If you're visiting this Panda Express and you're not familiar with the area, here's a little tip that might save you some extra walking. The restaurant is located in a plaza near the university campus, but it's tucked toward the back. When you pull into the shopping center, enter from the left side to get closer to the restaurant. Otherwise, you may end up parking on the opposite side and taking the scenic route. Unless you're trying to get your steps in...then by all means, go for it! The restaurant itself was clean, bright, and inviting, with the option to dine in or take your meal to go. Service was friendly and efficient, just as I've come to expect from Panda Express. The ordering process was smooth, moving down the line as you select your side dishes and entrées. I ordered the Grilled Teriyaki Chicken with half chow mein and half fried rice, along with what I believe was their Pineapple Chicken entrée. Everything was fresh, hot, and served right in front of us. One thing I always appreciate about Panda Express is that the food on the serving line doesn't sit around very long because there's a steady flow of customers, so they're constantly bringing out fresh batches. We visited over the weekend, and while there was a good amount of business, I imagine it's even busier during the university's school year since it's located so close to campus. The portions were generous, and we were able to get in, grab our food, and be on our way without a long wait. The only thing I noticed was a change in the takeout containers. It seems like the Styrofoam plates are a bit shallower than they used to be. They still fill each compartment completely, so you're definitely getting a full meal, but if you've been eating at Panda Express for years like I have, you may notice the difference. I used to have enough leftovers for another meal, whereas this time I finished almost everything. That said, if you're looking to watch your portions, the newer containers may actually be a good thing. If you're someone who loves having leftovers, you might notice the change too. Overall, this was a great experience. Friendly staff, fresh food, quick service, and a convenient location make this Panda Express an easy recommendation. And as always...thank me later for the parking tip! read more

Panda Express - Chinese Near Me - Las Cruces, New Mexico

I went in this afternoon to Panda on University. The place was empty and that was a plus. I noticed the new Fire Orange chicken and knew that would be one of my entrees along with the Beijing beef. As I was home, I tend to eat one entree then the next after, as I proceeded to eat the fire orange chicken, the texture didn't seem right. I went and checked the meal after I turned on the lights (since I was watching a movie) and noticed the raw/undercooked chicken. I contacted Panda Express in regard to this incident after I got home from UC (as a precautionary) and the night manager made a report to speak with the day team since this occurred on their shift. The manager offered to make a fresh meal, but I declined since this is the second time this has happened from Panda Express, the first of which occurred in 2024. I tried giving this place a second chance and they failed. I will never return here. Please check your chicken orders, especially the bigger chunks of chicken. read more

Panda Express - Raw/undercooked Fire orange chicken - Chinese Near Me - Las Cruces, New Mexico

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Well, somehow the my order of Walnut shrimp on fried rice became on chow mein. My son's order was to be on chow mein, and it was on rice. Food was lukewarm. Went to the receipt and though it mentions the online survey, no actual URL was provided. (McDonald's has this down to a science - Panda just doesn't really want to know how poorly they are doing. Worse part is that the food is expensive. read more

Amazing as always but the service isn't always nice but still great if I had a choice between McDonald's and This place I'd do panda express just add a drive thru read more

I ordered from Doordash last night. I got my old favorites, Teriyaki chicken and Broccoli Beef. The chicken was very good but the beef was very much absent. One small slice in the whole order. I wouldn't order that again. read more

This is actually one of the best Panda Express restaurants I've been to. Their food is always fresh and always tastes pretty good (except for the fried rice which honestly is bland and I no longer bother to get). The servers could be a bit more pleasant. I like that they run a clean operation. I often order the Honey walnut shrimp which is a premium item on their menu which they up charge $1.25. I have no issue, with the upcharge but I feel like if people are going to pay an EXTRA amount of money for an item, you could just scoop it in and not COUNT the shrimp! Or is it just me who feels this way? read more

Food was tastefull I appreciate that we have panda around as their are hardly any good tasty food like this one, I enjoyed the teriyaki and noodles. The ambiance was relaxing and calm, other then some of the workers are too serious but each they own. Service was great could've had more patients trying to order for a deaf person shouldn't feel rushed. But other then that it was great! read more

I made the mistake of ordering delivery from this Panda Express. They overloaded the delivery box, and when the driver handed it to me the box fell apart in my hands dumping all the food on the sidewalk. Only one of smaller boxes inside dumped its contents one said sidewalk, a large order of Orange Chicken. I thought that I quite reasonably asked for a replacement, but the manager refused. It's a shame that this cheapskate manager spoiled my appreciation of rather tasty food. read more

The DRIEST undercooked fried rice I've ever had from panda, let alone the DRIEST customer service. Workers were rude and being super sloppy with plating the boxes and barely put any food in there and the vibe of the place didn't seem clean the floor and tables were dirty. :( read more

Employees friendly , food was fresh & tasty great overall very clean orange chicken was very good

The best thing about Panda Express is their reliability for fresh ingredients and great taste. I personally do not care if they are not authentic Chinese food or not. Overall, I appreciate knowing the food will always taste good, their clean facilities and good costumer service. This specific is located in the beautiful University of New Mexico which is great whether you are a student or not. I highly recommend for a beautiful day outdoors meal. read more

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Well everything's really good here except the beef and broccoli it's always all mushy hate that otherwise the staff is nice and quick w service, I would personally recommend the walnut shrimp and the spring rolls read more

This is ridiculous. You should finish the order of the people in line once you start and stop trying to juggle the insane amount of call in or online orders. I'm just shocked at the level of horrible service. Very disappointed. read more

Panda Express - Chinese Near Me - Las Cruces, New Mexico

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The food wasn't given to me fresh, I ordered 3 plates and had missing items from two and it was just terrible. Don't go here if you want great service. read more

I definitely won't be giving my business anymore. The soda machines obviously aren't being cleaned if there were bugs in my soda read more

Panda Express - Bugs in my drink - Chinese Near Me - Las Cruces, New Mexico

The food is delicious but I'm disappointed with the mushroom chicken, I just had it delivered and there is hardly any chicken in it. I also love the broccoli beef but they leave the broccoli in such large pieces that you get very little beef! I'm not sure if I'll be getting food here again, I'm still hungry. read more

The food is always so good when I come to Panda Express. The major complaint I do have is that this location is severely understaffed. There is no reason it should take longer then 10 minutes to make one plate of food. The regional manager needs to get involved her very quickly. This location is always going to be so busy with it being on campus and all. I love panda, but I don't love it that much to be waiting for over an hour. I only recommend coming to this location if you have patience's and plenty of time to spend! read more

They tend to skimp on the portions, and have a somewhat poor reputation among university faculty/staff for that very reason. Food quality is usually fine, though it can depend on how busy they are. I'd be lying if I said I've never been sold chicken that's dried out from sitting under the heat lamp too long on a slower day. You can probably expect more for your money from just about any other restaurant on the NMSU campus - even the ones owned by Sodexo (bleh). read more

The main thing I do not like about Panda Express is the way they take orders. It gets confusing for them waiting for food to be brought up to the serving table. There are not many items I like on their menu. I do like the shrimp, but you have to pay $1.25 extra. It might be more since I have not been there for quite a while. I live close, but does not make me want to eat there more. I wish there was a Golden Star there instead of Panda Express. I hope they do not consider themselves Chinese food. read more

they take to long with one plat and was waiting for 30 minutes making me late to work and you should go to a different place

First off, the twenty minute line sucked...but most of that seemed to be from people being absolutely perplexed on how to order food. I feel like I spent $7 for a massive pile of rice and very little actual entree. I got the kung pao chicken and broccoli & beef. There were literally only *THREE* tiny pieces of beef. The kung pao chicken was nasty and the rice was undercooked. They were out of vegetable spring rolls and the chicken egg rolls were all burnt. It felt like a total rip-off. read more

First off, I like Panda Express. I'm aware that it's sort of the McDonalds of fast food, but it's usually consistent and tastes great. I was excited about it coming to Las Cruces, but after several visits to this location, I am quickly becoming a hater. The service is always slower than any other PE on earth, nothing is ever ready, and the workers are rude. All the workers are apathetic college student workers who do nothing but sit around and talk while your waiting. I have never had a good experience here! They desperately need new management and supervision. It's the restaurant equivalent of letting the inmates run the prison. read more

Really kind staff and good food but chronically understaffed. I shouldn't have to wait 45 minutes for two plates. By the time they were ready the rest was cold. It's not the workers fault but there should be more than 2 people working at once. read more

This is the WORST Panda Express I have ever visited in my life. The service is positively atrocious, and the last time I was there they served the people before me, took my order and just left it on the serving line, and actually gave the ENTIRE FAMILY BEHIND ME their food. Meanwhile, my box of food is just sitting there. As in, one of them picked it up, eyed it, put it back down and went on to ask the person behind me AGAIN what they wanted. I furthermore got eyeballed for plainly stating, "Excuse me! That's my plate!" They looked bewildered, and I was like, "Yeah, the one you guys are ignoring!" At which point the woman behind me actually had the nerve and tell the servers that not everyone was as rude as me. Like it was my fault. The food was actually terrible for a Panda Express to boot. I've had better PE at the Phoenix Airport. Just... AVOID. If you must have Panda Express, the one on Riconada is much better. read more

Food is fine - service is not. The long line out the door at lunchtime doesn't mean this place is that awesome...it means the service is s-l-o-w. They are understaffed (c'mon management - get another person or two in there at lunch!), and the few people working are trying to keep up. But they can't, and many basic things were empty (rice, entrees, etc.). Don't go unless you have at least an hour to spend there. read more

I agree with the earlier reviewer. It took 30 minutes exactly to get waited on and our food. There were 23 people in line because the lead person lost control of staff. Two items were out, the diet coke machine was out, the napkins were out.... I will never return.... The worst franchise Panda Express I have ever been to. read more

Don't bother.... I was made to feel like a nuisance as soon as I walked in the door. They were open for another 20 minutes and there was a line forming behind me. No food left on the line, I Wait d for 5 minutes to be acknowledged, and the girl with the glasses walked in circles with her thumb up her hind end. I've been in food service for 15 years ... I've managed at Chipotle Mexican Grill, and the customers coming in 10 minutes before close get the same quality and service as the people that come in at noon. I'll never eat here again, and if I hadn't paid for this food, I wouldn't eat it tonite. read more

We came to this one traveling through las cruses. It is part of the university, so you have to park right off to the side. They were fast to serve and the food was good. Clean facility and friendly workers. read more

Panda Express - Chinese Near Me - Las Cruces, New Mexico

I went in yesterday evening and asked for mushroom chicken. They told me there'd be about a 15-20 minute wait. I paid and sat as I waited. When I finally got my food, and made it home, mushroom chicken is not what they gave me. They gave me the fixings of mushrooms chicken but substituted the chicken for another type of meat. When I tried to call and explain my dissatisfaction, no answer of course. Nothing is more annoying than waiting and paying for an order you didn't even want. Had they told me they ran out of chicken or were gonna substitute it for another meat, I would've simply chosen another entree instead of waste time, $, and my appetite. Super disappointing! read more

Long line, expensive food, slow and helpless counter staff. The fact that they will give you steamed veggies instead of rice as a side is a plus. read more

Never disappointed with this location. Even when they are packed the food is still good and they get your order to you as quick as they possibly can. Always clean, always friendly. I enjoy coming to this location more than the other one which is unfortunate because I live closer to the other one. read more

I never wait for more than seven minutes here. It's not real Chinese food and I would know coming from California and my background. It's Americanized and super greasy. Some of the food here is not really fresh. However I really liked their hot and sour soup. One of the best hot and sour soup I have tasted. I would not get the walnut shrimp because it's not always crunchy like it should be if you can understand why, and I believe it is additional charge. read more

This Panda Express is usually very busy. It was this time as well! There were two people in front of me for the online order pickup. The lady behind the desk did an amazingly awesome job handling the load and an issue that the people had about their order when I got there. All at the same time! Wow. Good job. This Panda Express is great because of all the students that are always there. Most of the time the food is pretty fresh and tastes good! read more

Good food but understaffed. They're soooo slow here to serve people. I'm standing in a huge line and there's one guy who seems to be serving people and refilling the food. I almost walked out and went somewhere else because the wait was so long. That said, the food is good and cooked ok. read more

Overpriced frozen food would not have been so bad except the kitchen was so poorly kept and we could see all of the frozen food packaging. We strongly disliked being pressured into ordering before seeing the choices. Staffing choices need to be addressed. The kitchen was incredibly slow and did not care that there was a line or that they were working in a pig sty. One guy tossed an empty container where the trash had been (overflowing) and the bin had just been removed so it landed on the floor. His reaction was to cuss, leave it on the floor and go back to what he was doing. The poor girl behind the counter was so concerned with the long line she did not deal with the customers in front of her with any kind of customer service. Overpriced poorly staffed read more

Been here twice a couple of hours before closing and they're always out of something. If it was half an hour or an hour before closing I'd understand, but this is more than 2 hours before closing. Last time, I waited 10 minutes for a shrimp dish to come out and they gave me chicken. I was the only one there and I don't eat meat. read more

I love this place. It is overrun by college students but they staff is fast and so friendly and helpful. I don't know how they do it. The line was out the door but i was in and out within 5 minutes and food was fresh. I think they have it down to a science and they know their customers taste. The orange chicken was fresh off the grill and just as they ran out of Grilled chicken, a brand new fresh batch came out. read more

It's ok, as Chinese fast food goes. The food seems tasty. Seems fresh enough, after all it is made right in front of you (if they are busy) and not too long before you got there (if they are not busy - because they will be very busy probably all of the time). With all the Oriental restaurants in Las Cruces, this is probably the best, so far. Like most places, they claim that they have no "MSG", however, their food and sauces are loaded with MSG derivatives (all the ingredients to form MSG), so basically, they DO have MSG "hidden" behind the guise of other names (disodium phosphate, hydrolyzed proteins, yeast extract, soy extract,... etc.). Also, they should have more options. Initially, nationally, soups were available. I kept asking for soup at this location and they said they didn't have it. They've NEVER had it. Anyone who says they did is a liar. Apparently, the chain dropped the soup and it is no longer available anywhere. Too bad. Soup is a nice option from the run of the mill menu they have now. UPDATE - 12/2015 - I have read some of the negative reviews on here. They all seem to be from entitled college kids..."They looked at me the wrong way". They are lazy" - this coming from people that don't work for a living. We have been to P.E. several times and never have we found the service to be "lazy", "rude" or disorganized. Often, they will not have a dish ready and you will need to wait for it. Big deal. It's made fresh right in front of your face. I can live with that. I've also noticed that some of these reviews are bogus - they describe a "self serve" buffet, which this location does not have, or items that this location does not have. I have upgraded this from three stars to four stars, because it is a Fast Food Chinese Restaurant... You can't put a FF restaurant down for being FF - that's what it IS...And you can't put it down for not being "authentic" Chinese. I mean... really??? Practically 99% of the "Chinese" food in America is not Chinese... duh. This is what we label "Chinese". Don't like it, then go to China. We are all impressed by these people who can discern that the Chinese food at an American Fast Food Restaurant is not authentic Chinese food... SMH. (college kids who think they are telling us something we don't already know..Pfff) ... The food is pretty decent, the service decent, and well, I think they deserve it! read more

Add my name to the one-star reviewers. It is not that the food is bad (not really good either, PE is to Chinese as Mickey D is to hamburgers). The problem is the service, or lack thereof. They obviously just don't care. They just stand around and collect their pay. PE is set up cafeteria style, but the steam table is always empty. They are set up as fast food, but lack of management makes this one practically a cook-to-order restaurant. That, of course, makes them really slow for a takeout place. 20 minutes is way too long to get a styrofoam tray of "fast" food. Since the employees obviously don't give a $hit, that means that management doesn't either. And so yes, service is absolutely terrible. So management is terrible. The manager should be fired. Then hire a manager to fire all the employees who choose to be lazy. I suspect that if this particular PE was anywhere other than on campus it would have already failed. It is nice to have a captive audience, I guess. STAY AWAY! read more

The food was fresh and the portion was good. The employees were all friendly, greeted me when I came in the door. They made my order fast! David checked me out and a young lady prepared the meal. The were organized and showed real teamwork. read more