Panera Bread

This place has horrible service. I went through the drive thru and the employees were very rude and snappy. When I pulled up to the window I could smell an odiferous smell coming from the kitchen and it made me not want to eat here at all. I looked past the drive thru and saw the kitchen was A MESS. I don’t recommend this place at all. Avoid it at all costs.

Up front: standard Panera, good ice coffee and a porch for the puppy to enjoy with us.

I was coming on here to compliment my favorite sandwich but it doesn’t appear that they serve it any longer! YIPES. It was a grilled cheese but NOT THE REGULAR ONE. It had Fontina cheese and was A M A Z I N G…

Blah.
I have tried a couple of times, and the only decent thing is the breakfast sandwich. Everything is way over priced for what you get — watery soup, a sandwich with one layer of meat that does not even cover all the bread, and the bread should be amazing — but it is tough and cold.
Skip it.

Nice change for lunch. Healthy, appetizing and satisfying. When you are not quite sure what you want to eat but you want something tasty and filling.

I don’t usually write reviews, but my experience was so terrible that my roommate talked me into it. So, we get to panera and order our food at the same time. My roommates food was out in 5 minutes, my order wasn’t served until well after she was finished her meal. We ordered the same thing… I just hung out for 30 minutes while she ate. I finally get my food, which I asked to be boxed up for convenience sake, but when I arrived home, the soup was luke warm and my sandwich was soggy and only had chicken on half. I live less than 10 minutes away from the Jefferson location. I hate to ramble on about my awful experience, but watching someone eat, finish, then wait another 10 or so minutes sucks.

Having a Greek Salad and not even close to Greek is what Panera does wrong. The problem is that its in the middle of nowhere.
Now I have lately turned vegetarian and the pesto pasta was okayish. Not that there is a word like that, but I would like to think of the pesto like that.
So, my experience with Panera Breads was not really good. It looked interesting but its portions were really small. Especially if you go for the two for menu, its not really half of it also.
I have posted some pictures, the place looks fine. Some of my friends have tried it elsewhere and have found it to be better. Given my experience here, I might not want to try it.

This is my go to spot when I’m not sure what I want to eat. Salads, sandwhichs, soups, pastas, and baked goods. Everything on the menu is worth it. I usually choose a «Pick 2» option that allows me to select from a variety of sandwhichs, soups, salads (etc). The staff are always friendly and fast and willing to offer their suggestions on menu items. The place is always clean and I’ve never waited more than 10 minutes for my food even when the line is out of the door. Food is fresh and food temperatures are always accurate. Can’t go wrong here!

It was a very long wait in the drive thru, thus a four star review instead of five. I ordered a Napa Chicken Salad Sandwich, even though I have never even tried chicken salad before (I got confused looking at the menu and ordered the first thing that I saw that was a sandwich). It was very messy to eat in the car, but darn!, that was an awesome sandwich! This is saying a lot because I’m a very picky eater and hate things like celery, mayo, tomatoes, all of which this sandwich had, yet it was sooo good. I will have to go there and try some other things I don’t like eating (except seafood stuffs, that’s never happening, YUCK!).

Food was reasonably priced.
The steak and white cheese barley had any meat on it. The French onion soup was ok. The bread was very good.

I placed an order online for the convenience factor. I get a short lunch and wanted to be able to grab something healthy and quick.
I sat in line of the drive thru a couple of cars deep only to discover that you have to go inside to pick up online orders even though I prepaid for the meal.
That convenience factor that was so appealing is completely pointless.
Maybe there is a method to this madness, but it was extremely disappointing to have to jump through the extra hoop.

I’m a fan because when I lived in California, these were everywhere. It’s nice to see a modern food company make an investment in the Baton Rouge area like this.
I like to take my family here as there is something for the kids right when you walk in the door they see the pastry shelf first before we order our main course. If you order a sandwich combo they most often will toss in a $ 3 pastry for just 99 cents more.
They’ve got a nice selection of drinks to accompany your entrée, I like that they have Pelegrino and Perrier, you can only find these at places like Maxwell’s or an international market. They have an abundance of freshly brewed coffee’s and with that have the brew times on the coffee pots so you know you’re getting fresh brewed and not stale old stuff.
For all the craziness the south has to offer with big plates of fried foods, gravy and insane desserts. This place is like an oasis in the middle of all that. You won’t find fried anything ont he menu, no cheese covered french fries, big huge burgers, fried fish platters (none of that!)
Panera offers a healthy variety from the typical chicken noodle and tomato soups to the adventurous Lemon Orzo or Kale infused soups or sandwiches. Going to their website, they promote health happy menu and if you’re an adventurous foodie like me, and sometimes get tired of burgers and pizza, this will force you to try something new and hold on, it might be healthy and good for you. I don’t work in marketing, but I must say, this place is worth a visit.
They make your entrée’s to order, to torture you, they will give you your pastry /​cookie /​treat on a plate (or in a bag if you like) to take with you along with your drink cup. You wander down the corridor to the drink machine, fill up on soda, standard teas, and some unique ones like the Hibiscus Tea is nice. Get your condiments and then take a seat. They will bring the food to you.
The dining room resembles that of a combination of a big living room, dining room and I must say the library. You know that feeling you get going into the library of «you better be quiet or else»? that’s the feeling I get here. There are dividers, and chairs and tables scattered about. Almost like there are nooks and crannies to hide yourself or sit near other people. Last time I was there, a family was playing a board game they brought while having their lunch. It has that kind of vibe that is welcoming and not foreboding. Maybe a nice place to hide from the summer sun (provided you buy something every now and then I suppose).
They have outdoor seating which is probably pretty nice in the autumn or in the summer nights provided you like heat humidity and have bug spray handy, otherwise the black rattan chairs and tables look very inviting.
I’d say that Panera bread is a nice addition to the area. Panera does have that feel of being a «more expensive» establishment, but that’s the area on this side of town. It’s across the street from the most expensive gas station in town and Town Center is down the street.
I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 because while the look and polish of the place is great, the process and execution is not always stellar. My experiences of late unfortunately with the great layout and design of the restaurant, which I love. I think the experience of a restaurant is as much or more important than the food itself. Yet we wouldn’t be here if we weren’t hungry right?
You have to keep a watchful eye on what they make, make sure it is up to the standard that is on their menu. If you don’t feel it’s right, then you have to say something right?
My wife ordered the Bacon Turkey Bravo sandwich, (picture #38) in the gallery. And the bacon was abysmal, like shiny and abundant as in their menu selection. I complained and the guy just told me that was the standard amount for that sandwich. Lesson learned, don’t order bacon anything from a company that isn’t from the south. We know bacon here, looks like they have some learning to do.
I ordered the Lemon Orzo Bread Bowl, while mine didn’t come with a Lemon Wheel, it was still pretty good. I have ordered the special soups each time I’ve gone here and every selection was a winner. So I thoroughly recommend the soups. The sandwiches are good, just check what you get, unfortunately staff (management nowhere to be seen) isn’t very willing to change things, maybe it was just my one time visit,
The breads are very good, the bagels are great, the pastries are just as you’d expect. It is priced a little higher, but you have to expect to pay a little more for the quality of the food you get.
They also have a drive thru, I’m not a big fan of drive thru’s I won’t hold that against them. A lot of people seem to like it.
All in All Panera is a pretty good place to get a lite fare lunch that if you want is more on the healthy side.

Quick, fresh and always made accurately. The menu consists of various soups, salads, sandwiches and paninis. You can even mix and match with their Pick Two option.
My favorite pick is the steak Asiago sandwich. I love this flavorful sandwich with horseradish sauce and delicious, crispy bread.
At checkout, you will be offered a 99 cent pastry. Go for it! I especially like the candy cookie. They have a wide variety of baked treats.
Pepsi products here, so no diet coke.
The staff is always friendly and welcoming. Word of warning though, if you want to dine in, bring a jacket!!! It’s always cold in here!

I am on the fence about this place, although it is not my personal preference the visit was good and that is why i give them four stars. The restaurant was super clean and the counter lady greeted us within seconds with a smile. The menu was very bistro style in my opinion and did not offer many things that I am accustomed to eating. We decided on the chicken tortellini and was quite pleased. The portion appeared small, but when we were finished our stomachs were definitely full!
I did see some pastries I would like to try and they also had loafs of bread that you could purchase and take home. So all in all I’d probably be back; just not for lunch anytime soon.

I have been to lots of Panera’s, but the one here is just very disorganized and uncaring. The food is great once the get your order right. They always forget to put the chicken ion the fuji apple salad, very frustrating. Got a salad with bacon and the bacon was cold. Maybe because I came in at 8:45pm… no excuse. Last meal serve has to be as good or better that the first meal serve.

Fellas, if your lady is hungry and can’t make up her mind… Like always. Say I know a spot and take her here… If she doesn’t like panera leave her in the parking lot along with her 99cent pastry! Good food quality service !

«Restaurant runs like clockwork, clean and organized». Although I don’t dine at chain/​franchised restaurants a whole lot because I truly believe Baton Rouge has been flourishing with fabulous local restaurants. It’s interesting to see people flock here (for lunch especially). Of course I know why! Service is fast, staff is overly efficient and it has to do with them being extremely organized! The food, to me, was extremely cookie-​cutter… nothing stood out to me. The egg and turkey sausage sandwich I had was not budding with personality and the Soba Edamame Noodle bowl was salty! Applause goes to the hyper-​organization though — this is what makes them super-​efficient… yup, they have done it for a long time with many locations around the country doing the same thing! This is not my restaurant of choice, but it another option for those that work remotely and need a place to roost, while working on a laptop/​phone. Coffee refills are available and their menu is large enough, where it poses a good selection for starving restaurant-​goers that may even be pinched for time. There is parking in the front, a huge lot in the back plus drive-​thru!
* Breads * Salads * Soups * Pastries * Baton Rouge café * Coffee Shop * Drive-​thru dining Baton Rouge *

I hadn’t been to a Pantera bread in a long time and this was my first time at this location. I remembered them as run of the mill sandwich chain without many healthy options. I was pleasantly surprised that they listed calories and had a wide variety. I settled on the «pick 2» sandwich/​soup combo option about $ 8, not bad. I chose the holiday option of Turkey & Cranberry flatbread with autumn and squash soup which was very good. It comes with a roll and they asked if this was ok so I told them I didn’t really care to have a roll. I wasn’t expecting an alternative but the cashier named some other options and I chose the apple :) I was very happy and I will return another day. I came during a slow time, I can imagine the wait could be long during lunch or dinner. You can order ahead through the website or app. Yay technology!

Glad to see Panera in Baton Rouge. They were a favorite of mine when I lived in South Carolina. Hubby and I stopped in the Jefferson Highway location last week for a late lunch. It was after 2 so there was no crowd, just a couple of other tables besides ours. Our food was great, consistent with other Paneras.
I love the 99 cent add on for dessert and usually get the Carrot Cake! It was great.
I had a Caesar Salad and the Broccoli Soup!
I read a couple of reviews and keep in mind, this restaurant is pretty new to our area and it will take some time to work out the kinks.
They are always packed at lunch…

Yes, this place is a chain but they have something I’ve been wanting in town for so long… a drive thru with great salad options. I certainly think going to a restaurant with a server and an extensive menu is a better over all experience, but that’s not what Panera is about. I’ve been to this location twice, once inside for a sit down experience and again through the drive thru.
For my sit down, I knew by passing by that I needed to get here early so I met a friend at 11:30 and we barely had a wait in line to order. We found a table for two easily.** Our food was delivered much more quickly that I expected by looking at the number of people in the restaurant. I had a half salad, Strawberry Poppyseed, and half sandwich, Bacon Turkey Bravo. Both were very tasty. the salad had plenty ot chicken and fruit with the perfect amount of dressing and the sandwich was on some of the best bread I’ve ever tasted.
On my next visit, I was in a rush and decided to order at the drive thru. The wait was obviously a little longer than your typical fast food drive thru but I expected that going in. I again ordered a half salad, Fuji Apple, and half sandiwch, Tuna Salad. The salad was amazing! The apple chips and gorganzola cheese were perfection together. The sandwich was sad though. I will not be ordering this one again. There was barely any tuna salad on the bread and probably more lettuce than anything.
If you set your expectations in the right direction, this place cannot disappoint and I see improving over time when the «new» wears off.
**Side Note… if you are a party of one or two in a crowded restaurant, don’t take up a table for four or eight people so you have a chair for your purse. My friend and I noticed a party of two get up from their 2-​person table to move to a 4-​person table in the middle of a lunch rush. Initially, I thought «Oh, they have people meeting them»…NOPE, they just wanted to put their purses in chairs. Meanwhile, people were standing around looking for a table large enough for their party of four. I’m aware this isn’t a reflection on Panera but maybe these «ladies» will read this and learn something.