Panera Bread

All panera locations have the same menu, but what sets them apart is the service, cleanliness and accuracy. This location has all of the above. The associates are always helpful and cheery and they keep calm during the lunch and dinner rushes. The dining area is always clean… win win in my book! No one wants to dine in at a dirty restaurant. I have only had one problem with accuracy where they forgot to add chicken to the Thai Chopped Chicken Salad that I ordered. Since then, it’s been 100% accuracy.
I used to go for their sandwiches and soups, but I’m not a big fan of them anymore. The calories are too much for me to be honest. The salads are something to talk about though! My favorite is The Thai Chopped Chicken Salad has just enough spiciness and it’s not overpowering. I love how the edamame, carrots, red peppers, cashews, cilantro and wonton strips blend together so well with the peanut sauce and Thai chili vinaigrette. Peanut sauce is a delight to have with fresh spring rolls so having it in a salad is a great idea!
I have had all the smoothies except for the Superfruit Power with Ginseng and the Strawberry Banana with Ginseng. My favorite is the Green Passion Power smoothie. I like that it’s got both peach and mango purée…two of my favorite fruits!
All the pastries are great, but I really like their bear claw pastry. The interior is made with almond paste and the outside is drizzled with icing and has more almonds… yummy!
Don’t forget to sign up for the mypanera card. It’s free and every time you order, the cashier either swipes it or enters your phone number if you forgot the card. Having your phone number is easier. The points are awarded each time you order. Your receipt tells you’ve many visits it’ll take until you get a free pastry, $ 1 off your order, a free U Pick 2 and many more!

Panera is a great spot to stop and get lunch. It is somewhat healthier than other fast stop locations, mainly because of better ingredients and portion control. This location is the best Panera I’ve been too. It’s always clean inside and I feel welcomed when I walk in the door. The staff has always been friendly (I frequent Monday-​Friday lunch hour). The salads are excellent. You get a sizeable portion and they are low in calories (compared to most restaurant salads). My favorite is the Thai chopped chicken salad. They add chopped peanuts and a peanut sauce which makes the salad great. The soups are also excellent and relatively low calorie (unless you get it in a bread bowl– which is obviously the yummier way to go). The sandwiches have left something to be desired. I’ve tried a few of them now. the asiago steak and cheese, the chicken caeser, etc. and none of them have been worth writing home about. They seem too small and do not have enough filling. For the money, I’d rather have a large filling salad.
Now the pastry’s and breakfast foods are a different story! They are huge and decadent. However, I try to avoid even making eye contact with the display case because my reason for going to Panera is trying to eat a healthy meal! Stop tempting me with your delicious treats Panera Bread!
If you haven’t already, sign up to be in their loyalty club. The cashier will scan your card every time you make a purchase, and every so often you’ll get a free item (usually a pastry or beverage) or a couple dollars off your purchase. It’s free to sign up!

This is by far the best place for casual meals! With tons of good meals and great everything. This is the perfect café!
When you walk in the door. You see the nice design of the area! With nice. Soft colors and good paintings. This place is appealing! And the prices are so cheap! I could pretty much afford anything! And a LOT of it! And with tons of choices. It’s a big choice! And the drinks are splendid! With tons of flavor. Each one is great and perfect! Plus. There is a nice pad where it flickers and rings when your meal is ready!
Overall. This is the PERFECT café. So come on in for a treat!

Always a big fan of Panera, especially in this Westbrook location as its not as busy as the one by the mall. Also, my order Chipotle Chicken no tomatoes and sub Asiago bread for The French bread is always done as requested. Additionally the cashier Kathryn was super personable and joked with my husband about his copying my order which really added to the enjoyment of our visit.

The sandwiches are alright. I wish that there was more in the way of vegetarian options. I ordered a toasted bagel with cream cheese to go and I was given a little tub of cream cheese. Why should I have to spread it myself? I’ve never had this happen anywhere else. Weird.

Great place for meetings. The kale fruit smoothie is delicious and I love the black bean soup.

I bought a smaal loaf of rye bread, brought it home, and found that it had a big hole down the middle. Brought it back the next morning, and the manager was very pleasnt, offered me a free cup of coffee, and replaced the bread with a loaf twice as large for no additional cost. That is customer service!

A group of us tried to call in a lunch order and were told that it would take an hour for the 4 sandwiches to be ready if we ordered over the phone. They stated it would be quicker to come in and order. We get there and there is no line at all. I can understand if the place was busy, that it might take 20 minutes to make 4 sandwiches, but for us to be told 1 hour when it is dead makes no sense. They stated they had no phone order person that day. Is that person different than the person that works at the register? i just found this to be quite rediculous… it shows laziness of the staff. I come to expect more of large chains such as this. We were simply trying to make it easier for the staff to have our orders ready, but 4 sandwiches seemed to be too overwhelming over the phone. I do like Panera’s food, its the lack of customer service that concerns me.

I really like Panera Bread. This particular one seemed to be new, it just had that feel. I had a specialty turkey sandwich and it hit the spot. It had a mustard dressing that I am glad I got on the side, as it would have been a little too much and taken away from the turkeyness (yep, my word). It was around 8:00pm when we were there so they were out of a lot of pastries, but that’s a good thing for them. It’s yummy, if I am back in the area they will see me again, lucky them.

I’ve been going to this Panera for years. To the point where my family, who’s in the restaurant business, teases me all the time about how often I go. The atmosphere is great and it’s a hotspot for University students who need a place to work on schoolwork. The ambience is very cool parisian, modern café-​like. A vast variety of desserts (cookies, pastries) that get interchanged throughout the changing months. The food is just delicious.
However, be prepared to seriously accentuate your nitpicks like no onions or whatever it may be. The employees tend to be forgetful or have bad hearing. Whatever the case, you may want to check your receipt or order before leaving. Their forgetfulness has plagued my meals far too often. Yet I still return…
Another reason may be the fact that the employees come and go very quickly. I only recall one or two employees with whom I’ve become acquainted with through the years. So don’t expect many friendly «Nice to see you again“s.

Fast service during lunch time.
I’m new to the whole panera world, so this was my adventure…
Looking at the price menu:
Question: What’s the difference between signature & café?
Answer: signature is more expensive.
Well, no duh! I’m not stupid. I didn’t understand why there was different prices for signature & café. I thought they are all soups. Well, signature is «TOP SHELF» while café is «regular».
OOH!