This place is just going through the motions. We had several items, but none of them stood out as special. We would never return. The hot-and-sour soup was the best of what we ordered, although too peppery for my taste. The egg rolls were soggy and tasteless, even though they seemed to be loaded with shrimp. The chicken lo mein was greasy and had an off flavor. The sweet-and-sour chicken was heavy and tough, plus it had a total turn-off of maraschino cherries in it. We had hoped this place would be as good as the similarly named Panda North Restaurant in Brattleboro, VT, which is excellent, but it's not even in the same league. Much later that same day -- we were about done in digestively by our meals. Don't plan to eat here unless you have an iron stomach. read more

I hadn't been here in years but we found ourselves passing nearby and decided to stop in for dinner last night. Silly me for thinking that crowd=good sign; in retrospect, I think crowd=cheap drinks. Before we were seated, my boyfriend and I went to the restrooms. When he emerged from the men's room, the girl in line behind me for the women's asked "Are you going in there?" and gestured towards the men's room. I said I would wait for the women's, and after a couple rounds of "Are you SURE?"..."Yes, I'm sure."..."REALLY?"...Yes, really. Go ahead."...she bounced into the men's room as if she had just claimed a golden ticket on american idol. But I wasn't in line alone for long. Another girl quickly queued up and with eyes unfocused and speech slurred, announced that she had "just finished two and a half scorpion bowls! Is that bad??!" Before I could formulate a response, she clarified that she had actually shared the second one with someone else, so it wasn't really all that much. But apparently she broke her record and was surprised how much trouble she had walking upright to the bathroom. Ugh. I suddenly felt very old! Anyhow, on to dinner. We had hot & sour soup (very good), fried meat dumplings (excellent), spicy chicken with peanuts (not good), and shrimp in garlic sauce (better than the chicken, but very forgettable). The issue with the peanut chicken was that there were no vegetables whatsoever -- just chicken, peanuts and scallions -- and the sauce seemed to be perhaps just slightly-thickened soy? The dish was very salty and one-dimensional. Not much going on there. The garlic shrimp was better but it was similarly light on veggies...I think it was just broccoli, mini corn and water chestnuts. Again, just not a whole lot going on. But maybe we just didn't order right, because the mango shrimp at the table next to us looked amazing. Fortunately, the dining room entertainment made up for what the food lacked. We had the good fortune of being treated to an impromptu sing-off when several large parties, apparently celebrating birthdays, decided to see which could out-do the others with respect to volume and gusto on the "happy birthday" song. We left before the keg stands and funnels started flowing, but we did get to witness several stellar rounds of sake-bombs...complete with rhythmic table pounding and chants of "sake! sake! sake!"... Yeah...I'll be sticking to Amherst Chinese in the future. read more

Ordered online from Panda East in Amherst, MA 12/13/19. It was AWFUL. DON'T get the Chicken Teriyaki. I called back to complain that I ordered chicken teriyaki but got something else that was thin pieces of chicken which was battered and fried. It had a sweet sauce all over it. The manager and the chef both told me that this is the way they make chicken teriyaki. I told them I couldn't eat it because it was battered and fried and I have never, ever had teriyaki chicken like this any where else and that I expected chicken teriyaki that was chicken marinated in teriyaki sauce and grilled, or baked. They had no interest in giving me a credit for the "bad" chicken teriyaki and basically told me I got what I ordered. I tried to write a review on Panda East's Facebook page but the review portion doesn't work. I write the review but there is no way to post it. So, I am writing on YELP, in hopes that people will share. read more

Mediocre food, indifferent service, decent ambience. Quality of food, including the taste of the dishes is the real probelm here. As others have said, it is general run of the mill Chinese food that doesn't impress. Higher quality food and taste is available at Amherst Chinese around the block, or at Zen restaurant in Northampton. In my experience, the service has varied from indifferent to rushed and verging on rude. read more

I would say that this is the best Chinese Restaurant in Amherst. They have a good chef's special menu. And the Japanese menu isn't bad either. read more

I went out on a date here and ordered a pu pu platter for two and large shrimp fried rice. The crab Rangoon wasn't good and its wrapper was rather hard and not cruncy like the ones out in Boston. Everything was a pretty okay. My major complaint is against the waitress who executed poor serving manners. And they charged an automatic tip which I especially did not like since I personally did not feel she shouldn't have fully recieved. She was rude, sloppy, splahsed water into my cup which in turn splashed water all over the table and food, she showed no concern. read more

I ordered here for the first time tonight and thought I'd have at least some mediocre Chinese food. I ordered the house special chicken and vegetable lo mein. The chicken was ok, but definitely could have had more sauce on it. The lo mein was very bland, and the veggies seemed like they were old. The only thing that came out good was the white rice, and that should be self explanatory. I will not be ordering here again. read more

A family mainstay, I might love this place for its familiarity and consistency, but that's a huge feat for a restaurant in my opinion. Family favs are ma la scallops and veggie mu shu. read more

THE PART THAT MADE ME THE SADDEST ABOUT GRADUATING AND LEAVING AMHERST WAS THAT I WASN'T GOING TO BE ABLE TO GO TO PANDA ANYMORE!!! Panda by far has the best sushi for the price. The speciality rolls are to die for, and it is all so cheap!! I have yet to find a place that i love as much as Panda in the rest of Mass, or in the rest of the world for that matter. The services is great, especially the older lady, and their fried porked dumplings have the BEST sauce in the world. Go here!! Eat some sushi for me!!! read more

Panda East? Why not Panda South? The only thing that is North is the prices. I have to give it some credit, this place is probably the most authentic chinese food around the area besides campus food. There was an Authentic Chinese food on route 9, however it closed down due to a fire. This is definitely a college attractions, weak scorpion bowls.. reminds me of their service. I would only come in desperation of a Authentic Chinese food mix, however this was place is relatively new. The food was mediocre, but then again, you're trying to get authentic Chinese food in a middle of NOWHERE besides college students planning to get wrecked from Wednesdays- Monday nights. I think this play will stay for a while, due to lack of competition... I would rather drive 1.3hours to Boston,Chinatown for real Chinese food. Come here if you just need some food to get your day going, wouldn't recommend a hosting a party here unless you want some cheap service, beverages, and food. read more

Definitely the best Chinese you're going to find in the area. There are other options, maybe cheaper -- just trust me on this, don't do it, go here instead. Their food is quite good all things considered. This is a popular spot with college eaters as their prices are ridiculously low and the portions are not skimpy! You'd expect this to be an MSG fest with crappy ingredients for prices like what they charge, but you'd be surprised. It's much better than I'd expected, which is why I came back here again and again. Their Japanese selection is decent but nothing fantastic, go elsewhere if you're looking for Japanese food. read more

I still have yet to find sushi in the Boston area as good as the sushi at Panda East. It's always fresh and absolutely perfect. This place is perfect for everyone - whether it's a huge group before going to the local bars or just a simple lunch for two. They also have a huge assortment of food, and I have loved everything I have tried; however, I personally love the sushi, crab rangoons, and dumplings. Service is excellent and drinks are great. I miss you Panda East! read more

Mediocre chinese food and terrible service. The only thing that saves this place is that it is clean and well decorated.

Everything you could ask for in a Chinese food place. Great poo poo platter, scorpion bowls, dumplings, and flute covers of the Theme from Titanic. read more

Panda East would be a ok restaurant in Boston, but it's probably the best Chinese restaurant in the area. Right in Amherst downtown close to Rao's Coffee shop. It has a lot of seating and it's pretty friendly. Usually, I like to be placed next to the window, because it's kind of dark inside. read more

Is this the best Chinese restaurant I've ever been to? No. Is it my preferred Chinese dining option in Amherst? Hands down. Dependable, and the food comes out quickly. The atmosphere gets annoying on weekends when it's crowded with really large, increasingly intoxicated parties (I haven't tried the scorpion bowls myself, but I hear they're worth it), but that's worth tolerating for the pork fried rice and really large entrees of orange chicken, or chicken with chinese veggies! read more

First time I came here was a Friday night. We were seated at a dirty table.. It was busy and our waiter didn't attend to us during our dinner that much. We couldn't even get water refilled. Ordered the pu pu platter for two. It tasted like old food. As if it was made and left there throughout the day and then we were being served it. The ribs tasted bland, and the egg rolls were cold. Also ordered the Panda trio, sizzling seafood and chicken chow fun. The panda trio sauce was very thick and oily barbecue sauce. The sizzling seafood wasn't very "sizzling" at all and had way too much liquid compared to the seafood and veggies of the dish. The chow fun was bland. Over all the restaurant, food and staff was underwhelming. I wouldn't come back. read more

Typical American Chinese food. Miss Saigon across the road is way more authentic. One star for the convenient space for gathering and partying. read more

I read the reviews and thought Panda East sounded as though it would be a great place to order Chinese, so maybe they were having a bad night. The portions were very small and flavorless. I was excited to have their scallion pancakes because others seemed to rave about them. They were a BIG disappointment! My 10 year old and 14 year old was just as disappointed as I was. Having a bad night or not, I will not try them again. I thought they were reasonably priced, but quality and quantity did not add up for the price I paid. However, the one positive aspect was the people were friendly and it was ready quickly. read more

Haven't actually been in the restaurant but have ordered delivery here several times. Pretty standard fare Americanized Chinese food. I appreciate that they have great vegetarian options, and large portions as well. read more

I use to live in Amherst back in the early 1990s and If I remember correctly panda east use to be across from were Cumberland Farms is now near route 9. I finally found this place again after moving back to Amherst and I have to say it is still awesome. Very good food, great price and the restaurant and atmosphere was very pleasant and clean. Very fast with my order as well and the take out was more then enough. I highly recommend this place to anybody looking for a great filling meal. read more

This is a really good Chinese restaurant -- which also has some good Japanese dishes. I love the Avocado Salad and the Tempura Don. Yum. I haven't had anything which hasn't been good or great. The staff is excellent and responsive. Enjoy! Oh, and the prices are great! read more

Love the sushi! Chef special roll is my fav! Always great to add in a scorpion bowl or some saki bombs! The location is also great! The only downside is the personality in the waitstaff, often times I've had one particular server who was very rude. Other than that, it doesn't stop me from getting my favorite sushi time and again. read more

Love this place as always. Been here thousands of time. Love their Scorpio bowl good price.

The sushi at Panda East is the best I've had in the Amherst area, and I've been to plenty of sushi spots around. The sushi here is really good, and really consistent. All of their special rolls are unique and tasty. I've only ordered the sushi here, so I can't speak to anything else. The service is friendly and attentive; they've never messed up an order. read more

WORST dinner experience EVER in my life. The food is fine, maybe a little bit salty, but the SERVICE is TERRIBLE. The waitress keeps urging us to order and make decisions when we are looking through the menu and waiting for other friends to come. You can easily hear the IMPATIENT hum from her nose. We are sorry. We do not know it's our responsibility to wait outside in 17 degrees and make decisions when the restaurant is not even crowded. Maybe we'll pay attention to it and do it next time --- oh wait, there is no more next time. And she still wants a tip more than 18%! She keeps asking more and saying "it's not enough" after we tip until we add the money. And she is still complaining when we are on our way out. I mean, we understand the waitress may have a bad day and need some tips to save her day and we are willing to tip, but forcing your customers to tip and adding your emotions to your customers??? That's super UNPROFESSIONAL. We go there for enjoying the lantern festival but thank you for RUINING our night read more

Great food, good service. Their black pepper beef is amazing.

Let me review as a Chinese who could tell you what is Authentic/Real Chinese food. Most Chinese restaurant in US offers two kind of menus, one for native American and one for Chinese. If you want to experience real Chinese food (which means Chinese people have in their home town), I could only say their food used t be good, and I enjoyed the 牛腩煲 (I don't really get how to describe in English, sorry about that). But the quality went down if we restrict the topic on Chinese food (instead of American-Chinese food). More importantly, Chinese people offer not only great food but friendly hospitality as well. We used to be regular customers but never again. That Friday night, we were so hungry and eat a lot for quite a few time (partly because of the slow serving), And at last the female boss of the restaurant say to my friend (I was absent for a while) "Don't you come to my restaurant, we have such a good business but you guys just occupying the table but do not pay no more ... " and blablah. Angry and embarrassed as we were, we didn't lower the tip down to zero (actually still more than 10%). I'd admit Friday night is busy for their business. What I'm saying is that apparent discriminating serving made us so upset. Again, the food is not good as it was, and we won't visit for the apparent hostility (we were regular customer, should not be like this way, right?). Oh, one more thing, their competitor, Amherst Chinese Food should be a good alternative (over 3.5 stars). read more

Food is a little on the expensive side, but it is quite tasty. Great hang out, recommend the honey chicken, careful not to overstay your welcome. Manager stood and stared at our group when we sat for longer than 5 minutes after we paid the bill. Also it is usually full of college kids if that is something that you feel strongly about. The bowls of alcohol are particularly popular. read more

The waitor was very rude and asked for tips. He took my friend's hand and wrote his tip...Like wtf. The food use to be much more than what they currently serve and it's not as authentic anymore, miss Saigon across the street is much better. It's just not worth it, If I want Chinese food I'd rather tackle along other Chinese food place in town, such as Formosa and oriental flavor. read more

We ate at Panda East on a quiet mid afternoon. The menu selection was excellent and the food was very good. We had shumai, seaweed salad, sushi and moo-shu shrimp, all were delicious! I have eaten here many times and have never had a bad meal. read more

This is probably the worst Chinese in the area. Not only is the food mediocre at best. I've ordered twice to see if the first time was just a mishap. First time took over an hour to get delivered. The second time took and hour and 45 minutes. Would not recommend. read more

I agree with another reviewer's assessment of "going thru the motions." It's not bad, just not really that special, and you don't get the impression that the cooks are trying to give you a great meal. I go here because people want to have meetings there, not because I choose to go there. read more

The waiter I had was sooooo rude. He literally got mad at another waiter for getting us drinks! He than demanded a tip and wrote it on

Ordered a delivery at 6:45 today. Called at 8:00 to check on our delivery. Lady was super unprofessional and flat out rude over the phone. Called around 9:00 and they still had no update on the status of the food but told us that the food was definitely coming. Called around 10:00 and they said the same thing and that the food should be there any minute. By 11:00, I called the customer service line that was we ordered through. Guy on customer service answers and calls Panda East. Guy comes back on the phone to tell me that they didn't even make the food and that we wouldn't be getting the delivery. Wasted so much of my time and was left hangry for over 4 hours only to find out that they didn't even cook our meal. Never order a delivery from Panda East. read more

The food was mediocre at best, and definitely not worth what I paid for it. I also got horrible food poisoning from the vegetable fried rice, and it was a bacterial strain caused by workers not washing their hands. I definitely won't be going there again. read more

the best Chinese food in amherst! Serve hot pot during the winter and Szechuan dishes. Have lunch special from mon to sat.

The gyoza are good with a deep flavor inside, but not extraordinary. The wrapping could have been more thoroughly cooked-- where it was thicker, it was too dense and chewy to be any good. Still decent for Amherst, though, and while I'll try Amherst Chinese to curb my potsticker cravings next time, I could see myself ordering from Panda East next time if that doesn't work out. In a word, Panda East is an emergency backup for Chinese food cravings. Stay the hell away from their tuna sushi, though, unless you like your fish mushy and pushing the limits of 'fresh'. read more

My husband took me to eat sushi here on our first date, and it has been consistently good for 7 years straight. We sit at the sushi bar each time, and the 2 guys who run it always show the upmost service. I have had sushi just about everywhere in the Pioneer Valley, and I keep coming back here because it's the best and the most affordable. Where else can you get deliciously chewy conch meat slathered with spicy sauce and rolled with fresh crunchy cucumber for $5.95? Seriously this place is the best. read more

Wouldn't give any stars if that was an option. The owner is very condescending. The sushi there tasted spoiled and was inedible, and when that was mentioned to the owner, she immediately became extremely angry and rude. Would not recommend this place to anyone. read more