P.F. Chang’s

I can honestly say I’ve never had a bad meal or experience here. I love that they’re constantly adding new items and doing seasonal dishes, while still keeping your favorites. The staff is always friendly and attentive. Asa is a waiter that we’ve been lucky enough to have on more than one occasion and he’s great. It’s so nice to be greeted with a «welcome back» and «nice to see you again» to make you feel good and start your dining experience off right. If you want great food, good drinks, awesome staff, and won’t break your wallet, this place won’t disappoint.

Fast Paced — No Nonsense — Eat and Go Restaurant where food can be placed on your lap rather than on the table. To be fair — Colonie Center Mall is ALWAYS jammed with people and the wait at all food venues is long — especially on a Saturday night. P.F. Chang’s goal here is to move people like cattle and bring the next shipment in.
That said — A decent meal can be had here. Our choices included the spicy «Kung Pao Chicken», «Chicken with Broccoli», «Vegetable Lo Mein», Vegetable Spring Rolls, and the «Chang’s Crisp Salad with Seared Ahi* which was the highlight dish. However remaining selections were acceptable (nothing more).
The issue at P.F. Chang’s is comfort or lack there of. The place is dark — service moves fast — sometimes too fast as drink refills can be challenging here.
Still-I’d take this place over next doors Cheesecake Factory.
Shorter wait as well…

We got take out here and I’m really impressed! The ordering process gives an impression you’re calling a big super serious operation. But it’s still fast and friendly, it’s just different. They tell you exactly how long it will take.
When I went to pick it up, the craziest thing happened. I parked in the «PF Changs Pick Up» spot, and a guy came out to my car in freezing weather, gave me my food and took my CC. He was back in a minute and I left. Who does this? I gave the guy more than usual for tip because that’s insane. Great for me, but insane.
The flavors are very rich and strong. Perfectly cooked meats, well seasoned, rice and noodles delicious. You may think they are expensive at first but when you consider the amount of food you actually get, and the service, it’s very fair. You get what you pay for.

Came with a group of 7 for a friend’s birthday dinner. For full disclosure, I am not typically a fan of Asian Fusion meals, but I have a soft spot my Panda Express-​esque orange chicken, kung pao chicken, etc… I have also had decent experiences at a various P.F. Chang’s franchises in California so I thought I knew what to expect with this meal.
Service: Our waiter was prompt and attentive. I definitely can’t fault their service as their manager came to our table to address the fact that one person’s dish took at least 15 minutes longer than the rest of the table’s and repeatedly checked with us during the night. Thumbs up for trying here.
Food: This is where the restaurant loses the 4 stars. Starting with the high point, the lettuce wrap appetizers were hands down the highlight of the meal. They tasted authentic, were well seasoned, and the lettuce was fresh. I would order this again if forced to return to this restaurant. However, the main course was a disaster. I ordered the Korean BBQ chicken stir fry and was disappointed when my chicken came out dry with some pieces of chicken only partially coated with sauce which tasted vaguely like sweet and sour. What happened to the sticky, glazed, garlicy gochujang flavor that defines Korean BBQ chicken?! (Seriously, World of Beer has an appetizer of Korean BBQ wings that actually taste halfway decent…) That disaster aside, six of the seven of us ordered brown rice with our meals, but instead of bringing 6 individual bowls of rice, the server brought out 1 medium bowl filled with brown rice to share. We asked for 6 individual bowls, hoping that our eyes were deceiving us and the medium rice bowl would actually be enough to feed 6 hungry humans, but we were again disappointed when we were only able to fill 4 bowls. They did bring more rice promptly. However, the rice itself was also so dry that I almost wished I hadn’t ordered any at all. Dry chicken + dry rice = dry mouth and unhappy stomach.
Overall: I would not return to this P.F. Chang’s as I’m sure you can get better Asian and «fusion» food in Albany. Frankly, if you’re going to eat Asian food, go for the authentic stuff and put your money toward the many family run restaurants (yes, even the cheap take out Asian places) and avoid this less-​than-​mediocre, overpriced franchise.

After much ado about how everything is fresh, it turns out that a mushroom allergy is insurmountable in the face of pre-​made sauces and fillings. The green beans side and asparagus side were over sauced and over salted. The kung po chicken was a surprise. For example, usually you can taste things besides brown sauce when you eat kung po chicken. Things like a light garlic sauce. Usually the chicken is steamed rather than lightly breaded. Usually the red peppers have had a chance to bloom in a stir fry rather than taste of the stale dryness of the
bag they came out of. All in all this is another factory touting itself as a restaurant. I’m sure their supply chain is excellent. They probably have a great corporate structure. It’s too bad that their food is crap. I say this after my stomachs experienced what I’m going to call «changer» (changs+anger). Good news, the peppers finally had a chance to bloom.

I love P F Chang only place i eat Chinese food but this second time I was disappointed cold soup serve food was not good bad service I think I have to look for new Chinese restaurant

The food was good. The service wasn’t. I won’t be giving them my business.

When we walked in we were greeted by no one until we were going to seat ourselves after 4 minutes. The hostess was in the back talking and did not apologize, just seated us and after a few minutes went to the back to talk to coworkers. Though the food was good the service was pathetic considering the restaurant wasn’t filled. Our water was not refilled and there was minimal communication that the waiter made with us. This is my first review, the service was that bad I felt compelled to say something in hopes that management improves in their training

This was my first experience at P.F. Changes and it was everything and more than I thought it would be! The food was excellent! I’ll definitely be going back. I had the dynamite shrimp as an appetizer. It was perfectly crispy, and tastes and fresh. I went during the lunch with my boyfriend and the lunch entrees were perfectly portioned. I had the orange peel shrimp and he had the honey chicken. No complaints from either of us. Oh, and the food came out super fast. Great restaurant and great service!

Good asian fusion that’s always consistent at every P.F. Chang’s. We went here in Albany for the vegetarians in our dinner group, as they always have vegetarian as well as gluten-​free well prepared and tasty menu items. We ordered the signature lettuce wraps, shrimp fried rice, vegetarian fried rice, the shaking beef, and lobster rice, a new item. All were good, and the lobster rice is a great addition, with a whole steamed lobster chopped into rice tossed in a wok and done very well.
The service was enthusiastic and helpful but a little overbearing customer service. Overall, solid chinese asian fusion not too exotic dishes for every city.

Very nice experience. Of the national chains, PF Chang’s continues to put out creative Oriental cuisine in a beautiful atmosphere.
They seem to always get the décor right. Dimly light, but decked out with warmly glowing lanterns, the wide variety of traditional Oriental screens and murals throughout the restaurant offer a very sophisticated dining environment.
This evening the wait staff was comfortable and confident, friendly and welcoming. Not so much the host, but the rest of the staff made her forgettable.
I see comments on Unilocal about the restaurant being at the top of its acceptable charges. We enjoyed two cocktails, an appetizer and two of the higher-​priced entrees for $ 50. The drinks were perfectly mixed. The appetizer was creative and yummy, and the entrees were precisely what we asked for, perfectly seasoned and delicious. We felt the price point was on target.
No question we would go back again when prompted.

If you like decent happy hours with great prices, P.F. Chang’s has a great one. Cheap snacks, cheap drinks, and usually not overly crowded to easily snag a seat at the bar.
One of my favorite happy hour spots in the area. Some places water down the drinks, or don’t really have great specials. This is a solid bet for happy hour fun.

Not my first visit to PF Changs, but it’s not a place I frequent too often. They offer slightly upscale takes on take out food. The food never does anything spectacular but is solid quality when in the mood for American-​Chinese food.
There is the added bonus of the décor being fantastic. The restaurant is also attached to Colonie mall (stupid decision not to have an interior door) which also boasts the second nicest theater in the area. The only thing that takes away from the ambiance is the drastically terrible turn the music has taken. The time before this latest experience I remember commenting to my girlfriend that they found asian sounding music without it being shrill or hard for American’s to listen to. This time the music went from bad pop to reggae, to something resembling radio friendly rap. Bad, Bad, Bad. We asked the waitress if it could be changed, understandably it was out of her hands. We couldn’t stomach it after a while and asked if it could at least be turned down. Mercifully they obliged this time.
The wait staff is always friendly. The food seemed to take quite a while (40 minutes for 4 people) which was made even more noticeable since bussers and food runners are used extensively. We were there at an off hour, only 4 or 5 others tables were in the entire restaurant and it still took almost 90 minutes for us to get in and out.
What drew us in was the fixed price dinner for two. I took my girlfriend along with my parents. Each couple planned to get this deal. When we saw the options we realized that wouldn’t work. PF Chang’s is shockingly low on vegetarian options. Even the egg soup is made with chicken stock. When we got our orders myself and my mom were disappointed with what we got. We both ordered dishes we enjoyed in the past and were both let down at the quality and lack of flavor this time around. My dad and girlfriend both enjoyed what they got.
I’d go back again. It’s not a place I frequent too often since 25 bucks a person opens a lot of tastier options, but I would give them another shot to up their game a little.

Good Chinese food for a chain that is above the typical x wok. Their hit and sour soup is always better than the garden variety version. Recently the one at colony center has introduced a nice feature where if you call using the same phone they ask you if you want the same order you are laced last time. Which is usually the case for me. This cuts down on other times. They also offer curbside delivery.

Absolutely love the Oolong Marinated Chilean Sea Bass. What a great portion of delicious fish with a great abundance of spinach that is broiked broiled in a sweet ginger soy sauce. Not salty at all. I tried the New Lobster Avocado Roll but wasn’t impressed. The lobster was minimal and yet the sauce drizzle was sweet and enjoyable. The wait staff was pleasant and not too overbearing. Despite an error on their behalf, they took the item off and got a drink on the house.

Let me preface this review by saying I’ve had much better PF Changs experiences in the past. This day however, started off poorly when the hostess acknowledged us, started to seat us, but then proceeded to take a phone call. Once seated our waitress then came over to take our drink orders, she seemed less than thrilled to be working here (or maybe she was having a bad day). We were informed that they had a new menu which at first glance included sushi and was more expensive. We started off with the spring rolls, I ordered the lemongrass chicken salad ($ 11.25) and my husband ordered the crispy chicken with white rice and hot and sour soup ($ 10.25).
The spring rolls were ok, nothing I would order again. Perhaps we’ve been spoiled by the amazing spring rolls at Saigon Pearl. The dipping sauce was salty with a hint of spice but not much else in terms of flavor. About 40 min later one of the runners dropped off our main courses like a 12 yr old doorbell ditching. Once he was well out of sight we realized my husband’s crispy chicken and white rice dish had turned into crispy shrimp and brown rice. Five minutes later we were able to flag down our waitress, when we told her about the mix up her response was,“let me see what I wrote down,” as she flipped through her pad of paper. She said she wrote down shrimp, we told her we ordered chicken. A few awkward moments later she apologized and took the dish back. It took about 10 minutes for the correct dish to come back. It was the lunch portion but small at that. Wasn’t as much crispy as it was soggy. My lemongrass chicken salad was soggy too (theme of the day I guess), the lettuce was like 3 days past being crisp. There was no taste of lemongrass I could gather. Overall a disappointment although I acknowledge making calorie conscious dishes can be challenging. In the future I think we’ll stick with our neighborhood Chinese takeout when we’re craving Chinese.

Worst of the worst!
Inattentive and unfriendly waiting staff — took them 40 min to present two plates;
Lousy food — ordered sushi and the fish wasn’t even close to being fresh. Tasted like defrosted.
Will stay away from this place like a plague.

Do you remember the commercials that use to begin with «4 out of 5 doctors recommend»??? Well, none of our party of five were doctors, but 4 out of 5 meals served were correct, and 4 out of 5 meals were acceptable.
It was nice to hear the drafts recited by our server included a local craft brew. Davidson Brother’s Brown ($ 6/​pint) was even served at a not too cold temperature. The ordered Kung Pao Shrimp ($ 11.95 lunch) was delivered to the table as ordered by our server as Kung Pao Chicken ($ 9.95). This was immediately called to the attention of the food «runner» (who had the personality of someone who had been up for 36 hours straight partying New Years Eve and was afraid if he spoke above a whisper his head might split). Our server was immediately there to the rescue and to insist that the dish be replaced since it was his mistake. I have to say that I’ve never seen a replacement dish arrive so promptly. Excellent effort by the server and the kitchen.
The Sesame Chicken ($ 9.95 lunch), the Korean BBQ Chicken ($ 13), and the Handmade Vegetable Dumplings ($ 6.95) were all quite good. I’m quite certain that the Korean BBQ Chicken did NOT have any designation printed on our menu as being «spicy.» The online menu however DOES have such a designation. I mention this only because those who wish to avoid spicy dishes would not be pleased to have this kind of surprise served to them. Fortunately, the two of us who ordered the BBQ chicken enjoy spicy food and were very pleased with the level of spiciness.
So what was that 5^th meal that was not acceptable? The Asian Grilled Salmon ($ 19.95) was overcooked and very dry. The online menu says that this dish is cooked to order and cautions that it «may be served raw or undercooked.» That would have been a more acceptable alternative than what was served.
Bottom line, you probably have a four in five chance of having a good meal here. No more bets!

«The third time is the charm.»
I had been to P.F. Chang’s a couple of times a few years ago and was not impressed. If I remember correctly, the dishes I had were sticky, gooey, gloppy, and sickly sweet.
To say my expectations were low on this visit is an understatement.
This time (for lunch) I made sure to avoid any dish that was sweet, and I was pleasantly surprised. I ordered the ginger chicken with broccoli. The lunch portion comes with a choice of a couple of soups or salad and white or brown rice or vegetable fried rice for a dollar more. I opted for the salad and the fried rice (because I’m a big spender).
The salad was quite good. It was a good size with a nice mix of fresh greens with a ginger flavored dressing. The dressing was decent. It was light, and had a mild flavor and the salad wasn’t overdressed.
When my entrée arrived I was shocked at how small it was. There was an ample amount fried rice, but there was just three smallish pieces of chicken and about 5 or 6 broccoli florets. The rice was good, but for a ‘vegetable’ fried rice, there were no vegetables other than a few skimpy slivers of carrots and a few tiny pieces of what looked like chive to me. The chicken was super tender and the ginger sauce was good, and it wasn’t gloppy and had a nice ginger\soy flavor. The broccoli was cooked to a perfect crisp\tender.
I really wished there was more chicken and broccoli and that’s my biggest gripe. The lunch portion is too small.
P.F. Chang’s is not real Chinese food. But at least it’s not terrible either. I’d still be wary of the sweeter dishes though.

Located in the Colonie Center (full of other restaurants), this PF Chang’s had all the trappings of a good experience, especially after the grueling few days I’d just gone through. But I was unfortunately disappointed with my experience and the quality of the food. We cabbed from our hotel at the Holiday Inn Express on Western Avenue (not a super easy cab ride, but we absolutely needed to get out somewhere and get a drink). For my drink, I ordered a very flowery seasonal cocktail (whose name and ingredients I have now forgotten, since I visited last July). It was a very tasty cocktail and tasted like candy in my mouth, especially since it was the first alcoholic beverage I had consumed in 3 months.
The food, however, was another story. I ordered the Dan Dan Noodles (scallions, garlic and chili peppers stir-​fried with ground chicken and served over hot egg noodles) and it came out EXTREMELY SALTY. To the point that my lips were starting to get chapped as I was eating this meal. I asked the waiter to take the dish back and tone down the salt. Sadly, when he brought it back, it was still just as salty… so I had to send the dish back again and just ordered something else (a tasteless Lo Mein Combo dish). I have to say that I did appreciate that they gave me a free PF Chang’s gift card as a result of this poor experience. But I still can’t give this place any more than 2 stars, especially since the service was slow and not super polite from the get go.
I don’t live in Albany and I doubt I’d visit this restaurant again when I visit the city in the future.