Panera Bread

Hit or miss, honestly, but mostly hit. You expect consistency from any chain, but I find that is never the case with this Panera. It’s by my office, so it’s the one I order from the most, but it’s also the one I get the least consistent offerings.
Case in point: my last visit, we ordered take-​out, I didn’t pick it up, but this experience has been pretty standard. The soup was okay, but it was missing the croûtons (french onion), and the cheese was at the bottom. I’m confused why the cheese in a gratinee would be at the bottom, and the croûtons would be non-​existent. I swear they’ve included them in the past.
The sandwich was also only okay (got the ham & swiss with the pick-​two). The arrangement was sloppy, and the veggies were all over the place. The meat and cheese were not aligned at all, and were both sticking out in different ways. I had to put it back together; sorry, not being that picky, but it’s really not hard to arrange a sammich.
It’s good, it’s Panera, for the most part it’s exactly what I order and what I would expect. I do like the variety of lunch options, so I can order soup, salad, sandwich, or some combination of them depending on my mood. I don’t like eating there for lunch because it’s so crowded, same with driving and parking at the relatively small shared lot. Can’t fault them for the lot size, though.

I’ve tried. but this location does not cut it for me. Rapid pick up that’s never ready on time. Items for pick up that are sold out, to go orders that are wrong (got a ½ Caesar salad when I should have had ½ turkey sandwich) and the last straw– a hybrid salad. I ordered Asian chicken but the salad maker threw in ingredients from the Thai salad too. Not good.

Consistent with most paneras. Good food. Good service. Enjoy the «bonus card» perks. Just wished that I could get them for when I’ve ordered and paid for Internet orders. Most recently though they did «mess up» an order that I picked up of bagels where they didn’t cut and toast them like I had asked which was an in convince for us but we survived.

I love Panera, so I was really disappointed in their Meditteranean Chicken Flatbread sandwich. It was basically flatbread, cucumber yogurt sauce, and cucumber. The chicken was almost non-​existent. It is as though they just threw it in a litlle, and I do mean very little, as an after thought. I actually had to look to see if there was any chicken, since there was too little to taste. A friend told me all their flatbreads are like this. THIS experience was not a good one. I would not recommend this sandwich to anyone.

Being a Master’s student, I spend a lot of time at camp-​type restaurants, where I can sit down with my laptop, a coffee, and hang around for 4 hours getting work done. This particular Panera has become my go-​to, with me dropping by to work several times a week for the past 5 months.
The service here is always good: the cashiers are friendly, the managers are attentive, and the food always comes out quickly and correctly. The bus-​staff does a great job of keeping the place clean, and the food is always fresh. The whole place is very well put together: modern, well laid out, light-​filled, and with ample seating. There are several large, comfortable chairs, a fireplace, and the place doesn’t ever really get drafty in the winter time. The one down side is that the parking lot can be a little too busy, and there have been several occasions where I have had to park all the way down at the end of the strip mall, just because the place was so busy.
One nice detail about this place is that it’s a bit of a cop hangout, so you’ll never really see any crime here or have to worry about your bag getting stolen if you leave it unattended. There is a police station down the road, so in my frequent trips there I see cops eating lunch about half the time, often in large groups.
As some other reviewers do point out, it can get busy during lunch and dinner hours, but if you just wait maybe 5 minutes, you’ll get a table opening up, assuming you don’t have a group of more than 4. Patience is key — I go looking for a table first thing before ordering, plant my stuff there, then order. This gives me several opportunities to find a seat: if on first pass I see nothing, I’ll go order, and while they’re making the food I’ll look again. If by that time I haven’t found a seat, I’ll almost certainly find one when I get my food in hand. This whole ordering and receiving process takes about 5 minutes or more, so just go scouting for seating early during the rush hours (probably 11:30 to 1:30, and 4:30−6). The Wi-​Fi can get a little congested during these peak periods, too,
All-​in-​all, this Panera is worth visiting.

As a rule i love Panera so they all start with a franchise 3 stars for consistency and good food. They’re reliable. I can’t give the extra stars here. The service is generally good, but they don’t often get changes to their usual recipe correct, like no onions or cheddar not blue cheese. The atmosphere is chaotic, loud, and lunch hour is nightmarish. Order and pick up if you dare. Parking lot is a disaster. Off peak it’s quite pleasant. Like most Paneras, they serve as the local community office space and wifi access spot cluttered with single lap-​toppers seemingly having psychotic breaks as they have full length conversations into the air. This location has plenty of seating so you can generally avoid virtual business meetings and contract negotiations unless you chose to entertain yourself with their oblivious lack of social manners.

I would happily give this location 4 or even 5 stars. But I can’t. Its clean and the employees are always pleasant. The wait generally isn’t very long but of course that depends on the number of customers at any given time. And I really like the food. Soups, salads, baked goods and sandwiches. There’s only a few I don’t like that I’ve tried. And I especially loved their turkey chili. All this good stuff to say and still not 5 stars? Heres why; Frequently I order a Caesar salad and I ask to add spinach to it. And I even say to the cashier that I want the spinach in addition to the romaine that is on the salad. There’s usually a small upcharged and when I get my salad its a spinach salad with chicken (though once they did leave off the chicken). I don’t know how else to ask for it. And when speaking with management they offer me a free salad. I don’t want free food. What I’d like is for the employees to be told that a plus sign with the word spinach next to it means add spinach. It’s not a problem when I add cheese or bacon to a salad. But spinach for some reason seems to be confusing. I usually remember to check before I walk out but on the days I don’t and I get to work to find a yummy spinach salad its a bit disappointing. Give them a try if you haven’t already. Just double check your salad if you add spinach to it!
**edited to add: talked to a different mgr and was informed that their pos automatically removes the romaine when you add spinach. Something they could work on but not the fault of the people putting the orders together.**

Great Location! Friendly Staff! Great Management on the team at this location! My only downfall about Panera in general is that they are completely overpriced — cost me over 8.00 for half a soup and half a sandwich-​and none of them were signature picks. I have found that Panera tries to trick you– on my menu it says pick 2 is 6.59 with signature item $ 1 more on each– however when asked how the breakdown on my receipt came to over $ 8 I was told that each soup has a different price on the pick 2 and it is only the price shown on menu when you choose chicken noodle soup and greek salad-​that is not stated anywhere and I think that is kind of ridiculous. Make the pick 2 a set price and keep it that way no matter what soup or sandwich you choose-​you are still making bank! My other issue is that they are not really as healthy as they try to make themselves out to be. From knowing some staff, I know that their soups are so unhealthy– For the price your paying I feel like at least the lettuce in their salads and the apples they offer should be organic. Everyone I know that eats here agrees.

Food us good and reasonably priced but order is often delayed or lost for eat-​in on Sunday morning. They are busy but food orders are computerized so it’s hard to understand how orders get lost.

Oh Panera, I wish you could get it right. Your food, when done right, is fantastic. Sadly, it’s been a year since you got an order right. Sometimes, it’s minor– like when you forget our rolls or apples. Sometimes, it’s a lot bigger– like today, when my power hummus chicken bowl lacked both hummus and chicken.
When we order online, you know you get the exact order. When your menu items have 5 components or less, you’d think you could get it right.
Unfortunately, you fail. Consistently. I went from eating here once a week to once a month, each time hoping beyond hope that you’ll get it right. I wish you could.

While the parking lot is the only reason I give this location 4 stars, this Panera deserves 5 because of its cleanliness, friendly staff, and an amazing amount of seating. Every nook and cranny is used for seating but it is easy to navigate.

A decent place to eat. They will try to make you happy if there is a mix-​up. Not healthy by any stretch, though. Look at the nutritional info online. I think it’s misleading because they market themselves as serving health food. I wish they would have more options on the kids menu too. Wifi is a hit or miss. Still a good place to stop in for a meal or some coffee.

A healthier option for «fast food.»
The kid says the macaroni and cheese is the best he’s ever tasted.
The black bean soup is vegan. The tomato soup may be too. They are good about veganizing just about anything, but is always check before I leave with my carry out order. Once in a while some cheese or chicken accidentally gets put in. No problem, they will correct the order cheerfully and quickly.

Fantastic food and good service! First choice when wanting something more! Their soups are delicious and they make excellent sandwiches. I enjoy the sand/​soup combo with tea. It doesn’t make me feel heavy after I’ve eaten and is a healthier choice.

Yes, it’s a chain but it was convenient and a known quantity. The line to place orders was a few deep but it was clear that this was a sharp crew. It moved quickly, my order was taken fast and a few moments later, my number was called. Easy pleasy.
The sandwich was on good bread with plenty of chicken and a huge piece of lettuce. I probably should have has something other than chips, but when the guy said «Would you like chips with that?» I answered yes by default.
Even at 1:00, the place was quite busy. I felt a little guilty taking a four-​top for me and my computer, but I was happy to share if someone else wanted the spot. Their Internet shut down after a half hour, but Friday’s is next door. And I have a hotspot on my phone.

Well, I don’t know that a place like this can be 4 star really. I just had a chai tea latte here. My companion had the cream of broccoli soup and she seemed to enjoy it. I’ve had soup and sandwich here before and it was fine.
It closed at 9, which I found a little annoying, but hey, it was Tuesday night.

This location is waaayyy too busy for weekday lunch.
It takes a good 15 – 20 minutes to stand in line, order, and then wait to receive your food. While I agree that in general Panera is a bit overpriced, there aren’t really a lot of other options in this area, making it a go to by default.
That said, the food does taste quite wonderful — huge fan of the frontega chicken panini. If you’re in the mood to waste 500 calories on pure carbs and sugar, the bakery items are delicious.

Rather pleasant décor in this suburban strip mall moderne. Parking is hellish, but that seems to be par for this overcrowded exurb. The food is still Paneraish, but I’ve been known to grab a cinnamon roll here and not complain. My latest discovery — the onion soup. Why have I never tried this before. It’s actually not bad!
Good customer service here. They definitely try hard to please.

Still 5 stars! After my last few experiences at other Paneras which were terrible, I had to update this one.
I came here one evening to get some dessert that would last a while — a cinnamon crumb cake. It was still hella fresh at that hour (they had about 5 of them out). The guy who rang me up was so nice (and adorable to boot).
He put the box in a bag that didn’t have handles, so I would’ve had to hold the bag like a box anyway. After putting it in, he asked if I wanted a bigger one. He was so nice and gentle with the cake — literally treating it like a baby that I just said no and decided to cradle my delicious treat out of there!

Panera is a national chain and as such you can expect to find uniformity in menu and service on most levels. As someone who travels, the nuances you find that are noticeably different in geographical locales is the meet and greet vibe which is most excellent here in this tucked out of the way location. The portions and presentation occasionally differ as well as the cleanliness. The managers here clearly have a great crew who like where they work and it shows.
While I’m not sure I’d spend that much for a lobster roll at a national chain, it seems to be a popular item and people are glad to have it on the menu during an unusual heat wave even for the mid-​Atlantic.
Clean, friendly, quiet and free wi-​fi made for a perfect hotel meal with friendly service and no cleanup!