Panera Bread — Restaurant in Florida

I must be getting old, but this was a bit surreal to me. Walked up to the counter, the only one in that area, not a single person greeted me. So I said ok…will go to the kiosk and order. Went to get the delicious NEW strawberry & chicken salad. They didn’t have it. Ok will do the NEW strawberry salad without chicken…another nope. Found the BACON Parmesan salad YUM! Then tried to order the delicious teas they had advertised…passion something, nope, citrus something nope and some other one nope. And every time I had to go back for a replacement I had to re-enter my number (guess because I’m not a cool kid with perks. Finally had to ordered a bottled tea …no biggie but not what I wanted. Food was ready relatively quickly. Salad was drenched in dressing (kind of half expected at a chain restaurant) but I sit down and look & no BACON on the BACON PARMESAN salad. I take it to the counter tell the girls there & get told to go to the order window. Oh we can give you sliced bacon. No thank you, because you already didn’t have the majority of what I wanted. They were more than happy to refund the price of my salad (with today’s banking will take forever). So I guess that was the only redeeming part of my visit. But as I was getting said refund I mentioned I don’t understand why nobody told me that you were out of bacon. Oh we didn’t know what you ordered. WHAT? Ummm isn’t it on the ticket that went back to the kitchen so that when I picked up my no bacon salad, you could have told me then & offered a replacement or refund? I was so disappointed, got my refund & went to get a Publix salad instead. Highly disappointed not only with their service and lack of selection, but the dining area wasn’t the greatest. Had to wipe crumbs off the seat and table (not super gross but enough to know the person before me liked salt). And when they did wipe down another table, it was so saturated, it remained wet for this entire visit, at about 2:30 with maybe 4 or 5 customers there.

I’m kind of sad…pretty sure that I won’t be going back. Just ate my last Panera Kitchen sink cookie. Oh and the bottled tea was not refreshing or...

So I came here to check out the new Panera that opened up in my hometown with a friend. I never thought my little place would be the kind of place one day to get one of these, but they did, and I'm glad. It's definitely a smaller version of what I was used to, but it was clean and it was pretty. The parking lot is more than enough space for it.

The server was friendly and our order was ready fairly quickly. I had a Steak & Egg on Everything Bagel (Egg, a thick slice of Vermont white cheddar and seared steak on an Everything Bagel) with a Caramel Latte (Freshly brewed espresso, foamed milk and caramel topped with whipped cream and a drizzle of caramel sauce) to wash it down with.

The bagel as delicious. The white cheddar was soft and not too harsh, letting the little slice of steak shine. I couldn't really tell if it was seasoned well because the bagel had an explosion of little things on it with the sear adding up to make this a really good sandwich. The latte was served in an oversized mug with a whole heap of whipped cream on top. Nice, subtle flavor that even a coffee snob could enjoy, but if you like things super sweet, you might wanna ask them to add extra syrup.

The atmosphere was super nice. It was quiet and the relaxing music was ambient in the background. All this combined with the free wifi means that the students of Pace now have a local option to come to to study. I wish this place was around when I was in undergrad.

Overall, the food and drink is quality. We all know that. The price is a little high. We all also know that. But, it's not outrageous, and being there is just so darn pleasant that I think this place deserves a solid four stars....

Came to Panera at 730pm on a Monday night and order food for dine-in with my boys. I waited 20-25 mins for 3 sandwiches and a salad (pictured) with 4 customers eating in the dining room and one order ahead of mine. There were 7 employees either talking, laughing, or just standing staring at the one or two employees working. The sandwiches were fine, but the salad had a horrible aftertaste and just could not eat it, I ended up throwing it away. I wanted to get a refill before leaving, but as I walked up two employees were emptying the drink decanters while laughing and playing. I looked at my watch and it was 810pm a full 50 minutes to closing. Finally the two stopped giggling and enjoying the conversation to notice I was trying to get a refill. I managed to grab the last bit left before they took it away. I remember when this Panera was a joy to visit and the customers/ employees were smiling and having a good time, but now I feel like everytime I come here I am burdening the employees and just unwanted. Maybe it’s me, maybe I am just getting too old to interact in public, but the more I go out to restaurants here in Pace the more I see habits like this place exhibits and attitudes of indifference to customers. Ultimately, the service was not great, the food was mediocre to poor, and the absence of customer service is not only visible, but felt once you enter this establishment. Maybe it will get better when I stop coming, maybe it won’t, either way I think I am done with this location. Best of luck to those that still...