Ordered a lot of food over $150 worth I read the recent reviews which were not great but overall really good reviews. Unfortunately the bad recent reviews were more accurate. The chicken was tough and stringy. Enjoyed the sweet and pungent beef but the two chicken dishes were bad. read more

Food is always great. There has only been one dish we didn't care for but we were comparing that to Chin's version. Highly recommend. Good service and excellent food. We love their garlic chicken, beef broccoli, chow fun, dumpling soup, happy family dishes. read more

Panda Garden is the ONLY place to get good Chinese food in San Marcos. The modern, updated dining room is perfect for small groups. The service is great. Alan and the rest of the staffSomeone is always available to refill drinks, check on your order, or to hand you some "to go" containers. Now the food... The green beans are great (similar to DTF for those in the know). You can't go wrong with the walnut shrimp. This place is a San Marcos gem. read more

What happened to this place? It used to be good. Everything we ordered was awful. Be forewarned that this place has gone downhill. We had lunch there on 12/17/24, ordered the spicy chicken lunch special, wonton noodle soup and beef noodle soup. :( read more

Oh my gosh, this is such a gem! My husband and I just happened upon this place on our way home from an appointment - we were super hungry. Yelp's always our guide to food, so we decided to try it. Wow, entering in feels like a totally different environment. The location is in a strip mall on the corner of 2 super busy streets. So it's pretty loud. But as soon as we walked in and the door shut, it was tranquil and calming. The place was really clean and decorated beautifully. I felt so comfortable. As we waited for our food we overheard at least 3 groups of people say things that insinuated they'd been there before or frequented it regularly. I love that! Shows so much doesn't it? The waitress was really sweet and on top of it as well. The food was delish. I got mushroom chicken and my hubby got another dish (can't remember what it was) that was fantastic. We got a bowl of dried noodles and dip to nibble on as we looked at the menu - kind'a like tortilla chips/salsa at a mexican restaurant. I love that. It's always nice to have something to eat right as you sit down. The lunch special is something to consider. Especially as things are more expensive these days. I love that they have this option. We'll be back for sure. ;) read more

Panda Garden - Crispy Chicken Wings (great!) - Chinese Near Me - San Marcos, California

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Very friendly staff. Ordered to go and was more than satisfied. The restaurant was clean and well maintained. The food was priced well and I would recommend. read more

I ordered food for takeout. They prepared on time I asked. I asked for no chicken on a dish due to allergies and requested for shrimp or extra vegetables. However, they completely removed the shrimp from my dish read more

good chinese food. recommend the kung pao three flavor but its big! Definitely for sharing.

Best Chinese food in town. Great lunch deal. Not many places around like this anymore.

Hands down the best Chinese food I've ever had! Courteous staff, quick service- lovely ambiance.

Decent Chinese food for sure. We ordered take out one night and got a feast. The portions were nice size and for a good price. I'd say overall good value Chinese spot to scratch that itch. It's not too sweet either, but could be a little more on the salty side (which I kinda like). Easy parking Nice ambiance Serve beer read more

Neighbor recommended and yes! It was a great recommendation. Best lo mein! Walnut shrimp is like coconut shrimp with candied walnuts. Such a super yummy dish! Will get both again. Hubby didn't like broccoli shrimp or fried rice but loved the lo mein and will order again just for how great the lo mein was. Can't wait to make this place our regular to go! read more

This place has become my favorite Chinese restaurant ever. I regularly will order by phone when I'm 15 minutes away and the food is nice and hot waiting for me. When we eat decide to eat in the waitresses are always welcoming and check on us regularly. Very comfy and pleasant dining experience. I highly recommend this restaurant. You won't be disappointed. read more

Place was clean, and their staff were friendly and kind. Food was also really good. Definitely worth every penny. We felt bad because we got there at 8:40 and they close at 9:30 but they still served us and never made us feel rushed. Will definitely be back when we're in town again. read more

Panda Garden - A. Panda Dinner for 2 Person. Shrimp Chop Suey. Kung Pao Beef. - Chinese Near Me - San Marcos, California

We ordered takeout the other night and honestly have been thinking about it ever since. This was our first time ordering and it did not disappoint. We ordered the Spicy Honey Chicken, Vegetable Lo Mein, and Egg Fried Rice. First of all, the taste: exceptional! Fresh ingredients and just overall great flavor. Second were the portions! They stuffed those boxes, there is no skimping. This place is delicious AND affordable and we will be back. Leftovers were just as good two days later. We will be back! read more

Went here for an early Sunday dinner with the family at around 5pm. We a party of six. We were immediately seated It was not busy when we arrived. 15 minutes later there it was hustling and bustling. For an appetizer we ordered the salt and pepper chicken wings. Nothing special. For the main courses we ordered Mongolian beef, orange chicken, egg fu yung, mixed vegetables and house fried rice. I was impressed on how quickly the food came out in about 10 minutes of ordering. Again nothing spectacular, but it was good and reasonably priced. The service was great. Will definitely come back again soon to time other dishes. read more

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Great service and the food was pretty good. It was large portions for the chicken fried rice and the order of chicken that we got. My favorite was the potstickers. read more

This was my first time trying Panda Garden and I was very impressed! I tried the la ma special. The vegetables were fresh and crisp while the meat was incredibly tender. And the sauce was like nothing I'd ever tried before, a true culinary experience. The restaurant has a simple and neat interior with traditional Chinese music softly playing, a very relaxing atmosphere to sit and enjoy a meal. And I have to mention a funny thing. Upon entering I observed a customer making what seemed like a very silly request. I was annoyed just listening, but the staff was extremely gracious to the customer and I ended up getting a good chuckle out of the whole situation. I definitely recommend this place, and I look forward to going back! read more

My mom ordered a bunch of dishes for takeaway dinner & the food is just as delicious as I remembered. The walnut shrimp, combination fried rice & salt & pepper chicken are still my favorites! It's been a few years since I've had Panda Garden, but I've been eating here since I was a little kid. It's nice to know it's still the quality Chinese food it has always been after all these years. Thank you for such wonderful service! You guys are still the best Chinese food in San Marcos, by far!! read more

Amazing service!! Best Chinese restaurant/food in San Marcos, CA. Definitely recommend the mongolian beef & ask for mushrooms! read more

Panda Garden - Chinese Near Me - San Marcos, California

Greatest Chinese food in San Diego and we have been to 10's of places. Their Lo Mein is unreal. Such a great place and an even better staff!!!! read more

We are crazy for good Szechuan and since moving from Encinitas , have not had luck finding anything in San Marcos till we discovered panda garden . Ordered via uber eats .. food was really good Highly recommend the chicken vegetable , that was best dish . The general tsao is very sugary and heavy sauce but still good , we will ask for lighter sauce next time is all Also huge shout out to the manager, Allen, who noticed that we have food allergy on our Uber eats requirements and he took the time to call and make sure that oyster sauce is OK for our food allergies... we look forward to visiting another time in person read more

This is by far my favorite Chinese food place. I was looking for something that wasn't a chain and didn't taste like Panda Express. We came across panda garden based on recommendations from a local facebook group. People in the area all raved about it. And they weren't wrong! The food was so good. The wontons are always a family favorite that we order extra of. We have done sit in and take out and both experiences were great. Delicious food and variety. read more

Went here last Sunday evening with my husband and 100 year old mother. I had been here before over the years as it is my local chinese spot, but not for a while. We ordered pot stickers, 2 beef dishes, and one seafood dish. Very generous portions with lots of beef/seafood and not too salty as compared to previous visits. Very pleasant atmosphere. Will definitely start coming back more often. read more

We absolutely LOVE this place!! We discovered them through Yelp while we were at Legoland and looking for a place to eat dinner and it's our favorite place to eat Chinese food now. We have passes to Legoland so every time we go, we stop to eat here on the way home. The food is incredibly delicious and flavorful and they are so nice there! They remember us every time we come in and our food always comes out so quickly. If we lived closer, we would probably eat here weekly. Highly recommend!!! read more

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Solid Chinese food. The prices are fair and you won't be disappointed in the quantity. We ordered takeout and they literally stuffed the containers with food. We'll be eating leftovers all week. The egg rolls were fine. I highly recommend the moo shi pork which comes with 4 large pancakes. The sweet and sour shrimp was ok but the shrimp were overcooked. The shrimp were big guys but just cooked too long. The sauce was delicious, though. The chicken chow mein was also good. The order was ready 15 minutes after I called it in and the staff couldn't have been friendlier. Plenty of parking in the lot. read more

Panda Garden - Sweet and sour shrimp. Unfortunately, the shrimp were overcooked a bit. They gave us a separate container of delicious sauce. - Chinese Near Me - San Marcos, California

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I'm torn with leaving this review because we usually enjoy dining here but the last few times certain dishes are hit or miss. After dining here on Christmas Eve, I'm not sure I will be back. I want to start off by saying we appreciate they were open Christmas Eve and wow, they were so busy! We do not mind that there was a wait, and we do not mind that there is a special menu with limited items, but we did have a major problem with being served rotten or rancid chicken wings. These wings literally smelled so bad the moment you took one bite of them. Fortunately, the waitress took them back and we did not want another order because I was thinking they might be pulling from their last chicken reserves if that's what we got. We then had the combo lo mein, Mongolian beef, and honey walnut shrimp. The combo lo mein was so mushy and the noodles were majorly inflated (like fat in size compared to normal size on previous visits.) This seemed like they had been prepared in advanced, which made them soak up liquids sitting there, and then quickly reheated in the wok. The other dishes, such as the beef and the shrimp were amazing, so therefore we didn't want to make a scene. But half our meal was completely unacceptable while the other half was delicious. We accept that some things may be different on nights like this, but serving us the rotten chicken wings nearly ruined our entire holiday as both my husband and I were up with stomach/bathroom issues just by those few bites of the bad chicken. If the kitchen has run out of a popular item such as these wings, it would be so much better to just say that you're out rather than pulling old chicken from the back of the fridge or whatever happened to make the kitchen serve those. I'm pretty sure there's no way all the chicken wings of the evening were that bad because people would have been saying something, but our wings by around 7-730pm were bad. Also with the lo mein, we understand you have to make dishes fast for a crowd, but we already waited an hour to be seated, we wouldn't mind waiting a little longer to have fresh food, not noodles that are so mushy that they fall apart in your mouth. read more

I seriously almost overlooked this totally DELICIOUS Chinese restaurant  but a Yelp search in my area thankfully directed me here and, after looking through all the reviews I decided that I just gotta try me some Panda Garden! So Panda Garden is located in a strip mall in San Marcos right next to the CVS. For some reason the doorway on the outside looks really small compared to its large drugstore neighbor. I've probably walked by here a dozen times and never even noticed it was here. That said, it's actually much larger on the inside with a bright, newly remodeled interior and super clean tables and decor. For lunch I pulled up their website menu,  called and spoke to a super efficient lady who took my order and said it would be ready in 15 minutes. Say What?! 20 minutes later I showed up, was warmly greeted, and found that our piping hot  food was neatly packed  in a box and a ready to go! YUM! We got us some- Steamed Won Tons- Spot ON! WAY better than Chins or China Fusion! The dumplings were large, al dente, and nicely folded and filled. Gourmet Won Ton Soup- Perfection in a take-out bowl! It had a nice blend of various toppings, meat, veggies, and seafood and the broth was light and not overly salty. Crispy Duck- YES please! So moist, meaty and flavorful! Vegetable Delight- A crispy, savory, and satisfying blend of fresh vegetables that were lightly cooked and, thankfully, not over done. Singapore Fried Rice Noodles- The BEST in the area! They use real shrimp at Panda Garden, not like  the tiny fishing bait/salad  sized ones that other Chinese Restaurants in the area put in their dishes. The curry in the noodles is light, smooth, and fragrant. (They don't serve this dish in Singapore, btw) What's also great about Panda Garden is that they use generously sized take-out/ to-go containers that fit a lot of food without smashing everything together. Yes way, Panda Garden is now my new go-to place for yummy Asian food and I look forward to my next meal from this awesome eatery! read more

This is our GO-TO restaurant for Pan fried noodles. My kids love it. Memorable New Years Dinner. Live their well crafted egg flower and corn soup. Delicious choices. read more

First timer here, and it won't be the last! We have been looking for the best Chinese restaurant in North County and decided to give this place a try. Parking was easy at this strip mall, although I could see it getting increasingly difficult to find parking when ppl realize this gem is here. The service was excellent - everyone was very attentive and welcoming. The restaurant itself was very tastefully decorated and fresh. The food was just awesome! We ordered hot/sour soup, egg drop soup, kung pao tofu, lo mein, shrimp and broccoli - all of it was delicious! Great prices, even! So glad our search for best Chinese food in North County is over! read more

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OMG this place kicks ass! Worth the trip if you're anywhere along the 78. First off, parking in this strip mall is a breeze. The most outstanding factor is the service. Both of the servers I chatted with were warm and engaging. Food came out promptly. Second- the space is very updated and comfortable- even the bathrooms! Some effort was invested here. Finally...the food! Yang Chow Fried Rice was one of the best I've ever had. A sufficient number of large, fresh shrimp, BBQ pork and chicken. Good sized portion and not greasy. Also tried the salt & pepper Chicken Wings (8). Nice flavor, not sure how they compare to Royal Mandarin. Looking forward to my next visit! read more

They're opening back up for dine-in! We still have been going there for takeouts so far. The flavors have been consistent. They still make one of the best walnut shrimp around town (although it's quite pricey). We also loved their garlic eggplant with pork, very flavorful with a lot of umami and perfect with rice. Our other absolute favorite was the sizzling rice soup. Their broth was tasty with a bunch of different meats and veggies, and the slightly browned rice totally complimented the soup. We also liked their fried rice. Nicely charred with flavor. Their chicken wings were also one of the best in all restaurants! Crispy juice and full of flavor! Their chow fun with beef also tasted very authentically Cantonese. I would hope to like their crispy noodles but the noodles were the thick kind which were what I preferred. Maybe next time I could ask for the thinner egg noodles. Panda Garden is probably the oldest Chinese restaurant established in San Marcos. Their food has been delicious and consistent for many years. I'm just glad to have them around. Their prices are not the cheapest, but good Chinese food requires a lot of preparation and work, and customers are definitely willing to pay for good Chinese food! read more

Panda Garden is our go-to Chinese takeout spot. I've also dined in on my own and it was even better. Go-To Order: - Pepper Salt Fried Chicken (ALWAYS) - Singapore Style Rice Noodles - Spicy Honey Shrimp We always order the fried chicken. So crunchy and flavorful. Honestly, the chicken alone with a side of white rice is good enough. But the Singapore rice noodles are always a fave as well and if we're really hungry, we'll order some shrimp. read more

Panda Garden - Pepper Salt Fry Chicken Wing, Spicy Honey Shrimp, Singapore Style Rice Noodles - Chinese Near Me - San Marcos, California

Easily some of the worst Chinese food we've ever had. The double pan fried noodles were essentially deep fried spaghetti - greasy and flavorless. The Orange Chicken - a favorite of the fellas - was voted "worst ever". Tasted like dry chicken jerky strips tossed in sauce. The Mongolian Beef was "ok", one star for that. The eggrolls were mid. Overall the food was just...bad. The service was nice. The person who took the phone order was friendly and informative, so one star for that. But...we eat a LOT of Chinese food. This was just not good. Sorry. read more

I wanted to dine at a nearby restaurant, but my friend recommended and preferred Panda Garden. Since I have never been here, I agreed to give it a try. Service was good, food hot and plentiful, dining area clean, restroom clean, and prices reasonable. So why only 2 stars? The food had a rather strong freezer burn taste! read more

We were looking for a good 'ol fashion Chinese (American) restaurant and Panda Garden hit the spot! First, the staff are super friendly and helpful when we dined-in. The restaurant itself is clean throughout and pretty simple. It is in a strip mall so don't expect some glamourious ambience, but it serves its purpose well. The food was really good, overall! Our group had the General Tso Chicken, Egg Fried Rice, Pork Fried Rice, Walnut Prawns, Kung Pao Chicken, and Sweet & Sour Pork. Everything was very good, except for the Kung Pao Chicken. It was just okay, it lacked a bit of spiciness and punchy flavor. Everything else though was great and we would come back to again! read more

The 4 stars are for the food. 1 star for customer service. I placed a large takeout order over the phone because the website doesn't work. After spelling out names and giving the entrees, I was told 20 minutes and arrived 30 minutes later to be told that food wasn't ready. The cashier also said that I was too much trouble because they were busy. I phoned in my order when they opened.... My food finally came out. She handed me my receipt and told me to sign. When I asked to check, she said everything was there. Well.... everything was not there. We requested hot mustard, chopsticks, etc. Found out when I got back to work. BTW, they don't offer delivery. We have used them for catering in the past for our holiday get-togethers at work. May start reconsidering... read more

Amazing food & service! Very authentic. I have a hard time finding quality Chinese food that doesn't come out overly greasy/oily. This was fresh & delicious. Will definitely return ! read more

Panda Garden - Chinese Near Me - San Marcos, California

We love panda garden and have been loyal for years now. The food is always fresh, flavorful, and hot! It's a small business too which makes it even better. Dining in is great, atmosphere is relaxed yet a little fancy. Service is fast and you can tell the staff enjoy being there and recommending dishes. Take out is lightning fast and our order has never been wrong! I highly recommend this place. read more

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Been going here for over 10 years and it is always great. We prefer the white meat chicken and exchanging that is a very small fee. Friendly staff know our preferences after all these years. Quiet ambiance during weekday lunch. read more