Panera Bread

After doing some shopping at Costco we decided to have a quick bite to eat here. I ordered the half Asian Chicken salad with a bowl of creamy tomato soup. The food looked and tasted average at best. Aside from my huge disappointment over the salad portion (a half size bowl almost filled to half capacity), it took a few seconds of digging in my salad before I found some pieces of chicken hiding in the greens. The apple, offered as a side dish was severely bruised, mealy and completely lacking in flavor. Overall I felt like I got the short end of the stick in terms of value. I’d be a fool to eat here again.

Today I did a mobile order of a steak and white cheddar panini with no horseradish sauce. However, when I arrived home and took the first bite there was horseradish sauce. I then proceeded to call them and was going to tell them to refund me but they did not pick up. I have always loved panera, but to simply not read my order correctly and not pick up has made me not want to ever return.

Used to go to this Panera all the time until they started messing up my order every time I went in. Sent in a complaint and was told someone would get back to me in two weeks. It’s been 4 months and still no word from them. Food’s fine, customer service might be the worst I’ve ever had.

It’s a chain so don’t expect much. Tuna is bland with lettuce pale tomatoes and obligatory onions on soft bread. Half sandwich is $ 5 with a sample bag of potato chips. Would not recommend.

The staff here has so much attitude. Because I think it’s a little bit funny I gave two stars. Lmao! It’s like ordering from middle school jerks!

I have been there twice this week and it seems like the staff can’t be bothered to ring up my order or answer a question I have. Instead they keep staring at me and continue talking to each other. I am so dissapointed in the lack of customer service here. Im never coming back to this location. I would rather eat the crumbly food at target cause they have better customer service.

Well, I suppose it depends what you’re looking for. They have wifi. The have lots of good types of bread. The new Ancient Grains salad was great, I’d have it again. And the Apple Caramel muffin was so moist and big slices of apple, I was very impressed. Great option before a movie. My friend ordered a veggie sandwich and it was really bad, hardly any veggies, just bread, lettuce, a couple tomato and cucumber slices.

Food was good. I couldn’t order the Mac n cheese through the app. When I picked up my food I was having conversation with the gentleman who worked here and he said I can make you some mac n cheese real quick! I thanked him but declined as I already ordered something else instead. Kudos to your employees and their great customer service!

Staff are a mix of friendly and unfriendly employees. I usually order the salads online and like other reviewers state, you don’t always get consistency. My last order, I requested extra wontons on the Chinese chicken salad and instead I got none. I wouldn’t complain if I hadn’t paid over $ 15 for two salads that were bland and tasteless. I probably will stop coming to this location.

The food is o.k. in general but it is a mystery as to what you will actually get since the menu says nothing. A good example of this is the Asiago Steak sandwich I got. That was the only description. I heard what ordering hell the 2 people before me went through so I thought I would toss the dice and get the sandwich anyway. I thought it would be an asiago cheese sauce but instead it was some of the cheese on top of the bread while it was baked… can’t stand that. The steak tasted like roast beef, basically nothing special done to it. There was some lettuce and tomato and I think maybe onions, but that’s it. There was a slight hint of a horseradish spread on about one quarter of the bottom slice of the roll (instead of covering the whole surface). So while «OK» and filling, there was nothing special about it.

Things are looking up at Panera; however, they still need more focused employees; and to stop microwaving the bacon!
I love their salads, always fresh, and with light dressing, fruit on top most of the time. Their bread bowls for soup are delicious. What is it about their bread that is so addicting? Whatever it is, I like it!
Their french onion soup, and cream of chicken and rice are my favorite, perfectly spiced and piping hot.
The pastries are not consistent, not sure if they bake there or outsource. Hoping to try something good next time I’m there.

The menu and quality is good, with ample seating both indoors and out. They have the best coffee and iced tea of any comparable joint, and the prices are really good. Many soups to choose from daily. I have not added the bakery treat to the meal recently but am rather tempted someday. Hats off to the chefs and the whole crew for efficiency and cooked to standard taste. Their frequent diner program is what keeps me coming back over other choices in Novato. Slight drawback is the surprise you get when counting calories and fat… it’s not always as lean as it looks!

Come here. Always clean, nice and. consistent. The food seems fresh and good quality. Little bit salty although. Bread is good too as always.

Food is decent. Staff is friendly, but really slow. It looks like there’s only two staff, one on register and one in the kitchen. Don’t expect too much here

First time tried their café and it was surprisingly very good and fulfilling and tender meats. My tummy is happy, full and content for breakfast and lunch.
For breakfast I had the warm Ham & Swiss Baked Egg Soufflé that was a Freshly baked soufflé made with our savory egg mixture, ham and Swiss cheese that was 490 calories. It was really good filled with egg mixture contained inside a nice croissant crust. It was yummy and excellent. I was hungry no more until lunch.
For lunch I had the Fuji Apple Chicken Salad $ 8.29 which was 550 calories and was tasty. The ingredients were All-​natural, antibiotic-​free chicken, field greens, romaine, tomatoes, red onions, pecans, Gorgonzola, apple chips & white balsamic apple vinaigrette. I got a giant chocolate cookie and bottle of water and that lunch filled me up! :-) My tummy so happy and full and didn’t feel like eating dinner later. Who knew salad was so fulfilling! :-0
I would love to come back to try their items again or new items too. I didn’t think a place like this would make things actually taste good. Nice surprise. You can’t judge the way a café looks until you try the food out. I just thought it was just an ordinary café, but I was wrong. They do make good quality products. :-)
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The Good: Love love love that they have proper outdoor seating and enough room for semi private seating inside! I also really like the Bacon Turkey Bravo sandwich and the Broccoli Cheddar soup. Sometimes you go out and get Broccoli Cheddar and it’s all watered down, but not here so that’s a plus. If you are going for lunch I would defiantly say to make it a meal (order the pick 2) because it’s worth it.
The Bad: I know that this is a little picky and it won’t effect most, but for me the 11am cut off for breakfast is a bit early. Also they will not put cream cheese on your bagel. So let’s say you stroll in at 11:01 wanting an egg sando — nope that’s a no go so you get a bagel with schmear to go. You then have to grab a knife, stand in the entry to smear your schmear, toss your trash and repack your bagel so you can eat it on the go. Again *“Oh wah poor me”* picky, I know, but avoidable now with this knowledge.
The Ugly: Staff training seems grossly inconsistent. For example Sunday morning when I went in there was a blonde young man with a short hair cut who was peppy, eager to help and friendly. However, Frank at the register was short with the customers and outright rude to the other workers. Unfortunately it seems every time I go in there is one rude apple mixed in with the otherwise pleasant fruit basket.

I’ve been here a number of times since Panera Novato opened and all those experiences have been largely positive. To be fair, I guess I should have written a review about one of those experiences but since I’m like a lot of folks out there and am really only compelled to write about the bad experiences, here goes:
I got there this morning at around 10:55 and proceeded to order a couple breakfast sandwiches — only to be informed they have no more eggs and furthermore, are no longer serving breakfast. The girl seemed new and completely lacked empathy. I turned around to leave and once outside, consulted briefly with my 8-​yr-​old daughter.
«Doesn’t it seem a little jacked up that it’s like 10:58 and they aren’t serving breakfast anymore?».
«Totally,» she said.
I decided to return and when I walked back in, was greeted by a different young woman, possibly a manager. When she asked if I wanted to order breakfast, I then inquired about the egg situation. They had 3, but no egg whites. «Still serving breakfast?» — check. We had 2 minutes. Satisfied with her answers, I proceeded to place my order. As I was paying, the skinny little one in the back yelled, «NO MORE BREAKFAST.» She seemed agitated. Unhappy. I’m all for the kitchen communicating with the front of the house, but I don’t need to hear that! Especially when it’s coming from the scowling face of the girl who’s making my Sausage, Egg & Cheese on Ciabatta.
Shortly afterward, they called some guy’s name, a large brown bag was placed on the counter and half a beat later, a different voice called my wife’s name (Panara card is in her name). Confused, I made my way to the pick-​up counter. As I was looking around, trying to figure out which bag was mine, the unhappy girl rudely asked, «CAN I HELP YOU, SIR?» After explaining that I heard our name called and being told by another customer that the food I had just pointed at was his, the unhappy girl dismissively informed me that the other bag must be mine.
I fully realize this review might come across as nit-​picky, but I don’t think there’s anything wrong with not wanting feel as though I’m an inconvenience to the the folks who work there. I know what they do is hard. Seriously. And they probably aren’t paid particularly well. But smile a little from time to time. Don’t go out of your way to make me feel like a jerk. That’s not too much to ask, is it?
I’ll still go there. They have good salads and it’s fast and convenient. Just hope everybody’s a tad more friendly the next time…

Like the you pick two at Panera Bread. Salad and soup plus drink as in unsweetened tea. Add dessert for .99 and it’s a meal. One thing I have noticed is there is more soup if you eat there than take to go due to their dine in bowl size compare to the to go cups. Not twice as much but noticeable. Salad not always consistent but the service is generally very good and helpful.
Still the best place for sandwich and salad at Vintage Oaks. Anyone who still prefers the Subway nearby are only looking for savings over goodness. Like how can you run out of bread at lunchtime unless you forgot to make any once the ones from the day before are gone maybe.

I AM A FAN. I can always count on Panera for a salad and a bag of chips (no bread for me-I’m gluten free). There is something for me at Panera even though I“m gluten free. This restaurant stays open till 10 p.m. and has free internet.
The tea is good and I hear the coffee is made fresh at the request. The staff is nice and the food is consistent. Although I think they put too much dressing on the salads, it is a generous portion for those who like it.
The pastries look great and the people eating them look as if they’re enjoying it. The morning four cheese quiche is tasty and I enjoy it with a fresh tea.

This is a brand new location. I had only been to the one at Northgate Mall in Terra Linda and wasn’t very impressed. This one has a very nice outdoor seating area and the restaurant is very tastefully decorated with warm colors, art on the walls, and lots of light colored wood.
I had the Asian Sesame Chicken salad, which was very good. You don’t get table service, which is ok as the prices are very reasonable.