Panera Bread

Went with a friend on May 17^th at 11:00 a.m. Stood in line 12 — 15 minutes to have my order taken because there was only one person taking orders. Some people in line left. When I went to get ice tea to drink, both sweet and unsweet containers were empty.

Panera Bread is the best natural food made it love all their restaurants and look forward to eatting at ALL their places the staff are always professional and friendly

Meh… I don’t think I’m going to Panera anymore… not when Chipotle is right next door and I can spend about $ 3 less for a substantial meal that is relatively healthy and probably have leftovers :). The food at Panera is good. I have had several salads, soups, and sandwiches. And the pastries? Yum! They have scones, and bagels, cookies and everything in between. But it’s just not worth the cash you shell out! My most recent visit, I had the ham, chicken, and swiss flatbread. It was $ 4.99. It was the size of a folded over slice of pizza… no joke. Although it was flavorful, there just wasn’t enough to justify the price. The turkey chili was $ 4.69 for a cup. The cup is maybe 4 — 6 oz? It’s just a small cup of soup… nothing special. It tasted good, again, but it’s not worth $ 10 for those! You are paying for convenience at Panera. Maybe I’ll skip it all together next time and support local ;).

I love the coffee and they have a good selection of tea. This one is a bit confusing to park but that is a feature of Nashville. The parking lot was so poorly laid out, we actually circled the building once entirely, ended back out on a crowded street, and had to come back in a second time. We eventually parked in probably what was someone else’s lot to be honest, but they sort of run together. The crowd was pretty quickly dispatched, but unfortunately, there was no coffee … neither dark roast, or the light dish water stuff. I mean none. The entire time it took me to choke down my meal, no coffee. I tried to tell someone twice, but still no dice. Panera sold me coffee and didn’t deliver… I feel abused.

I ordered the chicken tortellini which came out literally frozen. I was very disappointed across the board as our bagged soup also came out cold.

I used to love Panera which I don’t know why. The only thing I constantly order from Panera is their medeteranian egg white breakfast sandwich but a couple of months ago, they changed the recipe. It used to have sundried tomatoes. Now, it has seasoned chopped tomatoes with maybe sundried tomato paste. Either way, Panera isn’t all that.
It’s super expensive for what you get. Sure, it might be a healthier alternative than others but there are so many other alternatives like Newks which serves the same type of food. Better tasting and better price for the amount of food that you get.
This location specifically is right next to Vanderbilt so it is constantly busy especially during lunch. The workers work fast and hard though so you really don’t have to wait that much long. Somehow, even with that many people, there are also always tables available so it’s not that bad.

It is your standard Panera which means I love it.
Menu lists calorie counts for each item which is nice when you are trying to be good
Delicious salads that change with season changes
Ability to order online and pick up at a specified time — this seemed to be one of the few in town where you can do that. Convenient when you are picking up for a group at work — they will have it waiting there all ready with your name and receipt on it.
DRIVE THROUGH — this is THE BEST

You buy a seven dollar half salad you expect the dressing when you get home. Come on. It’s not rocket science. It’s quality control. It’s doing your job at minimum wage. Come on.

Nice location, close to Vanderbilt university. They offer healthy, hearty items on their menu. They screwed up my order last night but when I asked them to give me the right dressing, they were so pleasant and gave me a complimentary bagel.

We ate at Panera Bread café 1697 for a light lunch. Not being familiar with the menu, we tried to ask questions to the rude cashier, a young woman that must really hate her job. She wouldn’t answer any our question, just the roll of her eyes. Wish I would have gotten her name. By the way, the food was delicious but someone with her personality is not the employee u want to represent your place of business.

Today, I only ate lunch here because the parking lot security guard at the adjoining parking lot told me that it was only for Panera customers. I had intentions to eat at San Antonio Taco Company. But alas, I did not want to re-​park, so I went to Panera. Line was typical for lunch, read as LONG! Eventually ordered my staple Frontega Chicken Panini. Baked chips were okay, not much flavor besides salty. Overall, it was okay.

Panera always leaves something to be desired. The prices are way too high for the portions and I always leave hungry. The menu is projected to have fresh and healthy choices but its far from that. The service at the Midtown location always seems very cold and they’re not very helpful. The parking situation can also be tough at times, they have a parking attendant during the day but not at night so it can be hard to find a spot. I am a big fan of their bread and pastries but thats about it when it comes to this location.

Always a good place to sit and enjoy internet, people watching and good food. I decided to try something new today. Ordered the Southern Chicken Flatbread with corn chowder. I really like their corn chowder. The sandwich had a bit of a spicy kick, but the flatbread was too thick/​heavy for the sandwich. Tasted more like a pita sandwich.
They were very quick to get everything out and being early for lunch, there was plenty of space to find a seat.

As this is a chain it is important to make sure that the customer is able to have the «same taste» whichever location they go to. I am a very good supporter of Panera because of their healthy foods. As many know Panera is a little more pricey but never the less good food. I gave this location a three because of the bruised apple I received, some what dirty bathrooms and terrible atmosphere. When you walked into a place you definitely know if there is a good/​clean atmosphere and it seems a little dirty when I walked in. The food was still good and will definitely come back to a panera again.

I’m not a Vanderbilt student, but I’d imagine that I’d spend a lot of time here if I was. If you’ve been to a Panera before, I’ll keep this review brief and say upfront that it’s basically on par with any of their other locations.
If you haven’t been before, think of Panera as your typical café, in the same ‘genre’ of ‘upscale fast food’ as Cosi, Au Bön Pain, Starbucks, and the like. It’s a very comfortable, relaxing place to grab a quick lunch, catch up with friends, or camp out with books and a laptop to get work done over a few hours. The wi-​fi works great, and there’s plenty of outlets if you need to bunker down for a while.
The food at Panera is also pretty great, and pricing is a tad high but generally agreeable. The best option is the «Pick Two,» where you can combine a half-​sandwich with a soup or salad to get the most variety out of the menu. I also love the quiches, though you have to get there before 11am for that. It’s nice that they rotate their menu pretty frequently; I’ll visit Panera every few weeks, and there’s often a new addition or two to the menu. Service at this location is pretty fast, which is also a plus, and the employees seem exceptionally friendly.

You know, I think the last time I went to Panera was around a 1.5 years ago… maybe longer? There are just so many great spots in town to get a sammich, salad, and soup so I put ‘ol Panera on the backburner.
However, thanks to our chilly and stormy weather of the last 2 days, I was feeling a bit apprehensive about which of the following:
A. Leaving my bed
B. Getting out of my car to face the cold wet precipitation
C. Wearing head to to flannel (i.e. I was wearing my damn pajamas outside of my home — but I had on a long winter coat!)
D. All of the above
If you said, you’re likely a brilliant mind and have earned the spot of being my one call if I was ever in a pinch during my appearance as a contestant on a gameshow that allows me to do so. Just sayin’.
I felt a bit guilty since I’m hypersensitive about supporting local businesses year round and we’re right in the middle of this Unilocal Shops Local campaign, but this broad was craving som comforting soup and a little carbs. I was bored with what was in my pantry and I happened to be nearby at the Post Office to use the drive-​up mailbox since apparently my mail carrier hasn’t grasped the concept of picking up my mail but instead shoves my magazines and other parcel on top… sorry, that is a whole other Unilocal review.
So. I gave in. I pulled up in the drive-​thru line as apparently I shared the same sentiment as everyone else in Nashville and I waited. Anyone, who knows me will laugh at this because I become a complete brat when it comes to lines and am overall, I’m not exactly known for my patience…
Question 2: So what do I suck up and do it for?
Answer: A Mediterranean Veggie Sandwich, Iced Green Tea, and a cup of theBlack Bean Soup (along with a bag of chips and chunk of bread that came with my order)
Question 3: And, you know what?
Answer: It was damn tasty! I enjoyed each and every last bite.
The experience as a whole was very positive. From the drive-​thru line moving efficiently to the extremely friendly (but not in the annoying way) drive-​thru service, this location is very good at what they do. I’m appreciative of that and also due to the fact that I didn’t even have to change out of my PJs to get a healthy and delicious meal.
While I won’t be a regular here or at any other chains, if I do get the urge, I’ll be sure to come back to this location.

Probably the worst Panera I’ve been to. Yesterday the line was ridiculous and too many employees seemed not to care. I actually went to Starbucks, which I hate.
Today, my bagel was undercooked despite two efforts. And my hot chocolate was neither hot nor very chocolaty. How do you mess this up?

Hard part for me is Panera does not have Gluten Free bread. If they had that I would eat here all the time. I had a salad and it was good. I just wish they made bread i could eat.

Sometimes you have a love/​hate relationship with a place.
I love Panera as a rule… I realize to a lot of Unilocalers out there, it’s not «cool» to review chain places. I understand one location to the next is not often relevantly different, but I don’t limit myself to only writing about the unique.
This Panera location has one huge attribute: a drive thru.
It also has one huge downfall: the drive thru.
Parking here is scarce, I don’t care when you go. Years ago this parking lot connected to an alley in the back, and there was this overflow lot than Panera shared with Starbucks next door. Alas, no more. The alley now is separated from the Panera lot by concrete and medians, and when they’re full, you are basically out of luck.
It’s a huge plus to be able to go thru a drive thru in this area and get a panini and soup for lunch rather than a burger and fries — and everybody knows it. Their drive thru line will flow along the outer parking lot «rim» if you will, and folks scoping for parking will follow around and park adjacent to the drive thru lane of traffic squished (illegally) to the right. Makes getting out that way a big hot mess if you’re not in the actual drive-​thru, warning.
Also that overflow lot I mentioned from earlier? If you circle the black the long way, it’s still there, only now it’s fenced and a Central Parking System pay $ 1 for 15 minutes. And the wandering meter maid, trust me, she’s close. A little frustrating, but if you’ve got a hankering and no other choice, do it and just be careful in the alley — a little muddy and «rutty.»
This Panera is one of the worst for finding seats during lunch, makes you glare at the folks taking up booths with their laptops and day’s worth of reading all spread out when you’re carrying a tray wandering. But I get that Panera is open way more hours than just lunch, so they’re allowed. Just glaring…
My only real Panera issue that I just recently figured out, and it’s small… when you order your entrée, a Pick 2 would be my norm, you see all the info about add a bakery treat for 99 cents. In the small print that I just noticed, you have to buy a drink. If you are opting to drink more water, as my doctor suggested I try — and it’s been working pretty well for weight loss — you pay bakery treat retail.
Now, I fully admit that drinking water for weight loss and adding a cookie is counter productive. And I fully realize that restaurants make the hugest part of their profits on drink sales as opposed to the food. But I swear I never noticed that caveat before — maybe it’s just me.

This Panera «The Rockin’ Bread Place» sits on the ashes of a Burger King. Fortunately it has much more room than that Burger King ever offered, and one less Parking Lot Nazi.
Overall the prices of Panera always seem a bit high, but they never seem to skimp on portion sizes, so its hard to be TOO critical.
I can’t say I ever have a CRAVING for Panera, but I always like my food when I am there.
Also, if you are particularly fond of bread, this is your stop.