Panda Express barely gets mentioned in IAH threads, but it’s right in Terminal A.
This is the familiar orange chicken spot in Terminal A, on the airside once you clear security. It’s one of the cheaper full-meal options in the terminal, with the usual Panda setup: steam table, quick line, and hot food handed over in minutes. If you’re flying out of A’s regional gates, this is a straight shot from most of the A concourse without having to shuttle to another terminal.
Figure on $10–$14 for a 2- or 3-entree plate with a side, which undercuts a lot of the sit-down spots in IAH. You’ll see the standard hits: orange chicken, Beijing beef, broccoli beef, kung pao chicken, fried rice, and chow mein. Portions run generous by airport standards, so one plate can easily cover a longer connection or a late arrival where you skipped a meal.
Hours tend to track the morning and evening banks in Terminal A, with service usually starting before the first 7:00 a.m. departures and staying open into the late evening rush; still, don’t count on it for true red-eye hours after 10:30 p.m. When it’s open, turnover is fast enough that the main proteins don’t sit for long during peak bank times.
This location rarely hits “where to eat at IAH” lists, even in FlyerTalk threads focused on Terminals A and B, but that’s more about being a generic chain than any specific problem. There aren’t consistent complaints about this branch in particular, and reviews don’t flag issues beyond the usual airport crowding during mid-day departures.
Practical tip: if your flight leaves from an A20–A30 gate cluster, grab your plate here 25–30 minutes before boarding and carry it down; seating near the gates is usually easier to find than near the counter during the lunch wave.