This place has been going down hill for the past two years, basically since after it opened, they ruined it. And now they got rid of all their iced teas so that they can force you to buy horrible tea from their Tea Bar. What a travesty, get rid of what was always out because it's too popular, and replace it with more expensive crap you have to wait for. I will never go here again and put up with the ridiculously long waits. Wow, I'm sitting here waiting for my food, nothing new. But, there are two employees on break sitting here bad amounting and cussing about the management. You, know I just may have to agree with them. read more

Panda Inn - Forcing people to use their tea bar - just petty. - Chinese Near Me - Pasadena, California

The food is fantastic. The management team is terrible. I called to get a reservation on Friday the person actively sighed when as for reservation and said they only had one reservation and someone else had it. One reservation for a Sunday at 5? Come on read more

We finally came in to try their Sunday brunch and I wasn't blown away. We were seated fairly quickly and they were able to accommodate my sleeping son in his stroller. The food was fresh, being replenished almost every 10 minutes. It began to get crowded so during a second helping to the buffet some of my favs were on low or empty. Lots of the food sampled was really tasty with yummy sauces but for the most part they were all overly salted (another buffet trick). The sashimi was very fresh but only offered tuna and salmon to the table. Lots of sushi rolls but didn't have any this time around. However my husband did say his unagi roll was tasty. Drinks, champagne and soft drinks, flowed and service was steady. Their dessert table is lacking and could benefit with more baked items and actual desserts. Perhaps a mini creme brulee or mousse? I think even something such as ice cream would be a hit which they do offer but is not included with .the buffet For the price of lunch I would spend the extra few dollars and go elsewhere for variety and quantity of dishes offered and still get my champagne. read more

Panda Inn - Chinese Near Me - Pasadena, California

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This is one of those places where everything looks and smells much better than it tastes. Or maybe we just came on a bad night. Our service started out really good but once we placed our order, we could not find our waitress. We even told her we were in a bit of a hurry because we were trying to make it to a movie. The wonton soup was pretty darn good. I ordered some BBQ pork that looked amazing but had zero taste. I also had Broccoli Beef looked great but the taste was just ok. The bill also seemed quite high for the quality. At the end of the meal, I could not find my server. I ended up asking someone else to provide me with the check and take care of the bill. I also had to ask for fortune cookies before leaving. I was not impressed at all and I will probably never return. For some reason I much prefer Panda Express over this place. read more

Panda Inn has adapted their outside dining amenities very well. The service is excellent and up to current operating standards. The servers are attentive and service all tables not only their own to keep the customers pleased. My server tonight, Elaine, was extremely nice, welcoming, friendly, and humorous. She has served me in the past, immediately recognized me and welcomed me with a smile. She seemed busy with many tables but found time to check in on my table and share some conversation. read more

I came here with a friend of mine after convincing her to try "Chineseque" food. She was very doubtful, but I believe left full and contented. Still "Chineseque", but good. Ordered the bbq short ribs (tender and flavorful), the honey walnut shrimp (awesome), the tea smoked duck (good, but a little dry), Fish with black bean sauce (very good and a surprise to me), and the eggplant veggie dish (I like eggplant and was glad to have somebody who suggested it). Overall, the food was well presented and timely. We had plenty of leftovers, only because I planned it that way. Gives me something to eat at lunch.. I like this place better than the one at Universal Citywalk. It is well put together and has some interesting décor. This is the first of the Panda Inns and the Grandfather of the Panda Express chain. Not true Chinese food, but decent nonetheless. read more

I've always been curious about Panda Inn as a restaurant. I always thought the food was literally the same as Panda Express which was why I never went to try it out. On Sunday I had the chance to go in for their Sunday Brunch which is buffet style. I was super impressed with the quality of the food and they had a bunch of different Chinese inspired cuisine and a variety of fresh sushi and sea food! I ended up eating 6 plates of food! Not only was the food delicious and great quality, the service was phenomenal!! The staff checked up on me and filled my hot coffee and water right when I was done and asked me if everything tasted great! I can't wait to go back another time because their lunch and dinner menu which has a bunch of different Chinese dishes that I want to try next time. Happy I gave Panda Inn a try because this restaurant is a good spot to get yummy Chinese food read more

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First time here on a very busy Sunday brunch time..We were told it would be a one hour wait but thankfully we got seated within 20 minutes. The service provided by Elaine was beyond excellent and the food was out quick & tastes delicious. The hot & sour soup was a highlight and the homemade dessert is a must!! Will be coming back! :) read more

Panda Inn - Dessert is amazing! - Chinese Near Me - Pasadena, California

Our experience at Panda Inn was wonderful for our son's birthday dinner. The food was so good and delicious and the service was exceptional. Our son was so delighted about how the food tasted. Everyone in our dinner party was extremely satisfied and very happy with the whole experience. By the way, the lady whom organized my dinner was Marlene and was extremely helpful beyond expectation. Thank you Panda Inn for a wonderful birthday dinner. read more

Great food. Very busy, so get there early or expect to wait for 20 minutes. Kon pow chicken had no pow, but was juicy and tasty. Chicken lo-mein was fantastic. Beef and broccoli is always a tummy pleaser! My mouth is still watering from the honey walnut shrimp! read more

Panda Inn - Nothing left on this plate for a good reason! This was delicious!!! Great food, good portions, always go family style. - Chinese Near Me - Pasadena, California

this is my family home away from home. We eat here at least 2x week. It sounds crazy but we love it that much. it's the one place where all 4 kids agree on. Service here is great. If you come as often as we do, you get to know everyone very well. Gary, Susan and Matthew are the mangers here and they are 5 stars in my book. They all wrk hard and as a team they offer the best experience . read more

I hadn't been to Panda Inn in the longest time but I'm so glad we met up for dinner here. The place is absolute beautiful inside and stands out from the outside. My kids love the pandas everywhere! Our server, Joanne, was absolutely amazing from the beginning to the end of our meal. She was super accommodating and recommended some really good dishes. She was super sweet. I love Panda Inns vegetarian choices as well. Highly recommend it for a good family meal!! read more

High class Chinese food...Panda Inn!~ two years ago, my friend took me there for a date~ cus he works there, so he order the food for me .....till now i still remember, crispy calamari and crab wontons for my appetizer, and i also got the orange flavored chicken, honey walnut shrimp ( my favorite), steamed whole striped bass and the mandarin meatball casserole ... that's a lot ...already!!! in the end, i'd the mango ice cream (eventho i dont eat any cool food such as ice cream, but i still finished..) The food is consistently great. Very fresh food and great portions..I would definitely come back! and recommend this place to everyone!!!! ;D read more

Sunday's buffet is $27 plus tax and tips. Not very good, some of the dishes are similar to Panda Express food. Not for vegetarians, the only vegetarian dishes in the buffet are the vegetable egg rolls and a lettuce salad. Horrible place to eat. Don't go there. For $27 you can have a better buffet at any Chinese restaurant in the San Gabriel Valley read more

Panda Inn - Salad, the only vegetarian dish in the buffet - Chinese Near Me - Pasadena, California

Brian is very efficient in taking our order. All the orders arrived promptly. Everything is very pleasant. Highly recommended.

Vegetable egg rolls are fantastic. I have made a meal out two orders. I also like the cashew chicken. Everything is a little pricey, but it is the best Chinese food around. read more

I definitely recommend this place for their pandemic-friendly food. They're currently serving in reusable containers, their servings are generous, and they are definitely not skimping on their portions which is just awesome. Basically this is the kind of place where you come and realize that you're getting bang for your buck and that the outdoor venture is worth it. The food was fresh too, and they have a 10 percent discount for first responders! I will definitely come again soon. read more

Panda Inn is probably the best option when it comes to American-chinese food chains. At least they don't throw a slab of salt on the food like P.F'ing Salty Chang's. The food here is actually pretty decent, from their walnut shrimp, to the pot of duck, crispy soup, to their sea bass (hint: it's on their super secret menu). It's definitely not authentic Chinese food fare, but it gets the job done in appeasing the American palate. Try to stick with dishes you CAN"T get at panda express, that seems to be where all the frustration of other yelpers are coming from...who would order a $13 plate of orange chicken right? 3 stars for a solid restaurant. read more

Jesus, Joseph and Mary I just left heaven! I was born and raised in Pasadena and I don't understand how it took four decades to walk into the place. What a mistake! Hubby and I walked in hoping they were accepting dine in. Of course they are! They are BEYOND covid compliant. The place is extremely clean and they have hand sanitizer stations inside. They take your temp when you check in and seat you at a table that is a good 6ft away from the neighboring table. All staff are wearing masks and face shields and do an amazing job! The food is the icing on the cake. The BEST mandarin cuisine I've ever had. Everything is cooked to perfection and tastes "clean" if that makes any sense. Time for my food coma. Do yourself a favor and come in for the best meal of your life! read more

Me and the little lady had another great meal at Panda Inn. We ordered a couple iced teas, the egg drop soup and crab wontons to start with. For the main course we went for the honey walnut shrimp, panda beef, and the vegetable fried rice. Everything was exceptional, and the service is top tier as well. 10/10, I will be back and I recommend that you go as well. read more

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Came here a second time and got the virgin mojito! It is sweet and savory with a hint of lime. Highly recommended. For the usual crab wontons; I could eat this all day . Yan our server is best! Ask for her, trust me. read more

Panda Inn - The Virgin Mojito. The perfect combination of sweetness with a hint of lime and carbonation. - Chinese Near Me - Pasadena, California

I ordered grubhub and ordered orange chicken, Mongolian beef, crispy chicken, and chowfun. Everything was horrible! The chowing had no taste and everything else were not edible! I think panda express is a step up! What a waste of money!! read more

Delicious food, great service and comfortable atmosphere...great restaurant for family gatherings!

Love love love this place! Been coming here with my family for over 20 years. Delicious fresh food. Very authentic. Clean restaurant and wonderful staff. The beef with broccoli is amazing and so is the fried rice. Definitely a must try! read more

Alright, I used to work for Panda. Not at Panda, but for Panda. There's a difference. Trust me. (I worked at the corporate HQ doing computer stuff, alright? There, you just had to know didn't you?) Anyways, this location we would visit when we had some department dinners. Having the perks of going with colleagues who work for the HQ, and one of the co-owners of this $700 million empire was nice, to say the least. But this is Panda's high end location (as opposed to the 500 Panda Express locations you can find across the US and Puerto Rico). You can get some pretty delectable things here, and I enjoyed it. The Chilean Sea Bass was probably my favorite. But they have great lobster, honey walnut shrimp, and other dishes. The service here was great as well, but I'm sure that was also akin to having the co-owner there. But I've been a couple times on my own, and they still have great service. I recommend this place, its no wonder how the Cherng family has built this company from one restaurant to an entire empire. read more

Really, this is 2.5 stars. Ok, what is up with all the Chinese people eating here? it's not authentic whatsoever. It's 25 bucks for unlimited boring and bland mai tais and unlimited boring and bland buffet food. The elbow in your ribs from that guy who really must have that last egg roll before you snag it is included free. The service is ok, but about as impersonal as you can get. Really, folks. Just stay away from the buffets. There's no reason to wolf down that much food. Ok, it might be fun to indulge once every 5 years at a high-end Vegas buffet, but otherwise, just say no. Keep on movin'. read more

The saga, the search, for a great Sunday brunch buffet doesn't end here, but unfortunately continues. I've had decent meals here over the decades, but sort of forgot about the place. It came to mind again today when looking for a buffet brunch in the Pasadena area, even if it was Chinese cuisine versus the more traditional our search is focused on, but we decided to give it a try anyway. It opens at 11 a.m. for Sunday brunch and the regulars were already lined up. I counted, and seating for 29 people outside hinted that this must be a favorite for many on Sundays. The three stars is for the decor, and the three dishes we really liked: shrimp with candied walnuts, fried shrimp w/ a sweet-n-sour sauce, and the fresh strawberries/grapes on the dessert bar. Most of the rest of it is mediocre. It's tough to keep things hot on these buffets, but it would improve things if served warmer. Identify your "designated driver" before you go because some drinks are included (I think that's champagne, mai-tai and mimosa). Our bill for two came to about $50.00 before 10% tip (good wait staff). Probably won't bother going back for another decade or so. It's not bad, it just isn't great. read more

I will give 5 stars for the food- especially Mushu Chicken, Chow Mein, Beef brocolli, and Garlic Chicken! The staff for the most part is great except for one waiter that I encountered. He was very unfriendly and was trying to rush our dinner. In addition, the dish, orange chicken, he brought out was pretty dry and didnt want to bring us a new dish. HOWEVER, I cannot stop going to Panda Inn! Sure they mess up here and there but I swear they put something very addictive in the food! I crave it all the time! read more

** MUST READ SECOND PART OF REVIEW ** !Awful. Where do I start?! We eat at Panda Express in Pasadena frequently because we love their food -so after giving the Glendale Panda Inn a try and having a terrible experience we decided to give the Pasadena location a try. This was just a terrible night. It took 30 minutes to get our appetizer. The table that sat next to us 15 minutes after we ordered our appetizers had their food before we got our appetizers. When half of our food finally came out it was cold and the second half took 15 more minutes so the food was just gross by the time we all had food. THE WORST PART- I was eating my shrimp and went to take a bite and noticed there was a BIG CURLY BLACK PUBIC HAIR on my shrimp, you can't mistake this hair for anything else.. (photos included)!! The server was even grossed out. WE were SO disgusted that we sent our food back, paid for our drinks and left. The manager acted as though it wasn't a big deal. I am sorry but who wants to eat PUBIC HAIR. Really a terrible experience which is so disappointing because we give Panda Express so much business and love and expected Panda Inn to be an even better experience. read more

Panda Inn - Shrimp with Pubic Hair - Chinese Near Me - Pasadena, California

This place is like Panda Express in a suit & tie...(and no, you don't have to wear a suit & tie eat here.) FOOD: The food is good and as most people mentioned, the Honey Walnut Shrimp is probably one of the best HWS I've had. But unlike many people, I'm still not a fan of the Orange Chicken! Also, it seems slightly pricey for some items that come in tiny amounts! :\ HOWEVER, my FAVORITE part of Panda Inn is the Fortune Cookie at the end. That little bit of White Chocolate turns a normal little Fortune Cookie into something spectacular! I've bought extras to take home before! SERVICE: The staff is super friendly. They consistently came over to made sure we're okay. AMBIENCE: As my first sentence stated, it's a pretty upscale Panda. It seems like a nice place for a family dinner, date, or get-together. One thing that did strike me as odd was that it was a tad bit dark inside. Haha! PARKING: The parking here during dinner time can be a pain if they don't open the gate to the extra parking. FINAL VERDICT: This place is still Americanized Chinese Food to me and I still have better preferences for authentic Chinese. HOWEVER, it's still good! What sold me is the little fortune cookie at the end. =) I'm not particularly dying to come back, but it's a place I won't mind eating at. read more

So disappointed. I have not been here for many years but was in the area. I ordered the walnut shrimp and moo-shu and my bill was $43.00 for one person, take out. I do not mind paying for what you get. My order had rice on it, no rice in my bag. My walnut shrimp had no sauce. I wish I would have gone to Yang Chow around the corner where the food is authentic and a lot more for what you pay for. read more

BRUNCH If there's ever a place for brunch, this joint is it! Chinese brunch may sound a little funky, but it's actually pretty delicious! Plus endless mimosas or Mai Tais! There's no going wrong! The food is a typical buffet style with pretty much every type of Chinese dish you've ever had and probably some you haven't. I'm not a big Chinese food person, but I was still able to fill up. There's also a dessert table with macaroons and cookies and coffee cake! My favorite thing about my experience here though was the excellent service. My mimosa never became less than half empty before our waitress came over with a bottle of champagne to fill it up again. It was awesome! read more

We came here for the first time on Monday night. I was really surprised that they were so busy, but we only had to wait a few minutes for a table. Overall our experience was just ok. When we got to our table we waited for about 10 minutes until our waiter even came by to get our drink order. We were looking around and almost walked out. He came back about 15 minutes later for our food order. We decided to start with soup. I ordered the egg flower soup and he ordered the hot and sour soup. Then we decided to share the Spicy Trio, Sweet & Sour Pork, and the Chow Fun Noodles. Our soups came out in a few minutes, but we waited at least 45 minutes if not an hour for the rest of our food to arrive. It was pretty ridiculous and the restaurant had thinned out by then too. I also heard a lady sitting behind us that the food was taking a long time, so it wasn't just us. Finally the food arrived, and we were starving. I was really surprised that they didn't have chop sticks at the table, so we has for two pairs and in the meantime, we dug right in. I will say the food was pretty good. No complaints. Flavor was great and it was the perfect amount for us to share, although pretty pricey for what you're getting. Service was pretty bad. Not really attentive at all and it just seemed like he stopped by for a couple seconds before running off. I'm not sure we would come back here for dinner, but maybe lunch or take out. I've also heard good things about brunch, so we might be open to it as well. After we left, we decided that we're going to do a side by side comparison with Panda Express, since they're right across the street and see which we prefer. Results pending... read more

I started eating at this restaurant when i was just a child and have nothing but fond memories. I went there last night for my sisters birthday and thought that i should write it up on Yelp b/c of how much i love it. Nothing beats the Panda Beef and Mushu wraps. They are able to accommodate our large family and are usually pretty good about getting us seated on time. The only draw back is the servers come off as cold and too busy. TL;DR Pros: Panda Beef, Mu Shu, Atmosphere, Quality of the food and taste Cons: Servers can be cold and too busy but the food never is read more

I've read some of the reviews and the ones that are bad are from people who like to explore different dishes. When it comes to Chinese food I like to stick to what I know is good on the menu. If you do decide to come eat here I recommend these two dishes that I order every single time my son and I come here to eat dinner: Sizzling Rice soup (delicious soup that is very light with fresh veggies, shrimp, chicken & other seafodd) and the Upside Down Noodles (one plate is enough to feed two people and you will probably have left overs). I think the price is pretty reasonable and the service is okay. Based on the two dishes above, this place is worthy of four stars. read more

Best Chinese/American food in Glendale. We always get the mushu pork, lo mein noodles, orange chicken and honey walnut shrimp.

Panda Inn is our family's Christmas Eve tradition. We eat there every Dec 24 and watch "A Christmas Story" on their big screen TVs. Even during a global pandemic, our daughters insisted we secure take-out from Panda Inn. The walnut shrimp is the famous menu item, but it's all so good. read more

We came to Panda Inn with a party of 8 for my uncle's birthday! It was a Saturday night; the restaurant was quite busy. Without a reservation, we were seated relatively quickly. Once being seated we were greeted by our friendly waitress, Elaine. She took our drink/food orders and delivered all our requests promptly! Throughout the meal she checked up on our table and made no mistakes on the order. She was calm and collected despite the high volume of customers. As a vegetarian, I ordered the string beans and eggplant plant dish. The eggplant dish is a MUST! It's divine and authentic(minus the bell peppers). At the end of the dinner, we even had a complimentary ice cream birthday song in Mandarin! All 8 of us enjoyed every bit of our experience. Thanks, Elaine! read more

i like PANDA EXPRESS but this is supposedly a higher tier than PE, tho all dishes were extremely oily & i got food poisoning right away that lasted couple dayz read more

Panda Inn - Chinese Near Me - Pasadena, California

Elaine was our server. Amazing experience! Good was awesome, drinks are great. Great family brunch time. read more

Panda Inn - Elaine is the best! Great customer service, amazing! Food was great! - Chinese Near Me - Pasadena, California