Left before I could even order. Outside of the high top by the door, they have two outlets. I wanted to do some work during lunch. For it being a panera, a known place to study and do work, I’m pretty suprised there aren’t more outlets.
Ria A.
Place rating: 3 Fullerton, CA
I asked for my bagel to be toasted but when I got it, it was only warm at best and not toasty at all –___– also I got an iced coffee, which is self serve, but the coffee station is pretty far from the soda/ice machine so I had to keep walking back and forth both stations to fill up my cup with ice, then coffee and then had to go back to the soda station to get a lid for my cup. not the most efficient setup for a panera. on the positive side, the associates were nice, and I got in and out pretty quickly.
Vy S.
Place rating: 4 Orange, CA
I’m so happy that I get to say goodbye to lunch fatigue, at least for a while! Finding out this Panera Bread was open was like hitting the lunch jackpot. When you’d rather eat a frozen meal all by your onesies at your cubicle because you’re bored by all the lunch places near your work, it’s always a nice breath of fresh air to find out you’ve got new options. First, the logistics. This location is located right near the Fairfield Marriott hotel in Anaheim, across from Disneyland and close to the 5 freeway off-ramps. There is «Rapid Pick-Up» parking right when you pull into the parking lot(more on that later), and plenty of 1-hour parking spots for Panera bread that wraps around this fast-casual restaurant — which is not common for many of the eateries in the area(most of which require you to either be a hotel guest to park, or only give you a measly 15 – 30 minute time limit). Boss lady and I decided to go and there was no wait — guess people don’t know that the Panera Bread is open quite yet. It has only been open a few weeks, so you can tell they are still trying to work out some kinks — otherwise, service was friendly. I ordered my usual go-to Panera bread items, the Pick 2 with broccoli cheddar soup and a half-Frontega Chicken panini. I paired it with an iced coffee, and unlike other Panera Breads I’ve been to, the iced coffee is self serve near the coffee station, but there is no ice dispenser near the iced coffee, so you have to walk to the soda machine, get ice, and then walk back to get your iced coffee. Slightly weird. They give you a buzzer and you set it on your table and your food is delivered to you. It’s fast casual and we’re not expecting too much in a place like Panera Bread. What I liked about this location was the Rapid Pick-Up window option. We host a lot of different in-house meetings and it’s nice to know we can order and pay online, and just cruise by this location to pick it up, easy breezy. I look forward to trying out this feature. It’s a hidden gem now because it’s «off-season» at Disneyland and I don’t think too many people know that Panera Bread is in town, but I’m happy it is because sometimes you just need something quick and easy and comfortable like Panera Bread. Hope this location does well!
Jacky O.
Place rating: 1 Anaheim, CA
So I was there again this week with my husband as we enter we were great by a couple employers everyone was very helpful we were having a good experience untill our food got to our table the employees that brought our food was very nice except that there was a confusion with one of the other employees that wasn’t wearing uniforms some older lady came and took our food away and started to yell at the employee very rudely she took our food just to bring it back to us the uniform employee apologize and the old lady just walk away RUDE! with out saying a word this is the second time I come here and both times I see employees been treated very bad I’m sad because I love panera food and I have not seen this kind of attitude at the other paneras I think that was the last time we visit this location…
Michelle Z.
Place rating: 1 University District, Seattle, WA
Most terrible experience I’ve had at a panera bread. I stopped by before visiting Disneyland in the morning and I walked in wanting a simple tuna sandwich and a soup. As soon as I stepped into the door I was greeted by 2 different cashiers from afar, which was nice but also a little awkward because I had to say«thank you» twice in a row. I had to ask for the sandwich menu because they only had drink and bagel menu on the wall(not sure if it’s because they just recently opened), and the cashier had to flip through a paper brochure to show me the sandwich offerings. I asked for a tuna salad panini and a soup, but was told they aren’t offering soup yet because they are new. Okay. so I got a half salad to go with the sandwich instead. Then I asked for a soy latte, and the cashier yelled across the room to ask her manager if they are offering latte yet. The manager said yes. Then the manager walked over and said in a very stone-cold voice with no facial expression that they only have almond milk and no soy milk and then walked away. So I said okay I will just change it to an ice Americano. The cashier yelled across the room again THREETIMES so the same manager could come over to cancel the previous order, looking as frustrated and pissed off as before. I didn’t get why the cashier couldn’t just do this simple task herself. Then I added that I wanted light ice for my Americano, and the cashier looked at me in a confused way and said its just Americano and they can’t do «light». I was like… i meant light ice, not light Americano. Then she finally asked me to swipe my card, and I’m not sure if the machine was broken or something but I had to swipe at least 5 times. And I was pretty sure I swiped in the right way but the cashier kept telling me to swipe it in different ways like I’m retarded when I told her that«i think I’m swiping it right». When that was finally done, I was just relieved that I could sit down and enjoy my order soon. 3 minutes passed and my pager went off. I waited for a few seconds and thought ok, maybe I actually need to go pick it up myself from the pickup window. Some panera bread asks you to do that even if you are dining in. So I walked over to the pick up window, there was a very confused customer standing there already yelling back and forth with the kitchen telling them that the Americano on the counter wasn’t hers. The same manager«Rachel» just yelled back and said it was just an Americano with light ice and that’s how it was ordered. So I stepped up and said«I think that’s my order». The manager Rachel turned around to stare at me still with no expression and said«did you order it for here?» I said yes. She then said«then you go back and wait at your table and we will bring it to you» like I just broke some sort of law by coming up to the pick up window myself. I was pretty sure that they would’ve kept arguing with the other lady if I didn’t walk up to tell them that the light iced Americano was in fact my order. In the mean time, the whole kitchen staff just stood there watching the conversation between me, the manager Rachel, and the other customer. It was an incredibly cold and rude atmosphere. So I went back to my seat as i was told, and my order was brought up to me in about 5 minutes. I immediately noticed that my tuna salad sandwich was made with regular bread and not panini bread, so I politely asked the waiter if they could make that in panini bread instead. He looked at me and just took away the plate without saying a word. 2 minutes passed and he came back telling me that they can’t grill this sandwich(I supposed its becaused its tuna salad) but they can toast the bread for me. I just assumed that he meant they can toast the panini bread instead of the whole thing, since he never made it clear. I said that’s fine. I never asked for the sandwich grilled, I just want a different kind of bread. However, a few minutes later he brought back the same plate with the same bread(which is luke warm now because it’s «toasted»). I stopped the waiter again and asked that why couldn’t they just grill the panini bread and serve it with the tuna salad, and he just repeated impatiently that they couldn’t do it, and walked away before I could respond with anything else. At this point, I just gave up and decided that it’s not worth to communicate with them further. Later I decided to go get a to-go box for my unfinished salad, and just had a box thrown at me by one of the staff from the kitchen without any verbal response. Everyone I met there was rather cold and frustrated, which makes sense given what their manager was like. I have been too many panera bread in different cities and locations and this one is by far the most disappointing one yet. I hope that they are just taking their time to figure things as they seemed to have just opened his location not long ago.
Angel G.
Place rating: 4 Stanton, CA
First time trying Panera Bread(to be honest, I got a $ 15 gift card for Christmas lol) today! While the cinnamon roll and roasted turkey and caramelized kale sandwich was mediocre and not as good as I was hoping, the French onion soup and bread was wonderful. While it’s like I won’t come back because I feel the prices aren’t completely fair, I’m giving this location another star because of the fantastic costumer service. The employees at the register were very friendly and attentive, and a kind lady even helped my order be a dollar or so cheaper by applying a deal I didn’t know about. Servers were also very nice! If you enjoy Panera Bread food, then I would definitely recommend this location :)
Tamara T.
Place rating: 5 Anaheim, CA
It’s right across from Disneyland where the old Millie’s restaurant was and with online ordering you can either order your food and take it into the park with you(or to the picnic area) or dine in and eat it in their new and beautiful dining room! It’s fresh, healthy, original, and they have a lot of options for vegetarians and veagans(gluten conscience cookies, various soups, broths, salads and sandwiches) AND it’s most menu items are under $ 10. I ordered and paid online, walked in and went to the counter was kindly directed to the online order section to the left and in the cubby was my order with my name on it! I felt like I won a prize! You just go to the cubby hole, pick-up your order and out you go with no interaction with the staff! It’s great! Definitely coming back to try the rest of the menu items but the fuji apple salad and a chocolate chip cookie hit the spot for lunch! Anaheim hasn’t gotten the memo yet that Panera is open because when I went in around 1:30 there was absolutely no line. I’ve been to plenty of Panera’s around lunch time to know that people worship this place and there’s usually a church crowd of people waiting in line to order that coveted fuji apple salad… well at least I do.
Virginia T.
Place rating: 5 Fullerton, CA
Ennui has plagued me for months, relieved only by the little hiccup of Christmas holidays. Now joy abounds, As the neighborhood is graced with a different-yet-familiar dining establishment. It’s clean! The menu is, you know, Panera! Good! And the staff are exceptionally friendly and eager to help. Nice folks. And There is a special surprise that sets This Panera apart from all other Panera: it is near Disney, and nowhere near a college, university, or high school. This means that people come to this restaurant to eat food, then leave and live life. They don’t come here to buy a small coffee then solo stake out a 4 top table for six hours, mucking around on tablets or laptops or smartphones, in the process blocking access to all the available eating surfaces. The place is not constipated with Wifi succubi, simultaneously blocking the flow of customers and sucking the profits out of the place. Enjoy your lunch.
Gary D.
Place rating: 5 Costa Mesa, CA
It’s only been opened for three days and it’s great. Food meets expectation from Panera. Feels like most of the crew are new to Panera, but they are genuine and most important, serving with a gracious attitude. Recommend you stop by vs going to McDonald’s.
Joey D.
Place rating: 3 Yorba Linda, CA
A coworker and I have been waiting for this place to open — we always get excited about new lunch locations near work. I can’t say we were left satisfied. First off, the employees who were taking orders and cleaning up were very nice and helpful — they were patient as we took our time deciding what to order and did their job well. Some of the other business casual employees walking around… not so much. Unfortunately, the food was not spectacular — I know they’ve only been open a few days and could turn things around, but it did feel like there was definite room for improvement. We both felt the sandwiches were kind of a mess with how they were assembled and mine was definitely over cooked. The problem with a place like Panera is you come to except a certain quality or flavor since it’s that way at every other location, but when you don’t get it, it’s very apparent something was off — I hope they tighten it up a little. I work across the street and there has been a lot of excitement for the opening of this location — another lunch location opening is always appreciated. However, the weird part was when I got scolded for taking a picture. I was taking a picture to send to co-workers to show the place was in fact open, when a lady came around the corner and told me that photography wasn’t allowed inside. I’m sure they have their reasons, but aside from there being NO signage anywhere saying that, it seems like a silly request. Look at the other neighboring restaurant’s Unilocal reviews and see if you think they’ll be able to enforce that. But that wasn’t even the worst part — the part I really didn’t like is that lady then came with her laptop(GM/Owner maybe?) and literally sat right behind us. The inside dining location is fairly large and pretty empty at the time, yet she chose to sit in the empty booth behind us. Check out my illegally taken photo I posted — the place was empty, yet she wound up right behind us. I’m just trying to enjoy my burnt messy sandwich from a new lunch location, leave me alone. Will I be back? Sure — it’s a good lunch location in walking distance from the office. Would I go out of my way? At this point, no.
Kevin T.
Place rating: 4 Anaheim, CA
This Panera Bread location had its grand opening today. It is conveniently located next door to McDonald’s on Harbor, almost directly across from the pedestrian entrance of Disneyland. Very nice and spacious inside. Looked deceptively smaller from the street! Everyone was very friendly inside. Was told one hour free parking for Panera customers. Also, and great for hotel employees and tourists alike, they deliver(not sure the range or time frame) with at least $ 50 worth of food and drinks. Sweet!
Lynn U.
Place rating: 4 Aiea, HI
I was staying at an adjacent motel when this location had its grand opening. Since there is no Panera in Hawaii, I wanted to give this place a try. Being brand new, it was very clean and the employees still in training. Everyone is very friendly. The menu is ok, I thought there would be more dining choices, but if you want coffee and pastries, this is the place for you. I ordered the chicken salad sandwich and tomato soup combo and I liked it a lot. My other half got the chicken tortellini, which he said was good except the pasta was dry. I ordered the food to go and they forgot to include utensils. I’m not sure if I like Panera or not. I might try it again but it wouldn’t be on the top of my list of must go to places.