You either love Panera or you don't. This review is about the location. This Panera is excellent for studying. Besides the plentiful seating and unlimited free wifi (both contingent on the time of day), it's proximity to the "Loop U" and the HWL contributes to the studious ambience. A final note, the Chipotle Chicken Panini is amazing.
Review Source:Dear marketing "gurus" at Panera corporate: you are being stupid. Â
Even your very nice employees agree, when you load up the counter space with your monstrous displays and crappy ads, you leave literally no room for me to receive the very food and drinks I came to buy from you. Â
Seriously, the person working the register has to lunge over a barricade of baskets and signs to hand things to customers, placing the cups on stacks of cellophane brownies and balancing plates mid-air because every square-inch of would-be counter space is occupied by something telling me to do what I'm already doing: buy your crap. Â Enough already.
Plus, you look like a cheapskate for gracing the top of your "orange cranberry" muffin with a mere sprinkling of cranberry. Â Boo.
I'm a regular at this Panera as I'm pretty much always in the area. I mean, what can I say? It's fairly predictable and quite uniform to other Panera Breads that I've been to. My choice menu item would be a half Tuna Sandwich (because they put mustard on it, which seemed weird at first but it's so awesome) and a broccoli cheddar bread bowl. Mmmm.
I usually have tons of work to do so of course the free wifi gets me every time when I'm deciding on other places for lunch in the area.
Used to love this place. Last 3 times I've been there they haven't given me my full order. I've been waiting to see if the issue would correct itself. It has not. How hard is it to double check the ticket against what you put in the bag. I can't even tell you how many times the French baguette had been forgotten. Â I'm not asking for much, please fix it.
Review Source:It seems whenever I'm in Chicago I stop by this Panera due to it's location and great food.
The cookie I had was out of this world; seriously perhaps one of the best bakery cookies I've ever had.
Service was fast and friendly. The place seems always busy, which is good because they keep up with the fresh goods.
It's a predictable Panera just like any other. It spouts a pretty wide store with a lot of seating and snappy service. Usually this is my spot to do homework, but after dealing with their sluggish wi-fi I usually move along to school. The coffee is also hit-or-miss, sometimes it's burnt or old.
Review Source:I came here on a Sunday for breakfast with friends..
Drink/Food:
Hazelnut Coffee: of course I'll have this on here for each review I write about Panera..you just can't go wrong with Hazelnut coffee
Steel Cut Oatmeal (~$5): organic steel cut oats, cinnamon crunch topping, fresh strawberries and pecans, if you are looking for something light and tasteful..I recommend you try this.. it's delicious and everything blends in well together!
Customer Service: good, no major complaints
It's sort of what you'd expect from a Panera frequented by college students. Â It's somewhat haggard looking, and the seating though extensive is a little weird in layout. Â My typical turkey bacon bravo sandwich that I get was a sloppy mess, and looked like it had been thrown together by someone trying to make it through their shift after pulling an all nighter. Â It did the trick and curbed my hunger, but I wouldn't make it a destination.
Review Source:Don't even waste your time. Lets face it, Panera Bread is pretty standard right? However, you still expect hot food to be hot food. Panera Bread has become so overrated. I tried this location in a rush and what a major mistake! I'm completely done w/Panera Bread. Cold soup. Old, dry and cool panini. Really? This company really needs to rebrand itself, quickly!
Review Source:If you are in the South Loop, Panera is good for a predictable, reasonably healthy lunch (providing that you don't raid their bakery).
The service is super fast and the tables turn over fast during the lunch rush. And, hopefully, you won't totally hate yourself after a meal here - there's a lot of healthy choices available.
Their sourdough breadbowls are totally nom worthy. Especially when it's filled with broccoli cheddar soup - fuggedaboutit. It's cheap, fast and you won't hate yourself. Winner winner, Panera dinner.
I like Panera! The pastries and bread are always fresh. Also they have fabulous salads and paninis!!! This particular location is all right. I would say it's not that easy to find a right table to seat since I like seating near the window and those tables are usually not available. But if come not during rush hours, you will be fine.
Review Source:Panera has always been good at having very uniform (quality) of food no matter what location Im at. The staff is usually adequate and occasionally above average. Ill give this one 4 stars since they did get my order ready FASTER than most of the locations Ive ever been to.
Other than that... what can I say?
Its just Panera  :/
I stopped in to try the chopped chicken cobb  salad with avocado. It came with a baguette on the side. It was pretty good. I also got a green tea with mango(I believe) and a fruit pastry. The pastry was topped with strawberries and blueberries and filled with cream cheese. The tea and pastry were good as well. Everything tasted fresh which pleased me greatly!
Review Source:Panera is Panera is Panera. Â I find them all so standard that I can barely notice any differences between them. Â But I will say, that despite the Loop location, I was able to find a table for weekday lunch AND my food came up with almost frightening speed! Â That was impressive.
I had the Roasted Turkey Artichoke Panini, which I would recommend to others. Â I liked the roasted red peppers and caramelized onions, and the cheese foccacia bread on which the sandwich was served. Â It is pretty salty, but I find many foods at Panera to be that way. Â It's filling, I don't even think I could finish mine.
I prefer to eat at local businesses, but given the short wait time and the predictable tastiness, I would not mind stopping into this Panera again if I ever find myself nearby for lunch!
Okay so I don't like giving bad reviews, but I'm seriously fed up with this place. I've had two pretty crappy experiences here and in a nutshell, I'm done.
1. Went to use a brand new gift card, and the guy behind the register told me that there was nothing on it. Uhh, no, there's $10 on it I know for sure. He refuses when I ask him to try swiping it again and says I have to pay another way. Fine, but that totally discredits the gift card. Get my food...my sandwich is literally sliding off of the bread, like it's been slapped together. So disappointed. And my brownie was mostly crust, hard and not the good kind f chewy. Yuck. Then, just before I leave, I decide to ask a different worker of they can check the balance of my gift card. Hey guess what? TEN WHOLE DOLLARS.
2. In an attempt to get rid of this gift card, I went today to see what I could get. Hey look! A bread bowl, what could possibly go wrong? As soon as the worker handed me the buzzer for my food, it buzzed. The transaction had literally been in the system for five seconds, tops. I mean they're pretty quick but this was astonishing. I walk over and there is my bread bowl waiting. I ask, "Is this mine? That was pretty fast..." "Yep." So I sit down to eat. Dear god. The soup has a film on it, like it's been sitting out for half an hour. The top of the bread bowl is dry and crispy, like it too has been sitting out. I don't know if I got someone's wrong order and they just decided to keep it to the side or what, but it was GROSS. I just can't go back after that. Ugh.
When you eat at Panera Bread, you expect the usual somewhat health-conscious options, along with an ample amount of booth/table seating. Â This Panera Bread has all that, and will satisfy your expectations.
I visit this location once or twice a week for lunch, as the service is usually quick and I can be eating my meal within a few minutes of ordering it.
This Panera Bread location is nestled next to a bunch of colleges, which means that a large portion of the customers are younger college students. Â Unfortunately, this also means that during the school year, all of the students like to sit at a table for several hours between classes. Â This makes it extremely hard to find a place to sit after about 11:30am, so be prepared to take your food and eat it somewhere else.
This is the worse place to study, ever, in the history of places to study. And I've studied in some pretty awful places.
The Wifi is super slow so while i"m writing this, I'm afraid it'll be deleted before it "reconnects." I'm not sure if its the sheer volume of people or just the suckiness of it in general but I'm using a brand new computer and I can't put on pandora and my headphones because it cuts in and out.
Eat here. Don't study here.
I have been to Panera's all over the States. Â If I see one, I know I can get a gluten free meal easily and it is always consistent. Â
Service is what is often a toss up, however. Â I have to say, that this Panera offered the most pleasant staff and service I have encountered in a long time. Â I was surprised, because we are in downtown Chicago, and when you go into any type "quick" food service place, service is not typically a focus. Â However, the staff here was super nice. Â
Location was clean, but not a lot of seating here. Â And, with road construction right outside, I am not sure I could sit and work here for a couple of hours. Â But, getting some grub,,,,no problem.
I have frequented Panera's since living in Santa Monica, CA and one came to my hood. It was always a great spot -- plenty of outdoor and indoor seating - fantastic food, for what it is. But, in Santa Monica, the sandwiches started to become really 'bready." By that, I mean mostly bread, not much else. When you can barely see the contents, that's just wrong. So I was very elated to see that this is not the way that the Chicago stores make their sandwiches.
I mentioned to the sandwich maker and manager that this was the best sandwich I'd ever had at any Panera. I told them about my experience at the Santa Monica store - in fact, I stopped getting sandwiches at Panera because of that. I stuck to salads, soups and bakery items.
Despite being very busy, the restaurant was welcoming and well-organized. I would not hesitate to visit again!
I've been to this Panera many times to cuddle up with a nice book, study, or meet up with friends, and it's awesome!
SERVICE: This Panera has awesome service! I'm always greeted with friendliness by the cashiers, and they'll come around to take your plate away if you're done even though they don't have to. You get a buzzer that lights up and flashes red when your food is ready so you can head to the counter, and my food has always been prepared within minutes even if it's busy.
FOOD: Most of the time, I get a chocolate chip bagel and coffee, and I'm in heaven as I read or study. If I'm getting a full meal, I love their half-soup, half-sandwich meal! Yesterday, I opted for some healthy options, so I got the tomato soup, tomato and mozzarella panini, and a small apple, all good! ! The portion size was perfect for a hungry me.
AMBIENCE: It's cozy like a coffee shop with their cool Panera Bread paintings as decorations. This Panera Bread is downtown, so it gets pretty busy and hectic sometimes. Be wary of the after-school rush when all the Jones College Prep students rush in.
FREE WIFI: Awesome. Just be aware that your time is limited if you're using it during peak hours. Plus there are plenty of outlets for your laptop.
PARKING: This is downtown we're talking about, so I never drive here.
Came here around 10:30 on a Sunday, in that nether region between breakfast and lunch.
First off, I appreciate the shift leader who rang me up and didn't charge me for a drink when I doubled back and asked for one. Â Star for him.
But on the top ten ways to NOT wow a guest is to serve ice cold soup. Â Add to that, I approached the woman behind the pick-up counter to ask if the soup could be re-heated, and she said, "once it goes out, i can't take it back. Â there's a microwave over there you can use and nuke it."
if I wanted to heat my own soup, I would've gone to the CVS next door and picked up a can of Campbell's, tenkyouveddymuch. Â But if I shell out $10, I i should at least expect to get lukewarm soup and not have to heat it myself. Â asked for no tomato on my sayngwich, got it anyway. Â and while hunched over in front of the microwave, some lady spills hot coffee all over my arm. Â i swear, you couldn't make this stuff up!
For Panera, it's typical except one thing... Â DO NOT GO IN THE MORNING, DURING LUNCH, OR RIGHT AFTER WORK. Â It's crazy! Â I repeat, it's crazy! Â
The lines are ridiculous here during peak times.
My Other Tips:
- For the free wi-fi, take advantage of it when it's not as crowded to get the optimal speed. Â
- Use the Panera Loyalty Card. Â I've bought one food item so far and already received two free lattes.
- Give out a fake name if you have a name that's difficult to pronounce. Â Or, to make it more fun, give them a fake name that IS difficult to pronounce.
- Choose one of the back seats that give you privacy; otherwise everyone can see exactly what you're doing on your laptop (not that I'm doing bad things *wink*)
Great soup and sandwich. Not enough seating! Had to take it to-go and eat on the train platform, YUCK!
There isn't too much to say about this. If you like quick food that will do the trick, this is the place. If you are stopping by during lunch, don't expect a seat. Price is okay, people are friendly, food is good. Nuf' said! :o)
Pretty standard, Nothing that people have not already experienced before.
Like I wrote in my pot belly's review... Familiarity is what drives people back to places like this. Especially when you in the loop and most places are chains. Might as well go somewhere you know there is something that you would like to eat.
I like the free wifi, but that's pretty standard again most places you go.
Ok so yeah, I admit it, I am a huge snob when it comes to chain restaurants. Â
"Hello my name is Erin and I snub chain restaurants"
However
I make quite the exception for Panaera Bread since it is one of my favorite lunch options near work (other than Whole Foods sushi and salad bar). Â For just under $8 and under 500 calories* I can have an extremely satisfying lunch consisting of their "choose two" special with a half of a smoked turkey sandwich** on multigrain and a cup of the forest mushroom soup (YUM). Â It's so good that it is all I can do not to moan while I eat it.
Additionally, this location has free parking, wireless internet and extremely fast service, even during the lunch time rush.
*The baguette that comes with the soup, which I eat also, not included in the nutritional info.
**Be advised, calories increase severely if you start choosing different sandwich options.
Whilst I would like to say that the 17 year old pregnant girl yelling at her baby daddy added to the ambiance of the outdoor seating at this establishment, unfortunately I will have to state otherwise. Â In addition, since this location is overrun with Columbia, Roosevelt, and Morris (sounds like a law firm) students, an added benefit to this restaurant is that there is nothing like such clientele to help you appreciate the fact that you are in your 30s.
However, I don't want to necessarily knock Panera Bread for who shops there. Indeed it is a very smart location for them. Â So, how was the food? I would describe it as acceptable with a hint of delectable. Â I had the "You Pick Two!" - a name for a combo meal that makes me cringe when I order. Â Anyway, the two I picked were the French Onion soup (a classic that is hard, yet frequently is, to screw up. Â And the pulled chicken sandwich with onions, mayo, and pesto. Â The soup was the highlight of the meal with the sandwich coming off as an afterthought. Not my idea of a $10-worth-it price tag.
In addition, as I was waiting for my meal, the cook finished making it and put it up on the counter in an indifferent manner, spilling the soup all around the outer edge of the bowl. Â It wasn't enough where it would be worth it to complain, but still, just left me with a feeling that I was completely justified in granting them a 3-star rating.
I ate outside during perfect weather, where if Panera had anything to do with it would warrant an automatic 5 stars. But alas, Panera doesn't control the weather.
And it was outside that I got to listen to the conversation of the aforementioned troubled couple. I couldn't hear the entire conversation for two reasons: the traffic and the fact that the giant shrill of her voice has morphed my left ear drum into the consistency of wet tissue paper.  Can a doctor cure that? Will I be able to hear out of my left ear again? Gosh, I hope in my upcoming road trip out West (link to my blog: <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwestbynorthwest.wordpress.com&s=90996aefd57bb54e0b42e07e13320d41bf2a68afa9c13aa761b92288ade98a35" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://westbynorthwest.w…</a> ) I don't come across any stampedes.  If the stampede approaches from the south, I'm screwed.
Anyway. so back to the establishment, right? I found the post-lunch look of the place to be a disaster. Bordering on a presidential disaster zone. Â I was very happy to eat outside and at least claim a table free of debris and driftwood. Â
So, as far as Paneras go, this one is just ok. I wouldn't shy away from eating there again, but if I'm walking by on a wonderful day like today, I would probably look for something else.
This is my favorite Panera hands down! It's always clean, service is prompt and friendly, and the food is always fresh. Expect it to be busy during the week. I mean it is next to hmmm.... like 4 schools!
Students?! I see the sneers. But I also see the Ties walk in with their laptops and PDA's and start to set up shop with their makeshift offices so that they can call Bob and close that VERY important deal. How about we make a deal? We won't giggle about you under our breath and you stop giving us dirty looks because we are having loud conversations...at a Panera...during the day.
Now, it is entirely possible that it's just me.
But probably not.
I've tried Panera Breads all over the metro area. And I'm still trying to figure out what the hoopla is.
Overpriced sandwiches. Mediocre bread. Tepid soups. I just don't get it.
This one in the South Loop is no different. What it has going for it is location, location, location. Perfect for college students or staff to hang out, perfect place to grab a quick meal between meetings, etc. But there is nothing standout about it.
I'd tell anybody to go a few blocks south to Hackney's, or even to Jimmy John's, and skip this joint.
I'm a big fan of Paneras in general, and I've never had shotty service at this one. Sometimes around lunch the line goes get pretty long, so I do tend to avoid it at peak hours.
It is in the University Center, and there are alot of students, but not ones that live in the building. I actually live in the building (and steal the WiFi from the second floor late at night..) and I've never reconized anyone inside, I think it's mostly a John Marshall Law School/ Depaul older crowd.
It's pretty dead after seven, which does make it a perfect place to study later on in the evening. My favorite thing to get is the Cesar salad, but without chicken.. the cold chicken looks more like turkey than chicken to me...
Free wifi, the only place near Columbia that has good food and free wifi - that's reason enough for five stars! The service is the only thing that can be a little on the tricky side. Sometimes they're right on top of it, and other times I stand at the counter looking at my food but waiting for the buzzer to go off. The prices are inflated, but they don't hustle me out when I'm working on my computer and I've finished eating. I like that.
The broccoli cheese bread bowl and half steak salad or half orchard apple salad are the best. Iced green tea is good (but tastes nothing like green tea), and if you're lucky enough to get a cheese bagel in the morning do it - they disappear quickly. Avoid the flavored lattes. Way too heavy on the flavor, and they don't seem to use good quality espresso.
Panera is where I go when I need the computer, need to eat and have some time to chill between classes. I like it... yes I do.
Bread, Soup, Sandwiches and Moderately decent coffee. Â I love the people who work at this Panera so I'm going to give it a four. Â I don't so much love the people who seem to inhabit this Panera but they're another matter.
Turkey Chick-Pea Chili is amazing. Don't bother with the bread bowl though.. it's just a waste of time and you get less soup, chili, whatever .. at least it seems that way.
This place also is really busy due to schools and the hostel across the street .
Okay, Panera is not exactly off the beaten path, but you always know what you're going to get, and that's why I love it.
A lot of my work trips are to the absolute middle of nowhere... Did you know Peru and Ottawa were cities in Illinois? Â Or that Linden, Ind. has one restaurant... the Lindy Freeze?
So, that is why I have to give credit to Panera, and I get excited when I can find one nearby a job. Â I have so many solid options with the you-pick-two, and it really stretches my per diem dollar without resorting to typical fast food.
Current favorite menu items: garden veggie soup, Tuscan chicken salad, Fuji apple salad.
I pop into this Panera to do some work every now and then. Â This is a great location (and I've been to a ton) for busting out the laptop since there are so many nooks and crannies AND plugs. Â It's like they built cubicles in mind. Â
Also, the service is great so far and the food is consistent.
The 5 best restaurants in the 2015 Denver Restaurant Week
3,611 Views | Category: Denver
The complete list of 2015 Denver Restaurant Week businesses
1,972 Views | Category: Denver
The tourists' guide to Portillos: 5 must have dishes
3,318 Views | Category: Chicago
Pho = Pronounced "fuh" not "foe" for pho-king sake
2,915 Views | Category: Denver
Indulgery selected to exhibit at Collision Conference
2,987 Views | Category: Press Releases
Not Logged In
BUSINESSES
Local Businesses
Near Me
My Favorites
SOCIAL
Blog & News
MY ACCOUNT
Login
Register
Contact Us
Add Your Business
