Panera Bread

We were so happy to see a Panera at the Buckland mall when we were visiting. This is a great improvement from most Mall food choices. The service at this one was shoddy but they were busy for dinner time. They were out of Avocado unfortunately so had to change our orders. It would have been nice to have a sign up before I got to the front of the line then have to scramble to change orders for my wife, daughter and I.

The place wax not busy as we went there about 7:30 pm. They were out of some ingredients. The food we had was fresh and tasty. When we set out to find a table/​booth to sit it was impossible to find one that was clean. The booths were esp messy.
The food return area was emptied out– a plus.

I’ve gotten the frontega chicken panini about 30 times before at local paneras, this branch does a terrible job, the chicken is of lesser grade than other paneras!, completely differnt.
they use one tomato on each half of a whole, way too much basil and sauce, cheese was thin, hardly any red onion, and the whole panini wasn’t even cut right meaning I had to separate it by hand leaving all the ingredients for myself to put back on, I’d stay far away from this branch, also I signed up for Unilocal just to write this.

Deplorable customer service and a stupid wait time. Someone answered the phone curtly and then put me on hold only for someone else to pick up. They did not ask me for my name and they hung up abruptly. I ordered two salads, two sandwiches, & a lemonade but when i got there 20 minutes later the food was not ready and at least half the front end staff was chit chatting about what happened on halloween. I gave them my name and then i find out it was put under «Bob» and my salads were not only incomplete but did not even fill the container. No forks, no dressing, no bacon on my cobb salad, and they put the samdwiches in the same container when they are going to two different people.
I have managed a restaurant before and i would completely restaff the morning crew including the manager who I find out answered the phone in the first place.

Admittedly, I’ve never really been a big fan of Panera. I always seem to find myself changing one of their ingredients for another or asking for extra of something because they skimp — this visit was strictly to appease my 3 year old. She loves their Mac ‘n Cheese (and honestly, I find it one of the only things that is good food-​wise.)
The line wasn’t bad. And even when it is at this location, it moves quickly. The staff is also very friendly here.
I ordered the BBQ Chicken Flatbread. A smaller size (just about the only thing I liked about it), it has Gouda, Chicken, Spinach, BBQ sauce and frizzled onions.
It was gross. I can’t even come up with a better word. Covered in sauce, there was nothing good about this $ 5 piece of crap. 2 pieces of Spinach, one mediocre looking onion «thing,» a piece of half melted cheese, a bit of pulled chicken and about ¼ cup of sauce. I had to squeeze the sauce out onto my plate to drain it. It was horrible. And beyond that, they lovingly plopped it on one of their oblong beat up plates with no piece of foil or tissue or anything underneath.
My main problem with Panera has always been their pricing. It is out of control. Now, it’s the food too. The only thing that saves this place is the staff.
The tables were filthy, the seats in the booths are ripped to shreds and not one person seems to care enough to have them fixed or cleaned. Why would I pay $ 25 for a meal for 3 people at a place like this? I wouldn’t.
So many other options. Nexxxxxt.

Soba noodle was … Eh, okay. Took almost 11 minutes to get our food which is unusual for Panera. They seemed confused and overwhelmed. Our Apple was also bad, they forgot to give us forks and I had to go back and get the ½ salad I was missing. A hot mess.

Love Panera! I’ve never had anything I didn’t like here, and I love that I can get a mug and have as much coffee as I want instead of them handing you your one cup filled and you have to buy another if you want more. I tried a Pumpkin Muffie for the first time (for a little dessert that didn’t have 600 calories in it) and it was delicious! They should make one with chocolate chips in it to, then I’d be in heaven. Pumpkin chocolate chip, yum!

Cranberry and Turkey sandwich and the broccoli and cheddar cheese soup are hands down the best items on the menu.

This Panera kind of sucks. Had to change my order twice because they were out of so many things. And they weren’t even apologetic about it. How do you run out of bread? Also, while I’m waiting on my order the people preparing it spent more time chatting than actually getting my order together.

If your looking for something fresh and delicious then this is the place to be. I always go with the «you pick two» which pretty much let’s you get a taste of both worlds whether your feeling like a soup and salad or a panini and pasta. The staff is always friendly and polite and you can’t go wrong with their green tea for a drink. The atmosphere is great for studying or just taking a much needed break from your day. It’s warm and inviting and why I choose to have lunch here!

This Panera is attached to the mall, so the inside isn’t as large as others I’ve been to. As for the staff, we had one woman (whose name I forget and I’ll keep thinking about it) who I felt went out of her way to make sure we were doing well and got us a bag for the food we didn’t finish. I got the asiago steak and wasn’t impressed. I assumed that the sandwich would be warm but it came cold. I think I would have like it better had it not been cold. Staff was good and the food was so-​so for this location.

Worst place ever! The workers there are completely rude! Especially the bald head short guy! The food is good which sucks cuz I hate this place! Tables are filthy and theres not enough space to walk between tables without bumping into people!

I love Panera Bread, The coffee, sandwiches, soups… Whenever I visit Manchester, I go to this place. It has less seating space, but it is real nice. Plus it is in the Mall, so it is very convenient to drop by between shopping. Sometimes you have to wait in the queue for 10 – 15 mins to place an order.

Panara Bread has to be one of my favorite resturants. I know I will always find something i will like, and it’s affordable.

I eat here for lunch several times every week. One of my favorite sandwiches is the mozzarella and tomato panini. At lunchtime the service is excellent. Nancy takes care of the dining area with superb efficiency. I also like their Greek salad. I am a coffee drinker and their coffee is particularly good. Also there is always ice coffee available.

This location is far better than the one in Westfarms (which stinks for me since I’m so much closer to Westfarms…) My friends and I came in about 10 minutes before closing time. The manager and staff were friendly especially since we stayed literally 30 minutes after they closed the store. The manager kept giving us subtle hints by walking past our table and offering to take our trays. Any event I ordered the broccoli cheddar soup with grilled cheese and chips. I love broccoli soup but the broccoli soup from Panera Bread is a whole different type of love! My first time having it and I seriously do not think I can eat any other type of broccoli soup! There was this little kick to it… can’t really explain it but it was magical. The bread for the grilled cheese was thick and it was a pretty decent portion. Kettle chips topped the meal off which you can’t really mess up chips now can you? The place itself has a very warm feeling. It almost seems out of place at the mall. As though it should be in some sort of cool, hipster town where all the cool, hipster people hang out. Great place to get some school work done. And the prices are not too expensive. After all the food is far healthier than most of the other places in the mall.

Pretty much every time I find myself at Buckland Hills, I end up at this Panera Bread. I will admit to being biased about Panera Breads in general — I just like them. The food is usually good and the service is almost always good or even excellent. The layout inside (space, space, space!) is the only thing the tips me one way or the other. In this case, I like this Panera — the food is good; the service is good; and although it’s almost always crowded, I never have a hard time finding a seat. A solid four stars.

I apologize for taking so long to review this Panera Bread location. It seems we (my husband & I) are always there. Just as recently as this past Monday, we went for lunch. I LOVE their Garden Vegetable Soup — it is low-​fat and vegetarian. It is packed full of tasty veggies and the dollop of nut-​free pesto on top is a nice touch. The only downside is it is only available Monday, Wednesday & Friday. The upside– I get to try another delicious menu item on the other days. The Greek Salad is fresh and ample sized. My husband ordered their Vegetarian Creamy Tomato Soup served in a Sourdough bread boule and topped with Asiago cheese croutons… YUMMY! Sometimes I indulge in a Caffe Mocha — chocolaty & foamy –whoa! Be sure to sign up for a My Panera Card — then be sure to have the cashier swipe it on each visit. It entitles you to free stuff — like pastries and beverages. Periodically, they offer a pastry for .99 with your entrée order. It is a great way to try their pastries at a discount.
Now on to the service… The entire staff is amazing — friendly and knowledgeable.
No matter how busy this eatery is (and it does get busy) the employees never make you feel rushed and they handle stress extremely well. This Panera Bread is my favorite go to location. During the power outage the end of Oct. 2011 in Connecticut, they were one of the few places with power — we ate their every day. We enjoyed great food along with a smile and a serving of warm & fuzzy!