Ok, so it's soup, salad, and sandwiches. Nothing fancy, but the ingredients are good quality, always prepared quickly, and I never feel rushed out of my seat. Staff is always friendly. The only thing I don't get is the side of bread with your bread sandwich. Can't I get some kind of fruit or slaw or something? Prices are ok, especially with the combos, and it's a great alternative to greasy fast food fare. read more

This place is great to grab breakfast or lunch. The food is always fresh and the bread/pastry is delicious. Inside is very relaxing with natural sunlight always gleaming through their windows. There's always a fireplace which adds a nice touch. I always see a few people studying and reading inside..much better place to study compared than starbucks and stuff. I usually order the 1/2 sandwich + soup or salad deal and they give you a choice of an apple, baguette, or chips. The panini sandwiches are delicious. I usually order the broccoli cheddar soup and it never disappoints. My FAVORITE thing to order on their menu is the mac and cheese. It's the best mac and cheese I've tasted! Perfect consistency and it has the perfect amount of cheese. Their iced green tea is also worth trying. It's refreshing and delicious! read more

Wasnt busy at 1130. But was when i left. Everything was good but they forgot to put dressing on my salad had tobbgo back and get some. Got cobb salad and broccoli soup. Was yummy. Kinda bammed they didnt have pasta, besides the alfredo and mac and cheese. read more

So they have the rapid online ordering...I ordered my lunch at 1155 to pick up at 1230. It wasn't ready until 145. I would have been better off ordering my food there. The food is ok. I can definitely make the same soup and sandwich at home for cheaper... read more

I was there this passed Monday, picking up an order. One of the employee's children were running into the kitchen, yelling for her. Is this normal practice? I would think that it would be a health/safety issue. Also, my order was not ready at the time it said it would be but it didn't seem busy at all. Thankfully, the food was good when I got it home. read more

I am very impressed with the way Panera handled a mistake they made the other night. I placed on online order and sent my son to pick it up since I had the flu. Being a teenaged boy, he picked up the order, but never looked inside to check that it was correct. When he got home, the outer bag had my name and the correct order, but none of the food inside the bag was what I had ordered. I was sick and grouchy when I called, but the young man who answered was very apologetic and handled it like a champ. He gave me the option of either keeping what I had and they would comp my orders on a different day, or they could get my correct order ASAP and I could come back. I chose to go back for the correct order. Since I was sick, I called as soon as I got there and the young man ran my food out to the car for me. They provided me with some extra goodies for my troubles, and let me keep the wrong order, too. Everyone makes mistakes. The way those mistakes are handled makes all the difference in the world! read more

I have been to several Panera's and usually the staff is very friendly. But from the time I walked in at this one, there was no one that was welcoming. There was no line so I walked up to the register to order. Although there were two people talking, neither of them acknowledged me. Finally one of them said "are you going to help her?" (I'm assuming a manager of some sort) the girl didn't say anything so the manager lady ended up asking what I wanted to order, with an obvious attitude that she was unhappy she had to do it. She did not ask for my Panera card or what side I even wanted and just chose one for me. It is clear that the workers are unhappy here and this is something that should be looked into. Until then, I won't return. read more

First of all the food was very delicious, however the portions were kind of small compared to the prices. I came here looking forward to getting a tomato soup, but was disappointed when they informed me that soups are not ready until 10:30. Just a heads up! read more

I placed an order for rapid pickup for two of a certain kind of muffin. After waiting 5 minutes past the pickup time, I went up to the counter to ask about the order. And the person behind the counter says "oh we ran out" and turned away. If you run out of something, fine. But inform the customer. Put the ticket in the rapid pickup window and say please see cashier, or something. They offered a different pastry instead, but by that point I was too annoyed with the poor customer service to want anything but my money back and to get out of there. The ONLY reason I am giving two stars was for the young man that was the only one that tried to help with a smile on his face and seemed to genuinely care about the customers. read more

Elk Grove needs a bagel store. La Bou blows (though I'm sure the local ice hockey team would disagree) and Starbucks just plain fails. Thought I'd give Panera a shot...first time to go there. They have a nice selection of bagels and spreads. Prices are just so-so. Atmosphere was way too pretentious for my personal taste, but if you're a fan of the scenes at Starbucks, Trader Joe's, etc. you'll probably love it. The real bad news was...let me put it this way: I came up with a really great idea for an organic ring toss game with Panera's bagels and breadsticks. Can't speak for the rest of the menu, probably won't ever go back either unless I'm in desperate need of some free wifi for some reason. Bagel lovers, a better choice would be to drive into Sacto to Noah's bagels. If you need to save gas, just go to the store and get Sara Lee bagels...you'll still be better off. read more

The food is good and everything but ive had 2 bad experiences with the employees they are just rude i will not be going back at least not to this location read more

Excellent bread, sandwiches and salads. I like their soups alot too, but I really miss their old Chicken Noodle Soup. Now that it's all natural, it's just not as good as before. But the service is great here, and the quality of the food is top-notch. read more

After eating here since it opened two years ago, I'm never going back. I ordered a half sandwich half soup meal to go the other day. Imagine this. After driving home from Panera (a 20 minute drive) and ready to enjoy my 1/2 Sierra Turkey sandwich, I dig into the bag and pull out a little 3x2 inch piece of bread with a wee bit of stuffings they call a "Sierra Turkey sandwich." WHOA. I paid 8 bucks for a half soup and this 3 inch "quarter" sandwich?!? They gave me the short end piece instead of reaching over for a bigger piece? For crying out loud, my little baguette was TWICE the size of my sandwich. So I call the in. The guy I was talking to knew nothing about the "customer is always right" and was saying a half sandwich is usually smaller than a full sandwich. No s*** sherlock. It's a half sandwich I ordered, not a full one. This little piece of bread they call a sandwich is 3 inches.... the littlest sandwich i"ve ever seen in my two years, 5 locations, at a Panera. He tells me they should have put more stuffings to accommodate the little piece of bread. Uh, no. The thing's right in front of me and it's TINY. Don't argue about it with me. I tell him they need quality control over the food they are selling, weighing their goods like Togos does... measuring for consistency. Tells me to come back if I want an exchange. No, I'm not going to waste driving 40 mins round trip to get another sandwich that should have done right the first time. They should have had better customer service instead of arguing. I should have checked the food before leaving Panera. I was in a hurry and it's their job for quality check. Never going back. And never going to another Panera again. I ate the thing in 3 bites and I was still hungry after my baguette and soup. What a lousy 8 dollar meal. read more

The Elk Grove Panera is ridiculous. A warning to people who haven't been to one before, the food is typically a bit overpriced for what you're getting, in my opinion. That aside, the service at this location is horrible. They are not only slow but I rarely get my food out all correctly. There are four different times the past month I've gone in and had something missing from my togo order, usually cream cheese for bagels, and only once was it during a rush. And those are just a few of errors I've had with my food over the past few months. The regular staff at the registers and on the floor are very friendly and they seem apologetic when a mistake is made, but the management at this store clearly doesn't care enough about the business they're running. I've tried to give this Panera so many chances but I'm frustrated! I now avoid at all costs. read more

The French bread was stale, the lettuce on the salad was old. Bad quality food at a high price . Will not be coming back !!!!

I visited Panera Bread for the first time last week. I had one of their salads and it was delicious. I like the family environment and see that the employees working there looked happy as they welcomed us in their establishment. read more

I normally love this place. Today I came in to the Elk Grove location and when it was my turn the two cashiers started talking to each other for a couple minutes before they acknowledged me. This was very unprofessional. Then I went to enter my phone number and the system was down so I couldn't redeem my reward, which is the only reason I came today. I showed the cashier the reward in my phone but she said she couldn't do it. I should have asked to talk to a manager but I didn't. Overall the cashier was not very friendly and I left disappointed. read more

Love their breakfast sandwiches and bagels. Parking kinda sucks if I'm trying to get in & out really quickly on my way to work. Not a big fan of their keiches....haven't really tried their breads except for their sandwiches which I think are pretty good. read more

One of my favorite places for something fast, easy and fast-food. I almost always get 2 items from the Pick 2 ordering option. The Asian Sesame Chicken Salad and a choice of soup is usually what I get. The Chicken Noodle soup is not as great as it used to be ever since they made it a little more "healthy", it became more "watery" as well. It was just a little thicker before the new recipe, but is still good flavor. Today, I tried the new Chicken Sonoma Stew for my soup option and it was pretty good. I would probably get it again. As for the salad, I am always very satisfied with it, just wished they would be a little more generous with the dressing though. As for the ambience, lots of people today, but usually students, families, after work-out people, or after a game people. I would suggest Panera Breads for people looking for something a little more upscale from the Togo type place. Lots of soup, sandwich and smoothie choices. read more

My husband and I often go to the Laguna Panera for breakfast on the weekends. Sometimes lunch. Customer service is always great, and the food is always good. The coffee is good as well, and I really like the fact that they put the brew times on the pots. I have never had anything here that didn't taste wonderful. I'm going over there to buy some bread today and see how that goes. By the way, their Pink Ribbon vanilla-cherry bagels are well worth purchasing, both for Breast Cancer support, and for the yummy taste! We buy some every time they're offered. read more

Why does this place only have one register open and there are at least 10 people in line for the last 15 minutes? Totally inefficient!

Bagels were great. The cutter they have is terrible- cuts were not symmetrical by a long shot. Older lady who took my order presumed to dictate why I should get my sourdough bread a certain thickness. What? Everyone has their own ideas - geez this is AMERICA lady - maybe she's just naturally Bossy! Thumbs down for service. read more

Don't understand how the place could go downhill so fast, I used to love going there in the evenings and having coffee and dessert. Now you have to ask for fresh coffee and the dessert selection is almost nonexistent, I was there at seven thirty p.m. read more

They have the best sandwiches, salads, and soups, containing healthy and delicious ingredients. Their homemade chips and chocolate chip cookies are a must have. I placed an online order for pickup by 1:00 pm, and it was ready on time. That is good service. When my grandchildren and great-grandchildren come to visit from the Bay Area, this is my go-to place to order lunch so I don't have to cook!! They love it. read more

Came in and asked for breakfast, they said they stopped serving breakfast, it was 11:01. We asked the manager if we could order breakfast, because it was only 11:01,she said they no longer had anymore breakfast food. Five minutes later a manager walking out with a huge, untouched breakfast order. So irritating. How did they run out of breakfast? What did they do at 10:59? read more

Placed a rapid order pick up and they ran out of a few things so I had to talk to the manager since my card was already charged. It all worked out in the end and the manager was super helpful. Customer service is awesome here. read more

Maybe if the girl behind the counter would listen more we wouldn't have gotten the worst hot chocolate ever

This is my 3rd attempt at this Panera since I moved to Elk Grove. The first time was ok, nothing great but my son actually ate most of his grilled cheese so we went again as a family with my husband. Well that time it was pretty meh... my frontega chicken panini. Which has always been my favorite was almost uneatable. The bread was so hard and dry with barely any ingredients on the actual sandwich like not even close to having a thin layer on majority of the bread and they forgot the mayo which makes the sandwich. My son's grilled cheese was black on the underside I figured that out when I cut in in quarters and he didn't like it. My husband said his soup tasted like they added water to stretch it out. His sandwich was funny because they cut it in half and one half basically had no meat at all. Like how much of a hurry are you? It's dead in here right now. We did come in around 7:30 so maybe they were running out of stuff but the price you pay, if expect it to be tasty. We pretty much all left still hungry and not satisfied. Yesterday, against my better judgment, I ordered thru the app and of course disappointed. The line was basically to the door and it was crowded but my order was waiting for me or so I thought. With my son on my hip, peeked in and everything was seemed in the bag but being it was so busy and holding a toddler and having no place to place everything while I took everything out to make sure, I just took their word for it. Well got back and there was no sandwich for my son! My salad litterally had 2 tiny tomato wedges and no oil I requested..... not happy as I was not driving back 10 min each way and parking a 1/4 mile again! read more

Nice place. Relaxing and soothing music. Great bagels and coffee. Free wifi and a fireplace! What more can u ask for?

As a student, I enjoy coming here because it is a warm, friendly, and happy atmosphere. I love their spinach salad and broccoli cheddar soup. Most importantly, there is free wifi! This is a great place for meetings luncheons, and study dates. read more

I received excellent customer service from manager Susan! I needed a receipt from an order that had been placed several weeks earlier for an expense report... Didn't know the total or exactly what had been on the order or when it had been called in or anything. She worked with the person in charge of their catering to try to track it down, and, when I couldn't give them enough info to go off of, they had the Panera IT department call me. The IT dept tracked it down in all of 20 seconds and emailed it to me. Appreciate them going out of the way to make my life easier! read more

Ran out of bread bowls and when I asked for a refund the cashier and supervisor got an attitude. Poor customer service. This location always seems to run out of something. Maybe management should be retrained on how much product they should be making/ordering daily. read more

They make the best sandwiches. I love their Frontega Chicken Panini. Very crispy and delicious! Been coming here more often with my friends for brunch. I highly recommend going here. read more

I used to be an absolute fan of Paneras. Good food, cozy setting. I have come here with my family for years. Sometimes I am here several times a week to have a coffee with friends. I like to take my kids there on Tuesday mornings before school for the bakers dozen bagel special. However in the last 4-5 weeks they have always managed to screw up the order. We are there at 7:10in the morning when there is hardly anyone there. Still it takes them 20 minutes to toast 9 bagels. So the next time I called in the order and told them I wanted 9 out of the 13 bagels toasted. We arrive and nothing is ready. Why do I call in the order? The week after that they cut my bagels on the bread slicer instead of slicing them. Then they asked me if I still wanted them. How are my kids supposed to spread cream cheese on them and take them to school? Today we ordered the same thing again( you would figure by now they know what we want) and after waiting for 20 minutes my daughter says: mom they have not even started our oder. Finally after 30 minutes we got our bagels. They had lost the receipt but did not get the idea of asking us again what we had ordered. Lets just take the money- maybe the customer will forge she ordered something! They did not even see the need to apologize. read more

$8.50 for a turkey avocado sandwich! That's crazy, the sandwich was a very small portion, and I was still hungry after I finished my sandwich. I would recommend mom and pop sandwich shops over this one, even the local grocery stores are better than this place. If you're in downtown and want a great sandwich at an affordable price, I would recommend Bon Air Market and Deli on 26th and J read more

So I stopped in to get my free Coffee. It was lunch time so I decided to grab lunch to go. I ordered the half grilled cheese and Caesar salad. Oh My Goodness so nasty! First the grilled cheese had no butter whatsoever and the cheese was a piece of nasty velveeta cheese. Thrown on the panini grill for two seconds. The Caesar salad dressing tasted like cheap stuff. I was purely disappointed and mad I wasted my $ on that food. Now Bouden in Vacaville knows how to make a grilled cheese and Caesar salad, just saying. read more

Called in for a to-go order and was in and out within 3 minutes. Very please with their fat service and delicious food

I love Panera, but this place is filthy! I came in after doing some shopping. I doubt I will come to this location again. Floor and dining area just nasty! read more

Sorry to say, I will not be returning to this Panera--which was my FAVORITE, go-to place to eat. The new format has changed the service and quality of food. Ordered a Asian chicken salad--the lettuce was wilted and slimy, oranges slices were mangled, and the dressing was just not tasty. Apparently, they are compromising taste for 'clean'. Another time, it took a long time to get a toasted bagel because the prep routing has been changed. The coffee drink was ready about 15 minutes before the bagel could be toasted. Lastly, the chicken-apple sandwich is made with a mysterious mustard spread, which ruined it. Although, the bread it's served on is very good. These last three experiences have finished it for me. read more

Blew a chance to demonstrate great customer service today, Sat, Mar 15, 2014. Excellent counter staff young lady offered to honor a $2.00 off Panera rewards on a salad I rec'd by email even though their system was down. She called over manager, Juan, to authoize it who then refused because I could not produce the email. Decided to buy lunch elsewhere. Not sure when I will return. read more