Paradise Bakery & Cafe

Walked in here, and we all took a step back and thought, «Whoa, didn’t realize this was a Panera.» A worker confirmed that Panera would be purchasing the entire Paradise Bakery & Café franchise and turning them into Panera locations. Smart strategy move on Panera’s part; even the menu items, down to the soba noodles and you pick 2 soup and ½ sandwich is similar.
I got a ½ size turkey flatbread & bowl of mac & cheese. Like the rating says, it was just «A-​OK.» I also got an Asiago bagel for the flight home & even the cream cheese on the side is exactly Panera-​esque. Again, it was ok.
The thing that sets aside Paradise Bakery & Café from Panera are their crack cookies. Their chocolate chip cookies are freaking soft, gooey, and so downright delicious.
tl;dr Get their chocolate chip cookies. Otherwise, it’s a Panera.

Just spoke with manager who offered to refund my $ 2 coffee. Would have left after waiting 10 min, but I gave a $.75 tip in the jar. Ordered 1 reg coffee and that was too much for this place to handle. Took 15 min. Place is filthy. Manager said, Well, I won’t say what happened today…” Whatever, there were 10 people in the place and lots of workers. Counter by coffee was not just disheveled, but dirty. Garbage on floor and in booths. Soda counter still not cleaned after 20 min sitting in a booth. I seriously would never eat a bite of food here. Manager– quit walking around looking busy and pick up a broom and rag. In a well run place, everyone chips in. Never again– many other choices in Scottsdale.

I’ve been to this location many times and every time the ordering process is RIDICULOUS. You approach the window and order and they usually direct you to «soup person» and then then the «salad person» — it’s quite chaotic to place an order, and you’re shuffled around a bunch. By the time you get to the cash register, the person working does not know what you’ve ordered — you end up repeating your request several times.
I also find it very odd the way they literally hand you your food after its prepared, mid process. They don’t set anything on a tray with silverware or on a plate. They just hand you the soup bowl and then hand you the bread — imagine shopping at a grocery store without a cart.
I go here because I’m a fan of Panera (they own Paradise Bakery) and because the food is the same (except the average cookies here) but the ordering system here makes for a lengthy and confusing experience.

I’ve been to several other Paradise Bakery & Café’s, and had a decent experience despite the ridiculous ordering system.
However, last night I was absolutely disgusted by the service and product. When my girlfriend and I arrived the ordering line was small, but still chaos because no one was directing people where to go. There was two very nice senior citizens in line in front of us that were clearly confused by the ordering system. Rather than politely assisting these two women, the employees working the ordering line (both of them) were abrupt and rude to them. The employees barked orders and scoffed, and were clearly annoyed by their lack of understanding for the ridiculous ordering system. These two women finally placed their orders and made it through the checkout like without much help or assistance from the people that should have been helping them the entire time.
My girlfriend and I placed and received our order, except for half of an ultimately mediocre sandwich. I waited another 10 minutes for a half of a sandwich which was sitting on the counter prepared the entire time.
The food was mediocre at best, and I will never return to this, or any other Paradise Bakery, because of the absolutely terrible attitudes of the staff and poor treatment of their customers.

Whenever me and my girlfriend come here it’s always good and the people are so nice even when they are busy

I have been to several Paradise Bakery locations over many years and this location (Scottsdale Road and Indian School Road) is terribly managed. The seats are dirty and used dishes, napkins and utensils stay wherever customers leave them. The staff is preoccupied with rolling forks inside napkins and arranging the cookie display, and are not available to take orders. One would presume that they’re preparing napkins and cookies for customers, but they don’t pay attention to the customers in the store… maybe this location makes most of their profit from catering or something.
The food is consistent with other Paradise Bakery locations, which is to be expected. But the untidy atmosphere and indifferent staff make this a regrettable experience. In the end, I’m the fool who came here twice in one week and had identical experiences. Lesson learned.
What?!? I can’t rate this place 0 stars? Lame. Ok 1 star = 0 stars.

This location ALWAYS surpasses my expectations and not to mention, they make the most delicious and creative cookie cakes ever. My boyfriend was SO surprised by his! Thank you for always being so amazing and doing whatever is takes to make our experience a great one!

They have parking, it’s clean, it’s convenient. Those are the good points. It’s loud and I could not hear. I didn’t know the drill of negotiating the counter which looks organized but isn’t. One person’s order will take longer and they tell people to «jump ahead» to move on down the line. The menu is scattered overhead in the most illogical manner so one’s head has to bounce back and forth.
I went with two others who had been there before but they also seemed confused. «I want soup». Oh, down there. «I want salad.» Back up the queue. Then as we were paying together one in our party told the cashier, «This is all together» and got a glare like that of a prison guard as she walked away with another in our party waving the yellow «pre-​check» at her.
The ordering process was so noisy and confusing that I forgot to get anything to drink. I finally settled on water at the self-​serve fountain so I would not have to go back to the prison guard and try to jump the queue to buy a drink. I ordered a Club sandwich which the online menu touted in real estate puffery as sounding great and big. It was neither. It was average. The croissant was just ok. Not flaky and not buttery but just a piece of bread. The menu lists this as having «applewood smoked bacon… and a dijon vinaigrette dressing». Both were conspicuously absent. No bacon. No «dressing». Turkey and ham were good as was the paper thin slice of tomato. That was it. The ingredients that were there were good but not enough of them for the price.
The sandwich came with a cookie (Costco’s are better) and I needed it because of the disappointingly small sandwich. One in our party had a half a salad and half a sandwich for $ 10. Not the best deal. Not exactly gougy but not a deal, either. For lunch, one can go to a proper, sit-​down restaurant for the same price or less.
The restaurant has outdoor seating on two sides, and a «conference» table for groups, jammed-​together tables for two and booths for four. It’s possible to spread out even at busy times, so that helps but the noise factor is just off the wall. If I got dragged back by friends I would go along but this would not be a place I would choose.

Fresh delicious sandwich and very pleasant staff. Quick service for my to go order. My husband is a chocolate chip cookie connoisseur and he loves the cookie they include with each sandwich. Decent price too– $ 10 for sandwich, large drink and cookie. The turkey cranberry on molasses bread is the best!

This specific location operates a large towing service sting operation. I have seen countless cars get towed away if the people getting out of their cars are not seen walking towards this establishment. Guys will watch the people and radio for a tow truck and immediately their car will be impounded.
I never did like this sandwich shop but this solidifies why many of us will never step foot in this place again. Skipping this ace at all costs.

Solid sandwiches. The soups are amazing. Especially the broccoli cheddar. I always order the Big Kid Grilled Cheese. They don’t go light on the bacon which is nice.

The setup of this company’s order process always frustrates me a little. You’re in line waiting but people are moving forward in front of you because they are done ordering at their particular station. It’s just a cluster in my opinion.
The food is pretty average for what you get. On this visit it took more than 15 minutes to get my noodle bowl which is much too long for a quick lunch spot. Most of the time the service is very fast.
I will probably return to one of their locations at some point but I would never go out of my way to stop here.

First time here… had the southwestern flatbread. Great flavor! Awesome that they have multiple choices for diet soda. Employees were great! They were 10 mins from closing and gave us some extras cookies! Thanks Alex… you’re the man! Only thing is, I hate when they are vacuuming while I eat. Maybe it’s my fault for coming at closing. But wait til everyone leaves to vacuum! Overall a great first time

This is a great Paradise. I love the size of the place. Plus, on my first time here I was greeted by a friendly, enthusiastic lady. And that’s always nice.
The tea is good and it’s an easy-​to-​get-​to spot with good vibes, where you can have business meeting in the middle of the afternoon. Haven’t been here for breakfast, just drinks and meetings.
So on that criteria — business meetings, tea /​coffee, service — are what I’m basing my rating on.
Plus-​food-​review coming soon…

Their food is okay. Nothing has ever really stood out to me (except the cookies), which is probably why I don’t go in very often. However, when I do go in, I am always reminded of the reason they will never, ever surpass three stars in my book, regardless of how delicious their cookies, or anything else they serve, is: THEIR STUPID, POINTLESS, FRUSTRATING ORDERING SYSTEM.
Honestly, I’ve probably gone to paradise about a half a dozen times in my life. Every single time, if you were to come up to me at my table and ask me «How did you get your food today?» I would be dumbfounded. I literally block it out, it is that irritating. Yes, I eventually end up at a table with a salad or sandwich, maybe a cup of soup, but no I can’t help you, random stranger who also doesn’t know how to order. I don’t know how this happened.
A couple weeks ago my boyfriend and I went to this location. We got to the back of the line and I literally turned to him and said «Their ordering system is really stupid. I don’t know how to work it, I just know it’s stupid. Just go through and do what the employees tell you and eventually we’ll have food somehow.»
This was actually one of the more stupid Paradise ordering experiences I had ever had, so it was nice for him to experience that on his very first visit. Long story short: We ended up ordering every item from the same employee though she kept directing us down this invisible assembly line of people only to meet us at the next station and take the rest of our order there. It was very confusing. So confusing in fact that the guy in front of us got so pissed off he complained to the location manager about their restaurant ordering workflow. If random customers are complaining to store managers about corporate wide ordering policies, maybe it’s time to re-​evaluate your stupid system that does nothing but make people feel awkward and waste everyone’s time.

This place is my weak spot. I work closeby and sneak over there for lunch every once in awhile.
Everyone is always so friendly there. The employees are very professional and sweet.
The food is amazing! I especially love the Fuji apple chicken salad and the Grilled Cheese sandwich yum!
The best part is their cookies though. All their cookies are moist and not too over cooked.

The coffee is amazing, a bit watered down compared to Starbucks coffee but definitely smoother.
My only complaint was my muffin. I LOVE muffins, especially poppyseed muffins. You can hardly ever go wrong. Yesterday morning however it was awful. Too dry, lacking in flavor, and too heavy, missed that muffin quality. Made me question if I’d ever enjoy muffins again. This is a bakery after all, it’s speciality should be the originals. Please step it up PB, I need muffins in my life.

Strawberry poppyseed chicken salad is the best salad ever! I know it’s a seasonal item, but I’ll take it while I can! Lol.
This Paradise Bakery was right across the street from our hotel room. My choice for lunch! Super convenient! The place was busy, yet still very manageable to get in and out of. There was a little mix up with our order, but the lady at the cashier counter was super friendly and very helpful with getting our order right and done quickly!
My friend had a half a sandwich and cheddar & broccoli soup, and I had the strawberry poppyseed chicken salad. OMG! Everything was delicious! The portions were pretty generous for being just half. Loved everything! That soup was creamy and super cheesy too! Mmmm!
Thank you to that super gal at the counter, I definitely appreciate her kindness, since it can be really frustrating when it’s super busy! (Got an extra cookie since they messed up my order!) Customer service is tops here! The service and food was excellent, what more can you ask for?

What would you get if Panera and Piada hooked up and had a baby? This! The first one I wandered into hungry was further up the road and I was craving a breakfast sandwich… they said sorry breakfast stops being served at 10. Mind you it was 10:03 when I was in there. Not happy.
But I tried the one here because the inlaws wanted to go in. Not bad at all. Other than not knowing where to order anything because there aren’t any signs that say Order Here, the staff was friendly and the salad I had constructed for me was good. Everything but for a few items can be included in your salad (I wanted shaved parmesan and that cost me 25cents more)
And their asiago bagel sandwiches? Oh yeah!

Added Additional Food Items — 8÷1÷13
Customer Service — Top Notch!!!
I hang my head in shame to admit that according the visits on my receipt, I’ve been to this Paradise a total of 51 times. LOL
Soups/​Salads/​Sandwiches:
Summer Corn Chowder — Two Thumbs Up
Broccoli Cheese — Thumbs Up
Fire Roasted Tomato — Thumbs Up
Garden Vegetable with Pesto — Thumbs Up
Mac & Cheese — Thumbs Up
Strawberry Poppyseed & Chicken — Thumbs up! This is my first time ordering a «salad». It was pretty good, but I think I’ll ask them though to only use half a spoonful of dressing when I get a half salad again. I would get it on the side, but I like how they toss the salad, distributing the dressing.
Sierra Turkey — Very dry. Checked and only had a small dab of the spread is on the sandwich. Onion was too overpowering.
Bacon Turkey Bravo — My go to sandwich. Nuff Said
Tuna Sandwich — WAY too much mayo. Not ordering again.
Frontega Chicken — Thumbs Up
Paradise Club — Thumbs Up
Pasta Salad — Thumbs Up
Cookies:
Chocolate Chip — Two Thumbs Up
Oatmeal — Two Thumbs Up
I’ll add more to this list as I try other menu items…