Pei Wei — Restaurant in Tampa

Reader's Digest review - Yes, we would recommend the Pei Wei at the Tampa International Airport and go there again in a heartbeat! Our server Linda was wonderful as was the chef, concerned about my food allergy.

Long review - Arriving early at Tampa International Airport on Friday, January 27, 2017 for our flight out, we decided to try Pei Wei (who we had never heard of before) for lunch. We sat in the dining room vs. getting take out and were greeted quickly by a very friendly server. Her name was Linda. : ) She brought our drinks very quickly and gave us the right amount of time to make our selection from the menu. I told her that I had food allergies - to egg, and she assured me she would let the chef know. A few minutes later, the chef came to our table to double check my allergies and to let me know that the item I had chosen on the menu did in fact have egg, however, she had an alternative idea for me. I said it sounded great! Our server Linda then brought us complimentary drink refills and apologized for the delay with our lunch which I assured her wasn't a problem as eating the right food was much more important than eating the wrong food! We were brought our meals and about 3 minutes later the chef herself came back to double check that my meal was in fact okay by my standards. It sure was! Linda double checked as well that everything was okay for us. What a refreshing experience to be cared for so well! We would recommend the Pei Wei at Tampa International Airport and again, thank Linda our server and our chef (sorry I didn't pay attention to your name, just that you were SO careful with my food allergy)! God...

Horrible Service at Pei Wei – Tampa Airport

I sincerely hope someone in corporate or the ownership of this Pei Wei location sees this review. Every time I come through Tampa Airport, the service here is absolutely terrible. Today, Sunday, October 13th, 2024, at 8:38 PM, I experienced yet another frustrating visit.

The restaurant was not busy at all—there were only two customers eating in the whole place—yet the service was still awful. There were four employees visible—one at the bar, one on the floor, and two in the back doing nothing while we stood waiting for assistance. Despite making eye contact and clearly needing help since we weren’t ordering from the kiosk, none of them bothered to assist us. One of the waiters even opted to restock plates and then mop the floor, all while ignoring us, knowing full well we were waiting for help. It was obvious from their expressions that they had no interest in serving us and seemed miserable in their roles.

After standing there for over 15 minutes without being acknowledged, a chef—a kind gentleman—apologized and explained that he wasn’t allowed to touch the machines, but said if he could, he would have gladly helped. This level of service is completely unacceptable.

If you’re passing through Tampa Airport near gate A12, be prepared for mediocre, if not outright horrible, service at this Pei Wei location. This kind of experience should not be tolerated, and I hope management takes immediate action to address the staff’s attitude and lack of attention...

Before I say anything else, I would not recommend Pei Wei. (Stay with me here) When I came in, there were no clean tables, and there was a five minute wait for one to be clean. Wait staff was quick to take my order, and they were very friendly. I do appreciate my server, Tara, who was very outgoing. However, once my order was taken, I soon realized how salty the food was and how off the portion sizes were. I paid over $10, and got a meal that was 3/4 rice and 1/4 chicken. I could’ve gotten the same thing from the restaurant just down the corridor for a much cheaper price. They also offered me fried rice without telling me it would be an additional charge. Thankfully, I asked. Their food is not very tasty, even for a quick snack. The atmosphere is loud, and I do not like the fact that they don’t have any paper menus, and you have to scan a QR code. Their online menu is not very user-friendly and it’s hard to navigate to see what is in what dish. They are aware about allergies, but they don’t have many options for those who are vegetarians, even though they say they do. While this place did have fast service, I would not recommend Pei Wei because of its loud atmosphere, unproportionate and salty food as well as their ridiculously high prices (even for an airport restaurant). There are plenty of other places in the airport that are much better. (If you do end up going, please request Tara as she does a great job.) See...