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    Panera Bread

    2.2 (354 reviews)
    ModerateSandwiches, Salad, Soup
    Open 7:00 am - 8:30 pm

    Panera Bread Photos

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    PANERA BREAD ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Casual
    Good for groups
    Dogs allowed

    Recommended Reviews - Panera Bread

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    Pleasant landscaping and clean grounds outside of Panera Bread (Simi Valley, California)
    Daniel J.

    I came here to Panera Bread for lunch with my Mom while we were in Simi Valley (California). I like the food and the service I've received at other Panera locations, so I figured I would give this particular location a try. As we approached, I found the landscaping to be pleasant and the surrounding area to be clean and well maintained. The entrance was pleasing as well. However, when we entered, we stood there for quite a while and saw no one there to greet us or to take our order. We waited and waited, and still no one came. Sadly, this Panera location appears to be one of those restaurants that has gotten so used to people ordering for themselves, through their kiosks, that they've forgotten about simple customer service, along with any interest in greeting their customers. After waiting for quite some time, and becoming a little annoyed, I decided to just order from one of their kiosks. I helped my Mom with her order as well because she hates using those machines. After ordering, we sat at one of the booths in their dining room and then waited for our order. I kid you not, I did not see a single employee on the premises until I received our meals. After a few minutes, my buzzer went off telling me our meals were ready to be picked up. For my lunchtime meal, I ordered a half-sandwich with soup and a drink. For my sandwich, I ordered the Ciabatta Cheesesteak, which has marinated steak, melty provolone, caramelized onions, zesty sweet peppers, and garlic aioli drizzle on ciabatta. For my soup, the Mexican Street Corn Chowder was in season, so I ordered that. The Mexican Street Corn Chowder comes with sweet corn, pablano peppers and potatoes, topped with blue corn tortilla chips. For my drink, I ordered a Dr. Pepper from their fountain soda dispenser. We ate our lunch in the dining area, which was pleasant and enjoyable, and my meal was excellent. The cooks at Panera did a great job preparing my order. However, if I consider my overall experience here, I also have to include the complete lack of face-to-face service from their staff. Overall, I think this Panera Bread location has great potential to be a 5-star worthy location. But, in order to achieve this, the management here would need to place a higher priority on making their customers feel welcome, appreciated, and glad that they choose this location for their meal.

    Tomato soup and some very crusty and amazing bread.
    John H.

    First time here in ages. Loved the soup, the breads, not to mention my BLT on some amazing tomato basil bread, it was wonderful! One great BLT really. The only thing was, not enough bacon or mayo and I saw no way to fix things. Next time I'll know better.

    Mac & Cheese - Group
    Taylor J.

    Panera please provide your workers with hair nets, found a hair on my Mac & cheese. I've worked in the food industry and there are so many ways to prevent this from happening.

    Side view. All salad. Skimped on the ingredients.

    No chicken in my cobb salad. Not worth $15 plus tax and tip. Never again. I was skeptical about returning. I'm upset that I went back.

    Dining area.
    Randy B.

    Ben to this Panera many times and realized today I never reviewed it. I am always surprised on the criticisms of places and this one with an average rating of 2 is not justified. If you have read many of my other reviews I go to various Panera's multiple times per week and I really have never had a bad experience, maybe once when the Manager was rude to me while Yelping, go figure, but that was a location out of State. I digress. Love Panera and this location is no different, great service, friendly staff, great selection of healthier options vs fast food. Nice place to sit and relax for a sit down meal. I always use the app to make things go smooth and quick. You also can get deals and promos to use as well as coupon codes, recommended. Also, I am a member of the Sip Club, if you are not, join today. Unlimited drinks every two hours every day. Well worth it for me as I travel around a lot and can rely on a location close to grab a tea, coffee soda or fruity drink, highly recommended. Don't listen to the negative Nellie's here, check them out. Enjoy!

    Every booth had dishes on top and the carpet was filthy!

    Had a coupon for buy one get one sandwich for $5.00. I ordered two of the French dip to go. They were ready when I arrived. I was greeted coming in and when picking up at the counter. Lots of friendly faces and smiles! I was even thanked going out the door. The bread is delicious, the au jus was spectacular! Really nice tasting sandwich with the garlic aioli, cheese, and meat. Only negative was the lack of meat. It didn't even cover the entire sandwich. I hadn't been here in years and I'm happy to see they've improved tremendously since then!

    Dirty

    Kinda grossed me out eating here, if you put a flash light where the ice drops it's even worse to look at and ruins your meal. First time in a while I won't be back. They were nice at the register and food tasted alright not like it used to.

    A "bowl" of chili and half a baguette.
    Lianne K.

    Noting that since my last review saying that we ate here fairly frequently, our visits have diminished. I'm having some health challenges which can make eating salads problematic. I normally like to order half salad / half sandwich at Panera, so that's not been a preference lately. We did stop in for soup last night after attending an event with finger foods. Since I have to avoid foods with dairy ingredients, I didn't have much to eat at the open house. Soup sounded like a good way to have a light meal. Unfortunately, I chose their chili. As Dear Hubby said watching me taste the first spoonful, "It's not as good as yours, right?" Very true. Panera's tasted like it came out of a can, but with maybe a bit of enhancement added. For me, not enough beans for fiber, texture, and flavor. There was a good amount of ground beef, but so chopped fine that there wasn't a mouth feel to it. Served with half a baguette for dipping, a bowl came in at almost $10. I won't be choosing that again. Could have gone for chicken noodle soup, but wasn't in that mood. The cashier was very friendly and helpful. This store usually does have kind employees, which is a plus. On the other hand, still wishing for a makeover of their dining room. Might be in process, as there wasn't any artwork on the walls. Come to think of it, they didn't have any festive holiday decorations up, or at least nothing memorable. If they are in the middle of a spruce-up, maybe a few signs up announcing that a fresh look is coming, while thanking patrons for their understanding during changes. . .just a thought. While DH and I sat, eating and chatting, I recalled about 20 years ago when a dear friend told us about this new fast casual restaurant that she'd tried when out of town. She raved about it and was excited to hear that they were coming to the Southland. It was Panera Bread. The first one we then tried was over near LAX. Thumbs up (20+ years ago). As the chain made it's way out to suburbia, we were happy to visit and support, especially in Thousand Oaks. We've been to at least 7 of their locations since. Pretty much all of them have been around long enough that they need interior makeovers. Nature of the beast / time marching on.

    Smokehouse bbq chicken sandwich
    James V.

    im kinda shocked by the low reviews of this place. Went to check it out since I haven't had Panera bread in forever, but I had a pretty good experience! I got the smokehouse bbq chicken sandwich and it tasted really good and it was pretty filling. The place was clean and there was plenty of seating. The only thing that was bad for me was that their coffee was barely warm at their self-serve canisters. They definitely should be checking on that more often to make sure that they aren't serving barely-warm coffee.

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    12 years ago

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    7 years ago

    This place has really gone down the drain. Expect long lines and very rude associates.

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    7 years ago

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    5 years ago

    $17 for a bowl of soup & a mac & cheese! A small portion at that! You've got a be kidding me! It's the last time I promise you that!

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    Page 6 of 9

    Ask the Community - Panera Bread

    Bao Su a Chinese Cuisine - Deep fried sesame balls (6.95). Small-1 1/2" balls, dough was good, crispy and stretchy, red bean paste wasn't smooth, more on the dry side

    Bao Su a Chinese Cuisine

    4.0(501 reviews)
    2.7 mi
    $$

    I'm not sure what's going on with our usual go-to Chinese restaurant in Newbury Park, but after a…read moreyear and a half absence from getting takeout from them, they don't appear to be open. Their voicemail message continues to say "temporarily closed." So I started searching closer to home, which is a challenge because I don't usually view any Simi Valley restaurant as being worthy of our patronage... yet, I searched anyway. I found Bao Su on Yelp, so we decided to give them a try based on other Yelper reviews. Bottom line is that my husband and I were incredibly impressed with their food, not to mention, happy that it is so much closer. We ordered the following (takeout): Shrimp Fried Rice Shrimp with Lobster Sauce Szechuan Style Eggplant Sizzling Chicken Mongolian Beef I had a bit of a problem deciphering their menu because there weren't a lot of details as to ingredients, so I took chances and prayed they were dishes we've had before. Everything was delicious, plentiful and mostly recognizable... with the exception of the shrimp with lobster sauce. That was more soup-like and watered down from what we're used to, but it was still really good. All dishes were loaded with protein and vegetables, well seasoned and sauced, and textures were soft or crunchy, just as we knew them to be... and just as we loved them. We've since ordered from them again, and they were (very happily) consistently delicious. We are sooooooo happy to now have a LOCAL Chinese restaurant that we can trust and enjoy. We may even dine there and not do the takeout thing for a change. (I really would like to ask them what some of their other dishes are on the menu cuz I would like more options, truth be told. However, if the dishes above are the only ones I would ever choose to order, I'm fine with that, too.)

    I'm vegan having lunch with my dad. I had the best Kung Pao Tofu I ever had. Very crispy tofu and…read morejust very good. Dad had seafood lo mein he enjoyed. We also got to sit there talking for 3 hours without anyone bothering us.

    Photos
    Bao Su a Chinese Cuisine - Other angle of inside

    Other angle of inside

    Bao Su a Chinese Cuisine - Barbecue steamed buns

    Barbecue steamed buns

    Bao Su a Chinese Cuisine - Outside

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    Outside

    Panera Bread - sandwiches - Updated June 2026

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