Chinese

P.F. Chang’s China Bistro (Boca Raton, Palm Beach Gardens, Fort Lauderdale, Sunrise, Miami, North Miami)


P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, 1400 Glades Road, Boca Raton, Florida 33431, (561) 393-3722.

P.F. Chang’s China Bistro… national, semi-upscale Chinese chain.

Just got home from eating at P.F. Chang’s China Bistro in Boca Raton. I know-I know-I know, “everyone” loves this Chinese joint. To be perfectly honest with you, my family raves about P.F. Chang’s food….same goes for tons of my friends.

Call me the exception to the rule, but personally, I wouldn’t give you 5 cents for P.F. Chang’s food.

This evening I “sampled” egg drop soup, wonton soup, hot & sour soup, spare ribs, egg rolls, pan fried dumplings, mongolian beef, honey chicken, chicken with cashews, shrimp with lobster sauce—now, no fooling here, I thought that each and every dish was lousy. If you took this stuff–out of its fancy surroundings and served it at a “mom & pop” joint…the bet here, is that the mom & pop wouldn’t last very long. By the way, the mom & pop would probably charge 50% less for the same dishes.

Like I said before, this chain’s got a tremendous reputation… and tonight’s 30 minute 8pm wait tells me that tons of people love “it.”

I maybe crazy…but like I said before, I wouldn’t give you 5 cents for the food.

The way I see it, P.F. Chang’s is “chain food”…I checked the Boca location and the staff does have 2 Chinese employees…one works the kitchen, the other as a server. Now I’m not saying that you have to be Chinese to make good Chinese food…what I am saying is that P.F. Chang’s is “formula” food…anybody can make its food. The wontons were in a chicken broth and were as flimsy as a Kleenex. The spare ribs were covered in a sauce that was so–“something” that half-of them went “un”eaten. The cashew chicken wasn’t even as good as the Mall stuff you get for $4.99. Trust me, your favorite Chinese restaurant does every dish listed above better…and I say this, even though I probably haven’t been to your favorite.

You can check menu/prices at www.pfchangs.com.

P.F. Chang’s is open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner.

42 Comments to “P.F. Chang’s China Bistro (Boca Raton, Palm Beach Gardens, Fort Lauderdale, Sunrise, Miami, North Miami)”

  1. kim joma says...

    i’m on the same page, dont like the food one bit. like you my family thinks its the greatest food since white bread. your bamboo wok runs circles around pf changs.

  2. PS says...

    agreed. try mai mai on palmetto park in the kmart plaza. lived in boca 10 years it was always fresh and good-

  3. noonie says...

    For years an absolute mystery to me why this chain is so popular. The food is absolute garbage and the prices are twice what you would pay in an ordinary Chinese restaurant.

  4. Stephen says...

    The reason why the food is so popular is because so many people don’t know what good food tastes like.

    It’s the same as olive garden and red lobster, crappy food with the illusion of high class for low class people.

  5. jordan goldman says...

    you can also throw panera bread into the mix. lousy product and horrendous customer service.
    how the pf and paneras of the world exist is absolutely amazing.

  6. fran loehman says...

    crap!!!
    the won ton soup is like dishpan water.

  7. Coleman says...

    Sorry to lambast you the other day, but you’ve been getting really soft lately.

    PF changs has always been a rip off. Pei Wei is their “express” brand and it’s basically the same food at a lower price point.

    PF changs is pedestrian, but lets face it; there’s a lot of bad chinese food in South Florida, and at least you know what you’re getting with a chain. The mongolian beef with fried rice lunch at Pei Wei isnt a bad lunch for $8 or so. It beats going to a random takeout and getting a tub full of vegetables and strips of cat meat.

  8. frank w says...

    I think that both PF Chang and Pei Wei are OK but for real Chinese food I’ll take Cheif Tai anytime.

  9. woody says...

    pf changs food is lousy.
    it’s commercial phony baloney chinese food.
    best food is bamboo wok with 3 stores in the boca area.

    • Coleman says...

      You could argue that just about all chinese take out is ‘corporate’, because you just have some random wok cook throwing together simple to make recipes. Chinese food is all just an assembly of standard sauces and ingredients. Its not like many places are brewing their own soy sauce or mixing up their own hoisin sauce.

  10. David Graham says...

    Agree with the adverse remarks.

    Am surprised the paying public is not voting with its feet and just not patronising such a poor chain. Can only hope someone else enters the market and raises the standard.

  11. lynda says...

    pf is lousy. cant figure out why anyone would ever consider their food good.

  12. Jimmy says...

    This place has peaked and the word I use for it is…. PRETENTIOUS…..If this is chinese food then I would like to know what chinese province it is from….

  13. Robert Weisberg says...

    no offense to jimmy and others but…your local chinese restaurant has zero to do with the term real chinese food. so pf might not be real chinese but neither is your local place. pf uses a ton of salt and many dishes have a million calories. i havent been to china but ate real chine in japan. it is not combination plates and chow mein

  14. dr robinson says...

    the won ton soup tastes like dish pan water.
    why they do well is a huge mystery.

  15. jason klazinsky says...

    love the place. every dish i have had there is tasty, and service is professional. prices are moderate and good value.the fact that it’d a corporate entity shouldn’t bias one’s judgment. lots of chains have it figured out.

  16. frank w says...

    Jason is right. Food is a stylized Chinese and certainly not authentic but it is quite good. Certainly far superior to the uneven fare at Bamboo Wok.

  17. Yanni says...

    This is chain food Chinese. It is not very good.

  18. HerbK says...

    When I read all of the negative comments about P.F. Chang’s I found them hard to believe. I used to eat at McCormick and Schmick’s quite often and the P.F. Chang’s next door always had a crowd outside waiting for tables. The only reason I never ate there is that I didn’t want to wait on line. Last night my daughter ate there and brought me home some Mongolian beef. It was terrible. It came with no sauce. The meat was way overcooked and tough to chew, And the flavor was awful. I can’t believe that anybody who ordered that dish would ever go back there.

  19. zeek says...

    crap food. most people dont know whats good and whats crap

  20. Jack K. says...

    GARBAGE!!!!

  21. ek says...

    crap food.

  22. KM says...

    Went last night to one in Boca. Orange beef tatsted like shoe leather.
    The food is garbage.

  23. fred says...

    garbage is being kind. why people eat there is a mystery to me.

  24. mellow yellow says...

    food stinks.

    • CK says...

      you can sure say that again. the food stinks.

  25. Chuck says...

    GARBAGE with a capital G.

  26. jenna says...

    Ate at the Aventura one and the one in Charlotte. Waited in line for a long time only to be dissapointed in the food. Can’t understand why this place is still around. Nothing special here at all. Try Bird Cage in Delray and one other next to Burlington in Boynton. Both of these are good.

  27. mr. kramer says...

    crappy food.

  28. RONALD says...

    the food and service in boca stink,

    • Arnie L. says...

      I agree with you, food and service stinks.
      Why anyone would eat there is beyond me.

  29. Ed says...

    I agree, not awful but certainly nothing special at all. Call me old fashioned but I like some vegetables in my Asian food, and they just don’t include hardly any.

  30. Sid L. Turner says...

    pf chang’s food stinks. just a big chain. nothing more.

  31. Leon Kurt says...

    every neighborhood chinese place ive ever been to is better than pf changs.

  32. RFD says...

    Why anyone would eat here is beyond comprehension.

  33. Gregg L. Friedman MD says...

    PF Changs is always excellent. I have never had a bad meal there. I give them 5 stars. By Gregg L. Friedman MD, Psychiatrist, Hallandale Beach, FL

  34. Jeff In Boca says...

    Don’t like the food. Real phony chain stuff.

  35. Shelly H says...

    From: Shelly H
    Subject: Sun-Sentinel Picks PF Chang as best Chinese

    Message Body:
    in South Florida. I once ate Chinese food in Paducah, Kentucky. It was better
    than anything at PF Chang. (Except their chocolate cake and we know how chinese
    that is.)


    This mail is sent via contact form on Jeff Eats http://jeffeats.com

  36. Some of the worse shit I’ve ever eaten.

  37. Gary W says...

    Yesterday was the first tine eating at this chain and they serve absolute crap.

  38. Jack A says...

    Their food is disgusting.

  39. Blossom W says...

    Our office recently had a holiday lunch catered by PF. Not good.

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