I really like the manager that has the day shifts. She's so welcoming and thoughtful. She seems to really care about her regulars and the people that visit her location. Panera is a staple in my bi weekly fast food orders and they rarely disappoint. Sometimes they'll forget a sauce or avocado but they have great customer service and they'll always make it right. The sip club went up in price so I don't go as often and they don't have the pink charger lemonade so I don't go as often. The kitchen sink cookie is incredible. Join the rewards program via the app and you just may get one on your birthday. ayyyeohh! read more

I frequent Panera (normally the one on Norridge and you should too) and this is by far the worst Panera I have ever been too. The music is so loud here and is rap and pop music. I called a friend and they asked where I was it sounded like I was "in a club." I politely asked if they could turn the music down and they said no. I said how do you turn the music on, "it's a button." They also got my order wrong, but no biggie. Mainly I come to Panera for the healthy options and ambiance, but I won't come here. It's worth it to drive to the one in Norridge. The music isn't too loud. The staff and managers there are AMAZING. It's always clean and I rarely get my order wrong and if I do they kindly make it right and have such a good attitude about everything. read more

***Update: Since I was unable to get in touch with the manager of the Elmwood Park, IL. Panera, I wrote to Panera Bread Guest Care (corporate). Within one hour, I received a very kind response with an apology and an effort to make things right. I really appreciate that. I placed an online order on July 31, 2025. I ordered a Bread Bowl Broccoli Cheddar Soup. When I got home, there was no bread bowl. This is the second time that this has happened from this location. The receipt that was attached has a line that says, "Order Checked By..." No one checked the order. There is no signature/no initials. I called this location to speak to the manager. On the bottom of the receipt, it says, "Accuracy Matters. If your order is not right, please let the manager know." I called two times and during each call, an employee hung up the phone. I never spoke with a manager or an associate at this location. This has been a very disappointing experience with this Panera and a waste of money! read more

Saturday went to an older Panera Bread location. I could tell by the sign and the parking lot, which was smaller with smaller car stalls. My son LOVES Panera so if we are in the area, we try to go to closest Panera. I just wanted to give the managers at the prep area 5 stars for being patient after dealing with demanding customers. We ordered our usual: grilled cheese for son and You Pick 2 for me. This time I ordered the duet; the Tomato soup was so warm and tasty that I wanted another cup! The restaurant had music in the background and was clean and welcoming. Thanks for a pleasant experience, we will be back. read more

Panera Bread - Sandwiches Near Me - Elmwood Park, Illinois

I use to work here. The general manager Jessica was always rude and demanding when it came to tasks. She treated her workers like we worked in a sweat shop instead of decent human beings. Her mood was a wild card especially in throughout the day , she would always yell at us and other workers to do tasks. Instead of communicating effectively about what needs to be done, it was yelling demands on top of demands. You would think this type of behavior from a manager is inappropriate and unacceptable in a productive environment and business establishment, but apparently if you in a high position you can get away with it. I am glad I left that establishment early on when I had the chance. 2 months of torture and dealing with a miserable soul who has and probably been working there longer than me. I hope the district manger or hr find someone better fit for the position. read more

Delightful food, but unfriendly front counter person. We went for lunch yesterday. The woman who took our order, appeared to be a manager since she wasn't in the normal uniform. She didn't smile once. She seemed unhappy to be there. It made me feel like I didn't want to be there and deal with her attitude, even though I was smiling and friendly. Gurl if you are the manager and have that attitude then you bring down everyone around you. I will say the people preparing food seemed in much better spirits and were congenial and almost made up for grumpy at the register. read more

I really like Panera. They have good sandwiches w/high quality fresh ingredients. Bread can make a good sandwich better & for me the sour dough on the turkey gives a nice chewy texture that I really like on a sandwich. You add bacon, avocados, lettuce, tomatoes, & mayonnaise and you have a WINNA. Winna WINNA chicken (turkey) dinna. Very good sammich. The other sandwich that I split Was the beef w/cheese, Mayo on French bread. Anudder winna but not as good as the turkey on sour dough. Both sammiches come wit chips & a pickle slice read more

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The broccoli soup here is delicious, especially that it's in a bread roll, the service was good, very friendly employees, the ambiance was great, very chill and laid back. read more

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I really like Panera for a faster healthier food option in general. I was surprised how dirty this location was. The floor needed to be mopped and swept. I ordered at the kiosk so I can't speak to the customer service but the person who handed me my cup was friendly. It seems this location needs some rehab work as it is very old. read more

I had placed a drink order near closing and the manager saw me walking up to the door and locked it . it was 6 minutes before closing. I waved and the staff pretended I was not there, there was a customer still inside the building I got the manager's attention and she unlocked the door. i told her I had placed 2 drink orders. She left without saying anything to me so I entered to collect my drink order (still before official closing time) As I relayed my drink order to the woman working the register and then I hear her yelling at me from the back. she yelled " who said you could come in here!". I left immediately , was not my goal to trespass , just wanted my drink I had paid for within business hours. She was extremely aggressive. Why leave the door unlocked? Why walk away without saying anything? For the sake of identifying her she was a tiny woman. The staff seemed afraid of her. read more

Haven't dined in became this location is very busy. Food is always prepared correctly when we orded takeout.

Customer service 0/10 Stopped in for my morning coffee (monthly subscription.) When I walked in, s worker was chitchatting with a cop. This was not an official conversation. There was no almond milk. In fact there was nada except dribbles of half and half. I asked her for almond milk. "Can't you see that I'm busy?" 0/10 read more

This is a very busy Panera location. The food is good and the staff is polite and careful with special orders. It's conveniently located and has ample parking. The food is not the issue - it's the atmosphere. I wish I could give this a 5 star rating, but two things are constant problems: the LOUD blaring music at all hours of the morning and afternoon make it impossible to stay for any length of time, and the place needs to cleaned more frequently (especially vacuuming the carpet floors). If this location played (much) lower-volume classical music, or offered ear plugs to customers, it would be packed! With the music so loud all the time, you cannot really relax and enjoy your food and you can hardly hear someone if you're with a friend. WHY does the music have to be so loud and blaring? Why can't you just use low-decibel classical music? You'd see a difference immediately, I can guarantee you. Way too much sound, you can't relax and it also affects digestion. read more

I hate leaving bad reviews for establishments. I had 2 hours to waste and was extremely disappointed with my food. I ordered the combo meal broccoli cheddar soup and Cesar salad. My soup and lemonade was good but my salad consisted of old withered lettuce that should have been in the trash. When I asked for a replacement I was told their truck didn't come and this is all they had. The manager was extremely nice and tried to accommodate but I would suggest saying they are out of salads versus serving customers items that are not edible. read more

This location is right on North avenue and is sorely needing a bigger parking lot. We come here for the sweets and they do not disappoint. You can always choose from an assortment of Bagels, Croissants, Cookies, Rolls and Scones. They are freshly baked throughout the day and there is always a nice selection to choose from. This location is usually very crowded, but they do seem to take care of customers in a timely fashion. There are self serve kiosks on the left side, but, I would not recommend using them unless there is a very long line. I saw people attempting to use them and it took them a longer time to use them than having a real person assist you. Besides, this is only a way to cut back on employees, which I am not in favor of supporting. They do offer soup and sandwiches here also, but, have never ordered any of them. read more

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Easy access and food prepared quickly. Unfortunately the portions of egg and cheese were very small, not even the equivalent of one scrambled egg. Bread was very small too. Very disappointed read more

I'm not sure if they have new management but the new portion sizes are terrible especially for the prices that they currently have. Also, super rude manager and cashier. I wasn't offered my 99 cent pastry and when I asked about it they simply said it couldn't be done. Never really had a bad experience in any other Panera except this one. Look elsewhere! read more

For my second review of 2024, here we go. I have passed this location on several occasions a relative of mine has her eye doctor in the area. I have always picked up bagels from panera, this time we went for the value duo. Which is a perfect portion. The soup and sandwich flavor is amazing. Very friendly staff upon waking in, greeted immediately. The staff smile even when busy. Very cozy location and relaxing comfortable area for a light lunch. I have only to two paneras both have been a positive experience. Thank you for the amazing experience. See you soon. read more

I will not visit this restaurant again. We ordered for pickup. They were incredibly delayed even though no other customer was in the store. But worse than that, they showed no interest in the fact that a customer picking up an order waited over 15 minutes. if I hadn't badgered them, i'm not sure my food ever would have been given to me. They eventually "found" it in the back somewhere. I know it's hard to run a restaurant these days but wow, these employees were absolutely terrible. It was Sunday August 11 around 3:15 pm. read more

The store itself is a mess. Dated and dirty. Employees sitting at tables gossiping. That shouldn't matter you come here for the food, right?! Kids grilled cheese was disgusting, maybe one piece of cheese and burnt bread. The mac and cheese was watery. I'm not sure how the quality of food can vary so much from store to store. Also I'm not sure how sanitary the iced tea, lemonade could be after watching the pitchers being cleaned. read more

I just came out of your restaurant. and was appalled by the way, Niyah treated Carolina the cashier. It was obvious . She was spying on her when she took my order. When she ran out of the back to reprimand Karolina for not charging me for the croissant that I asked for rather then regular bread. She did this right in front of me, you need to train your managers to respect the customer and your employee. This was shameful Panera. read more

I purchased a choose two meal, a bbq chicken sandwich, and a chicken avocado melt at 2:41 pm which was about half an hour ago and I was given the frontega sandwich instead of the chicken avocado melt. The restaurant was not busy whatsoever, and the hispanic lady who put the food out was seen to be making conversation with another customer to a point where I heard my name called and I tried talking to her to confirm it was my food, but she blatantly ignored me. Will never be returning to this location again, because the lack on intelligence to simply put out the correct food when that's what you're getting paid to do is preposterous. read more

Panera Bread - Receipt and incorrect sandwich - Sandwiches Near Me - Elmwood Park, Illinois

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Steep decline for this location. My rapid pickup order was always on time and correct, but portions started getting smaller and I was finding stuff in my food. When I found a piece of plastic wrap in my warm bowl, that was the last time I ordered there. read more

I came in to pickup a soup & salad about half an hour before they closed. I felt super rushed by the employees. I was going to eat my food there but I definitely got the vibe that they didn't want me to eat there. I originally ordered my food for dine in. When I went to go pick up my food, they handed it to me in a to go bag. The lady at the counter said I know you ordered dine in but we close in 15 minutes. With that being said, there was no way I was eating my food in there. I get home & take out my food and noticed they gave me a rotten/smashed apple. I go to this Panera often, I was a bit disappointed in the experience tonight. read more

Panera Bread - Rotten/smashed apple - Sandwiches Near Me - Elmwood Park, Illinois

Nothing beats their broccoli cheddar soup! My all time favorite on a cold winter day.

Good food fast delivery and good food very nice people. The music is kind of loud. The bread is good and cheap good option for The homeless population. read more

This is the third time I've gotten take out from this location and they've messed up the entire order. The order was correctly written on the receipt that was stapled to the bag, but when opened, it was the wrong salad and the two sandwiches were not per order. We order for our clinic here, with multiple people placing their orders under one, and when it's all wrong, it's extremely frustrating and not professional at all. Looks like a management problem since this happens multiple times. We won't be ordering from this Panera anymore. read more

I may be a little jaded with this review but I am not a real fan of Panera. Yes, they are really consistent from one location to another. Their bread is really very good. But, I am not a fan of their prepared foods and this is the same at all Panera locations I've been to. We had a quick business meeting here, then I met my family quickly. I had a bowl of their chicken soup and a roll. Yes, the roll was great. The soup, on the other hand, was not hot and the noodles and vegetables were overcooked. On another note, they now offer you the chance to order via kiosk so you don't have to speak to anyone behind the counter... (?) Yes, there is someone who will come out if you need them. I was surprised to see this. And, while I've seen "self-service" in airports before, this takes jobs away from people. It's discouraging to see a service business remove people from the equation. read more

Service was ok. The location is dirty, tables aren't clean. Food was the biggest issue. Mac and cheese was cold, pizza was also cold and hard. It was not good. It sucks as this is the closest location but will be driving to the further location to get better quality food. read more

The frontera chicken sandwich is gone. I will never ever say or eat at panera again as long as I live!!!!! Stupid restaurants always fixing what ISN'T broken read more

Just had one of the most disgusting meals of my life here. The lettuce in all the salads was rancid. The pineapple pieces were moldy. How can you even serve people food like this? You people should be ashamed of yourselves. read more

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I'D like to send a shot out to Beth working the register, she was so nice and polite and patient with me while I tried to figure out what I wanted ‍.. So thank you Beth for being you ! read more

Generally quick in and out, always friendly service, and accurate with our orders. Taking off a point for the tricky parking situation. DO NOT park in the Binny's lot!! Park on the street, or behind Panera, if you can find a spot. Clean and tidy dining room, very spacious, and rarely too crowded. We can always find a seat. I appreciate the vegetarian options! read more

I went there tonight and had green tea and home style chicken noodle soup because my stomach was in pain due to eating a frozen pizza several hours earlier. The soup and tea really did the trick, my stomach pains subsided. I complemented the manager on the excellence of the chicken noodle soup. Recommended. read more

This Baja mac & cheese definitely looks better on the site/menu than it does when I ordered it. That's upsetting. It was tasty, but I guess next time, I'll be sure to ask them not to chew up my avocado and spit it back in my bowl, and instead to leave it sliced. Try it. read more

Panera Bread - Baja Mac & cheese. - Sandwiches Near Me - Elmwood Park, Illinois

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Few times, I ordered online and picked up in store. And they always, allllways didn't have few items. And it was early, it wasn't the end of the day. I didn't like either how everything was prepared for takeout. Just thrown in the bags everything together. I ordered like seven quiche and put it just in bag one over another.. you can imagine how they lookalike after that.. ridiculous.. and for that money.. 60$.. not worth at alll. Location in Elmhurst, next to my house and next to Hip mall are exemple how that bakery should run of business. read more

This Panera needs some major renovations. Place is old and dirty. Also the breakfast is really bad, no taste & very expensive.

This place always messes up orders. I have ordered from here few times and each time it was wrong. Today my order was completely different and when I tried to call, the store doesnt answer. read more

A mixed bag of greats and awfuls is a reminder of why I seldom eat at Paneras anymore. The food--while of good quality--is expensive as shiznat and almost makes me wonder if they've rung it up wrong at the register. Their 'pick 2' option saves you almost no money; a small mac & cheese was $5 and half of a boring ass ham/cheese sandwich was $4. Value? Not today, Cochise. I was very pleased with how good the mac tasted, but their ham/cheese sandwich was as plain jane as you can get. Didn't even have mayo or mustard on it, nothin'. Mega lame. However I do appreciate that with your order you can add a bakery item for 99¢. Dining area was kept meticulously clean, the employees super friendly and engaging, which was nice to see (this saved them from a 2*). Aaaaand here's why this particular Panera is no me gusta: Their minuscule parking lot makes turning around impossible for any vehicle that isn't a SmartCar and stretches a 3-point turn into a 12-point dodecagonal cloverleaf maneuver. Did I mention Panera's lot is a dead end? More than a handful of would-be customers likely pull in to park and go 'hmm I wonder if there's more space in the b-OH goddammit!' My advice is to park in Binny's lot and save yourself a bunch of undue grief. Also.... ....I imagine there's some sort of unwritten rule (they're just "guidelines" says the Pirates' Code, hehe) about limiting the number of condiment packets each customer is allowed. Maybe 1 mayo, or 2 mustard, or 3 ketchups for those who really like to keep it saucy. But they offered single-serving Tabascos, so naturally.... I took 17. DIGGIT. read more

Love their broccoli cheddar soup and salads. Yesterday, I had the Ancient Grain, Arugula & Chicken Salad and it was soooo delicious. The chicken had a tasty flavor, the greens were fresh, and the grains made that crunchy bite that you expect in your salad. I was fully satisfy for the rest of the night. It is a good and tasty healthy choice as for a late dinner. Plus, I have to say that the staff is always very courteous and friendly. Service is fast and accurate, I never had problem with my orders. And the dinning area is always clean. Would I recommend to the management is a bit more of attention to the restrooms. In general, everything else is great. read more

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