I really do like this place although it could use some improvement. First of all, it's a chain with a good business model. I've eaten at several in Colorado and California. The food is good, though not great. You can fill yourself up nicely for $5 and change if you just get the soup. On the other hand, one recently cold day, when I had a hankering for good soup, they only had one soup on the menu instead of the usual 5-6. Not good. In colder times, soup is a crowd pleaser. The service is OK, the waitstaff and servers are polite enough. I would check any take out order before leaving, but this is true of just about every place. The free Wifi is nice and sometimes I come here instead of Starbucks because the coffee is just as good and the pastries are better. I do notice a lot of people hanging-out, but I'm pretty sure they order at least coffee. read more

I am a frequent customer of this shop. The food is always good(not to mention the delicious pastries!), the environment pleasant and the staff is great, especially my favorites, Marquis and Amy. Highly recommend read more

I'm an early bird, and there is nothing is better in the morning then Panera Bread! Great environment and the food is good.

First visit to this location and my inital impression is that it isn't very well maintained. Dirty tables, floor and restrooms. It made me wonder what the kitchen looks liked. Not sure I'd go back. read more

Terrible food & Service. Stale muffin, plastic flavor. Onion soup was terrible. Butter tray was empty so I told the person filling the empties and she said "I assume you check by the coffee, if empty come back". Panera's has gone down hill. read more

The food is not too bad.. but I do see a gnat issue each visit which makes me question the quality of the food and overall cleanliness of the store. With that being said, the service here is also incredibly slow, but this isn't after just one visit, I'm coming to this conclusion after several visits. About a week ago, I stood in line for ten mins, which is fine because you've got a line and you're busy helping others, I totally understand. But this guy.... oh man..... this guy.. he moved like a snail. It was so frustrating watching him work because I mean, this guy, was incredibly, incredibly, incredibly slow. Almost as if to intentionally waste more time. And completely out to lunch at that. As I was next in line, we've got one cashier and a line that is almost out the door, he stops taking orders. So now I'm standing next in line right, for an additional 15 mins, why? Because he's filling online orders, and we've got no one at the registers for 15 mins, no joke, and a line that touches a door. People started walking out. No lie. So I guess I can just order ahead right? On my mobile phone and beat the line? Ok. Would be nice if every time I ordered on the app it was actually completed at the time addressed. Would also be nice if it was correct for once,lol. I've had to go back 2-3 times sometimes to get an order right. So I should just start checking before I leave right? Ok. I did that today. Good thing too because guess what? They got the order wrong again, lol.. maybe the gnats are laying eggs in their brains 0.0 read more

Normally great food but had had dirty silverware and plates the last 5 times I went. Disgusting!!!

Worst experience I've had in a while. I almost forgot what bad customer service was. Order my food at 11:14am Thursday the 9th of February. I was 3rd in line when I walked in and by the time I ordered the line was already at the door. So 11:40 comes by and I check on my food and they seemed lost like if the order never existed. I was on my lunch and had to wait 25minutes for a sandwhich and soup. They didn't even once mentioned Comping my order so I right away said to cancel everything. Before they started to make my food. Lady takes me to cashier brings out my change and expects me to walk away as if everything is fine. Don't you realize I waited 25 minutes for a sandwhich?! She tells me she is trying to be nice when not once I raised my voice. Then she asks me "What do you want us to do for you"? Like really? You're going to ask me? I am not here to beg for something in return for the bad service and long wait. You're suppose to make it right and offer something if you're to make it right especially making someone wait 25minutes. I work at Honda of Santa Maria and because of the long wait I went that day without any lunch. Thanks a lot. Ever since this I've been spreading the word. Not to mention, we order at least +$100 every Friday from Panera for our meetings. I'll be sure that changes. $100 x 52weeks = $5200 customer service is everything and you lacked it the second you decided to give me my money back after waiting 25 minutes for a sandwhich expecting me to just walk away and be fine. Going back to work with no lunch... read more

My wife and I moved to Santa Maria from Colorado where we already were familiar with the stores. We really enjoy "our" Santa Maria store. It has improved with the moving of the creamers/milk from the right side of the coffee area to the left side. This makes it more convenient - thanks. Keep the fresh coffee coming and keep up the good work! (Mac Cheese is really best on a cold or dreary day) read more

I had a very good customer experience at the Panera Bread location on East Betteravia in Santa Maria, CA. The customer service was excellent and the food was above average. I definitely would recommend this restaurant to both family and friends. read more

This Panera store is pretty good. I've always had good customer service and it's pretty clean. I would just say they can be pretty slow and my order to go experience have never been good. I do like it though and I continue to come here. read more

the only reason i come here is because in Santa Maria there are very few clean casual dining restaurants. the service and food is fair and 50% of the time my orders come out wrong. sometimes they forget to include chicken on my salads; other times they forget avocado. the sandwiches aren't any better; i ordered a turkey avocado blt and they included one small slice of avocado and a small amount of turkey. i had a $2 off coupon so i didn't feel too bad but i would have if i had to pay $8.99, which is the retail price. i don't know if it's the turnover or bad management but i hope some other similar restaurant opens so they have to compete. right now i don't think they care. read more

Went into Panera today and the food was not very good. The pasta my husband had was raw a little still and cold not cooked all the way. Our sandwiches we like just slapped together and messy. Out of all of the times I've gone here it had been go until now. I won't be coming back a waste of my time and money read more

Love using the rapid pickup ordering when short on time, able to order and pay with the app then pick up the meal within 15 minutes usually! Great fresh food and excellent customer service. Thanks for being awesome, Panera team! read more

I loved Panera , not sure about that anymore is the second time that I order the Soba Noodle soup and they don't have it , so I change it for the tomato soup and they don't have bread!!! Im like really ?? Worst part the cashier didn't even apologizes like they don't care read more

We ordered a big staff lunch from here today and all the food was amazing. I had the steak arugula sandwich and it was delicious. One of my staff forgot to pick up a smoothie when we left though. Stopping in at the end of the day to see about the mix-up , Jose at the front counter was extremely pleasant and right away offered to replace the missing smoothie or give us a refund even though it was probably our fault. Love the problem-solving customer service and will definitely be back. read more

I like to go to Panera for Lunch. Love their salads and bread. Panera is very predictable. Their Cobb salads are great.

I was disgusted by the employee behavior. Most managers would stop their employees from harassing the patrons but apparently this is not the case with this location. I saw an obviously distraught young woman being approached multiple times from one of the employees here and I almost lost my appetite. I am not too sure why they were in a disagreement, however, I do know that the customer satisfaction should always come first. I will never enter this establishment again. read more

Busy. Never enough staff. And when I have many times ordered online for grab and go my order has not once been correct. I always have to wait to have the staff run around and complete it even though the bag is sitting on the grab and go shelf. The Napa Chicken Salad sandwich is great but it's way more bread than filling. There are a lot of people working there very inefficiently as there are enough people to provide much better service. read more

Been coming to Panera for years now and first time I need to do a review. Two areas of concern, first being two days ago I pointed out to the workers and manager about a table that tips to the outside to the point you can't sit at the table and here today noticed that the table is still in the same condition and for that reason no one is using that table. Seems like the management could pay more attention to maintenance since this place has not not spent any money on remodeling as long as I've been coming here. Second, within the last three weeks on three different occasions when I've come in the morning to buy a bagel there were only four or five bagels left. Brought it to the managers attention and she said that they only make so many bagels and that someone came in and bought many bagel packs to go. I suggested to her to make more bagels than they've been making because people buy bagels into the afternoon and evening and all they do is go over to Starbucks when they run out here, and she said they only make what they make and that's it. On another note I've noticed that when I use to come in the evenings I'd order a breadbowl for my soup and they'd be out of breadbowls, so I finally just quit coming in the evenings. Great food but in my opinion they either need to remodel or do better maintenance and have more of their food items available because when they run out of bagels or anything else people just walk out the door and go to Starbucks or somewhere else. Oh well. read more

We have never had a completely accurate order from Panera Bread EVER!. What is up with that?. The food is good, but wrong. You never know WHOSE order you might get. read more

Had lunch there today. The restaurant had dirty tables, messy floors. Women's bathroom messy, no covers for toilets. It just seemed overall dirty. Tables and walls are chipped, seats full of crumbs. It was not busy at 10:45 when we arrived. It needs a good cleaning. Nice workers and the food was good. read more

Love it here, if you don't mind the price it is a great place to eat. Try the cheddar broccoli bread bowl and toffee cookies !

I love panera but this is the first one to not have soups ready in the morning. So that's the only reason I am giving 3 stars and the soda machine wasn't working very well. Won't be back to this location because I live for the soups. read more

This place is a dump. We spent 5 minutes looking for a clean table. Funny thing is they weren't busy. No clean flatware so we got plastic. Dishes left on tables and still weren't bused before we left. The floor was dirty and the manager just sat there doing paper work. UGH! Never again! read more

My friends and I went to this Panera Bread yesterday for lunch. We enjoyed our meals...they were exactly what we expected. However, I want to compliment the wonderful staff, especially the managers working while we were there. One of the kids dropped his dad's smart phone behind our corner booth, up against the wall. We absolutely could not get to it, and assumed the booth was somehow affixed to the wall. First one manager came to try to help us, then another. After several unsuccessful attempts, we were ready to head home to L.A. minus one expensive phone. Then, the two managers together somehow managed to move the big, heavy booth away from the wall, and retrieved the phone! They really had to put a lot of muscle into it. We were very grateful to them. They went way above and beyond to help their customers. read more

Used to be my favorite but food hasn't been as consistent lately. Friendly & fast service.

Panera is a great place to sit down drink ice tea and be with your family and friends I love panera the price is explainable for how amazing and fresh it tastes workers are the most cheerful! Panera is the greatest dine in place in Santa Maria read more

If you have food delivered, have it delivered an hour early! We ordered lunch boxes for 40 to be delivered between 11:45 - noon. They arrived at 12:20 pm and so lunch was late. It was stressful. Once delivered, the boxes were delicious an ample portions. read more

Ordered a sausage, egg and cheese sandwich with coffee. The sandwich was absolutely horrible. I took a few bites and left the rest, the smell was rancid. A few hours later I became ill, really ill; ruined the rest of the day and into the evening. Finally the next morning after unmentionable events I recovered. This place is terrible, never again. Overall cleanliness is bad, dirty tables and carpet. Service is most unimpressive. read more

Hi its Michelle from Rawviolets Piercing and Tattoo just moved in to Salon Arad next to Panera Bread have been going their everday and the food is bomb good for you and the perople that work their are so nice . Exspecially Coral Norrie makes the best salad read more

Ethos - Every time that I have been to Panera Bread, they have never failed to please me. I have always found the environment to be welcoming and their menu is just a little bit of everything that I crave. I love their turkey sandwiches and soups. And don't even get me started on their jalapeno and chocolate chip bagels. Their food is basically my guilty pleasure. Pathos - Are you hungry? If so, what is it that you are in the mood for? Is it a sandwich, soup, or how about just a sweet pastry? Having trouble deciding? If only there was a place that had all of those options. What if I said that there was a place like that? Well guess what, there is. Whatever you are in the mood for, Panera Bread has it all. Logos - Seven out of ten Panera Bread customers plan on going back just for the desert. Another eight out of ten make plans to go back a week later. Nine out of ten people say that Panera Bread is a great place to eat at. Eight out of ten people would say that if you are not craving Panera Bread, you have to be tested for mental stability. It doesn't take math to know that Panera Bread is a hundred percent awesome. read more

As I set waiting for order, watched employee remove overflowing trash cans, dragging to rear of store, then come by serving line and pick up orders taking to customers waiting. Then I observed this process repeated over three times over. As we ate I noticed rug on floor was past filthy. Then to top it off a big black hair on bottom of salad bowl. My wife almost lost it. The front line is friendly , the Manager needs help with customer service and should not sit in the dinning lobby to correct or direct employee's. read more

I think the Rapid Pick-up is a truly great idea. However, for my first time the execution was poor. Which left me with a few disappointments. I ordered the Creamy Chicken with wild rice soup, but when I arrived they said they did not have it. I told them I even called ahead to ask what soups they had. He said we have it the back but don't have room on the line so I cant serve it yet. That was strange! Then, I was surprised that the other soup I ordered was not as described when I got back to the office. Bistro Onion...no croutons or cheese. I may try the Rapid Pick-up one more time... just incase is was a rare case. read more

Pathos: Just imagine taking a bite of the Italian combo biting down on a juicy sandwich. The meat is filled with flavor, and the sauce is a perfect combination to go along with the meat. Along with the lettuce being so crispy. The bread being crisp on the outside, and soft in the inside makes for the perfect bite. Logos: If you love friendly service then you would like Panera because they're very friendly. When you walk in you're greeted with a "Welcome to Panera". And when they serve you food they give it to you with a smile on there face. And check up on you so you get the best experience. Ethos: I go to Panera at least once a week. I love going there because their sandwiches have the most fresh meat, vegetables, and bread. The bagels are made everyday so you're ensured that they are fresh when you receive them. And who doesn't love coffee every hour coffee is brewed to make sure your receive the best quality for coffee. read more

I love the food, but it is just so packed at lunchtime that I generally avoid going there. The location is simply to small to handle the large number of people that value a good quality soup, salad or sandwich. If you can, try to go at 11:30 or 1:00 for lunch. read more

This place is way overpriced but the real deal with the Betteravia location is that its a dump...im sitting in here now unfortunately and there is garbage all over the floor, most of the tables are dirty and theres 3 people in here. I think the manager needs to be fired. Oh and i just ordered the Chicken tortellini...they forgot the chicken read more

okay i usually like panera but this place makes me not. my sister got her mac n cheese and it was basically all "cheese water" and fulled halfway with noodles. we asked if we could get more since its 8 DOLLARS SO IM NOT GETTING MY $$ WORTH and they said they couldnt do anything about it. the manager grabbed the spoon and lifted it and said "there's the noodles right there." like i get theyre apparently "pre portioned" but it was literally half full. as for another time at panera in pismo, they filled my mac n cheese when it was low all the way to the top. so i rate it a F in costumer service. plus this panera is pretty dirty, and the table should be cleaned more often and crumbs off the ground could be picked up. not asking for a lot. read more

awesome salads and sandwiches, a guilt free lunch or dinner along with a great pastry