Panera Bread

I love Panera Bread. I am from New Mexico so I am always trying to find new Paneras here in D.C. Today I ordered a broccoli soup and it was great. The service was ok taking into account that service here in the metropolitan area is not that great (comparing to other cities). Everything was good overall.

Employees at this location are on you like vultures as soon as you walk in the door. I thought I was grabbing coffee and a sandwich, not looking at used cars? Also, the restrooms require a code which is supposed to be four digits and on your receipt. No such codes on my receipt. Bunch of six and longer digit ones though. Fortunately customers often break the rules and let others through the door.

I never write Unilocal reviews but this is the best-​run Panera I have ever been to. (And I am already a big time Panera lover.) The staff are so friendly and when ordering on the tablets, my food has often arrived before I’m even fully settled down at the table!

I’ve only been to this location once (though I’m a big Panera fan), but I can’t speak highly enough of the service here. The staff here ended up getting my order wrong and then taking a while to inform me about it; being starving, I was annoyed and was probably a little short with the server. The staffer was really nice and completely refunded my money. I know what a brat I am when I’m hungry (hangry doesn’t begin to describe it… I know, it’s stupid/​childish at my age), and I really respect them for the way they handled the error.

An okay place but every time I’ve been in here there’s at least one homeless person asking for money somewhere inside. They ask the workers for money too and they seem to ignore them rather than doing something about it.
That aside, the actual restaurant seems to run out of baguettes pretty often.

Absolutely love this place! Offers a wonderful retreat from the office and the thai chicken salad (with extra peanut sauce) is life changing.
I would be over joyed if they considered adding plant based «chick’n meat» to the menu as a vegan alternative.
Thank you Panera! Keep up the amazing work! I visit frequently for your broad selection of organic teas and coffee based drinks. :)

I love Panera and have never had a bad experience at any other location besides this one. I went with the little girl I nanny, and she had the kids mac and cheese, while I had a pick-​two combo with a sandwich and the tortellini alfredo. I specifically ordered my tortellini without chicken and the manager who took my order even repeated that back to me.
When we got our food fifteen minutes later (which is kind of a long time for Panera, considering there was only one person in line ahead of us and no one behind) my pasta did have chicken on it. No big deal, people make mistakes. Now, I am never one to cause a fuss in a restaurant, I can probably count on one hand the number of times in my life that I’ve sent food back or made a complaint… but even if I HAD ordered chicken on my pasta, I still would have sent it back because it was absolutely pink, and upon feeling it, was bone dry and cold. Anyways, I went back up to the counter and asked if I could please get my pasta redone without chicken. The girl said sure, it’ll be right out, we’ll bring it to you. I sat back down with my daughter and we started the rest of our meal.
Ten minutes passes… fifteen…we’re finished with our food by now, she’s finished her mac and cheese and I’m done with my half sandwich (the fontina grilled cheese, but the cheese was cold and not nearly melted in the middle… bleh) by this time we’re just waiting for my pasta. It’s been thirty minutes and I’ve seen both the manager and the woman who I sent my food back to just hanging around the registers talking. No sign of my food. My table was literally right next to the registers, I made eye contact with them both multiple times.
Finally I get fed up and go to the register and ask about my food. Again, I’m not one to cause a scene, this was all done politely and calmly. The girl tells me «Oh! Do you want me to make it now? It can be done in five minutes.» I told her no thanks, it’s been over thirty minutes and I’ve already finished the rest of my food and ask if I could just get a refund. The manager who originally took my order is standing behind her, and she asks him for help doing a refund. The manager doesn’t say a word to me, didn’t look or make eye contact with me, just does the refund then goes back to standing where he was. Not even a «sorry about that» or «have a good day!» as I left with my refund. The girl who forgot my pasta was more apologetic than the manager who originally messed up the order was. Will not be returning to this location!

You go here for the food, not the customer service. Order a soup bread bowl and waited 15mins until someone finally said they were out of bread bowls. When I asked for a refund or to change my order it was so inconvenient for them. Really!

Worst Panera ever.
The only redeeming quality is there cashiers have a smile and are welcoming. The bad news is there is never more than 2 and usually only 1 in the busy morning.
I had an unpleasant experience there about a month ago, they had no staff and no bagels /​ok a selection of 3 — this was during morning rush hour.
I decided to email my concerning via their website — after 5 days I received a standardized form letter stating a representative from the management team from that location will contact me to discuss my concerns. It’s been 5 weeks no response from a management team. I haven’t been back since to that location or any other Panera. I’ve been to Panera for over 10 years long before they were in my neighborhood and DC and had a rewards card for 3+ years. Do they ever look at rewards card history? I’ve been to Panera multiple times a weeks.
I’m done with Panera. Too many other quality choices.

Let’s just admit it. Panera is ALWAYS a safe option. Can’t find room at your hyper-​local coffee shop? Starbucks packed? Head on over to the nearest Panera and you’ll definitely be able to snag a table. Normally, Panera is good. A solid, solid choice.
Not this one! It’s hard for me to catalog all of the issues that I had. First off, I order a bagel and ask if they have any reduced-​fat cream cheeses. The cashier has absolutely no idea. She says they don’t, or that maybe the plain cream cheese is? No, maybe the blueberry. She doesn’t know. Fine fine, I order the onion and chives cream cheese and the label very clearly says reduced-​fat. My friend’s cream cheese in another flavor says reduced-​fat too. It bothered that the cashier didn’t know the product she was selling.
As we all know, Sunday mid-​morning is when the world shakes off their weekend laziness and starts getting their head on straight for the following work week. That usually involves copious amounts of coffee. Well at 11:15 on this Sunday morning, they were out of both light roast and hazelnut, leaving only decaf (haha) and super dark roast. I had to wait a significant amount of time before they were refilled.
There were various other issues… but basically it was not a positive experience. The staff working in the kitchen were super loud and that made it hard o concentrate. I’m thankful that they had an open table when I needed to knock out a little work, but I’d try to exhaust literally all of my other options before going there again.

I’ve always had good service here and the food is great. I also like to come in here and work on my computer during the weekday when I’m not at work. Today however I was stolen from so I am posting this review as a warning. A guy came in and asked if anyone had a $ 20 in exchange for two $ 10s. I know I had two 20s in my wallet. He also said he was a taxi driver. He gave me the 10s and I passed over a 20 and then he said it was a $ 1. I didn’t even have a $ 1 bill in my wallet but I wasn’t thinking he was stealing from me. I ended up giving him the other $ 20 in my wallet and taking the $ 1 and after he left, I realized he’d stolen $ 19 from me (the $ 20 I originally gave him minus the $ 1 he returned).
Watch out for him, I bet he does this often in the Columbia Heights area. He’s about 5′ 7″ African American, late 50s, he was wearing a hat and claims to be a taxi driver.

This review is for the management. I had an online order around 2pm today and got all the way home before realizing the dessert and side were both missing.
Since those were the two things I was looking the most forward to, I walked back. I was so frustrated walking in and a male manager took care of me right away. He gave me a large Mac and cheese instead of the small, the dessert and even a free coffee. A female manager also got me a small cup for a side of milk for the coffee.
Needless to say, I left satisfied and in a much better mood. It’s good management when you walk in ready to write a complaint and walk back out ready to write a compliment. Thank you!

Como todos los paneras. El café es bastante horrible, pero esta bien si trabajas cerca y necesitas un break. Me gusta el ambiente calido de las mesas aunque puede ser un poco odioso si vas en hora punta. En esas horas esta lleno, en parte porque el personal… es un poco lento

Worst service ever on November 30^th at 2:40pm. Cashier did not tell me her register did not take Apple Pay until after the entire order was entered. While I was ordering soup and salad (choose any two) she asked if I wanted a full salad. I said I wanted the size that came with choose any two. She entered a full salad and my order price doubled. I ordered a drink and then she forgot to enter the drink. Maybe it was her first day but I was so mad that I cancelled the whole order. Spoke to a manager, who said it sounded like it would be a training opportunity. Yes, it is. Retrain on how to take orders and which questions to ask and NOT ask.

This is a good place to take a break after doing some shopping in the area. It’s always crowded– but regardless, I’m almost always able to snag a table. I’m not too keen on the food but go for the coffee. Theres always a fresh brew of dark roast and hazlenut– my favorites; refills if needed. The bench seats are comfy, the staff are hardworking, and the place is generally clean. Good place for a cup of joe– any day.

Ample seating and free wifi for people who want to get work done on their laptops. I cant’ comment too much on food since I haven’t ordered anything from here. It’s a convenient place for studying bc of the seating, sockets, bathroom and food available.

I used to be a fan of this Panera until this morning I ordered a Breakfast sandwich and as I waited FOREVER… I witnessed the SAME person who took my order go to the kitchen area COVER her mouth and speak to employees and then start to package food bare handed O_​O NO GLOVES, NO HANDWASHING… Just working! slangin’ sandwiches and germs around (Yes I said slangin’)
I asked one of the employees who was the manager and GUESS WHAT? That bare handed lady in the kitchen was the manager! Yikes!!! What kind of example is she setting for the employees she’s supervising? You’re the manager and breaking all types of heath codes I’m sure
I’m no health department or food inspection professional but I’m sure the lack of infection control here is not ideal 1. You’re dealing with the cash register (money, receipts, other people germs etc.) 2. Did not wash your hands 3. You put your hand over your mouth and begin talking (If that doesn’t scream GERMS!!! Maybe that is what she said in her hand GERM!) and 4. Now you’re touching utensils in the kitchen (now contaminated utensils) and now your serving food to customers now the customers contaminated.
IM SORRY!!! What I did not come for was a contaminated sandwich. I understand sharing is caring but keep your germs to yourself!!!
Who knows what they do on the days I’m not there because If the manager is not following proper protocol i.e. Hand Washing I’m not expecting any high standard for the other employees.
Yuck!!!

As far as Paneras in the city go, this one is pretty great. It gets quite a varied crowd (this is Columbia Heights after all), but everyone is very nice. The servers bring the food to you and will clear your plates (I hope I haven’t been supposed to tip this whole time!). The restaurant is kept clean. Tables are always available and the bathroom is always empty (the code is 1234).
If you are looking for a good place to study or get work down, this Panera is one of the best spots in the area. Get a mug for unlimited coffee or tea (for the price of a small to-​go coffee), and you can stay all day. No limits on the wifi. This place definitely beats the overly crowded, plug less Starbucks around the block!

The food here is generally pretty good and it’s in a very convenient location to my apartment. I really like the macaroni and cheese, and the salads are always really well portioned.
The one problem that I have with this Panera on a regular basis is that the staff don’t seem to monitor the floor for guests who are not patrons, but rather are using the store to sleep. The last three times I have been in the store there have been individuals sleeping in many of the chairs for significant periods of time while I was there. Partially this is aggravating because in one instance they were taking up a seat next to an electrical outlet and so I felt uncomfortable trying to plug my computer in. Other times it just makes the business look bad because they are in the windows or out in the open snoring.
The one time I told the manager about it he did a good job of immediately addressing the situation and asking them to leave, but I feel that they really need to do a better job of telling the employees who are clearing tables to be more proactive about that. It would make the business appear to be more of a place to eat and work and less of a homeless shelter.

I love Panera, I really do. I’ve never had a bad experience at any of their other locations.
But I don’t even know where to start! The incompetence is unfathomable.
They don’t even know how to take a basic order. They assume you ordered something else — when I ordered a salad — with no cheese, and soup, the manager seemed to have the hardest time figuring out how to make it no cheese. And then my mom said she was going to be making 2 IDENTICAL orders — the smoked turkey (REGULAR CAFE SANDWICH) with a soup. He «confirmed» our order by saying, «Panini, right?» We set him straight and in total, we got 3 orders, with 2 drinks. When he didn’t give us our cups (for 1 hot tea and 1 iced tea), we asked and he said, «You ordered two fountain drinks, right? Sodas?» WHERE DID HE EVEN GET THAT FROM? He had literally just taken our orders. How absent-​minded can you be? I don’t understand.
Then our orders came out, and when I tried to take my plates, the worker said I should have a buzzer so they can deliver and I said I never got one. Figures, given that the manager couldn’t even take my order properly. And surprise surprise, on the plates were SMOKEHOUSE TURKEY PANINIS, not the café sandiwches. He had charged us for the paninis even when we SPECIFICALLY said it was the café sandwich.
My mom asked for the difference in price back and took away the correct sandwiches. I was ready to dig into my salad when I saw the cheese. Let me say that I literally cannot eat ANY salad that has cheese in it. If it’s touched the cheese, I can’t eat it. It seriously makes me want to vomit. I brought it back, totally exasperated, and said flatly, «This salad has cheese in it.» One of the workers mumbled to the manager, «bad orders, bad orders man,» because, GUESS WHAT, EVERYTHING was wrong!
The cashier/​manager asked what he could do and I literally said, «I just want what I ordered. I don’t want that third sandwich (explained in the next paragraph); I just want my correct order.»
After they fixed that, another worker came and kept saying we had ordered a third smoked turkey sandwich. We said no and since we didn’t want it, kept rebuffing.
The manager eventually gave us two $ 6.00 coupons, BUT when we had left and I looked over the receipt, turned out he’d charged us for that third turkey sandwich THAT WE NEVER ORDERED! So basically, I only got $ 6.00 in reimbursement and for a horrible experience and a terrible taste in my mouth from the sheer idiocy and incompetence.

For a Panera its nice. This location opened recently, in the last few months, so things are still clean and new inside. There aren’t too many options in Columbia Heights for places to sit and get work done, but free wifi, coffee, and pastries make this place fit the bill. Oh, and I have a slight addiction to the half soup and half sandwich combo with an Asiago roast beef sandwich and cup of broccoli cheddar soup with a fresh side of french bread.
A couple things to beware of:
— it can get really crowded at certain times of the day
— there aren’t many power plugs to charge up when your laptop starts dying
— wifi can be quite slow when it’s crowded