Pei Wei Asian Diner

Don’t do it to yourself. That just might be the worst Chinese/​Japanese food I’ve ever had, like ever. The Mongolian wok thing was crazy oversauced. Couldn’t finish it. The sushi rolls were worse than supermarket sushi. Three shrimp on top were the teeny salad shrimp and were fried so hard – and they were salty! Super salty. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

I’ve been to Pei Wei plenty of times and at the beginning the food tasted really good. I tried Pei Wei’s when they first came to city line avenue, which was my first time eating asian food outside the city’s commonplace chinese stores. Thereafter, I was introduced to PF Chang’s.
The taste of the food at Pei Wei’s would vary over the years depending on who the chef was that day. The amount of people ordering may also be variable in how good the food will taste because whenever it is fewer people, the food seems to be made better. I have ONLY purchased the Pei Wei Spicy so I was able to tell when a chef didn’t make it as good.
The Pei Wei spicy is made with a sauce similar to general tso with spicy seasoning added. I usually tell them to be light with the spices. You can get brown, fried or white rice as a starch. You have the option of adding shrimp or chicken. It also comes with vegetables all for $ 10.79 which includes taxes. The employees are usually kind with proper appearance. It’s very clean inside and has adequate seating.

Hire another cook. It makes no sense to have 3 – 4 order takers and one cook especially in the middle of the busy lunchtime hours of 12−3pm.

I am from New Orleans and i really enjoy eating at Pei wei back here. Went on vacation to Philly and visit this location. Did not like the food. Rice was awful.

It is mediocre restaurant, I usually get the Kung Pao chicken with white rice. The chicken is tasty but the white rice is always undercooked and with no seasoning.

I go to Pei We at least once a month. The food is better than any other Chinese place or takeout joint. The food is fresh, cooked to order and delicious. One of my favorite dishes is the Pad Thai.

Just came from Pei Wei and grabbed lunch. The food was just ok, I ordered the small lo mein noodles w/​Thai Dynamite chicken and a spring roll on the side. I will never get the spring roll again because it was frozen. It was never really cooked. The Pei Wei on City Ave should be ashamed of themselves. However, the staff helping you to order were very pleasant. This will probably be my last time here. Sorry Pei Wei… better luck next time

Clean location. Food is ok. They serve pretty generic asian-​like dishes with choices of rice or lo-​mein noodles. The way to go is to order chicken. The dishes with steak seem to have a smaller portion of meat.

My kids love going to Pei Wei so when we needed to take a target trip we headed to dinner here first. It was a Monday night and was pretty busy. We ordered our food.
Food– 3 stars***- the egg rolls were still frozen! I gave them back to the server. Edamame didn’t show up till we were half done our meals. I got the Dan Dan noodles which is one of my usual dishes, this night it was extremely salty. My kids both got lo mein. The chicken was overlooked but still had good flavor. Their dish was also salty. The salt was so much that we had to buy water at Target after the meal.
Service– 4 starts**** the service was a little slow but they were busy so I won’t make that a big deal. The girl at the register was also bringing food to the tables. Seemed like they were short staffed. With the frozen egg rolls I asked the manager to refund my card. He did so and also took off the edamame. Then after our meal my son got started talking with the manager about how much he loves pei Wei and the chop sticks and green straws. The manager went and put together a bag of green straws, chopsticks, and fortune cookies. Made my sons day!

Order your food and hour ahead. It’s very slow here. Always a line… BUT healthy & Great tasting food.
The staff seem overwhelmed or over worked. (No smiles on anyone face while working) I eat here twice a week.

(3.5) good overall food & service
OUR MENU:
* Iced Chai Tea = (4) very good
* Pei Wei Spicy Beef w. White Rice = (3.5) good, but not that spicy…
* Wasabi Crunch Roll = (3.5) good
* Pork Egg Roll = (3.5) good
* Chocolate Chip Cookie = (3.25) pretty good

I’m here visiting my nephew and he suggested this place for dinner. I loved the concept of how you order your food. I had the sweet and sour steak and the spicy tuna rolls. The food was DELISH!
My hubby, nephew and mom all enjoyed their dinners as well.
When I come back to visit, this will definitely be one of my eating spots!

Let’s just sei, Yu pei Wei too much and yu wei too long fo food to come.
*edit as of Sept. 22, 2015*
As much as I’m tempted to make more Asian accent jokes, I want to be serious for a second. I would have loved to have tried their food, but they didn’t even acknowledge my presence there, I had no clue where to go to start, There were two other people there that were either waiting to order or pick up food and they looked like they were getting ready to close even though it was like 2:30pm. The people waiting seemed to also be getting very impatient. I must have been in there for a good 18 – 20 minutes waiting to even order. Pretty bad customer service in my opinion. I will not go there ever or recommend people go there. I would not be surprised if they get shut down or lose business entirely.

Don’t even bother coming here. No effort by staff to clean anything or even ice the beer. Been here 40 min and they have not cleaned a single table I and others had to clean their own. An hour before they closed the beer bin had little to no ice and when I asked about it I was told they close soon so no need to ice. They close in over an hour!!! At 8:45 an employee turned the music off (same one who didn’t care to ice the beer) and was told by someone I am guessing is in charge to turn it back on. Guessing it was a we are closing in 45 minutes time to wrap up type of thing. Very poorly run and no management at all in the evening.

We waited almost 40 minutes for two dishes. When the food finally came out, the shrimp tasted old and super dry. The lo mein had absolutely no flavor. The Mongolian sauce was extremely salty.
I used to be a regular a couple years ago when I lived on City Ave and stopped by on the way back from the zoo. Needless to say, I am never coming back.

With all of the to-​go orders I’ve placed where they’ve quoted a time, I’ve gotten there 5 minutes after, and am still stuck waiting, you would think I would write a bad review, but that would be a disservice. It is just too damned good.
I’ll be honest, If you do not like P.F. Changs and it’s Americanized version of Chinese food, you’ll hate Pei Wei as well. But for those of you who dig it, It can’t be beat. Pei Wei literally rips off P.F. Change menu (they’re owned by them) and gives you smaller portions for a lower (more appropriate) price. It’s excellent for take out and since it’s individual, you can get it as spicy as you want without irritating your friends. The concept is simple, you pick from a protein, a sauce, and a cooking style and «Wa La!!» You have a quick fantastic meal.

I have religiously gone to this Pei Wei since it opened, mostly because I lived near it on City Avenue but ultimately because I just love the food and their mandarin green tea. I believe that Pei Wei makes the best Kung Pao (chicken/​steak/​shrimp/​whatever) dish that I’ve ever had; I’m an addict of it and their unique tea. Now that I’m not living near it, I’m still returning for my weekly fix. It’s a really pleasant modern take on Asian interiors, and it’s fun to watch the fire spew up from the woks as they cook (oddly enough, I don’t see that happen as much anymore for whatever reason).
That being said, the other reviews are right in that this location has seen better days in the past. They have a couple really endearing hostesses and their kitchen staff seems pretty stable. But this location has had challenges in keeping things stocked, either throughout the day or even to get them through the weekend (sometimes there is no carrots or no peas in my dish, and they don’t even warn me about that or even apologize for it!).
But yes, I am a fan and I am always looking forward to my next visit for more Pei Wei food! I just don’t think that there is a better version of Kung Pao dish out there; and making the trek out here is worthwhile, as one cannot get as decent of value for the dollar at Center City places.
[UPDATE: Management here has gotten better, and they really have been trying to improve this restaurant; as they have a regional manager that frequents the place more often to assure this place is on its toes. I’m going to add a star and give it a 5-​stars. Sometimes the product here is a bit inconsistent; but when all is said and done, this is still my quintessential go-​to place for good food, good people, and good prices.]

First Time Experience — Good Stuff!
I took my family here after going to an Easter event down the street, very happy that we did.
The restaurant was very warm and welcoming. We have had carryout from another Pei Wei near us, but had never dined in. I liked the way they present the menus as you walk in (before you get to the counter where you order). We got a variety of dishes, and my kids are huge fans of Asian noodles so they were thrilled — the kids meals were affordable and had plenty for them to eat.
My wife and I were pleasantly surprised at how fresh everything tasted — but we shouldn’t have as the meals were made-​to-​order. They have real dining utensils (no plastic knives and forks here! We all really enjoyed a nice time, the atmosphere was easy going (contemporary music playing in the background), everyone was happy.
I would come here again for sure.

This place is great for a quick Asian inspired lunch, but has gone downhill over the last year or so. During my last visit, the soda machine did not work, but they did not warn anyone at the register while they were ordering and their screens that display the menu were not on, so the wait in line to order was much longer.
The food is good for lunch– quick pad thai or lettuce wraps hit the spot midday. Their new sushi offerings are disappointing and flavorless.

I was really pleasantly surprised with my visit to Pei Wei. We stopped in for lunch on a Saturday after visiting Target.
We ordered one of the new sushi rolls, the Wasabi Crunch Roll, which was a great starter (we went for the 4pc). The sushi tasted fresh and the roll had great flavor. The crunch in the roll was a nice addition.
I ordered a Vegetarian/​Tofu Ginger Broccoli bowl over Dan Dan Noodles. I opted for the smaller portion, which was still pretty big (I brought about ¹⁄₃ of it home with me.) The noodles were tender, the tofu was nicely grilled and sliced, and there were a ton of vegetables. The Ginger Broccoli sauce was really flavorful, and paired nicely with the veggies/​tofu.
My boyfriend ordered a Caramel chicken bowl with rice. The flavor on the chicken was deep and rich. It reminded me of General Tso’s, but less processed/​breaded.
I was not expecting that much from Pei Wei, but I was definitely surprised/​impressed for a quick lunch.