PF Chang's — Restaurant in Ponce

🚨If you are Vegan or Have Allergies Be Careful at PF Chang's locations in Puerto Rico.

My first visit to a P.F. Chang's was in Raleigh, North Carolina way before I became Vegetarian/Vegan. I fell in love with what they offered.

When they opened in San Juan in 2011, I went on their first week and even created a review on my old blog VegLatino.

In 2015 I had multiple issues at the Plaza Las Americas PF Changs which made me only visit the Brand when I am outside of Puerto Rico. The "policies" in place here seem to be more obstacles to creating an excellent customer experience than in any other PF Changs outside of the Island.

Today, I went to PF Changs in Ponce for the 5th Visit in the past two months. Every previous visit had made me think of PF Changs as an excellent option to eat for my non-vegan family and me.

We arrived at 11:20am, and the door was closed. As I walked towards the parking, I heard someone behind the door that greeted me and told me they were running a bit late.

We sat down and ordered appetizers. At one moment we were told that the Dumpling Machine was broken and it would take more time for them to be made. We discussed the waitress it was okay we could wait.

When it was my turn to order my Entree, I ordered what I have eaten at every PF Changs I've visited throughout the years and was told by the Sous Chef which was in charge of the restaurant that they could not substitute the Vegetarian Sauce.

I explained that in the past two months on at least 4 occasions there was no problem. Joshua told me that since he was in charge on this occasion and it was his job on the line, he could not make the simple substitute of changing the oyster sauce for a vegetarian one.

I asked Joshua if his job was more important than taking care of a simple request from a customer. Joshua kept repeating that his job was more important than my request and he could not make an exception.

He mumbled a few other things about not being able to cater to people that have allergies or vegans. Mentioned corporate does not allow him to serve only what is on the menu.

I asked for the check to pay off the appetizers and drinks if he could not make the simple change. He said he would bring the check.

As I spoke with the hostess, it seemed another manager was hearing my concerns and issues and decided to not even make eye contact with me. I am pretty sure it was easier to have us leave than to address that Joshua put his job as a priority over customer service and making a dish vegan.

In 2015, I emailed the managers and contacted them via multiple channels never heard back. Today I was confronted with many employees who were willing to help, but the person in charge thought him being right and holding his position of authority was more important than nurturing a simple customer relationship with the overall brand.

This will be my last visit to PF Changs on the Island. I don't blame Joshua for having that attitude since I have seen it other PF locations in the past and was the reason why I gave them a chance in February of 2019 after my last lousy incident in January 2015.

I hope Joshua learns that having a dietary need makes me choose PF Changs and not the other options around that...

Not bad for fancy Chinese dining, even if the food's the same you get in any other Chinese place.

PF Chang's is a beautiful place, honestly. The inside is dimly lit and gentle, allowing for privacy in every table. It's also spacious and cool, which gives off a nice feeling.

The staff is terribly friendly, they were attentive and nice. No complaints here.

The service though is surprisingly slow 🐌 20 minutes for the appetizer and 1 hour and 15 minutes after the appetizer for the food. It wasn't too full, so we'd look around at the staff quizzically, but they had no answers.

The food definitely tastes good. But the issue is that it's not really any different from normal street Chinese food. It's the same you can get anywhere at a much higher price.

Fried Rice was very good, decent portion. The rest were also decently big, including the appetizer.

Price is where things ramp up. Prices are high, but the food isn't special. So really, you're paying for the nice atmosphere.

Overall, it's good, but only for the atmosphere. The food is nothing special. You can get something just as good at your local Chinese place without the cost. However, if you want a good atmosphere, with the same food you already enjoy, you'll like it...

Don’t know where to start …..We choose this place to celebrate a Family Birthday today May 5th we got there at 8:45 a table for 4 people ,they accommodate us at the bar area without even asked if we will like that to be seated in the that area . 1-We asked for diet sodas they run out 2-we asked for Perrier they run out 3-we asked san Peregrino they also run out . 4-Well at the end they served us soda water from the soda machine and the soda came in with dead mosquitos 5-when we order the appetizer which was tempura calamari’s they said they did not have the sauce they ran out also . 6-They offered mayo ketchup and we did not want that sauce we ordered anyways . When the food arrived they calamari’s were floating on grease and they were burnt not even appropriate for a dog the waitress start to explained about the tempura blah blah blah trying to defend a dish that was clearly not to spec we just ask for the check and leave . What a horrible customer experience. I will never ever visit this restaurant again we end up paying $20.00 for sodas water and one app. The place was also very dirty not clean sticky floors Wet tables and dirty tables around us a...