Paradise Bakery and Cafe

Newly remodeled… Now you are greeted with an IPad upon walking through the door… Pretty impersonal… Feels very fast-​foodish, tables are now jammed on top of each other with less privacy and less booths. Lost its relaxing feel. Definitely not Paradise Bakery anymore — more McDonaldish than most Panera’s.

This location is currently closed and will reopen on December 16^th as a Panera Bread! They do have a tent on their patio everyday until then. They are giving out free samples of pastries, coffee and hot tea. You can also sign up for a new myPanera loyalty card and get 30 days of free drinks when they reopen!

My wife and I just had lunch here. No cheese was added to our turkey sandwiches. Bread felt like it was produced in a rubber factory. On top of that, the woman waiting on us at the end of the line claimed we only ordered one full sandwich. We were holding our receipt clearly showing we paid for 2. She gave us a snooty look and said she would bring us the second sandwich, which she never did. I had to go up and ask for it.

I went here yesterday to pick up lunch for me and my staff. One of my co– workers called in her order, no problem. I go in and make my order there for a Greek salad no onions and a cup of soup. I was also ordering an additional cup for a coworker. Salad came out fine. When got to the lady (don’t even want to call her that after she yelled at me), she yelled at me like I was some child. She didn’t even ask if I had a «club card». I handed her my club card and in her muffled english she told me my total again and gave me a dirty look. She ripped my card out of my hand and charged it. She did not get me my soup and i had to ask for a roll. On top of that it was a to go order and she didn’t even offer me a bag. When i asked for one she gave me a ripped on. On top of that she did not give me a fork or spoon. thankfully i had a fork at work but no spoon. I had to eat my soup with a fork.
Coming from a resturant background, I personally would have fired the cashier. I will never go to this location ever again and I hope they get shut down.
Oh and im pretty sure they would fail a health inspection. I already made the call.

I’ve been to this location many times and every time the ordering process is RIDICULOUS. You approach the window and order and they usually direct you to «soup person» and then then the «salad person» — it’s quite chaotic to place an order, and you’re shuffled around a bunch. By the time you get to the cash register, the person working does not know what you’ve ordered — you end up repeating your request several times.
I also find it very odd the way they literally hand you your food after its prepared, mid process. They don’t set anything on a tray with silverware or on a plate. They just hand you the soup bowl and then hand you the bread — imagine shopping at a grocery store without a cart.
I go here because I’m a fan of Panera (they own Paradise Bakery) and because the food is the same (except the average cookies here) but the ordering system here makes for a lengthy and confusing experience.

The food is delicious and I enjoy lunch here often, however the customer service is completely sub-​par. So much so that I’ve started to just expect it. This evening a worker actually rolled her eyes at me when I requested a lemon wheel in my soup that actually states on the menu that it comes with a lemon wheel and my experience just went downhill from there. This job is not holding you hostage, you actually chose it. Customer service roles are not for everyone. The management needs to oversee their staff when it comes to issues with their attitude. I can’t be the only one who is noticing this.

Paradise is owned by Panera so if you are from the Midwest you will enjoy this place, however they don’t have the baguettes or pumpkin muffys– my personal favorites. Otherwise the food is similar.
One recommendation is that I would call and order a head of time. If there is a line (which there almost is, especially during lunch) you have to wait until everyone in front of you has their food. So you if are just coming in to get soup be prepared to wait.
Overall a great lunch place!

I just won’t go anywhere else for my morning coffee, breakfast, wi-​fi when it Scottsdale. To go next door to is a mystery. Live a little (and yes, I know there are a few Paradise locations as well), but it doesn’t have that corporate feel.

How I want to love this place. Yet it is hit or miss on the cookies. If you haven’t tried the coconut chip cookies — you’re missing out on a little slice of paradise. However, you will probably be disappointed to find that they don’t continually restock their cookies. If you go after the lunch crowd, the cookies are probably gone and they aren’t making more. I don’t understand… if you are going to list something on the menu, then you should have it. When you ask why there aren’t more being made, it is a shrug of the shoulder and «I don’t care» attitude. Oh Paradise… it’s only paradise if you have the cookies!
7÷23÷15 went there again today at 1:30pm. 1 coconut cookie. Yep. 1. Ever heard of supply and demand. If I go there frequently and you are out of these frequently — logic says you aren’t making enough!

Phoned in a large to go order for a business lunch I was hosting down the street. The person who took the order read it back and confirmed. I would normally not choose this restaurant but the client requested it. I picked up the order and it was in several bags. I was assured the order was complete. When I arrived at my clients, we were missing orders (we were charged in full though). I called the restaurant and spoke to the manager who told me to come back some day and he would buy me lunch. I explained this did not solve my problem with my business associates but that was all he had to say. Food is mediocre at best as well and service is not friendly at all. There are much better options for the money.

This place is hitting the skids! I came here for lunch with my boys today and found it to be sorely lacking compared to the great place it used to be. My son’s kids PBJ had barely a smear of PB and a glob of grape jelly flopped in the middle — not even spread. My turkey avocado BLT was the most uninspiring bit of sandwicherie I have seen in years. And worst of all, their cookies used to be awesome — but not anymore. They’re not bad, but they are not as big and are nowhere close to the quality that they used to be. Panera is driving this place into the ground. So sad.

My wife & I have been customers of Paradise Café for a dozen years. Our favorite place to meet after our exercise. We have been here several hundred times. It has been sad watching it go down hill after Paradise was sold. The menu has changed, not for the better, the cleanliness has gone severely down hill, outdoor eating area is filthy. The birds take over due to old meal plates sitting around. It used to be great.

Had the smoked turkey on sourdough bread, BORING… white soft (think wonder bread) sourdough and a couple slices of thin turkey (think Oscar Mayer) my husband had the turkey panini (just ok)
Won’t be back

Taste your latte prior to departure, otherwise you’ll be trying to wake up with a cup of milk! Staff was super friendly but may need additional training about the number of shots and how many ounces of milk go into an expensive caffeine drink.

This is a review of THIS location only. I typically love Paradise Bakery… especially their cookies. This location (located in the high end Gainey Ranch area) has to be the WORST run location I’ve ever been to. Unfortunately it’s by my house our I would never come back. They constantly forget to prepare orders… they are always run out of utensils, the employees are poorly trained, the tables arent cleaned in a timely manner. It’s just horrible! Oh… but the cookies are still good.

The food is good but the service is not so good. Maybe because there is great variety in the menu, it takes longer to prepare. I’m not sure. I just know that I ALWAYS wait in line a long time at Paradise. So if you don’t have time to spare, don’t come here.
I like the size of the restaurant and it’s a good place for a business meeting. The tables and booths are far enough apart that you can talk without being heard by others.
The most recent time I came here, yesterday, they lost the breakfast order of the three-​year old girl with me. We finally asked about it and several minutes later, after everyone at the table was finished, it came. It came without an apology, which was disappointing.

I love Paradise Bakery and have always had a great experience at this location, but not today. The employee that helped us was clueless (later found out it was her first day… and believe me, it showed)…it took her entirely too long to locate the sandwiches on her order form that we were trying to order. She served me chicken noodle soup that was broth only… sorry, we paid $ 10 for 2 soups and would like more than broth. I discussed the situation with the employee that delivered our new soup and he only gave me the excuse of her being new = fail! Make sure your employees are fully trained and representative of your brand even on your first day… it will go a long way!

This location is absolutely AWFUL!!! They screw up my order EVERY SINGLE TIME!
That’s if they even get the order in the system…
This morning I ordered breakfast l, sat there for 15 minutes and my order hadn’t even been started.
I WILL NOT BE COMING BACK, Managers don’t give two shits and employees are close to brain dead.
NOT RECOMMENDED

Ever been to a Panera? This isn’t as good. It’s not a bad place, and if you’re getting soup or a salad, or bakery-​type goods, you’ll probably have an ok time. If you’re in the mood for a sandwich, go elsewhere. We’re talking about a few slices of lunch meat slapped between some bread and sauce. I’ve been disappointed with both their Bacon Turkey Bravo, and their Smokehouse Turkey Panini.
It’s crowded at lunch due to the location, but it’s a nice clean place with friendly people, so don’t get me wrong there, but I’m a sandwich man, and frankly they disappoint. It’s just not the quality of food that I expect to pay $ 10 for at lunch.

Super friendly staff front to back in this gem of a place. This includes the folks taking cookies orders up front, sandwich orders in the middle, salads (should you feel the urge to be super healthy) and drinks right before you pay.
I got such a kick out of the kids ringing us up. I ordered a ½ sandwich. So Mr Court Jester calmly says to the Ringer Up Dude.“Uh. That’ll be Twelve Sandwiches.“
Ha.
No :)
I also appreciated that they didn’t push ordering a bottled water (which was right up by the register). They highlighted that tap water was free and available by the soda station. (Sweet!)
There is copious amounts of indoor seating. (Outdoor too should you want to venture into The Oven in the summer months. No misters were on during the middle of the day. Not sure if they have them.)
Definitely a cute, clean neat place to stop in. Tables were promptly bussed. (Awesome!)
I say go for it!