I love, love, love their bread. Roast beef sandwich is super yummy and my ultimate favorite is soup in a sourdough bread bowl. IT'S THE BEST! My only problem is that they fill it up when you eat it there, but only give you a little cup for to-go orders. Then, if you want more than that, you have to pay extra. Twice now I've had to shell out an extra $1.50 or whatever to up my soup amount. Then, when I talked to the manager about it, he said I shouldn't have to pay extra to take my food to go, but didn't offer to reimburse the money I had already shelled out. Not the biggest deal ever, but not the best customer service either, if you ask me. I would've given them 4 stars if they would just make it fair when you're ordering a breadbowl to stay or to go. read more

Panera Bread ... is what happens when you do away, with the mom and pop bagel and dessert stores. You loss the taste and and quality. read more

This particular location is typical of other mediocre Panera locations I have been to. It is always bright, clean and welcoming. The cashiers, however, are neither pleasant or attentive. It is obvious that customer service is not a priority at this location. The assortment of baked goods is typical of all other locations. Very tasty and made fresh daily. It would definitely be a 3 Star if it wasn't for the poor service we have received the last 2 times we were there. We will DEFINITELY NOT BE RETURNING. read more

This particular Panera Bread is much like all of its brothers and sisters all over the country - the food is very consistent, above average for fast(er) food). This Panera in West Caldwell is a bit bigger than most with plenty of seating options. It is usually fairly full, partly due to the WiFi. The staff here are quite friendly, however the drawback is that many times they are doing everything under the sun while people are waiting to order. Here is a short list of things I have seen employees do while there is a line of people waiting to order: sitting at a desk in the back doing nothing talking on their cell phone stacking cups that were already stacked laughing with each other They also always take orders from the bakery cash register which causes people waiting in line to never, ever know where to stand. If you go up close to the main registers you will 100% get skipped when someone just pops up to the bakery counter and you will be annoyed. You will also be annoyed because an employee is counting sugar packets with a line of seven people, but at least the food is consistently good at this location. read more

I enjoy the food and prefer to order by rapid pick up and in store. They have never ever been on time when emailing back that the order is ready obviously hasn't stopped me from going and clearly they are doing it for some sort of metric for headquarters but it's extremely frustrating when 10-20 minutes will go by after being emailed that order is ready and it's still not ready. I will choose to give less business. Post accurate pick up time read more

Have been here a few times in the past. Sometimes people from work (I work close by) order from here. Place is busy, almost too busy to hear yourself think. Yet that is sometimes good, as it is in this case. Lots of noise all around from people talking, dishes clanging... Menu was good. I had a bistro French onion soup ( was pretty good). Also had a half of a Mediterranean wrap (which was also pretty good), though only problem nowhere on the "ordering board/menu board" was the ingredients to such, which I must admit might pose a small problem for some. To drink I had a chai tea latte. They now have online ordering screens, a pick up window and also a sit down service where the staff here beings that food to you. I not knowing anything about any of these, got in a line which first of all allowed me to pay in cash and also eventually led to the staff bringing the food to me. read more

Always happy when I come here. Whether it's busy or slow the staff is always friendly and makes sure my order is correct and given to me quickly. It's a nice size store with lots of seating. This location is always clean and gets busy during lunch. read more

The good: it's large, it's clean. The bad: consistently given the wrong order (I believe there's an English to Order taker issue here) and consistently disappointing mass produced awful food. If you need a quick getaway from your coworkers, this is the place. Just stick your ordering to the coffee (bland in itself) and you should be fine. read more

We did pick up for a bowl tonight and it was about a third filled with liquid, about a tablespoon of lentils and maybe a tablespoon of quinoa. Wasn't able to return it but I wish I could. Disgusting. They have nerve charging almost $10 for that. read more

Great location, great service. My family & I have come here for bagels & baked goods on the weekend many many times. I used to come here to study, and the employees were so friendly & nice to me as I sat there for hours poring over my books. When I want to treat myself after a good workout, I come here for their Smoked Turkey Sandwich or one of their fruit smoothies. They keep an endless supply of a few kinds of coffee (great for studying!). Lots of light & lots of seating, but only a few tables have outlets if you're looking to stay a while. And, if you're staying, the after-school crowd is a little noisy, so I'd recommend coming in the late morning or early afternoon. Definitely recommended if you're looking for a good, healthy meal in a relaxing atmosphere. read more

A regular stop for me as it is close to NYSC and provides a fresh, pretty inexpensive, but very filling meal! My favorite U Pick 2 combo: Chopped Chicken Salad and Bacon Turkey Bravo! yumm.... I think I might be addicted..........!!! read more

It is a Panera so there are no big surprises, but this one has a better vibe than the West Orange location which gets the movie/mall crowd. I like the two for selections but be careful if you order some sandwiches the amount gets up to the point where it's not a deal anymore. Decent (not great) coffee but unlimited refills - which is why people have meetings and hang out for hours with their laptops. read more

Stopped by at Panera Bread to finish up some work. Smallest coffee will run about 2$ these days. Took a while to find a seat w/ outlet but there are a few in the back room. It was nice and sunny in there and a good place to work with the buds in the ears blasting music and coffee in hand. Staff came by often to clean tables and keep the place presentable. read more

Yesterday I went to panera for dinner and it was the worst experience I ever had. My family order dine but they gave us a bag to go with no napkin or forks or spoons. We still sat to eat our meal. The sandwiches we got had barely had any chicken and lack of chipotle sauce. My French onion soup was water down with no cheese. Their fruit iced teas were also watered down. I'm very disappointed with this service, hope to see improvement soon... read more

How do people still eat here? I had gift card and still didn't want to go here. A place I'd only eat at if I had zero other options.

You know, it's a Panera. If you've been to one, you've been to all of them. Having said that, at least it's not McDonald's. I will say that the bread in the bakery with the asiago cheese on top is good enough for me to bring home and eat with dinner, and there's a Calandra's here in town that has spoiled me for life, so for me to get that bread, it's got to be half decent. read more

DO NOT order through grubhub delivery. I am very angry with this Panera by my house. I ordered my food at 11:30 AM and had received no call about my order or an update by 1:30 PM. I tried calling and was put on hold with number given through grubhub app for more than 5 minutes. I tried to call the number on google maps, brought me to speak to the manager, put me on hold, and then hung up on me. I was forced to drive to the restaurant when my order was delivery, and I was offered a refund or for them to remake the order. I said cancel the order and give me a refund. This was around an hour ago, and the order is still in progress on my grubhub app meaning they have not cancelled it. I am still not refunded. I do not recommend this Panera, and I found it's customer service to be terrible. read more

Got home after picking up food, realized order was wrong. Went back to get the chipotle chicken avocado sandwich that was missing and was met with attitude about it. They gave me the sandwich but when I took it home I realized that it was tuna and tomato? Wasn't even part of my order. You'd think they would double check missing items from an order after already messing up the first time. Not going back a third time because I don't have time to deal with this. Was looking forward to a nice lunch but this was very disappointing. read more

This place has seriously gone down hill in the past couple of months. Filthy, employees goofing around watching videos on their phones (including the manager). Employees were extremely loud, using profanities. Waited 20 minutes for a bagel and a soup to go. Nobody was even in there. Will not be going there anymore. read more

Cesar was so accommodating. I have a sore throat so I stopped in pick up an order I placed online. Nonetheless, I asked for a couple add ons and Cesar got right too it-went above and beyond. If they didn't have what I asked for, he offered an alternative. It really was appreciated. Place is usually clean, but sooo busy at lunch time. My recommendation, order online before coming in. Overall great staff, great place for lunch. read more

Panera Bread - Cesar was so accommodating! - Sandwiches Near Me - West Caldwell, New Jersey

This Panera is OK. While the food is pretty good, it doesn't always live up to other Paneras and is usually served sloppily and without care. There have been numerous times that I have placed an order and something is incorrect or missing; or the meat on a sandwich is just thrown on some bread, like a 2 year-old could do. The drink station is always messy at times, I've been unable to get an iced tea or other beverage because they haven't refilled the drinks. Lunch time is crazy. The lines are so long, so ordering online might be a good option for some. It's a spacious Panera, with lots of seating for both large and small groups. This used to be one of my favorite go-to lunch spots when I worked in the area, but it has sadly gone downhill recently. read more

I remember when food was of good quality, and they had workers that actually cared about how the restaurant looks... Terrible service, and it is evident that the counters are not wiped down each day!!! I walked out today waiting for one lousy bagel. They have two speeds here; slow and slower. And it is too much to ask, to wipe down the counters. Pretty dirty... read more

I am a fan of the Panera bread chain restaurants...however this particular location is the least of my favorite. My panini wasn't toasted as it should and my chicken noodle soup was nothing but broth. Maybe it was the staff at the time and maybe it was my fault for going in at 9PM, but there should be no excuse for down grading their food items. It was just an upsetting experience when biting into my favorite Chipotle Chicken Panini. =( read more

The West Caldwell location is extremely clean, well staffed, and the wifi gives out a very strong signal. Great location as well. Consistent winners here are the macaroni and cheese (for the kids), the Fuji Apple Chicken Salad, and the Thai Chopped Chicken Salad. Their loyalty program is quite good as well, yielding a free pastry or similar item what seems like every other visit or so. It's a staple for weekend lunches for us, and we plan to continue to frequent it. read more

I have tried to give this place a chance a few times now, and all have been disappointing. This last time was probably the worst. Soup (cream of chicken and rice) was just barely warm, the "roast beef" was frozen, not like once was frozen, it was still frozen. I had to peel the tiny little portion apart and spread it around the tiny little chunk of dry "pseudo - artisan" bread. The fake smoke flavoring on the meat was almost nauseating. The only good thing was the horseradish sauce but, it got sort of Wasabi hot and strong toward the end of the tiny "slider" sized sandwich with about a 1/4 cup of soup, and a hunk of average bread on the side. Now my wife on the other hand likes this place (or maybe just other locations) she is an avacado maniac and was craving the 'turkey avacado blt' and a salad. Well we paid or should say OVERPAID for these 2 sample sized orders. We waited and then when they called us up, informed us "We are out of avacado" what? At 730 on a Thursday? Then they were out of iced tea. Why not tell us when we ordered? I mean they are only 12 ft away from each other. This place is overpriced and way over rated! read more

Why get food from a mediocre chain when you can get something better from a local restaurant. Order a Mac and cheese bread bowl and they are out of the bread bowl. Really?!? Never again! Given this place multiple chances and they always disappoint. Lesson learned.... buy from local small business restaurants and not chains!! read more

I'm pretty sure I spent every day after school my senior year in high school going immediately here. There's just nothing wrong with the food here. I hate that it's a chain, but I loooove the food. And there's something about the noodles in the chicken noodle soup that I just love. And they have cool tea drinks. And pretty pastries. read more

If you are in the mood for a fantastic bowl of soup, great cookies, and soft delicious bread look no further.

I usually LOVE panera but not this time. I was casually enjoying my meal and a gigantic wolf spider crawled out of nowhere so I was automatically turned off and my cousin had to throw away her meal. Now this wasn't the problem, the problem was that when I informed the manager about it and asked if i could have a new meal because i barely touched mine, he said I was asking for too much. This is just poor professionalism and customer service. He eventually brought me a new meal but i asked for it to-go and he gave me an attitude that wasn't needed. This was my first time at this panera and I will never go back. read more

It was nine o'clock on a tuesday night and I was hungry! so i decided to go to panera for a late night snack. I ordered on their ipads and got a you pick two with a mac and cheese and a greek salad. after my order came quickly and I went home to eat it, I found that my mac and cheese was more of a chowder than a pasta. i myself like a lot of cheese but this crossed the line. my salad on the other hand was something that i was excited for. to come, it was very dry with the amount of dressing they provided and devoured in lettuce rather than the other topings such as quinoa and almonds, the best part. skimped out and disappointed. will most likely return but with much lower expectations for sure. read more

Quick, fast & Consistent. Staff was sweet and the place was clean. Would go back, I like sitting here and taking some time to people watch while my husband does errands. read more

The people that operate this place are a joke. Not only do they get the orders wrong, they don't even notice when you place the order online. It would not be so bad if this was the first time, but sadly it isn't. Not the way to operate a business. read more

the place always clean and bright. gets very crowded over lunch time. The new shrimp soba salad is definitely not good, tastes like something made the night before. read more

many horrible reviews here and now i add mine. don't bother going here. drive the extra 10 to wayne panera. always messes up my order. gives you the last and least fresh products. horrible attitude of some staff when it comes closing time. practically run by children. was a huge hangout spot for high schoolers. most of the time they don't bother reading the order ticket thoroughly and your order is messed up in some way. it's like they aren't trained properly. they don't care about you or your food or your satisfaction. they just want to go home. read more

I'm here while my friends were eating food and I'm waiting for to order my food and the waitress comes up to us saying that she'll kick us out Bc my friends were eating food from somewhere else but I was getting Panera bread and it's never been an issue when someone else is eating food from a different place and someone's getting Panera she started staring at us and making sure we were actually getting food from here which we were I was just trying to enjoy our time and meal. I get if there were other people in here but they was no one in here and we were just sitting eating and ordering food probably there were probably two families but no one else. She kept talking about how we were avoiding guidelines of Covid and we looked it up and it said nothing about us being in here eating other food from a different place while we were getting Panera we had our mask on when we were being respectful we were following rules and they just kept saying that they were gonna kick us out but we were getting Panera it wasn't causing an issue wasn't being loud we were just eating but if we were adults it would be a whole different way they were treated completely different. read more

This place is horrible. They never get your order right. Make sure you double check your bag before leaving. Tonight was my third time here, and the third time they screwed up. To top it off, they were out of bread bowls at the peak of dinner. This along with everything else speaks wonders about management, or lack of. The only reason I'm giving them 2 stars is because the food is good, but not good enough to keep coming back too. Good riddance WC Panera read more

Panera bread is a pretty great place. Their breads are cooked daily and it's always fresh. There wide variety of sandwiches makes it a new experience every time you go back, (if you order different things). The atmosphere is blah, and the service could be better- a lot better. Their chips are awesome also. Definitely try the cookies, they're great. Overall, 3.8. read more

Quality has gone extremely down hill. You ask for extra sauce, and pay for extra sauce, and yet don't get the extra sauce. I've ordered online catering from here for years for my business corporation. Well recently they stopped delivering from this location, even though it allows you to select it online. All the orders go to Florham Park. Well, 45 mins after my food not being here to feed over 50 people - I called. West Caldwell tells me "we dont have it, it goes to Florham Park" - so I call Florham Park - I get told "I dont have it here" Which she then manually pulls it up, and magically, it's there! It's now 3 mins before my meeting is due to start, with 50 hungry business men. I was told they can start trying to fill the order & get it here in about an hour. NO GO. I told them to cancel it & refund me. Well, they can't refund because I placed it online so I have to call the 800#. I called, got apologies, got cancelled but refund will take a little bit (of course it will). Was told I was going to get a call from the store manager shortly to assist me in making sure I remain a happy customer. Well it's been 8 days and no call. Will NEVER deal with them again - they just lost our business account for good! read more

Today was the third time I have gone there for lunch (not to far from my work). It is also the third time I have waited 20+ minutes for a salad. I get that they are busy, but they are unusually slow. I have been to the Panera by my house (even during their busy lunch period) and never waited that long. In my opinion, the food is the same at all paneras and their quality is the same as all of the others. It is the wait time and the fact that it appears everyone is moving in slow motion, oblivious to all of the people waiting, that amazes me. read more

Some of these reviews are silly to me. The service is fantastic and the food is great, just like at any other Panera's location. I always like to stop by at this location the most since it is spacious and I'm usually in West Caldwell or a town over. read more