From the parent company behind Chinese fast-casual empire Panda Express, Panda Inn Mandarin Cuisine is returning to San Diego after shuttering its decades-old downtown location in 2017.
Before Panda Restaurant Group hit it big with more than 2,000 locations of its Panda Express American-Chinese casual concept, husband-and-wife founders Andrew and Peggy Cherng, along with Andrew's father Master Chef Ming-Tsai Cherng, started their restaurant dynasty with the opening of Panda Inn in Pasadena, CA, in June 1973. The traditional, sit down restaurant now has a total of 4 branches operating in Southern California. A Panda Inn opened in downtown San Diego's Horton Plaza in 1985 but closed in January 2017. Panda Restaurant Group, which also operates around 20 locations of Hibachi-San Japanese Grill, is still privately owned by the Cherng family, making it one of America’s largest family-owned restaurant groups.
The new Panda Inn will install within the Carlsbad Premium Outlet Center later this year. Like other outposts, the restaurnat will serve a large array of Mandarin and Szechwan dishes available for dine in or take-out including favorites like steamed Chilean sea bass, honey walnut shrimp, Upside Down crispy noodles, Asian spiced beef short ribs, and orange chicken (which the company actually invented in 1987). Panda Inn will also have a full bar with beer, wine, sake, and cocktails.
Panda Inn will open at 5630 Paseo Del Norte, Suite 141D, in Carlsbad by this summer. For more information, visit pandainn.com and check out the take-out menu below.
