Pei Wei Asian Kitchen — Restaurant in Tampa

Stay away from this Pei Wei.

I ordered 3 meals for dinner through their website to be delivered (the amount paid of $46.63 included delivery and service fees). 2 of the 3 meals that I ordered were part of the 2 for $20 chicken special. They delivered 2 of the 3 meals but left out one of the two chicken orders. When I called, they initially said I had to drive to the store to pick up the missing order. I told them that I had paid extra fees already to have it delivered and tipped the delivery driver. They said they don’t have control over the delivery drivers and that my only option was to drive to their store to pick up the meal they dropped the ball on. I told them that I used their website to order my meal and to have it delivered and it’s not my responsibility, but theirs, to provide the meal and service I had already paid for. They seemed utterly incompetent and then offered to provide a refund for $3 (I bought the 2 for $20 chicken special…..pretty simple math). Eventually, after my explaining the math, they offered to refund me $10 but wouldn’t address the service and delivery fee that I paid. Really terrible service.

To the manager, who provides the canned response to these reviews, save your time in responding by referring me to your Pei Wei customer support. You failed tonight and didn’t even have the decency to...

Original review, circa November, 2018: Most pleasant. Easy to deal with. Portions are decent. Parking is easy and plentiful. Staff can be a bit cold and curt but functional otherwise.

Update 17 May 2019, 5pm: today, this location was filthy. Dried sugary drink stains all over the floor, some tables still had remnants of food from previous diners.

Staff members were noted in guest area chit chatting while one cashier started handling a growing line of guests. Said cashier gestured for assistance, but they ignored her, and continued laughing away like they were paying guests.

Food quality, quantity and variety continued to be decent. Food was freshly cooked enough though the white rice can use a bit more steaming. Those little rice crispy strands they put on regular rice continued to be an unnecessary and annoying distraction.

Servers have the tendency to dip their sleeves or articles of clothing into guests' food while reaching. Very unappealing.

Other staff also like to sweep under the table while guests are still eating. Didn't say anything or excuse themselves.

Overall, a quick stop for a light meal is good...don't bring a date.

Update: 6 October 2022. Very pleasant visit today. Food was decent. The place was clean. Service was helpful. Portions are still plentiful enough albeit at slightly higher prices.

Good for a...

Listen, I came into Pei Wei at Westshore a simple, hungry human being — and I left a changed man. A man who now dreams in spicy, glorious visions of Kung Pao Chicken.

First bite? Fireworks. Not the Fourth of July kind — more like the “your mouth is now throwing a full-on rave and forgot to tell your brain” kind. I don’t know what ancient sorcery the chef back there is practicing, but that Kung Pao Chicken hit harder than my Wi-Fi bill after a Netflix binge.

The chicken was tender like it had been serenaded for hours before it ever saw a wok. The sauce? A perfect storm of heat, sweet, and “oh dear God, someone hold me.” The peanuts added a crunch so satisfying, I’m pretty sure I made audible noises that scared a family two tables over.

Service was fast and friendly, like they could sense I was teetering on the edge of starvation and culinary enlightenment at the same time. They handed me my meal with a smile that said, “We know what’s about to happen to you. And we approve.”

If you don’t like spicy food, that’s fine — order it anyway and become a better person. Personal growth tastes like Kung Pao Chicken, and I have no regrets.

Pei Wei Westshore: Changing lives, one mouthful of spicy...