Panera Bread — Restaurant in Austin

Food: 3 stars Bakery: 4 stars Rapid pickup service: 0.5 star

I'm torn about Panera in general. I don't think their food is all that good. I can justify the prices based on the generally natural and healthy ingredients but it's just not that tasty.

My husband loves their sourdough loaves and I'm reasonably happy with their cinnamon raisin bread. Now that we have a tiny kitchen, it's harder for me to bake my own bread. So we do rapid pickup orders for loaves to make sure they're not sold out.

The problem is, Panera seems utterly incapable of filling the simplest order correctly. I mean, there's only three things to track: what kind of bread; do you want it sliced; if yes, thick or thin slices.

Out of the last dozen orders, they have gotten maybe 2 right. They have: failed to slice the bread; sold the loaves instead of putting them aside for rapid pickup orders placed days in advance; gave us a thin sliced cinnamon raisin bagel (who would order that?) instead of the loaf; gave us a badly underbaked loaf that they never would have put on the shelf, I assume banking on us not noticing it before we left the store and then not complaining about it once we got home. I've ordered from 4 different locations and they all have these problems. If it were possible to get a decent sourdough loaf anywhere else in Austin, we wouldn't bother with Panera.

More worrisome, if you google Panera rapid pickup problems, you'll find a lot of stories about parents specifying in the order notes a peanut allergy so NO PEANUT BUTTER only to find their kid's sandwich slathered in peanut butter. Reading comprehension is not their strong suit.

I've sent them a couple emails about the rapid pickup problems and it seems they're finally starting to do...

Good food, but too pricey for the portions you get. $12 for a 'mug' of soup with two croutons in it, a sandwich the size of an ipod, and a genetically modified apple which can fit between two of your fingers. Good food, but seriously, unless you want to lose weight, I wouldn't recommend this place.

UPDATE: I reluctantly came back to this place because I like the atmosphere. And when I mean atmosphere, I mean lack of people. This place is empty most afternoons, so I like to grab a cup of coffee filled to the brim with coffee grounds and half-and-half that's been left out since the restaurant was opened, find my favorite spot- a table full of stains and crumbs- and do some work while listening to the weirdest playlist of 90s kitsch, peppered in with today's pop blasting through the speaker. On this particular occasion, I caved and decided to purchase a 'pick 2.' What I got was hilarious. When the guy set it down, I burst out laughing. Literally the world's smallest 'half' sandwich next to a sliver of baguette, accompanied by a lukewarm bowl of tomato soup where a single pathetic crouton was floating on its oily surface. The guy asked if there was something wrong, and I just thought, 'Oh Panera Bread. You got me again!' I told the employee that everything was fine and I was left to my 'grand feast.' Funny, they gave me plastic silverware this time, and I think I can surmise why: Because they didn't want to wash any dishes. I often hear them say this behind the counter, and judging by the state of the dining area, overflowing trashcans, and tables with plates of half-eaten food still left out, it's no surprise that they don't want to do their basic duties. I mean, after all, this place is empty? Anyways, you stay classy...

I placed an online rapid pick up order today for the Lakeline location. I arrived to pick up the order and was surprised it wasn’t ready yet. When it was about 10 minutes past the order due time, i went and asked one of the staff about it. His name was Martin. He took my order number and name and kept trying to look it up, but couldn’t find anything. He then checked my online order receipt from my email and it turned out I had accidentally ordered at the 360 location. Being that it was totally my fault I was prepared to go pick it up there and eat on the way back since I would be running tight to get back to work. However, it turns out Martin is the general manager, and he told me he would get that right out and that he wasn’t going to have me drive all the way there to pick up an order he could make for me in a few minutes. I was totally prepared to shell out double to get the order today so i didn’t have to drive to 360, but Martin wouldn’t hear of it. He took my order from the app, made it perfectly and even called the 360 location to cancel my order and told me not to worry about the meal that day, just to come back again. Not only did Martin make my day so much better by remaking the meal, he did it with a smile and made me feel better about having screwed up the location pick up. I will be back to this location and will tell others about it, because of the amazing customer service I received today by Martin. Thank you so much, Martin! You made my day and I was able to have 15 minutes to eat lunch in peace because of you. This man deserves some recognition for his amazing customer service and positive attitude. Kuddos for having such an...