Pick Up Stix

Anywhere else in the country and it would be only two stars, not three. But given the deplorable culinary scene in Orange County, this place falls somewhere in the middle of the local mediocrity, hence three whole stars. About the nicest thing I can say is the price is about right. But much like every other Chinese joint anywhere in the South County, if you order Orange Chicken (or similar) expect to get tons of greasy crunchy breading that by volume as well as weight exceeds the amount of the chicken it surrounds. On nearly half the pieces, it would have taken a forensics scientist to determine if there were any chicken in the piece at all to begin with. Add in soy sauce served in sticky little plastic cups with lids and you can imagine how totally unimpressive this place is.

Didn’t know this location existed but happy to have found it! Good as all the others. The woman taking our order was super sweet and energetic. When we told her we were sharing our two meals she immediately ran to go get extra plates for us!
It wasn’t crowded and we were served our food very quickly and it was super fresh! We had the Pad Thai chicken and the teriyaki salmon dish to share. Throw in some chicken egg rolls and we were good to go!
This particular location had plenty of indoor and outdoor seating and the restaurant was very clean. Definitely worth driving out to Newport Beach to use our coupon. Will be back to the Stix, with or without a coupon!

The staff at this location is always efficient, and super friendly! They also handle my special requests perfectly every time!

Never have to wait here. I like that fact they have TV for you to enjoy. The high sitting table is pretty cool! Definitely be back soon!

I use to love this place because they offer gluten-​free items. Having celiac disease it is so Great when I find a place that makes the order correctly. Sadly this place doesn’t do it. When you have celiac disease it is so important that you do not eat gluten. Mistakes are not okay. Today they made a big mistake. They were asked if the item was gluten-​free the answer was yes and it was also marked on their menu. They gave me the wrong order which was not gluten-​free consequently I became quite ill. Very very disappointing.

Super bummer. I used to eat here regularly, like once a week but then I moved out of state. Am back visiting family and have gotten it twice in the last week. First time the quality was poor but I chalked it up to a bad day. My family ordered it again tonight and something has definitely changed. The Pick Up Stix of yesteryear is no longer.

I just purchased Wonton soup. It was the color of dirty dish water, and swimming in that dish water was 3 chunks of previously frozen chicken (thrown in while frozen, I’m sure) and various bits of vegetables. Utterly disgusting and devoid of any flavor. Please avoid at all costs. Never buy this. Never.
I also quite sorrily got the beef and broccoli. The beef was also previously frozen and coated with enough sugar to coat my throat. And not in a good way. Where is the beef — its under 3 layers of sugar, for some reason. Pick Up Stix thinks Chinese food should be covered in sugar? I don’t know what the hell is going on. This is food for people who drink gallons of soda and have no taste buds left. The rest of us will avoid places like this FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE!

This review is only for the food (we got take-​out; staff were friendly and helpful when we ordered and picked up). I rarely give 2 stars, but everything here is fried… even the chicken dumplings, which are usually steamed! The chicken in the dishes we ordered were fried too — we ordered 3 different ones. They were also drenched in really salty sauce. Not a fan and will probably never eat here again.

Messed up my order. Everything was drenched in sweet and sour sauce. If you do get it, get it to go. When everything come in different boxes it’s way better it. They’ve only messed up my order once and it’s when I decided to eat it there. It’s pretty expensive. Staff was blah. Minus a star for all being duck fans.

I come here pretty often for lunch, as I work just down the street. Overall, it’s a fair deal. I nearly always just stick with the lunch special, and even then usually only vary it between the Bourbon Chicken and the House Special Chicken. The Bourbon Chicken is fantastic, doesn’t have too many calories, comes in a delicious sauce, and I believe is even gluten free if you’re into that sort of thing. Service has been pretty decent, too — they bring the food out to you and it’s a step up usually from the regular hum-​drum of standard fast food service. Your mileage may vary, depending on when you go, but I would recommend it for a decently priced lunch.

Food cooked fresh and comes in togo containers. Generous portions are given. I was only able to finish ¼ of the food given to me.
Orange Chicken
— Stated to be spicy, but did not taste any kick & I’m very sensitive to spicy food
— More vegetables than chicken
— Liked the crispyness of the chicken
— Sauce was flavorful
— More of an Americanized/​Fusion taste than authentic Chinese
Overall, food was okay. Not a place I would go to unless I have no other place to go

The food here is very average. To be honest I completely prefer Panda Express over Pick Up Stix. My coworker and I came here after going to Sprinkle’s to grab a quick lunch before heading back to the office. We both ordered an entrée and we ordered at the restaurant itself. Her order came out in about five minutes while mine took fifteen even though we practically ordered the same exact thing. The woman at the counter tried to make up for it by giving me extra cream cheese wontons which was very nice but we were still a little late going back to work. Overall, average experience. You should just check out the food court at Fashion Island for something a little better.

5 stars for this location. Great customer service. If I ever have an issue they always correct it and make it better. Thank you Allison for your generosity this evening. This is why I continue to come back.

If you need a stress-​induced, sweat-​pants-​only, movie-​night in with some fatty, asian-​ish, comfort food to-​go, then Pick Up Stix is the choice for you. Get the house special chicken or tofu and the cream cheese wontons. Don’t even bother with the rest of the menu. The salt and fat content in each to-​go box is roughly equivalent to a baby whale, but that’s the kind of get up and go power you need for a night on the couch.

The reason I went with four stars is because of all the Pick Up Stix, this location is my favorite. They always have fresh food at lunch and the service is great. I’ve never had a bad experience here and used to be a regular.

We’ve ordered delivery from this pick up stixs twice and both times our orders arrived wrong. My husband and I decided to try and eat in the restaurant today for lunch (hoping for a change), and guess what? THEY STILL GOT OUR ORDER WRONG. Seriously. how dense do you have to be? I stood there and told you what I wanted for lunch, and you couldn’t put it correctly into the computer?
Won’t be coming back.

The house special chicken used to be so good… should never have change the recipe.

I have definitely tasted better and for cheaper. I only visited this place because I was hungry, in-​between tutoring jobs, and this was the closest place to eat (other than zPizza next door).
I ordered Crispy Honey Chicken (crispy White Meat Chicken in a flavorful honey sauce. Original or Spicy) served with steamed white rice. The meal cost me almost $ 9 and that was without a drink. This made it one of the most expensive Chinese food I have ever bought.
The good thing about the place was that it was made to order, so the crispy honey chicken was made right then and their with fresh ingredients (there was fresh, sliced green onions on top). The sauce was great and the chicken was crispy just like what you can get at alternative Chinese take-​out place. The rice was fresh and steamy and was soft to the touch.
Both the chicken and the steamed rice came in their own separate Chinese to-​go containers, but man, the containers were so tiny! I was surprised they were able to shove so much in them.
Everything was good, but maybe it was because I was starving. Was it worth the price? Most definitely not.

I like Pick Up Stix. This location is close to my work and the staff has their shit together and is friendly.
The house special beef and fried rice are good.

I have to second what Elizabeth R. says when you go here you know exactly what you are getting, fast food chinese food and nothing else, its very predictable and you have to know what to order and what level of food you should expect.
I think the best there there is the lettuce wraps and the house special beef, although the orange and lemon chicken are pretty good too. but you have to know that the food will be in sauces that really dominate the dish and are most of the reason people get them. The food is pretty good, and it is very consistent with what I expect from this place, and the staff is pretty friendly as well. By no means is this place healthy, or authentic chinese food, but at like 830 on a sunday night when I dont want to cook, it fits a nice niche and has good food to boot.
three tips to live by when ordering here:
1-​never do delivery, it takes forever and the food tastes icky
2-​when you order, order you food minus one ingredient so that you know its made fresh (when I order the house special beef I get it without garlic).
3-​if you can order the lunch or smaller size portions, the food seems to be a better quality