped me. Because of that previous experience I said no. The lady in the window with the hijab said “so what the cars behind you are supposed to wait?” . I said absolutely. I ordered before they even got to order through the speaker so that means their order wasn’t ready either correct? She lied saying it would take 6 minutes but when I refused to move she started to catch an attitude and talking to her coworkers about how I being difficult by not moving. They asked Her what my order was and guess what? My order came out in less than 3 minutes at that. Terrible service. I won’t be...