Panera Bread

Best Panera I have visited. I am very picky on the freshness of salad and both mine and my husbands were very fresh and generous in portion size — much more so than what we typically get from our Panera in Indiana. Staff was also speedy and super friendly and attentive — which I think goes above and beyond in a «order at the counter» style café.

Whenever someone suggests we go to Panera I’m always like «meh…I guess.» I’ve eaten Panera so many times in my life that it is starting to all taste the same. It’s pretty hard to get excited about, but it is at least decent and somewhat healthy if you order the right things.
This particular Panera is smaller than most, but it does have a pretty good flow and a fireplace in the dining room for when you want to get cozy with your soup in a bread bowl. The people that work at this Panera are not as friendly as other ones I’ve been to, but that might be because this one is always crowded and they are a little overwhelmed.
Overall, a decent Panera but not exactly my favorite restaurant.

This review applies to every Panera Bread that I have been to within a radius of 20 miles from Cincinnati, Ohio. Unbelievable how often they run out of coffee and bagels by 10 o’clock on a Saturday or Sunday morning. Never seem to have enough help, and, if management exists, don’t know where they hide.

Love the Costa Rican coffee, the avocado BLT, the free wifi! And of course the Service!!!

It’s Panera. It’s obviously better than most other fast-​food options. It’s going to be busy at meal times. I didn’t have any problems whatsoever. The staff were super friendly and helpful, the tables were clean, the food was tasty, and the price was right. I did beat the dinner rush by about 30 mins, though, so I can’t speak to its quality at rush hour. I’ll definitely stop back in sometime!

Worst Panera ever. Wi-​fi doesn’t work so everyone sits there on the Staples wi-​fi from next door, which is less than ideal.
This restaurant is too big for the lack of staff. I stood in line forever, with NO ONE at a register. We finally got our food, and I was given a dirty spoon. The tables were dirty. The food tasted fine.
I needed to make an order to go, but again the line was incredibly long and slow, to the point that I ordered online through my phone (without wi-​fi because the Staples wi-​fi was so slow). Then my order wasn’t ready on time (10 min late!!)… I had to ask for it, and then they told me they didn’t have one of the types of bagels in my order. So I told them just to throw in a couple blueberry and I was late getting somewhere. When I got there, I looked at my order and had NONE of the correct types of bagels. Unbelievably bad service. Well never go back there. Ever.

Was REALLY looking forward to my Bacon Turkey Bravo sandwich but when I got home and opened my sandwich up it was a chicken salad sandwich so disappointed in this not a fan of chicken salad and its to cold to venture back out to return the sandwich guess I will have to start checking my food before I leave.

I’d never been to this Panera location until this week. It much larger than I expected. We went right at 12pm and ate in and waited almost 10 minutes to get our food which was longer than I’ve ever waited at Panera.
The food was good as usual! I got the pick 2 and got the French onion soup (my favorite!) and Fuji Apple chicken salad. Sooo good!
When I’ve been to other Panera’s the employees will come by & ask to take our plates/​trays. They didn’t do it at this location which was sad but not the end of the world. I’d definitely go back if I’m in the neighborhood.

Good, like every other Panera. I like being able to sit next to the window watching the people and cars outside. Free wifi with mediocre reliability. It might drop out on you a couple times over the course of an hour.
The service is great and acceptably efficient. Love the broccoli cheddar soup!

I came on a Sunday afternoon to work on school (as usual) and found Panera to be quite delicious for lunch. There were a few pieces of the lettuce on my salad that looked like they had seen their best days, but it was quite tasty, nonetheless. The workers were very friendly and alerted me to a pastry I had on my «myPanera» card; they also let me know when the award expires.
The downsides of the restaurant has to be the cleanliness. It’s possible that they just had a rush, but the garbage was a bit full and condiments were few to be seen — I did take the last straw. The two ladies aside me attempted to use the restroom but said how disgusting it was and they were just going to wait until they got back to work. I figured I’d pass on seeing what types of treasures lie waiting in the men’s restroom.
Overall, it was a good experience and I plan to make a return visit when I’m back in Hyde Park.

I usually only eat Panera when it’s catered in for lunch at work, but I live close to this location and enjoy visiting every once in a while. It’s a very large location but can end up jam packed at lunch, so be on the lookout for a seat as soon as you walk in! I also like stopping in for breakfast sandwiches since it’s usually pretty quiet before 8 a.m.
Lunch recommendation: anything in the You Pick Two. The sandwiches are delicious but it’s pretty impossible to escape the onion taste for the rest of the day from most sandwiches, so I’d recommend a half salad or soup to go with it. And every time we cater in at work, the room we’ve eaten in always has the «Panera onion» smell. Some hate it, some love it. I don’t think it’s all that bad.

Visited here the other day for a late lunch. I got a soup, half a grilled cheese, hot tea and cheese danish. The creamy tomato soup was delicious… I don’t know what those croutons are made of — parmesan toasty magic? This Panera is rather large with lots of seating. My only complaint was that I wish there had been an offer to warm my cheese danish, since it was a bit cold.

The food would have been the typical, dependably good Panera fare if the staff had not messed up our order in a major way on Saturday evening, October 12. No chicken on the Chicken Cobb Salad, sandwiches not made as ordered, no plain bagels in our order of 6 bagels. How hard is it to get 6 bagels right, or to put the first-​listed ingredient on a salad? Pathetic.

The morning crew at this Panera are top notch. They are SO friendly. No matter how early I get there after my morning work-​out, they are as cheery as can be. My medium cup for coffee is almost always ready for me before I get to the door. Sometimes, I’ll switch it up and add a Mediterranean egg white sandwich to my morning. (By the way, if you haven’t had this… it’s a MUST. Egg whites, cheddar, balsalmic tomatoes, spinach and pesto… It literally makes my morning) The Panera girls will ALWAYS hook me up with a good-​sized breakfast.
Weekend afternoons here are always moderately busy but not overly packed. It’s a good place to get some work done if need be.
However, avoid this place at dinner time… or at least come when you have time to be patient and your stomach isn’t grumbling. I came after work, sick, hungry and desperate for some Panera soup. They messed up my order and it took forever. By the time, I got home I just wanted my snuggie and sleep.
Of course, this is the obligatory griping about Panera’s high prices. I digress, it can’t be THAT bad seeing as though I come back pretty frequently.

The only reason this panera gets 3 stars is because of the food. The food is just as good as any other panera, however the service has continued to disappoint.
The first time I visited this location I got the pick 2 with the $.99 add on for a dessert; when I went to pick my dessert this panera was unlike any other– and not in a good way. First I waited for several minutes to get someone’s attention and when I was finally helped, the employee told me the dessert add on only allows you to get a cookie… what? Every other panera I’ve been to allows you to pick from any of the pastry items. Disappointment number 1.
The food was ready pretty quickly; however, they had gotten the order wrong (disappointment number 2– you get it). I know it was because of the person who took my order because he seemed very flustered and was almost fidgety explaining how loud it was behind him. They fixed my order and it wasn’t too bad.
My second trip there didn’t go as smoothly. They once again got my order wrong and since I ordered it to go, it was given to the wrong customer. I waited by the counter for 15 minutes watching others come and go. I finally said something to the person putting the orders together. He tried to reconcile the situation, but it took so long. After finally getting my food, it was still wrong (and I don’t have a complicated order), but I told them it would be fine and left.
I don’t blame the employees, but something at this panera is not like the rest. It’s sad because I really enjoy their food, but I will not be returning to this location for a while.

I have never had good luck with this Panera. I have been so upset before, I swore I would never return. And yet this morning, I went back. They were much quicker this morning than my last experience but they did seem to not be prepared? They were out of plain bagels, ice machine didn’t work, and they did not have knives. I was told to use the back of my fork to spread cream cheese? For such a strong quick Breakfast place, I was not impressed.
I do love the free wifi but just be ready to wait for your food.

Great seating, love the free Wi-​fi, and great service. I love it when summertime comes and the strawberry poppyseed salad comes back on the menu. When there is a long wait, they usually recognize it, and offer a free perk. The manager also recognizes regulars, so that is a plus. A great place to study and to get some work done.

I swing by here sometimes in the morning for iced-​tea and a breakfast sandwich (which has amazing Vermont white cheddar cheese). The service is friendly, and if Phil is there, he’ll make your order right!

After months of refusing to go back to this Panera location, based on the grievances I listed in the update below, we finally caved late last year and gave it another shot.
I am somewhat gratified to report that the ship has been righted here, at least back to the kinda-​decent-​for-​what-​it-​is level this Panera occupied previously. We’ve been three or four times in recent months, and the place is looking clean and put-​together again, and the salads seem to be assembled properly.
Panera is still nothing to get hot and bothered about, but it does seem to be back to filling the East Side niche I talked about in my original review. Hat-​tip to the manager (s) and staff who were able to get it done.
UPDATE (²⁄₂₀₁₃): Just tried a Panera sandwich for the first time in ages. Still horrendous. This time, a badly misaligned, greasy panino so miniscule that it would leave a preschooler hungry.

«I’m craving a giant salad,» my friend announced during our dinner date. Where does one get giant salads? «Panera Bread!» she exclaimed. «Also, their mac & cheese will change your life.»
And it did.
I ordered the Steak & Blue Cheese salad, which came in a giant bowl. There were at least three cups of lettuce in there. Toppings included: seared top sirloin, romaine, frizzled onions, tomatoes & Gorgonzola, tossed with blue cheese vinaigrette and drizzled with a Cabernet reduction.
The mac & cheese was shell style with white Vermont cheddar. It was so creamy, it was like cheese soup with noodles. My entrée came with baguette, which was perfect for sopping up the sauce.
I devoured my gigantic salad and polished off the life changing mac & cheese. I’ll be back for the steak salad again, and would also try the Cobb. My friend raved about her Fuji Apple Chicken salad with white balsamic apple vinaigrette. I’ll probably need to try that one too.
Cost per person: $ 15.00