Something doesn't sit well with me when it comes to chain bakeries. However when in East Chula Vista, there are limited options. This Panera is huge. It has lots of tables and wi fi with a number of outlets available to plug in. On this particular visit I was in the mood for coffee and a pastry. Both were good. Nothing terribly spectacular.However this particular Panera has the best service of all of the other Panera's that I have been to. The staff was friendly, polite and attentive without being intrusive. read more

I love this place! My favorites: - bacon turkey bravo sandwich!! (best cold sandwich) - frontega chicken panini!! (best hot sandwich) - mac & cheese!! (sooo creamy!!) - tomato soup (deeeelicious!!) - caesar salad (big portions!!) - bread (i loooove all of the ones I've tried, & I've tried many!!) - lemonade (really good & free refills!) - coffee (also great & free refills!!) I'll stop here because I could go on for a while & quite possibly list the whole menu.. Whenever I come here I order a "you pick two", which includes your choice of 2 things (out of a sandwich, soup, or salad), in addition to your choice of 1 side (apple, bread, or chips[so good, & crunchy!! like kettle chips]). I usually get a sandwich & soup with bread, but I switch it up once in a while. and they have FREE WI-FI!!! I always come here to study because it's close by home & if I'm here for a long period of time, I don't have to leave to get food!!! (: One time I was here from 10am til 7pm & ordered 2 you pick two's & a dessert within that time frame. I suggest you sign up for their FREE my panera card. You swipe it each time you order anything to earn points, and they'll email you with a gift, like a free pastry or something!! The service is great!! I've never had a bad experience here & I've been here countless times. read more

This location has moved to the south entrance of the mall next to Jack in the Box. It has a drive through that I was really excited about. Well, I visited the drive through and the menu wasn't a complete one. Luckily, I knew what I wanted to order so I proceeded. It took forever to get 3 bagels with cream cheese and a coffee. I was forced into getting a medium coffee because apparently, small wasn't available. My next visit was this morning. I saw several cars in the drive through so I went inside in order to "save time". When I went in I saw one cashier and a line of at least 4 people. I saw one customer go over and order on a self serve kiosk. After seeing that the line wasn't moving, I decided to do the same. Again, in an effort to "save time". I placed my order for 2 sliced (not toasted) bagels, cream cheese and a small coffee. I made my way to the side of the cashier counter to wait for my order along with a few other customers. We waited and waited and discussed the menu board which didn't have half of the available items on it (good luck for those new to Panera). Finally, the cashier realized her growing crowd and called for her manager for help. The manager stepped up to the other cash register and asked to help the next person in line. After that, she realized a few of us were kind of waiting around and she asked if she could help. The lady I was waiting with mentioned she ordered bagels at one of the kiosks several minutes ago and wanted to know the status of her order. The manager directed her to a hidden service window down a narrow hallway. This was were a waitress had been picking up food orders for people who were dining in. I guess we were supposed to know to go down there and pick our orders up. I went in the direction to wait for my order. I young lady asked what my order was and she asked if I had received my coffee cup. I replied, "no". She handed me a cup and I headed over to the coffee bar area. The hazelnut coffee appeared to be in the process of being refilled. The manager said it would be a few minutes but offered to fill my cup for me. While I was adding milk to my coffee, I heard another customer ask for half and half and was told it wasn't going to be available until after 12. What??!! I was so done with that place!! I loved the other location without the kiosks and drive through. It was always, quick and friendly service. I don't know what they think they will be accomplishing with this new set up but so far, so bad! read more

Man i used to love Panera, super disappointing. I ordered online and when I got there they hadn't made my sandwich cuz they were out of the bread for it. So I asked 3 times what kind they had and the lady looked at me like I was crazy. Got home and realized they gave me the wrong Mac n cheese too. When i had walked in, there was another person who's order was messed up, I should've checked. -_- read more

This place has the best food the best service! Everyone is very kind and so considerate. Even when they're real busy they do a great job. I love to buy a loaf of bread to take home. read more

I do not like the Eastlake location. I usually go to the Chula Vista or La Mesa location for they have better food quality. I ordered a pic 2 both were salads. I ate one salad and saved other for next day. Never ate the second one because I was so sick from eating the first one. I had stomach pain and diarrhea for 2 days. I called the customer service and they said they actually get several complaints about Eastlake location and that they think it's because they are a franchise. They supposedly sent a message to the restaurant and I have heard nothing from them. I want my money back and an apology. Nasty ass kids working in the kitchen, standing around talking and playing around. I will never go to this location again. Calling health dept on their asses. read more

It's a shame that a food chain that has its focus on clean, sustainable, and nutritious meals, has its values overshadowed by poor management. This branch in particular, leaves a lot to be desired. On multiple occasions, they have my order wrong. When I bring it up to the cashiers, or the servers, I have experienced them rolling their eyes or taking my food back without saying a word. Leaving me wondering what they are going to do to fix it. I don't recommend people to come to this branch unless they want to leave disappointed. For one, they are short-staff all the time and the few people they have on staff are rude and unprofessional. The food is served cold. Also, a big no-no is that they do not give you attention when they are taking your order (hence, the numerous mistakes). They always interrupt me or look away. And lastly, one of my visits, I paid for coffee and they didn't have it anymore. When I brought it up, the cashier said something along the lines of "sorry, we are not putting out any more. That was the last batch of the day." So, if they are not planning on making any more coffee, why charge your customers for it? This branch does not value its customers. They probably hire people from Dick's Last Resort. I do NOT recommend this Panera branch!!! read more

Panera is always a solid choice. It's not more stars though because the A/C is never on. I know it's probably a policy to keep it 75 or something like that. The fact is, it is too hot to sit and eat. Floors and tables are always kinda dirty too. read more

The quality of the food is good, but they screw up orders here. The staff is nice. Everything is overpriced. HALF a sandwich and soup for $6.19 and a whole sandwich from $6.29 and up? I could buy a loaf of bread and sandwich meat for that much. Great place to go if you've got plenty of disposable income. read more

Love the tortellini chicken pasta dish! And their soups and salads are delish! Been here twice and haven't had a problem with our orders! Great place for lunch or dinner! read more

This location has a drive thru and outdoor seating. Rapid pickup is your best option. The pickup area is to the rear of the store.

Panera was my favorite for years. Since this location moved and opened the drive through it is awful. Bakery goods used to taste fresh and now taste stale and are so much smaller. We used to share one and now they are teeny. Salads that used to be large are significantly smaller. Soup is lukewarm. Don't waste your time in the slowest drive through ever because they are likely out of what you want even though it is in the afternoon. Inside the location is dirty and cramped. Not comfortable. Have tried it multiple times going it would get better but nope, giving up on Panera in the Otay Ranch Mall. read more

Typical chain restaurant. Gawd, can they make the in store navigation a bit easier? They hide the drinks here, the pick up over there, the pastries over there, and the seats in there... read more

I have been here 5 times because my wife likes this chain... Reasons to go here: 1) Consistently the best food from Panera Bread I have had 2) Laid back, knowledgeable, and efficient staff who are usually happy to help 3) Great location at Otay Ranch Town Center 4) If your wife wants to eat here, but you pick something up from the sushi bar next door, the staff doesn't care if you bring it in and eat it there :) Reasons to avoid: 1) Gaggles of well-kept but older ladies funnel in from Cold Water Creek and other nearby stores like that to have lunch any day of the week. This group and the group of single older men who read the paper and treat the store as a Starbucks take up all the good booths. If this is a deal-breaker (sitting in the middle, open tables) then get in at off-hours 2) I have seen the manager staff get on the employees in front of customers...huge turn off but it only happened once. read more

Computers went out & the staff was amazing taking cash & doing math & orders by hand. Very impressed how they tacked this dilemma! Kiddos to the manager this am! read more

Best service ever! Very polite and patient! On top of that the sandwiches are off the hook! I recommend the chicken apple salad, chipotle chicken sandwich, MAC n CHEESE!, I'm salvating writing this. On top of all that their Chocolate chip cookie is bomb! read more

I used to go to Panera all the time for studying, etc. but this location is RIDICULOUS!! BOOOOO!! First -- the service is horrendous, people taking orders are slow. Second -- my sister asked for a new spoon because the one they gave was disgustingly dirty, they said she had to wait 10 MINUTES for a new one because of the dishes. She asked for a plastic one, she never showed, so she went to the register and asked for one. Third -- Delivery, can the servers really can't find a number fast enough? Fourth -- RUDE, my cousin jokingly said something to a bus boy, it was clearly a joke, and he smart assed us to a BAD YELP REVIEW Fifth -- the restroom needs some upkeep, it was so disgusting that a customer was gross enough not to wash her hands. I like Panera--- just go to a different one read more

I been coming to this location quite often due to its convenient location. Staff are super sweet and always ready to help. Service can be slow when there is a line. Consistency could be improved but not a major issue. For example, the hot coffee seems like its stronger sometimes and other times watered down. Not a big issue for me since I am not much of a coffee person, but I do like getting their iced coffee once in a while. Sugar and cream to make it sweet and creamy, please. Request on the side if you are not sure how creamy and sweet you want it. I love their ginger peach and earl greyer hot tea. Honey on the side plus stirrer if you want the employees to take the guesswork out. Otherwise, they will be eyeball-ing to measure x pump of honey. And you will need a stirrer or the honey will just sit at the bottom. At this point, you may have realized I like to have some sweetness to my drinks. On another topic, I discovered this year how delicious their bagels are. My favorite is the asiago bagel--its so fluffy and soft! I personally like it better than einstein's or bruegger's bagel. Downside, they lack variety in the bagel spread to only 3 options. I always opt for the honey walnut spread or just keep it simple with the original spread. This is my to-go location for bagels and the occasional drink. read more

This is my go to place if I can't decide where to eat. Their bread is fresh, and I've never been disappointed with anything I have ordered...and I've tried of lot of different things from them! My favorite thing to order is the Pick Two with the Sierra Turkey sandwich and Macaroni and Cheese. Their black bean soup is also really good if you order a side of feta to put on top, and I LOVE the croutons that come with the tomato soup. I'm so glad this place is a short drive away from my house, and very happy with the high level of customer service I get every time I go here. read more

So I'm still in love with their Bacon Turkey Bravo, BUT, they need to be more generous with their specialty sauce. I always have to get extra on the sandwich plus a side of it. Otherwise it's just a tad too dry at times. Because they're so busy, I'd recommend calling in your order. They have a phone pick up line so you can blow right by everybody standing around waiting, grab your stuff and sit down, or get it to go when you call in and leave :) zoom and yum. read more

Three stars..for a first timer there 3 stars is pretty accurate. O had the cappuccino and a slice of cinnamon swirl cake. Service was very good..the pastry selection was very good but limited for those watching their sugar intake..the cappuccino was very good though.. The place was a tadd bit noisy. Parking was ample and the booth was comfortable. Not much bang for the buck though.. Will probably not go out of my way to go back but for an afternoon cup of coffee, it is a convenient alternative to Starbucks.. read more

So let me start by saying I love panera but the last three times I have been to this store they have messed up my order. Today I ordered a sandwich with no onion and it says so right on the receipt but of course it came with onion. No big deal I can take it off but why should I have to. I ordered it with no onion and the sandwich maker should be paying attention. read more

I just drove 15 minutes to come enjoy lunch, only to wait 25 minutes in line. There was two people in front of me, but for some reason the cashier took FOREVER taking one order. So sad. I'll go to another location with faster service next time. Side note: While waiting in line, I noticed how dirty things were! All tables not occupied were covered in garbage and dirty dishes. Yuck. read more

My mom and I were hungry and wanted something quick to eat because of an appointment we had. We came in ordered the soup and 1/2 sandwich combo or whatever they call it. I remember the guy taking our order asked me that if they didn't have sourdough bread for the sandwich what would be my second option of bread. I said ciabatta. The restaurant didn't apear to be that busy. We noticed an unusually long time for getting our food and also noticed that other people that ordered after us got their food first. After a while our order came but only the soup. The lady said that they were out of sourdough and what would our second choice of bread be. I told her that we had already told the guy the took our order that ciabatta would be fine. It was taking a long time for the 1/2 sandwich while our soup was getting cold and time was running out for our appointment so I decided to just ask for a refund. The manager apologized and refunded me the money. It had been a long time since I was at Panera last and I remember good food and good service. I guess they now have good food and not good service. I hope they improve Might come back. Not sure read more

We have given the Birch Road location a try twice and sadly won't be back. Our first visit we ordered salads via the drive through and when we sat down to eat them they were... small. We ordered whole items and received dinner size items. The meat in each dish was minimal as well. Today we tried again and ordered Chipotle Turkey Avocado and Bacon sandwiches via drive through. When we reached home we found the bread to was wet from the lettuce and tomato. It was frustrating. Our items also didn't have any chipotle but came with huge amounts of mayo - so much that after a few bites the bread fell apart. The drive through staff was great each time but this location really needs to work on the details. This wasn't worth the $10 a sandwich we paid. read more

I was very disappointed at the Panera Bread at this location! I had the apple chicken salad and my husband had the almond chicken sandwich. Both of these items had little to no chicken in them! Plus my salad was so small, smaller than your typical side salad. I cannot recommend going here! It's too bad because I was really looking forward to having lunch here! read more

We don't come here very often, but when we do, our experience is usually great! This past visit we were met with a server who's positive attitude was infectious. Really added to the experience! Went by the name of Justin I believe. If you're ever looking for tasty sandwiches and good service, this Panera location is by far the best I've been to. read more

I don't know why it took me so long to review this place, I come here all the time! I agree with many people that not all Paneras are created equal. This is one of my favorites though because I come here to study, and there are certain things that make Panera perfect: -Jazz, classical, placid music always playing -Free Wifi -Unlimited refills on coffee and tea -Lunch or pastries available, and unlike a library, I don't have to leave when I get hungry -Plenty of space and outlets This Panera can get very busy during lunch hour, but the rest of the day there are always seats open and the noise level is relatively low. I often come here so this is as to why the staff practically know me. They're very friendly and sometimes bring me cookies or give me free drinks :) read more

If you haven't tried out this new Panera location DONT BOTHER!!!! I was excited to try the new drive through .... boy was that a mistake! It was approximately 9:30am yesterday morning. 1st as I drove up to order the person on the other end says," I'll be right with you". One, two, three, four minutes pass and still nothing, I say, "HELLO", again they respond, "I'll be right with you". Then seconds later FINALLY I place an order. While waiting in line to get my order, 5,10 minutes pass...this is crazy I've never waited this long in a drive through. Then wait for it....finally I'm at the window to get my order, she hands me my sandwich and my medium cup of coffee, as I grab the cup I notice it weighs hardly anything. I open the cup and it only has about 2 inches of coffee, WT*! She then apologizes and takes it to fill it, I expect her back in seconds right? Well ya it shouldn't take another 5 minutes.....we'll it did so they apparently had run out of coffee and had to make more. She finally gives me the coffee and says, "thank you have a nice day"; I then ask for cream and sugar and she replies, " it's not already in there"? NOOOO if it were I probably wouldn't have asked OMGoodness! Just a horrible experience, I will not be back to the Panera in Eastlake any time soon. It was obvious who ever they had working was overwhelmed and not keeping up at all, running out of coffee should not happen especially at prime time fir breakfast. The management did not prepare these young associates at all for handling a drive through they need to re assess their morning staff and processes if they want to be successful with this drive through. There was 4 cars in front of me and another 5-6 behind me and I'm sure they waited just as long, not good for business.... GET IT TOGETHER PANERA! read more

Panera Bread - Fuji Apple chicken salad - Sandwiches Near Me - Chula Vista, California

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Ordered in drive through. Received wrong order. Went inside to exchange for correct order. Staff was hesitant and scatter brained. After explaining several times. They finally took my wrong order to fix it. I work in the food service industry. They need to work on customer service. After they fixed my order and made sure i double checked. They turned there backs and walked away without an apology or any acknowledgment of wrong doing. "Food as it should be", must be changed to "The food I actually ordered" read more

French onion soup on a rainy day. New thai salad w edamame has a nice kick to it. Get your my panera card, u get the free pateries n drinks with it. Garden veggie soup only 160 calories. The mac and cheese is filled with little shells that are lava hot & dripping in white delish cheese. Couple that with some of the sandwiches on artisan bread and you can not go wrong. I usually get some freebies since I rack up points on the My Panera card. Just when I think I can walk away sans the xtra calories, the card offers a free pastry or coffee. Sign up on the spot at the computer to the left of the baked goods and you will be in freebie club. Free wiifizzle for the nizzle too. read more

Okay for a quick breakfast or lunch or maybe even a casual meeting and coffee, but the wait is always terrible here both ordering and to get your food. Try another location where management staffs appropriately. read more

Panera is always wonderful! They have some of the best chocolate chip cookies. I mean, bread and pastries ... what's not to like? The broccoli cheese soup is great as well and I love the big, butter bread stick that they give you to dip! It used to be that I could only find it when I went to the Midwest to visit family, but I'm glad that Panera is readily available here in CA. read more

I get breakfast from here when I have the chance. Yummy bread wrapped around a breakfast sandwich with sausage, egg, and cheese. I usually order a thirst quenching lemonade; refills are included you just have to request it at the counter. This Panera has a large lobby. There are generally many people around with their computers studying. I will return again soon. read more

Picking up some lunch on my way home. I ordered a turkey BLT with no tomato. My BLT has no BACON!!!! Also it was made with the incorrect bread. I eat Panera all the time so this is upsetting. read more

This new location is much smaller than the previous one but way more techy. There's 3 ways to order for dine in. Either at the counter, kiosk, or at your table via Panera app. It also has a way more modern interior and most booths have plugs so if you're here to study, you're in luck. But during the afternoon, be prepared to wait for a table because it gets really packed with students. There's a drive thru and a rapid order pickup section inside if you want to order to go. The service is fast and good. Same food quality and price as before. read more

Really disappointed. Quality was so bad. My salad is not supposed to have bones in it.

This is the 3rd time in a row this happened to me when I placed an order for a specific pick up time. I'll order about an hour in advance to make sure I have ample time to make it to my appointment/meeting with a quick stop at Panera. I'll get a text notification that my order is ready to be picked up on the shelf and then when I walk in, it's not there. The employee will tell me they're preparing it. It takes another 10-15min wait and I'm already running late. Why even bother to place an order ahead of time to pick up at a specified time if it's not ready then don't send a notification that it's ready? Looks like they want to be good on paper or metrics so they click on orders being processed quickly but it doesn't translate to actually being ready. That's a sneaky way to get metrics and records looking great but not actually doing the work. This morning I got the notification at 7:25am that my order is ready. It's already 7:45am and I'm still waiting by the pick up area. read more

This for the drive thru location located at the same address. I don't eat at Panera much and most of my orders have been good up until today. I had ordered my usual of chicken tortellini and Caesar salad. I absolutely loved their salad but today, not so much. They served so little in the container that it didn't even warrant the $7-8 I spent on it. Then the sauce that was given for the salad tasted like pure vinegar. I ended up throwing it away because it was so bad. I was looking forward to the food but it was all around disappointing especially since the food is pricey. read more

Panera Bread - Cesar salad - Sandwiches Near Me - Chula Vista, California

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The Wednesday night manager is AMAZING, he is always making sure that the girls are taken care of and have enough croutons for their soup :) :)! We are here literally every week and it never disappoints. Also, a huge shoutout to Yessenia for making sure we were taken care of as well! :) read more