Au Bon Pain

I am not one for being negative but I was beyond appalled at this place. Upon walking in and asking where the restroom is I was non-​verbally greeted by a show of the finger where the restroom was. Zero eye contact, zero customer service, the young man acted as if he were at home talking to someone random rather than a paying customer. As I got to the restroom another employee was near the sandwich counter EATING ORANGES over the counter where food is made, juice dripping, while yelling across the restaurant to speak to her coworkers. This was disgusting, no gloves, no care for cleanliness or hygiene. I immediately left and would NOT return. Where are managers these days??? Furthermore where is basic respect, courtesy and manners???

Perhaps Saturday AM is not the time to stop in at this location, as the A team is definitely not working. We wanted a quick breakfast and this happened to be around the corner from our hotel.
We wanted breakfast sandwiches, and you have to order those from one of the kiosks which is a nice time saving touch. Unfortunately the guy making them overcooked everything meaning everything was dry as a bone (including the eggs). Fortunately, the cashier didn’t have a clue either and only rang us up for one sandwich.
So my breakfast was crappy, but I only paid half price. Fair enough.

I’ve been to this Au Bön Pain several times. Au Bön Pain is like Panera Bread in that their food doesn’t really vary from location to location but the service sure does! This location has got to be one of the best Au Bön Pain’s I’ve visited, because as most others have noted, the staff here are incredibly attentive and nice!
As soon as I walk through the door, the cashier is greeting me and welcoming me in! I usually keep it simple (just a bagel with cream cheese and an iced coffee), so I can’t really comment on their sandwiches/​etc. However, I have had several of their menu items at different locations and have never been disappointed, so I wouldn’t be afraid to try something if I were you. Chances are high that it’ll be good!
The cooks/​food preparers are always friendly and welcoming. They take each order seriously and attend to each customer with patience and sincerity (which is rare). For the several times that I’ve been here, there haven’t been tons of people. The max that I’ve seen has been around 10 people maybe? They don’t have tables, but they do have counters along their windows with several benches, so it’s definitely a good place if you like people-​watching (but not a good place if you have a phobia of people watching you eat).
The coffee area is always organized and clean (along with the entire bakery). The cashier is quick and kind and always says «How are you today?» and «Hope you have a good day!», which to some people may seem predictable and expected, but with the hustle and bustle of NYC, whenever I hear those words from someone who has to deal with hundreds of people a day, it makes me smile and appreciate them more.
It’s definitely a good place to visit for breakfast or lunch, if you’re visiting or working in the area. Would I suggest going out of your way to come here? Probably not, but that’s because it’s a franchise. If you’re visiting and want a real taste of NYC, go to any deli and get a bacon, egg, and cheese on a bagel/​roll. Those are the best breakfast sandwiches you can get for under $ 5.
I would mostly suggest coming here for the friendly staff! The food is good and cheaper than most other places, which is a plus. They also have free wi-​fi, so high five for that! Also, now they have incorporated the self-​checkout Kiosks (like several Panera Breads in NYC), so that’s definitely a plus!

The employees are the best part of this Au Bön Pain location. They are extraordinarily nice and accommodating. It is really unique and impressive for the employees at a chain to be so great. I like the food, and it is cheaper and less crowded than the Hale & Hearty down the street. I generally get the half sandwich /​soup combo, which is tasty.

Being that minimum-​wage employees will all be replaced by order kiosks within the next ten years, Au Bön Pain has a great start with an order machine. Other than that, quick service, friendly human employees, and cheap prices for the area. I tend to drop in the morning for an enormous iced coffee which usually has my hands shaking by 10AM, for $ 2.50 you can’t beat it!

You didn’t have jalapeño cheese bagels.
Again.
When you are sold out of shit by 9 am CONSTANTLY, know what that means?
It means you are way past the time where you should have ordered more.

Being a chain, Au Bön Pain’s food doesn’t vary much from location to location, but literally every employee at this location is SO nice and accommodating. It’s actually a pleasure to walk in there for my occasional breakfast sandwiches and oatmeal. This location has the order kiosks which I find convenient to order from, plus there is typically no waiting on lines. I’ve found their soup selection during lunch to be more limited than other locations I’ve visited, but their breakfasts make up for it.

I work across the street and visit this relatively new location almost once a week. In the past, the employees always smiled, said hello and were very pleasant. Some even knew me by name. In the past couple of weeks, they’ve gotten a number of new employees and today, the woman making the sandwiches was doing clean-​up when I ordered the Newport Turkey (using their computer which spits out the order behind the counter). I got to the counter and instead of stopping what she was doing, changing her gloves and making my sandwich, she continued to clean up until she was done, then proceeded to make my sandwich without changing her gloves. She then put together one of the sloppiest sandwiches I have had in a very long time. The honey mustard was dripping out of the sides, the turkey and the cheese weren’t folded to fit the bread and the avocado was just placed in the center of the sandwich. Of course, I didn’t know about the messy sandwich until I got back to my office.
When I got to the cashier, instead of saying hello or anything else, she simply looked at me and said «bag?» I paid and said thank you and she still didn’t say a word to me. I’d suggest that the manager of this location needs to concentrate on training new employees and teach them how to be the face of the company. Today, the face was very ugly. I gave 3 stars because I do like their food. I just don’t like the new staff.

Just bought a vegetarian deluxe salad at au bon pain and I got some surprises in my lunch. The salad was pre-​made. In it I found old vegetables, rotten heart of the lettuce and a sticker that you can find on an apple. So all of these combined, made lunch a scavenger hunt. See pictures attached.

unfriendly staff, everyone treats you like youre a burden… if you don’t like your job, quit.
three stars because at least they can get a sandwich order right.

We went here to pick up a couple of pastries and after eating the day before at another pastry shop, whose selections were very dry, we were pleasantly surprised. The three pastries we ordered, pain au chocolat, an almond croissant and a cream cheese croissant were all very good. The almond one was filled with some sort of almond filling which was great. The other two were very moist. We will definitely be back there when we are in town.

This place is great on a Sunday for a light lunch. The employees are so friendly and fun! The music is great. Seating is limited. On Sunday no need to worry! I ate my sandwich that was fixed special for me due to my allergies. They went out of their way to accommodate.
What a nice crew. They gave me the OK to take their pictures to post on Unilocal.
I didn’t ask names. Maybe that is good for security reasons. Go in and say hello! They were working hard to keep everything stocked and clean.
If you don’t want to deal with people you can order by Computer Express. They told me there are two Au Bön Express restaurants. This one and the one at Madison and 47^th. Limited seating in the window.
I’ll be back!

I was quite disappointed with this Au Bön Pain location. Usually I’m a huge fan, so this isn’t a commentary on the quality of the chain, but rather, this specific location. The soups were all partially dried up, and the clam chowder (which I was really looking forward to) was yellow-​y and super chunky. This location also had only half of the selection of soups as other locations that I was used to.

Very convinient location next to Lexington station. The customer service was excellent and it is priced right. We ordered a cup of coffee, pecan cinnamon roll and a pie for $ 7. Good place to get breakfast or lunch!

The staff here is SO nice. I’m in here at least 3 – 4 days a week and have to say kudos to the staff.
Always so welcoming and the guy with slick long hair– YOU ARE SUCH AN ASSET TO THIS PLACE!
Great selection of treats, soups and sandwiches are always made so quick!
You always make my day :)
See you all next week!

Yeah, I’m giving it 5 stars. This place makes me happy. Happy when a job I work at down the street makes me miserable. The workers are always so friendly, nice and helpful. They deserve tips. all of ‘em. it’s like a breath of fresh air walking in here after a day of a miserable toxic office… and the last new chicken (can’t remember the name) hot sandwich I got was delicious! (also their hot asiago bagel).

3.5 Stars
Consistent budget friendly grab n go chain.
SALADS are $ 7-​$ 8 (I like the Southwestern Chicken Salad)
WRAPS are $ 7 (cheaper than Pret, around same size)
SOUPS are Small (8oz), Medium (12oz) and Large (16oz) and they tend to rotate around 4 with a few staples that don’t change e.g. Chicken Noodle and 12 vegetables. Some soups better than others but reasonably priced Medium for $ 5 vs. Hale and Hearty $ 7.
They also have a half sandwich (made to order) + small soup combo for $ 6.99
Save your receipts! Many times, you get $ 1 off your next visit after completing a quick survey.
*ALL caloric information readily available and labeled in store if interested (or on their website).

Dropped by for a quick weekday lunch. I like how modern this place is — you can order your sandwiches on automated kiosks to the side. So efficient! But on top of this, I’ve just never been to another Au Bön Pain location where the workers are so energetic and on top of everything. They were alert to when people came in and made sure that all the orders were in and made quickly. Great service. I enjoyed my black bean burger immensely!
No tables inside, just 2 counters and stools along the window — good for people watching. Don’t forget to sign up for their e-​mails and get your free birthday sandwich/​salad for your birthday every year!

Definitely some fresh food and quite reasonably priced given the time it takes them to make it fresh to order. Have saved it to my lists of places to revisit next time in New York.
Super — friendly staff each time we were there.

sandwich I had here was very fresh … Absolutely amazing place to grab a quick delicious lunch. It might sound random but this place has the best chicken noodle soup ever. Not overly spiced, and not too bland. The chicken, carrots, and I onions are all cooked to perfection.
Definitely going to come here again. And again … And again…