Panera Bread

The service is usually excellent but there is a grumpy cashier on occasion. A good selection of tasty, healthy food. Sandwiches, salads, and noodle bowls are all delicious but the kitchen can be pretty slow at times. Check the bag before you walk away. It seems like I’m missing a utensil about 25% of the time.

I’ve only visited during breakfast hours on my way to catch the metro, but I’ve never had an experience less than A-​OK. It’s a limited menu since its in the mall but I’ve had a couple breakfast sandwiches and they tasted fine, just like ones I’ve eaten at stand-​alone locations. The coffee is one of my favorite since hazelnut is always on offer. On this recent visit, the cashier reminded me I had a free birthday breakfast pastry available on my panera card, so that was a plus. I don’t particularly ever seek out Panera, but if I need a coffee and I’m catching the metro, this is a good pit stop.

I’ve been here a couple times and my order is always wrong whether they’re busy or not. They can ring it up right but can never seem to follow the directions to put it together. Really disappointed. I love panera and never have issues at other locations.

Disappointing. Tried here twice — food court at Pentagon City mall food court in Virginia.
Seems the leafy green part of lettuce is used for sandwiches while the stems are used for salads. Salads from McDonald are definitely a better deal!
Got charged for takeout kale Caesar salad but when I opened it after leaving there, it was not kale but the romaine stems. The few small green parts were damaged and old.
Bread both times were dry and hard — the type of bread one would use to make French toast or bread pudding.

Yay Panera in a mall, refreshing from chinese or subway. Compared to other Panera’s in the area, surprisingly better. Our cashier Tameka was awesome, very polite, and got our order rung in correctly. Not sure of the kitchen staffs names, but on a busy Friday afternoon, they got us our food in under 5 min, I’ll take that ticket time any day. The women who called our name/​number was also very kind.
The negatives: where you do pick your order up is VERY crowded, as everyone has to stand in a small space to hear the names/​numbers being called out when your food is ready. Other then that, fantastic, I’ll be back!

The staff taking my order were very friendly, but things went downhill from there. The chicken in my pasta wasn’t cooked all the way (it was completely pink) and my salad wasn’t fresh. I managed about two bites of both (optimistically) before giving up and throwing it away. Such a disappointment. I normally LOVE Panera, but this location is awful.

I work part time in the mall and I LOVE Panera so I was super excited to learn that they would be opening a spot here. However my first experience here was a disaster.
The line was horribly long, the only thing I ordered was a Green Tea and it took me 15 minutes to get it. While I was waiting for my order everyone’s around me was wrong.
This morning they had fast service and the cashier even asked to see my id for my credit card. But this was all before the mall was open

The cashier was super friendly, especially considering I got there about 5 minutes before they were scheduled to close. I wish I could give another star for the cashier’s friendliness, but then the people working in the back assembling my salad forgot to put the gorgonzola cheese on my fuji apple chicken salad which was very disappointing and thus the 3 star review. As another reviewer pointed out, this Panera location is right in the Pentagon City Mall food court, which is a refreshing break from the traditional types of food you’d find in a mall food court. It’s also convenient that it’s so close to the Metro station and I’ve found myself stopping at this Panera location more than once late at night after coming home from an event and being extremely hungry because a few small appetizers can’t make up for dinner!

Previous reviewers were right about this location… The only part of my order they got right was the fountain soda :/

I really want to give more stars because I love Panera, but this location leaves a lot to be desired.
The Panera ordering model is that you tell the cashier what you want, they give you a buzzer (or in this case, receipt number) and you wait for your food to be ready. In a store you can go sit until your buzzer goes off, but here everyone has to cluster around the pickup area so they can hear their number called, so there’s lots of congestion. The food also takes FOREVER. I don’t know if it’s that their kitchen is smaller or they have less staff, but it’s typical to wait 15 – 20 minutes on an order.
The portions are also smaller than other locations in the area. I asked a manager and he said that they’re using the franchise standards, so maybe all the other stores are over-​portioning. Regardless, I don’t feel like you get your money’s worth at this location.
Once you get it the food is good (although small portions, as I mentioned) and their baked goods are fantastic. But standing in a huge crowd for that long just isn’t worth it, and I don’t think this kind of establishment is ever going to function well in a food court setting.

The Pentagon City Mall Food Court welcomes… Panera!
the YAYS…
–It’s a real Panera.
–In a mall food court.
–That is otherwise overrun with fake Chinese/​Asian places, Popeye’s and the like.
–Surely, that’s cause for celebration.
–Oh, and I was told that it’s open as early as 7 am for breakfast. Yay!
the NAYS…
–I was soooo hungry, so I ordered something I thought would be rustic and filling — the penne bolognese.
–I received the smallest portion of food I have ever seen in my life.
–It was served lukewarm.
–In the tiniest plastic takeout container I have ever seen.
–It seemed like it had been microwaved.
–Poorly.
–And, to add insult to injury, I had to pay appx. $ 9 for it.
–Highway robbery.
Will I go back? Of course, I will. It’s Panera. In a mall food court. Which is otherwise terrible. #nobrainer
But I still have to be honest and say that this place didn’t make the best first impression on me this past week.
3 stars is the most I can give, and that’s being a bit generous.