Panera Bread

I won’t be returning to this location.
The cash registers are operated by very young employees who talk to each other, and make jokes with staff, instead of taking your order. Today, I had to wait almost a minute at the register while the young employee finished her social conversation with another employee before I could order.
I got my order to go, and when I opened it later on, I realized she gave me an entirely different baked good than the one I ordered for my friend. I checked the price online, and the price of the baked good I was given by the young employee was less than the price I paid for the baked good my friend wanted. Her inattentiveness resulted in me being over-​charged.

Panera is always a great choice at any time of day. This newest location in Coralville is very nice. Plenty of parking, lots of table room. They accept Apple Pay. Great location.

Always slow service and long lines. Never enough staff to run the cash registers. Never enough bagels in stock. Drive though is a disaster.

Really there is nothing speical about this place. They definitely have done some good things with their ordering system and integration of mobile app ordering for pick up etc.
Food choices have remained similar for long time, most of the choices are healthy and delicious. They have introduced a few new things which are not really a game changer for this chain (quinoa bowls etc.). They certainly have good bagels and breads but a little expensive for the quality.
I use their soup and sandwich combo for a healthy meal and then regret spending too much money for the quality and quantity.

The employees here did now know what they were wanting to say when you asked them a question about anything. The cashier who helped us didn’t seem to know anything about the sandwiches or the ingredients in them. They were really slow so the line was really long and just was not moving fast enough for what this place seems to be offering as a «cafeteria» style restaurant. There is plenty of parking and the restrooms were fairly clean.

I always get their Chicken and Avocado salad! After I got it once for free at a school function, I have gotten this every time I visit Panera. The portion is very filling. It has boiled egg and blue cheese with bacon bits in it. Healthy and flavorful. Would not miss it for anything!

Since the food is pretty much the same in every Panera place, I will focus on other aspects.
They have finally worked out most of the kinks. They had some huge growing pains as they were not ready for opening in such a busy location.
They still have some issues with the people taking orders. They tend to only hear parts of the order. For example, I wanted «you pick two» of a soup and a salad. But instead of the cup, I wanted a bowl of soup. When I went to get my order, they gave me a cup. To their credit, when I mentioned this, they immediately gave me a bowl of soup. Unfortunately, this happened again and my wife has experienced a similar incidence.
On the good side, once the order is in, the food comes out pretty quickly.
Getting out of the parking lot could be an adventure if you need to turn left and go south. I usually take the detour to the Heartland Inn parking lot.

Tried the new chicken and quinoa salad (without the Chechen).
I’m not sure about its ingredients. It does contain quinoa, romain lettuce, Rae kale, almonds and geek dressing! I did not like it at all! I do like the «healthy» ingredients but it didn’t taste good at all. I think a difference dressing maybe or something else to bring it together might have helped. I stopped eating after two bites. Will not order this ever again

For this brand new location, it sure is poor quality. The cashier was clueless and not very pleasant. Right away they were out of the turkey chili and soba noodle bowl, which we had been waiting to try. The southwest chicken flat bread was cold in the middle and hard as a rock. They didn’t give me asiago cheese with my French onion soup. The tables were very dirty. This was our first time at this location, we usually go to the sycamore mall one and I’ve never had a problem. As a former Panera employee, I was saddened by the lack of customer service. I never write negative reviews, but our experience here warranted a negative review.

Dirty, poor kitchen help. Eating area filthy. Unfriendly staff with the exception of the cashier. 4÷2÷15; 8:45 pm

Panera Bread was always a place I considered going, but I knew the prices wouldn’t make my college kid pockets happy. I was in a rush one day, returning to IC from Cedar Rapids, and suddenly I felt the need to grab Panera, for the first time ever. I like their pick two option, I usually pick some kind of sandwich and a cup of soup (always broccoli and cheddar). They have definitely pulled me in with their rewards program too.
Their Mediterranean flat bread was sort of small, the one time I got it. Their other sandwiches have been good so far. Their iced green tea is very delicious as well as their cheese pastries.
Honestly, it’s a good lunch option, but don’t expect to save much money.

As a Panera fan, it pains me to give this location only three starts. On the four times I have visited, it has been mid-​morning (about 9:30−10) Each time, they have been our of souffles, there have been emplty coffee urns and no one has felt compelled to correct the coffee issue.
I love Panera and the healthier options they offer, but I have learned that I must visit much earlier in the morning to find coffee ready to drink.

Crap. See pics. Ordered 2 sandwiches that cost $ 17. One included a small sliver of steak tht covered ¹⁄₅ of the bread. One sandwich was ½ the size of the other becuase they used the baguette that they normally give you as a side for you salad or soup. So they gave us leftover side bread but charged us $ 8 per sandwich. There were 2 thin slivers of onion on each sandwich. Unbelievably disappointed.

This is by far the nicest Panera I have ever been at but probably the least accommodating! It’s 2015 and Panera’s newly-​built addition to the Iowa City area has very limited electric outlets in this very big restaurant…

Food is good as to be expected but super slooooooow service. Even when the store isn’t busy. It’s as if no one knows the flow of the restaurant. I understand it’s a newer location and kinks need to get worked out but I guess after a few months they’d get their act together.

The location is so convenient and the drive through is perfect for quick pick ups before a morning meeting. The food is always fresh and everything has been delicious.

Every bit as good as we’ve come to expect from Panera, but this one has a drive-​thru! Always a step up from other fast food and for some reason it seems fancier — don’t know why, it just does!
Worth checking out and easy to get in and out in a hurry.

Arrived 90 minutes early for a business meeting, got a yogurt parfait and a tea. Service was fast and staff were very polite and friendly. This area really needed something like this!
Then had lunch when my appointment arrived. Again, service was excellent and so was the food.

This restaurant has only been open for a short time. I did the drive-​thru and was impressed that the wait wasn’t very long before my food was ready. I got a turkey sandwich and a cup of soup, which were both very good. It’s nice to have another option, especially a drive-​thru, on 1^st Avenue in Coralville.

To be fair, I will give a brief review of both this café in particular and how it compares to the quality of food from other chain locations.
I actually was surprised how fast they opened this location. Was open within a week after seeing the Panera signs go up on the side of the building. My first impression was that the registers were cramped and uncomfortable. There was 4 registers within a total counter area of about 6ft. In a busy day people will be shoulder to shoulder creating a stressful environment. Staff was still learning, but very courteous.
Food came out under 10 mins. There appears to be a NEW feature with this location I have not seen before. A cubbyhole apparatus next to the food pickup counter makes me believe panera is trying to move into the order online or via mobile and pick it up when it’s ready type of market. It’s alphabetized by name. I will try this feature soon. There’s also a LCD screen that keeps track of who’s order is being prepared and who’s order is ready for pickup. Might be handy during busy hours. Again, I haven’t seen this at other locations as well. Seating is pretty normal. Not as cozy of a vibe as some other locations. I recommend studying/​leisure at the Caribou coffee location down the street if you like comfortable environments.
Got the BBQ chicken flatbread with cheddar broccoli. Really enjoyed the food and didn’t have any problems. Seems to be the same quality as any other chain location, although it was my first panera flatbread. Not rave worthy, but certainly still a very good option for tasty and healthier food within the area.
Will update breakfast experiences soon. Hope this helped! 3.5÷5 stars