Pret A Manger

Very disappointed that Pret closed. Whenever I stopped in the place was busy. Baguette sandwiches are amazing and the moroccan lentil soup was delicious.
Come back to Evanston, Pret!

Very sad to learn that Pret has closed its Evanston location.

I purchased a Cobb salad, and a chai tea latte. The salad was fresh, good tasting, and decent sized. I would definitely purchase it again.
The chai tea latte, was however, a disappointment. The flavors were very dull, watered-​down. I would NOT buy it again.
The total price for my order was $ 12.40

I think the food is alright, but what is up with the customer service? I just went in and ordered a bunch of food, and the woman behind the counter bagged it up horribly so that everything was falling all over each other. So rebagged it myself as she stood there just watching me. When I was done she said «have a good one» and turned away. What a jerk. She also never gave me a receipt. Not joking back to this place.

I came here to find a place to study. The staff is very friendly. I had a black dark roast coffee, it was a little better than starbucks. I also had the spicy shrimp wrap, it tasted so fresh (I was quite surprised). I wish they had more healthy choices for food. They didn’t have any wheat options. As for the study environment, I found that the music was a little too loud. Even with my beats in, I could still hear the music. The other customers were all quiet doing their own work for the most part.

Pret has become a staple for me on my way to work in the mornings. Their service has been excellent every time I’ve stopped by and makes for quick & easy grab and go in the morning. I’ve rarely had to wait in line to order, and if there is a line they will immediately open up more cash registers to speed up the line. Now that’s what I call great service!
As for the food, it is pricier than your average Subway or Jimmy John’s, but I’m willing to pay the premium for convenience and healthier eating. I love getting coffee here because there’s NO upcharge for soy milk! That’s huge for me and probably the main reason why I choose Pret for my morning coffee instead of the nearby Panera or Starbucks.

Solid place for a light breakfast or lunch and some coffee. The food is consistently fresh and of high quality, you can’t really go wrong. A good place to sit down for work as well, free wifi available.
I like that they donate all food at the end of the day, instead of throwing it out. That also means that food is guaranteed fresh the next day.

I like the concept of this chain and love this store. I walked in late one night to grab a cup of cappuccino and I am extremely picky about it. I asked the barista/​guy behind their counter about their cappuccinno and the beans. He was not sure how to answer my question but the next person jumped in and answered all my questions :) Finally, I got my cappuccino and it was good — a good cappuccino is so hard to get. I have tried starbucks/​Kafein and other places and still not impressed. But Pret A Manger barista guy nailed it — hard to believe, but true!
The service was quick and friendly. I would be back for another cappuccino and harvest cookie (Heavenly to have on a cold night with a cup of cappuccino).

Came here again to study, and love the atmosphere. The cappuccino I got was possibly better than Starbucks’ (which isn’t saying much)…at a whole dollar cheaper! Definitely coming back, at least for the coffee.

I like the concept of Pret. Fresh, healthy, fast food. What more could you want? They even donate all leftover food every night so that paying customers get fresh food everyday and food is not wasted. Good job, Pret.
However, for the prices you pay, I think the portion and flavors are not particularly worth it. Also, they don’t have too much variety — mostly sandwiches and soup. The staff are very friendly though. There is also a wildcard discount for students!

The sandwiches are a little pricey, but they taste really good, and they’re already made so if you’re in a hurry you can just grab one and go. It’s also usually not too busy, so there’s room to sit down and eat. I love the little baguettes that the sandwiches come on. The ham and cheese sandwich and sea salt popcorn are especially good. The beet juice is a little weird, but very sweet.
The staff here are super nice. If you look like you might be a student, they’ll automatically give you a Wildcard discount, but it doesn’t hurt to make sure.

I just flew in from Atlanta and boy are my arms tired. I needed my soup and sandy with a coffee chaser. These guys delivered the goods and how! Their sandwiches are fresh, dope and fly. Soup was on the money. Every night they give their fresh food to charities helping hungry folks, rather than selling it the next day. If that don’t make ya misty, you must be robot. Robot don’t need food to live.
Free hugs,
Puddles

I dont know what to say… sometimes It’s like that.
I have ordered a few things here… The food sucks here as well as the service.
I would only come here to have the soup or the drinks that are in the fridge because they can’t f up an apple juice or an orange juice. You would think that they could not screw up their cucumber and tuna thingy in a baguette but it tasted stale like it had been out in the fridge for a few days.
The staff behind the counter or the people who work here that are milling about seem dismissive about their jobs and your place as a customer in their store.
You will be treated better at Einsteins down the street or at PANERA across the street. At least the food will be edible.
I can see how this would be classified as a rant

I’m a big fan of pret! Everytime I eat there, I feel satisfied and healthy at the same time. The sandwiches are pricey, think around $ 7, but they are very tasty. I love the one with chicken and avocado. The soups are also quite good! The corn chowder is my favorite, followed by the chicken noodle. It comes with a small roll. They used to give pretzel rolls, which were amazing, but sadly, not anymore. They also have the best chocolate chip cookies ever! They are $ 1.29 and are worth every penny. My favorite is the chocolate chip cookie one with macadamia nuts. Yum! I also recently started to buy my morning coffee here. It’s cheaper than starbucks, and they don’t charge extra for soy! My drink of choice is the vanilla soy latte.
The service is always amazing. They greet me as soon as I walk in with a smile, and always make me feel welcome. They are quick, efficient, friendly, and courteous. I would typically give 4 stars because of the price, but the service really bumps it up to 5 for me! Plus, they have free wifi, and their to go bags are real cute. Even if you don’t want to eat there, you should walk by because they always have clever and cute food posters up!

In general, I’m a total Pret a Manger fan. Buuuut… I came to love the company in its home region: the UK. So, I’m comparing this location to the originals, which will negatively affect this review. Just being honest.
Strike #1 — they have a different menu than the UK originals. Apparently I cannot have my Chicken Railta/​Rialta/​Rio-​something that had chicken salad, spinach, red pepper and a pickle inside. :(I already miss that wrap, and recommend that they bring it over asap. For me. Now.
In the meantime, I had the chicken/​mozzarella sandwich here in Evanston and it was good. And they had the same canned drinks as London’s locations. All ok.
Strike #2 is that this location is really small. Pret is supposed to be a place to park your cheap ass for some delicious but affordable food while you suck up the free wifi — so only having a few cold/​hot food options and ten tables is a problem.
Despite the two strikes, the staff was super attentive and friendly, just like the UK versions. I will definitely stop here once in a while for the fresh sandwiches, soups and salads, but really, really recommend again that they get me my wrap. Really.

I don’t know if it was bad luck the one day I visited, and that also I hit Pret barely before closing one day, but I just felt the food I got was just really mediocre. I knew I shouldn’t have gotten a wrap or sandwich (whatever it was, forgetting at the moment what the heck I exactly got there), and got something hot instead. OTOH, props to the manager who was working for walking around the tables and giving all the few remaining patrons eating inside (& myself included) a free cookie, right after the moment he locked the front door.
I’m sure at some point, I’ll give Pret another chance, regardless if I’m near this location or another location. In the meantime till I gather up the courage to give them another try, I’ll stick with Panera.

Meh. I feel like I could do better for the price range. You can go in and find multiple freshly pre-​made sandwiches and salads. You choose your sandwich (around $ 7 each) and bring it to the counter. Unlike it’s competitor across the street (Panera), you have to pay for chips. They do have an interesting house brand of pop, but it was still pricey. It cost around $ 22 for two sandwiches, 2 bags of chips, and 2 cans of pop. I could get the same at Panera for half the price!
The sandwiches were good but not great. You can tell it is fresh but who knows how long it was sitting there. My fiancé said his pulled pork sandwich had a tasty sauce but was too hot. My falafel wrap had a lot of hummus and tasted «clean.» The staff was friendly and helpful as well.
Will I come again? Not sure. I feel as if I can find better lunch deals elsewhere.

This place is not for me. Honestly, I was so excited to check it out since it’s been in town for a long time, but wow I was super bummed. I really wanted to like it.
I’ve heard great things about this food establishment over the years. Upon entering I wasn’t 100% sure what to do, but I quickly figured it out. Though the hot food section was on the wall between the refrigerators, I didn’t know if they also served fresh soup since it was listed on the board behind the counter. I really wanted to try the macaroni and cheese with sausage soup… it just sounded so amazing. However, when I attempted to order it from the guy at the counter he pointed me back to the wall. Honestly, soup should always be served fresh IMO. The tiny container was $ 5 and I couldn’t justify it (especially since my dad was paying). I opted for a generously sized pastrami and rye sandwich. The mustard was overbearing and way too strong for me. I couldn’t taste anything else. :-(
I LOVE LOVE the way this store looks inside with the fabulous veggie pictures on the walls. What I didn’t love is the fact my mother couldn’t use the bathroom because she said it was so disgusting in there… ewww. Also a street person kept coming in asking for money and the patrons were getting frustrated because it wasn’t the first time she had been in there within the past 20 minutes. They kept getting interrupted during their meal.
This place didn’t seem to be managed very well. The guy behind the counter was nice, but he needed to take care of some of the issues addressed above. Simple 101 have a clean bathroom for patrons. Also, he came back to our table and said he couldn’t remember if he rang up my dad’s bill, even though he had a receipt. He asked for the card and returned it. It all happened so fast, we didn’t understand. My dad was pretty freaked out that his card left his hand, and the guy came back and apologized for the mix up.
Overall, I think the concept is great! But, in Nashville a few years ago I went to an AMAZING pre-​packaged food café. It was far superior. And, wow is this place expensive!!!
This place delivers.

Fresh food, and healthy too. Friendly service. Buying food is very quick.
But. It’s way too overpriced, like almost ridiculous. And while I do appreciate the freshness, it’s very slim pickings by my dinner time/​right before they close :/​
I guess that’s the nature this business model… I appreciate the option, but… I just don’t have this much money to throw away on a small and quick lunch.

Well, we’re all busy these days, so I guess it’s useful that the food is pret and all, but I’m skeptical of this whole operation. I have no tolerance for pre-​made sandwiches, and I’d rather have my soup ladled out of a pot than sitting in pre-​filled cups atop a heating element for who knows how long. They have this thing called the hot shelf which stands directly between two of the refrigerated cases. This makes zero sense to me. I’m no electrical engineer, but this arrangement seems hideously energy-​inefficient. Does anyone at their corporate HQ think about these things?
Saving them from complete contempt is the quality of the soup. Notice that I said «soup» not «soups» because I’ve only ever had one kind. That’s because at 6:30 on a weeknight when I stop in, they never have more than three from which to choose. Sometimes only two. Their website lists all kinds of awesome-​sounding choices but I have never seen any of these at this Evanston location: BBQ pulled pork & bean, Italian meatballs, lentil & coconut curry, Malaysian chicken curry, Moroccan chicken, mushroom risotto, smokey root veg & bean, Thai corn… nope. Just boring miso, Moroccan lentil, and beef & barley. Or just miso and lentil.
So anyway, that Moroccan lentil is savory and tasty but very thick, almost more like dip than soup. Maybe that’s because doing hard time on the hot shelf tends to dehydrate?
I’m hardly ever in Evanston during the daytime, but perhaps someday a lunchtime visit will reform my opinion. Until then, there are many better quick-​service options in town, and this is not even the best soup/​salad/​sandwich shop on this corner.