Panera Bread

As with many chain restaurants, a Panera is a Panera no matter where you go, and the Carlisle location doesn’t disappoint when it comes to the staples of freshly baked goods (especially their French bread, my favorite fresh bread!) and sandwiches.
Their combo deals are great — I typically order French Onion soup with a Bacon Turkey Bravo sandwich (turkey, applewood-​smoked bacon, Gouda cheese, and a tasty house sauce on Tomato Basil bread). When you first get your meal, at times I feel like the portion sizes are small with these «Pick 2» combos, but by the end of the meal I’m usually full (and there’s a nice selection of pastries for desert if you’re still hungry).
Beyond just the food, the atmosphere of this location is what makes this place great. I know several local professors who spend a few hours here getting work done in the evenings who are often willing to chat philosophy if you get to know them! It’s a great place for friends, family, or even just a quiet get away to enjoy some free WiFi!

Normally, I do enjoy Panera’s sandwiches. However, do NOT order online, especially not from this particular Panera. They claimed never to have received our order for a 13 sandwich + sides birthday lunch. We had a confirmation email about the order, yet it never arrived. Will not be trying to arrange our monthly birthday lunches at Panera again.

Panera is dependable, tasty, good quality food. This one in Carlisle was great. Despite VERY busy time, our order was quick & staff very pleasant.

It’s a standard panera bread. The employees were irritating but the place was packed. Standard meal and it tasted good.

As good as one expects from a Panera (which is really quite good) in terms of food and drink. What makes this place a particularly nice Panera to visit is the service. The staff is very prompt, friendly, and willing to help. I definitely recommend this Panera when visiting Carlisle.

I was told on Monday that I needed to arrange a meeting for 17 people for lunch that day. I called Panera at 8:00 am and I could literally hear the catering lady rolling her eyes through the phone. She lectured me on the 24 hour notice until the point that I asked if she even wanted my business. I was only ordering 10 whole sandwiches which were being cut in half, chips and a salad. When I arrived 3.5 hours later she was still annoyed that I bothered her with my order.
Unfortunately, for me the group wanted Panera again the next day and I called her right away asked to increase the order for the next day but that I wanted more salad. Instead of being happy that I was brining her another $ 300 order she was very rude and informed me that I DON“T NEED THAT MUCH SALAD for 17 people. Im not sure why I needed to explain my situation to her but this particular group ran out of salad the previous day and requested more. She seemed very irritated that I was bothering her and she obviously didn’t want my business. The customers were not aware of any of these issues and requested Panera for the 3^rd day and I opted against it and ordered from South Side Deli in Carlisle. They were very happy to have my business and even called afterwards to see how everything went.

Everything but lettuce must be in short supply. I ordered a Fuji Apple Chicken Salad. There were 3 dried apples, 5 small pieces of chicken, a few nuts and almost no salad dressing. When I asked for more dressing, I got a ½ oz. container that was ¼ full. I stop at Panera’s whenever I travel and they are always excellent. But my recommendation is to avoid this one in Carlisle.

Paneras is one of the few chains we patronize due to freshness of ingredients, cleanness, and fresh coffee.
Lunch or dinner, I enjoy the Soup/​Sandwich Combo (see pic). Usually about $ 10 with tax and basic beverage.
Personal favorite is the Lemon-​Orzo Soup with Chicken. I now also make it at home.
Tip: Get your coffee to-​go even if you eat in… so you can take a refill with you.
Small Gripe: Wish they’d use politically incorrect insulated coffee cups.

Food was good and kitchen service was quick.
Cashiers can be a little customer friendly!!. No smile and no pleasant attitude doesn’t add up for customer loyalty.

Foods good and higher quality than many other franchised establishments, ample seating and I like the fireplace and the restaurant layout. Prices are a bit high but I think it is due to the higher quality, fresher, and healthier ingredients so I dont mind paying a little extra.

Double check your order if you place an order to go! Wonderful salads. Kinda pricey.

I assume Panera corporate scans reviews for franchise training/​management. The Carlisle location of Panera is very typical of the chain.
Carlisle, PA Panera had the standard recipes down – Asian Chicken salad was same as any Panera which means light on the dressing but overkill on the fried wontons. Service was well trained.
Ladies room was out of paper towels.
I would complete the online survey, if there had been a guaranteed offer (free coffee, discounted pastry, etc) like Dunkin’ Donuts.