Panera Bread — Restaurant in Markham

I recently visited Panera with high hopes of enjoying a satisfying meal, but unfortunately, my experience left me thoroughly disappointed. I ordered the Strawberry Poppy Seed with Chicken, the Chicken Noodle Soup, and the Steak & White Cheddar, only to encounter a series of unpleasant surprises.

First and foremost, the lettuce in my Strawberry Poppy Seed with Chicken was shockingly frozen and soggy. It was evident that the ingredients were not properly stored or prepared, resulting in an unappetizing texture and taste. The combination of frozen lettuce and chicken was an unfortunate letdown, and it's unacceptable for a restaurant to serve such low-quality ingredients.

To make matters worse, the Chicken Noodle Soup I ordered had an extremely weird taste and was excessively salty. It was clear that something had gone wrong with the preparation or seasoning, leading to an unpalatable and unpleasant dining experience. A soup that should have been comforting turned into a disappointing and salty mess.

The final blow came with the Steak & White Cheddar dish. Imagine my dismay when I discovered that it consisted of only two minuscule slices of meat, leaving me feeling cheated and dissatisfied. For the price I paid, I expected a more substantial portion, and this offering fell far short of my expectations.

Adding insult to injury, during my visits to the restaurant, I have noticed the store manager smoking outside the premises. To my dismay, on multiple occasions, I witnessed the manager reentering the kitchen without washing his hands, and then proceeding to handle food and direct the kitchen staff. This blatant disregard for hygiene and food safety practices is deeply concerning. It raises serious questions about the restaurant's commitment to maintaining a clean and sanitary environment.

Overall, my experience at Panera was nothing short of a letdown. From frozen and soggy lettuce to a weird and overly salty soup, topped off with an incredibly stingy portion of steak, this visit was a disappointment from start to finish. The alarming sight of the store manager neglecting basic hygiene practices further reinforced my decision to never return.

I sincerely hope that Panera takes this feedback seriously and makes the necessary improvements to their food quality and hygiene practices. Until then, I cannot recommend this establishment to anyone seeking a satisfying...

Services are fast and friendly, but sometimes, some of the staffs seems to be half asleep. Price wise, it's a bit on the higher end, but it's worth every single penny for the food quality they serve. However, orders aren't always being taken properly. The tracking device for dine in doesn't seem to be doing their magic exactly. Staff would still wander all over the place asking patrons if they placed the order.

Restaurant's neatness is well maintained, but it's always cold sitting in the restaurant, no matter if it's cold winter days or hot summer days.

During the morning rush, they aren't really on top of the average time frame to put out fresh pots of coffee. A few times, the staff need to be notified their coffee or cream had run out. Fresh pot wasn't even ready, we had to stand around for 5 minutes or so waiting for them to bring a fresh pot of coffee. During their lunch hours, the restaurant is always busy and packed.

If you sit close to the kitchen area, you'll be able to smell something's burning in the kitchen, and the staffs are talking loud, making it hard to focus on the book you might be reading. If you sit near the back of the restaurant, facing the street, the door is locked from outside, which causes inconvenience to those who tries to use that door to get into the restaurant, and those who are sitting down enjoying their coffee.

If you are a laptop or mobile device user, they have WiFi available, with a limit during those busy peak hours. However, I don't appreciate certain wall plugs in this restaurant location. Some of the wall plugs are so worn out, they don't keep the charger plug in. More than half the time, they would disconnect the charger with it fallen out and onto the floor.

Menu and interior has been changed around a little bit, due to the fact that the CEO of Panera Bread sold the business to another company. The newly added salad and soup is a must try. I've always enjoyed their salads and soups.

My overall review for this restaurant is 4 stars....

Purchased 2 large salads along with a few other items ($70 total WOW)‼️ When I got home I realized neither salad would have qualified for a “small salad”. I’ve never felt so ripped off which is exactly what happened. It’s not the 1st time I’ve stopped by this location and picked up salads. It’s the first time I’ve felt so disappointed and it’s definitely the last time I will stop at this location. I also purchased bread and a few other treats and I had to ask the cashier to come over to the dessert counter to assist in these purchases. She demonstrated absolutely NO interest in assisting and made that obvious. I should have just left then but I didn’t and she begrudgingly assisted. The bread turned out to be stale. I know finding staff is difficult and restaurants are having a very tough time financially but it’s my opinion that placing disinterested front facing staff is more of a detriment to your business than a positive and cutting a large salad into a small salad while maintaining the large salad price is just outright ignorant. Many of your customers are also struggling financially and you should be thankful for their patronage. You should also reconsider any shrinkflation tactics as it will backfire on your business. I’m the first...