I used to enjoy going to this Panera until they moved their location about a block from their old one. The new building they designed is horrible. The layout doesn't make any sense and there's not enough space for everyone who decides to eat inside. Not enough tables, not enough walking space. It's annoying to say the least. With this location's newly added drive thru section makes it so people who decide to eat in will have to wait much longer for food then before. Trying to maximize profits here for Panera has lead to poorer, slower service and food. I'm very disappointed by these new changes. They make frequenting the restaurant unpleasant, and I'm considering not going there anymore. It's too bad there are no other locations in Bloomington. read more

Worst drive thru service ever!! And didn't even get my sandwich for the pick two. Overpriced food.

This is, quite possibly the worst Panera in America. They mess up something every...single...time you go in. But, if you go in after 7:30 pm the incompetence is dialed up. They will be out of baguettes, most deserts, and all sandwich breads but white. Panera Bread can't stock bread. I'd love to know their standards for hiring a manager. Go somewhere else. Oh yeah! ... & the staff is furious if you show up anywhere remotely close to closing time & they let you know it. read more

Nasty. These people gave me a dirty bowl for my mac n cheese and were very rude to me. Horrible customer service and my ringer didn't go off(my food was sitting) and I let them know and they didnt care or try to make it right. read more

I have been a customer of Panera for many years and have been extremely satisfied with the one in my hometown of Westfield INdiana, however, I had a completely different experience at the newly renovated Panera on East 3rd in Bloomington IN. Choices were limited to the point of not being able to order what I really wanted. While trying To order desert someone picked my table without asking. Experience was awful. I attributed mostly to poor management. I simply crossed the street to Barnes And Noble and got what I wanted and more. It's too bad as I have always liked Panera. read more

They were out of wheat bagels and wheat bread when I went at 8:00 pm on Sunday August 28th. The goddess Cobb salad with chicken was good. read more

They no longer provide a usable amount of salad dressing with their salads. Whenever I try to order regular bread with my soup by always get the baguette. The workers are not concerned at all about customers. read more

Cheap price, bread is good, and their soup is tasty, and there has a lot of rooms to seat and enjoy your meal, you could stay there longer if you want to finish your homework there, great place for one or more people going^^ read more

I'm generally okay with Panera for a quick lunch spot. However have been to this location twice and have not had good experiences, mostly due to disorganization. read more

My review might be a bit bias because I love this place. I love it because I came here to study almost daily during the summer and I attribute this place to my good grades haha. I grab lunch and sit in the corner and study away for hours with endless coffee refills. The place can be a bit noisy but the food is good. Their panini's are always crispy and hot, their salads are always fresh, and the service is very good. They open at 6am to 9pm so its a great place to grab some specialty bread and coffee for breakfast before classes. read more

Staff is friendly and warm but it's a very disorganized/dirty Panera compared to others. I constantly have found coffee grounds in my coffee despite complaining about it. Paninis are usually cooked thoroughly enough. The bread and bakery items are consistently good, however read more

I am not a big fan of chain restaurants but Panara has always been better than most- in the past! It has been going downhill gradually and after today I will not go back to the Bloomington store again. First of all the cashier was rude and unhelpful and appeared to hate her job. Glancing behind her to the guy on the phone who appeared to be taking an order, my husband and I were treated to a view of half of his BARE buttocks( several inches of exposed butt crack). That was almost enough to lose my appetite! Took a trip to the restroom and there was not a single flushed toilet or a clean toilet seat. So disappointed! read more

For breakfast its not bad. Bagels are good and pastries are OK to very good. Coffee is OK to good, but nothing special. The service is very good most of the time and its a good place to hang out and get some work done. Lunch and dinners were much better but have gone down hill in the last few years. The portions are very small and the quality has gone downhill. Mostly flavorless and not all that well presented. That is sad as we used to go there fairly often for lunch and sometimes for dinner when we wanted something nice, but not cost too much. read more

So. I'm excited to see my amex tap n pay card (the ones digitally stored inside your phone) works here! At first was not excited pick 2 cannot be two pastas (except Mac n cheese)... But as promised, the pasta portionings are now bigger! Bravo Panera! Bathrooms clean, but floors could be swept a bit more. That said, this location is always busy, and they do well to keep up. All thats really missing for a better atmosphere is some low volume music...a energy seems lacking... Food is great, courteous staff.. Bout 13$ with drink and pastry desert, for a stuffing meal. French onion soup..no complaints! read more

Very blasé. Almost no vegetarian choices and ZERO vegan options. In Bloomington, that makes no sense. So many better options in this foodie town. read more

Zero attentive help from 2 cashiers who sat there and stared blankly about my questions about the menu. Didn't have any bread, which is pretty crucial to Panera. Refused to get food but friend spent nearly 20 on two grilled cheese sandwiches. Terrible prices, no help read more

Wow. So is Panera a fast food restaurant? I know not at the same level as McDonald's but.... certainly fast food. A few Saturday's ago I went here and ordered with no line issues what so ever. Then we sat down in the restaurant and waited for our food to arrive. And we waited, and waited, and then decided to ask after about 15 minutes what the issue was. They said it was a "45 minute wait on food." 45 minutes? They weren't even that busy. This place is a sad excuse for a Panera. Not the first issue I've had here. read more

Terrible... I called at least ten times and could not get through to speak to someone about ordering. When I finally placed my order, LO AND BEHOLD they were out of bread... and to think they call themselves Panera BREAD. read more

STAY AWAY! It's always hard to find a seat because the students sit there for hours and just study. Every time I come there out of something. Bread bowls, bagel's, key ingredients to my favorite sandwiches, they are always out of something. Service is also extremely slow. I waited 22 minutes today for soup and a salad, and they couldn't even get the order right. read more

Woefully understaffed - there's a consistently long wait to order here at all times of the day. I get it Panera - YOU DON'T CARE ABOUT YOUR CUSTOMERS' TIME. Make the switch to table service or beef up your staff and get things moving FASTER. read more

Eat here all the time, like more than three times a week, although mostly from lack of choices around here. Mostly polite service. Almost always out of something. Good luck getting a bagel past 10am. Stay away from espresso drinks. Always cold - I specifically ask for made hotter and told I wasn't possible - the machine had only one setting. Real great service. read more

Well the only reason they get two stars instead of one is that they were kind enough to tell us they were out of the bread that was planned one of our sandwiches. My fault for not checking before I left but the sandwich I paid for was only half prepared so I paid for a whole and only got half. When I tried calling there was no response despite several tries. read more

New location is bad. Service has gotten worse and 4 out of the past 5 times I have come here they have been out of bread bowls. Please fix this. read more

It is so frustrating ordering food either ahead of time, in house or through the drive through. The inconsistency is aggravating. Missing items, bags full of plastic utensils (including soup spoons and napkins) for sandwiches - such a waste of plastic and paper products. We have to check our order everytime without leaving the counter because half the time items are missing. I've received the wrong sandwich a plethora of times, ingredients are missing - sometimes they aren't cooked, sandwichs and salads are SOOOO small at times, items are not in the bag, potato chips are always packed if you forget to say something (they don't always ask), and I don't always get a receipt (have to ask sometimes). If the bread (at the end of a loaf or otherwise) is very small - please don't use that bread for my $6-9 steak sandwich! Needed: Consistency, portion control, verifying ticket items, packing and checking order! read more

The cashier was not very friendly when I ordered. She never smiled and would sigh whenever I added something else to my order. The worst part was that I found TWO dead flies in my broccoli cheddar soup today. Yes, you read that correctly. They were TWO small black flies in my soup. I will never eat here again, now that I know their standards for food are extremely low and poor in hygiene. read more

Better than average. I like the baked goods much more than the sandwiches. Definitely better than McAlister's across the parking lot.

I live in Unionville, Indiana and my mother -- who is dying of cancer -- sent me to Panera in Bloomington to pick up some pastries for her. I went to the drive-thru and ordered 2 cinnamon crunch scones, 2 chocolate croissants, and 2 cherry pastries then drove 1/2 an hour back home only to find that the young lady who took my order had broken one scone in two and stuck it in a bag with the 2 croissants, perhaps thinking I wouldn't notice the difference. Well... I paid full price for 2 scones, and yes, I DID notice, and was ticked off. Plus, it seems like every other time I go to Panera they screw up my order, forgetting something or putting in the wrong item. Enough is enough. My mother may be a loyal customer, but when she passes away, I won't be replacing her loyalty with any of my own. P.S. I called their location to complain, punched 5 for "manager", and ended up speaking to an indifferent young lady who was NOT the manager, and seemed to be in a hurry to simply get off the phone. Not cool. read more

The old location was great, but the new one is terrible. It's smaller and does not cater to families whatsoever. There's only a handful of tables big enough to seat 4+. Poorly designed. read more

AVOID! I visited the new Panera location today, it's awful. The interior layout of the dining room is cramped and uncomfortable. It was packed for lunch, difficult to find seating and a complete madhouse with everyone bumping into each other trying to maneuver through the space. My food was ridiculously overpriced for the portion size. $6 for half a sandwich that was considerably smaller than the palm of my hand!! And I have small hands. The taste was nothing special either. Their coffee is basic and lacking in any enjoyable flavor, and they only offer white processed sugar. If their business goal is to get people quickly in and out for turnover and profit. Well They succeeded. I came in and out but I will never again return or give Panera my money. I used to come to Panera to get a bite to eat, coffee, pastry, and stay an hour or two to study. Easily spending $13+ a visit. They offered plenty of seating for all the customers, and it was reasonably comfortable. Panera will never be my choice for a study/eat spot ever again. I honestly feel it was a waste of my money. read more

Many dirty tables, which they never cleaned the hour I was there. They ran out of decaf and I waited 20 minutes for more. Ran out of half/half and waited 10 minutes for refill. Danish were all marked wrong and employee even said not to pay attention to the signs and mine was stale. Terrible layout of new location, there is no "flow" and everyone is in each other's way. Not that it was ever the greatest anyway, but even worse. Don't know if seriously understaffed that morning-only about ten patrons at the time-or if employees are in the back on their phones. Other customers were also complaining. Too bad. read more

I generally love Panera Bread, however, this particular location is in desperate need of help. The first time we went to this location, we went through the drive through and my boyfriend ordered a salad and soup. We did not get this salad and soup but instead got a random turkey sandwich. We called the store and the manager, Jonathan, told us to stop back in for a free meal as an apology. We went back to Panera today. There was no record of us ever complaining, however the MOD, Scott, gave us a discount on our food which we greatly appreciated. It would just be nice if we actually got the food we ordered... There was no chicken on the salad, no chicken on the tortellini, and we never received the bakery items we asked for. We definitely will not be returning to this location any time soon. read more

I love panera but they need to get it together, they run out of bread at 7pm on a Monday when they are called "panera bread"? Oh wait but it doesn't stop there they also ran out of broccoli cheddar soup and honestly all their other soup blows, so that was pretty much a night ruiner. read more

My husband and I like Panera. Their pastries are very good, sandwiches, soups, and salads. Two concerns we have though. First is many times when we go in they are either out of coffee or almost out of it and what is there has been there for sometime. They should be making coffee more frequently. The other concern we have is that they DO NOT have enough help. We were there foday and had to wait and wait to be served. We were getting ready to go elsewhere when finally someone came over and took our order for coffee and a danish. They had exactly 3 people up front, one making sandwiches/salads/soups, one taking the orders and a third also working around the sandwiches, etc. Finally, a person who was sitting at a table, but who worked there, came over and waited on us. The coffee issue and having to wait is an ongoing problem and is the reason we rarely go there anymore. And when the coffee is almost to the bottom of the pot it is no longer hot enough and tastes terrible. read more