Paradise Bakery & Cafe

I put in a phone order for 4 salads to go around 11:35 AM and was told it would be ready in 15 minutes. I arrived on time but it was not ready. The store was not busy at my arrival but after about 20 minutes of waiting they were busy. I reminded them I was still waiting and was told they were working on it now. I should have not called in because I saw many people just come and go in line with to go orders. After waiting almost 30 minutes I was told to pay up front near cookies area. I noticed «flies» all over the cookies. The salads were good but never going to call in again and don’t buy the pastries that are sitting out. YUCK!

5−18−16 There were flies crawling all over the baked goods! I called the manager, Kathy. She said, the waitress was just boxing them up. I said, you mean boxing them up to sell to customers who have no idea flies have been crawling all over the goods!!! Kathy said, what do you want me to do? Lock the doors? I said I want you to care how you treat people. She laughed. Enough said? A prior reviewer mentioned flies in the salad. That did it for me. Noooooo thank you. I am filing out a health code violation with Maricopa County but not sure they will care. I’ve been going into this location on occasion for about six years. I always have to brace myself for how rude the employees are and how incredibly slow the service is. Yet, I don’t seem to have this problem in their other locations.

Ok. Not bad. Power sandwiches (?) power smoothies (?) whatever… Got ham egg & cheese on a croissant. It was fine. My girl got Agassi cheese bagel with bacon and egg white. She says it was awesome (she’s awesome) the coffee was outstanding, I had hazelnut with half n half she had dark roast with half n half. The dark roast is good. We shared a coffee swirl crumb cake. It was fresh and correct not dry. Our breakfast ran $ 18 and change. The baked goods seem expensive I’ll have that next time. The staff was good to excellent.

The sandwich and soup was delicious. Awesome Cobb salad and mini bites of chocolates chips cookies. To top it off Karen had welcominh smile and service. She made us feel welcome, really excellent customer service.

This review is for this Paradise location only: If any of the folks who work here are in Paradise when I get there, I’m taking the first train to hell. Absolutely no sense of urgency. Running in for coffee? Take a book because the system they have set up for service means you’ll just stand there while the apparent only person who can help you is nowhere to be found. Guarantee, once they appear, they’ll be surly and rude. I’ve been going to this location for five years now because I live in the neighborhood but I have to brace myself for the bad attitudes every time I go in. Service (barely) with (no) smiles.

Typical food you would expect here. I enjoy it even though it’s expensive. But it would have been nice if when I got up to refill my drink, I didn’t come back to see the bus see clear my table with half my soup and my whole cookie still on the tray (all I had finished was my sandwich) but all my stuff was still at the table. It was clear that I wasn’t finished is my point. But the teenager said sorry and gave me back my soup from the tray which had other tables trash on it at this point. The tray not the soup. But this experience just reminded my why I spend my money other places. Shoot, even subway with that kind of crap.

No value for money here. This is a pricey wannabe high end café. The sandwich was small, not many ingredients, and not very tasty. The staff could care less if you are there and even though the place was empty, I had to harass someone to take my order. I get better service at McDonalds. Save the world from this ho-​hum homogenized place and eat elsewhere.

Awful customer service. Always puts blame on others instead of fixing the problem. The young Hispanic girl who works the night shift needs an attitude adjustment before she’s out of a job. However, Juan (I think that’s his name) he’s the manager and was really nice !! He helped us and fixed the issue. Even returned our money because of how horrible the service was and how upset we were

Food is fine; your typical Paradise/​Panera offerings with fresh made sandwiches and salads. This rating reflects the customer service. The thing is, teally terrible customer service by only one employee can ruin your entire experience. Melinda was dismissive and downright rude during my checkout experience after I made an inquiry about how the rewards would be credited since the system was down. She then proceeded to stare me down as I dined with my five year old the entire time we were there. It was pretty incredulous. The manager was pleasant and empathetic when I let her know about how her employee was acting but I’ll stick with Lucy’s when in this neighborhood again.

It’s a shame that this location is run so terribly. I live in the neighborhood and EVERY time myself or my husband go into this location our order is messed up (which is generally a pretty straight forward bagel). On top of that the customer service is awful, the employees are rude and completely unattentive. Can’t wait for Lucy’s to go in right around the corner at least there on he rare occasion they screw your order up, they are happy to fix their mistake instead of rolling their eyes as if it were your issue to begin with. If you hate humans get out of the customer service industry because it shows! There are plenty of great restaurants in this area DO NOT waste your time here!

Still the worst run Paradise in the system. Only one cashier again at lunch time so 10 minutes just to pay. This manager should be fired.

Every time I order from there the order is wrong. This morning, not only was our bacon NOT crispy as requested, there was no bacon. Toast was not wheat as requested but white. When I called to complain, the manager, Kathy, basically told me she’d talk to the girl that took the order and was very dismissive. She told me «if you knew the morning I’m having» and when I said that wasn’t very helpful to my particular issue, she hung up on me. Wow — worst customer service I’ve had anywhere lately!

Dreamy orange muffins, lemon zester cookies, and peanut butter chocolate chip cookies. I went in this morning and ordered a bacon cheesy something something sandwich. It wasn’t bad it wasn’t good. It was non descriptive. I figured that going forward I would just stick with the lunch sandwiches and salads. I decided to grab a couple cookies and then saw this glazed orange muffin smile at me. I couldn’t resist, I ordered that to go as well. It was perfect, I moved on from that mediocre breakfast sandwich in three bites. Staff is friendly. I don’t like the parking here or lack of it but this is trending in a few places in Phoenix now. Lastly on the lunch combos, they will let you substitute a cookie of your liking. Try the lemon zester, it’s like a refreshing lemon drop martini at happy hour.

It’s strange that I’m writing a 2-​star review for the place I frequent so much…
I’ve been going here for a couple of years and I’ve gotten to know the staff and they’re friendly. The problems I have aren’t with them or the taste of the food, it’s just the system that they have set up at Paradise.
I go in the mornings and nearly everyone stops at the bagels/​coffee cashier. The line can be 5 or 6 people deep at times. They usually just have 2 people handling the area which isn’t that bad, but if you look to your right you see an army of employees doing prep work in the salad/​lunch area. Why not give one employee the ability to hop over and help out the area that’s busy during a rush? It’s frustrating to see 90% of the customers in one area and 90% of the employees in another area.
Unless you’re the first one to use a table/​booth in the morning, be prepared to bus and wipe down your own table before using it. The place is kid friendly, so if you get a booth be prepared to wipe the crumbs off the seat, too. Like with the other things, it appears it’s a management issue and not an employee choice.
Parking… It’s as bad as everyone says. The center is severely under parked and trucks will often clog up the rear alley for deliveries. If you go during a busy time it’s not surprising to find no parking available… at all.
Those are the negatives and they can sometimes hit you all at once. It takes a while to find a parking spot, you get inside and have to wait for a simple coffee, then you have to clean your own table before using it. Not good.
That being said, if you know when to go and what to do then it’s a great option… heh. I go in the very early morning so everything is clean and there aren’t any lines. Parking is a breeze. Every booth has a power outlet so you can bring your laptop, get comfortable, and spread out. Free refills on coffee and soda and you can choose your own, plus the cream/​milk are always filled. The bagels are great, so are the sweets. Really friendly staff, free wifi.
The odd thing is that if you show up 2 hours later you might have a completely different experience…

Like others have said, this is just not Paradise Bakery anymore, and I really don’t like Panera.
The staff here always mean well, but every single time I call in an order here (usually consisting of two or three sandwiches) the order is wrong when i arrive. They try to apologize but after ignoring me when I come in the door I am already rubbed the wrong way.
Is it ok to pick up on the way home to avoid getting fast food? Sure. Is it fast? Yes. But that is about it. I only pick this up when I am out of ideas and I am always annoyed when I leave.
And as someone else said, this parking lot is a nightmare.
I wish the old Paradise Bakery was back, or at least that Panera had let it die with dignity. What a shame

The staff is unfriendly and drone around like they don’t want to be there. The place is not clean. Coffee is old.
I like Paradise but this café in particular is not up to par.

Don’t eat here unless you’re unbelievably desperate, completely devoid of tastebuds, or have a condition where you must eat at a food joint that is mostly employed by d-​bags. Went here with a friend last night and not only were we ignored when ready to order, there was a tension so thick you could pour it over a stack of pancakes. The cashier and one more employee actually decided to help us while the immature little boys behind the counter were F’ing about. The owner/​manager/​whatever needs to reevaluate his or her hiring methods.
Now for the food… I didn’t eat my sandwich, honestly, for fear of them spitting in it. Yes, we took a long time to figure out what we wanted, but was the attitude we received necessary or justified? I ate the ham, from my ham and Swiss, after close inspection for any indication of saliva. It was super processed, so I finally ended up just eating 3 cookies (I REGRET NOTHIIIIING!!) to be safe. The chicken Alfredo my friend got was pretty good, but the chicken on top looked pink and as if it came from a can.
In the immortal words of Dave Chappelle, «I wish I had more hands so I could give those t! tt!es four thumbs down!» Suck it, this location… suck it hard…

The food here is good. The kids behind the counter will modify anything you want. They’re pretty quick and efficient. The issue with this place is that it’s so dirty. Like really dirty. It drives me nuts when I come in on back-​to-​back days and see the same pieces of food under a table that were there the day before. The chairs are really dusty around the bottoms — I know you don’t sit on that part, but it’s so noticeable. I don’t think they ever clean the benches of the booths either. So much food and crumbs stuck around them. I’ve learned to get my own toilet paper out of the cupboard in the bathroom, since the stalls are usually out.
Paradise: Each night, tables need to be moved and swept and mopped under. Bench booths need to be lifted and cleaned. Chairs need to be dusted. Someone needs to be assigned each shift to check the bathrooms at least once an hour. This is restaurant 101. Can’t believe management doesn’t notice this stuff. Your guests are.

Looking for lunch this afternoon, I decided to try a place I drive by all the time, The Paradise Bakery and Café.
As I walked in I saw a large dining area and menus hung on the wall behind different stations. I surveyed the menu and wandered up to the front awaiting direction from one of the many employees standing behind the counter.
I was greeted with «Soup or Salad?» Confused, I explained I would like to order a half sandwich with a cup of soup. The employee took my sandwich order and then handed me a receipt and directed me down the line for soup service. I carried the paper slip down to the soup section of the cafeteria like presentation line. There, another employee fulfilled my soup request and asked for the paper slip. Handing me my bowl of soup, drink cup and order placard, I was told the total and paid for my lunch. I ordered the Turkey Avocado BLT with a cup of Fire Roasted Tomato soup.
Walking away from the counter I discerned that the employees were neither rude nor friendly, just void of emotion.
As, I filled my drink from the self service station and looked around for a seat I noticed every patron was staring at me like I was unwelcome on their sacred ground. I took a seat at a booth and awaited my sandwich.
Within a few minutes my sandwich was dropped on my table and my number placard taken without an exchange of words. Looking at my recently delivered plate, first thought was the presentation was insulting. It looked like someone tossed the ingredients on the plate and topped it with a piece of bread.
After reassembling the sandwich, I took a bite. Considering it’s a bakery, the sour dough was bland and tough, same could be said of the turkey and the bacon was either microwaved or prepackaged. Moving on to the soup, it had more flavor but didn’t wow me by any means.
As I finished my meal and looked around I was encompassed by 2 types of patrons, the elderly and suburban hipsters flaunting their Mac Books and tablets and glaring at me.
The highlight for me was the not so terrible chocolate chip cookie that came with my my sandwich. Perhaps the other baked goods are tasty but I’ll never know. I won’t be back.

What genius came up with the new menu concept? You got the café sandwiches, Signature Café Sandwiches, Premium Signature, Signature Panini, blah blah etc. You’re trying too hard. Keep it simple.
The Mac & Cheese is out of this world. I’m obsessed.