Today, September 14, 2026, I visited Panera as an ordinary customer and had such a wonderful experience with Stephanie. In just a two-minute interaction, she went above and beyond to make sure I felt welcomed and valued. I truly believe she deserves recognition for her outstanding service and hope she receives the promotion or opportunity she is working toward. I sincerely appreciate her effort and wanted to make sure her kindness did not go unnoticed. read more

Ok, I got sucked in by email saying $2 off Mac&cheese-yay! I love to check out a new Mac&cheese! I ordered online, to pickup at later time, when I got back from work. Order was ready. Staff was helpful. Ok, for the pros-they have a good bread bowl. Always. I don't know anywhere else that has them. I ordered the Mac&cheese in bread bowl, the tomato soup and bbq chicken and cheese. Picked it up and headed home. First impression, looking through bowl that was supposed to be Mac&cheese-looks like mashed potatoes with bacon on top. Decided to figure it out. At best, I THINK the macaroni was shell shaped? But couldn't really tell, as it was mushy. It had a good cheese taste, just very mushy and I like eating pastas one piece at a time, and like to savor the texture along with the cheese(also, the app never deducted that $2). Now, for the tomato soup. Kind of an odd taste, seems to have some spice, that I didn't notice right away. I'd prefer a cream basil tomato soup instead. So, my preference isn't at Panera. As for the sandwich, it had too much BBQ sauce on it. Kinda drowned out any other tastes in the sandwich. Many people absolutely adore Panera. Unfortunately, my tastes don't favor it. If they just had a really awesome soup for those bread bowls, that would rock! Prices are typical Panera-right around $10. Lot parking. MarcyDiner'sTantrumScale 5/5- NoScreamingKids. CyHawkApproved. He eats anything that he is allowed to have. This Panera has always been kinda homey warm. So eating in is nice when you can. read more

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i'm a door dasher and this restaurant is a nightmare to pick up orders from. guaranteed long wait. Eli the cashier has an attitude problem. not my vibe, order somewhere else please. read more

So SLOW!!! End up waiting 20 minutes longer than the actual time the order is supposed to be ready. Every time!

Worst chicken sandwich. It had about a tablespoon of chicken salad. A bunch of greens, a tomato slice on Bare bread which made it dry. French onion soup was amazing. read more

The service was decent. The food was very good. We got a flatbread, sandwiches and Mac and cheese, all were good. The scone my daughter got was kind of dry but it was evening when we got it. There was always someone cleaning and wiping things down or sweeping which was nice to see. Will go again if in the area. read more

Food was ready quickly and was very good. Very clean well run restaurant. We would visit this Panera again and I usually am not a fan of Panera. read more

Extremely slow for a very simple pick up order. I waited 30 minutes while people came in, ordered and got their food

Panera is usually awesome. However, it's worth pointing out that their oatmeal looks (and tastes) like rubber. Don't let this review discourage you from their other dishes, but do be wary of the oatmeal. read more

I've been to this Panera a lot over the years - it even used to be my favorite place to regularly go on Sundays. It had been a while, so I decided to stop in and get my former "usual." At the counter I orders a "sausage egg and cheese on brioche" and a mocha. I used to really like the same sandwich on ciabatta, but brioche is ok. Despite what the menu said, the cashier asked "scrambled egg ok?" To which I said sure (I would find out why they asked that shortly.) After getting my total with a "tip" display on the screen (I really hate tip creep) I waited for my sandwich. Even after only being open an hour, the booths were filthy. Crumbs littered the majority of them, but I found a semi-clean one and sat down. My name was called and I picked up my order. Apparently, the reason why they push the scrambled egg instead of the over easy egg (which is on the menu) is that the eggs are pre-scrambled and frozen. My sandwich had cold to the touch egg, cold to the touch sausage, and melted cheese. Typical microwave or sandwich press result. I won't be coming back for a long time if at all. The local coffee shop Cabin Coffee has much better breakfast options. read more

Terrible service, I wasn't able to get my order put in for 15 minutes with no line. Food was standard. Ambiance was standard.

I was not very impressed. Panera has good food, but it really isn't worth the price. I paid almost $20 on lunch for just myself and it wasn't very filling. The way this cafe is set up is also very inconvenient. You have to walk across the whole building to pick up your order. Lunch rush is pretty bad and at one point I thought they forgot about me or I had missed my name. They also forgot my side but it was too hectic in the cafe for me to even attempt to ask about it, so I just dropped it. Overall, costs too much for the service to be so hectic and inefficient. I'm not sure about Panera as a whole, but this location is not worth it. Go to Mainstreet Cafe in Ankeny instead. read more

There are both good and bad things about the Panera in Ames. One good thing is their rapid pick-up service, which has always worked well for my wife and me. I have seen other reviews complaining about this, but, over the course of half a dozen visits, we have never had any problems; our food has always been ready for us when we arrive to pick it up. Our orders have almost always been accurate; the one exception occurred years ago when they forgot our focaccia bread. However, a phone call to the restaurant fixed that immediately; they ran a bread out to our house at their expense. Another plus is the food, which has, over the years, been quite good. My wife and I have had, between us, several different kinds of breakfast souffles, several kinds of flatbread pizza, the toasted steak and white cheddar sandwich, the smokehouse BBQ chicken sandwich, the bacon turkey bravo sandwich, and (most recently) the new signature take chicken sandwich. All have been very satisfactory. But there are some negatives, chief among them being the prices, which are uniformly high. My signature chicken sandwich, for example, was $11, which is probably about three bucks more than it should be. In a similar vein, the portion sizes are not terribly large. I like to divide restaurant meals in two and eat half for leftovers, and while I did do that with my chicken sandwich, that made for a pretty small meal. Another mild complaint: the restaurant offers delivery, but, in addition to the delivery charges, increases the cost of each item. At least now they are somewhat up-front about it; when you click "delivery" there is a message to that effect. I don't think it was always that way. As I recall (my memory may be faulty on this) at one point in the past they were making a big deal out of "one dollar delivery" and not saying as clearly as I would have liked to see that the individual item prices were jacked up. So, bottom line: if you eat here you'll likely get a good, but expensive, meal. Whether it's worth the money is an individual assessment. read more

Use of the app and the execution was perfect! The food arrived within 30 minutes and within the estimated delivery window. My concern is with the serving size which seemed to have been scaled back. My recommendation is Panera research the impact on future intent to purchase given the apparent decision to reduce portion size while simultaneously taking pricing increases. The quality of the food was consistent with other Panera restaurants. The food was a little on the cold side which was surprising given the speed by which it was delivered. read more

Had a terrible experience at the Ames Panera Bread. My husband and I are regular customers, but that may change. Went there for dinner and: 1. Out of many things including bread for our sandwich. We had to have our sandwich on a bun. 2. The grilled cheese on the bun came burnt. 3. It took 20 minutes from the time we placed our order until we got our food. 4. The restaurant was dirty. We had to clean off our own table. 5. We were given our food in "to go" plates because we were told that they ran out of plates and spoons?? 6. The restrooms were atrocious. VERY UPSET and Disappointed read more

I don't normally write reviews because I understand that mistakes happen. They were in a really big rush today and seemed to be behind. I ordered a turkey sandwich and when I went to eat it I realized there was no turkey so that kinda sucked. I'm not saying I don't recommend this place but I just wish they would have paid more attention read more

Panera Bread - Turkey deli sandwich - Sandwiches Near Me - Ames, Iowa

I certainly notice the Panera bakery chain more often these days. I've been to the one in Ankeny and stopped at the Ames store a week or so ago on the way out to Des Moines. Service was fast and friendly. My sweet roll was tasty, but my coffee was just OK. I'm sure I'll visit another Panera in the future, although I'll always be on the lookout for a local bakery first. read more

update... I tried the green goddess sandwich and I am addicted.

The food is usually good but they CANNOT get pickup orders correct. For example, last evening went in to pick up an order. It was late (as usual) and I looked in the bag before leaving. Instead of a full salad I had a half salad of a different type. Went to the counter and lo and behold there was my salad. I checked the order before leaving because the last order I had picked up I didn't realize they completely left out a dessert item (worth $10) until I got home. Called and got a refund. These are just my two most recent orders. This has happened so many times I really wish there were another Panera close by. read more

Great food and pretty ok customer service and it seemed be a nice place.. But when I whent in there to get my pick up order I asked for my pick up order as I saw multiple pick up orders behind the counter. This man who looked like the manager told me that the pick up orders where over on the shelf. This shelf did not have my order or any bag looking to contain my order and it had a sign that said bigger orders were held BEHIND THE COUNTER so I had to wait to ask again for my order at which time I had determined that one of the bags behind the counter was indeed my order. My order was to be ready at 11 30 and I was there on time. Its not a big issue but the least the guy could have done was turn around and at least look for my order. read more

Ever want a sandwich with a little more flavor? Try Panera bread. Even after getting chicken and avacado you find they burn the ever living hell out of the sandwich to give it that much more flavor. Then simply turn it upside down to hide it. read more

Panera Bread - Ever want a sandwich with a little more flavor? Try Panera bread. They burn the hell out of it for that little extra flavor. - Sandwiches Near Me - Ames, Iowa

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Very good food I like their food I will go back and the help is very nice as well Mediterranean egg white breakfast I tried their avocado spinach sandwich today egg white not as good as Mediterranean egg white they need to put some type of sauce on it they need to get some type of other creamer for coffee that can't have milk they need to get like almond or Delight creamer that people that have dairy allergies can drink they need to make sure that they keep up on the coffee as well been in there before and they had no coffee and couldn't wait the time to make it to be able to get my coffee their service is always pretty good they're pretty speedy and getting your food out fast their bagels are amazing read more

Panera Bread - Sandwiches Near Me - Ames, Iowa

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The checkers are a little slow sometimes, but the food is good -- not great, but good. But they just can't seem to assemble a to-go order worth a shit; three times now in the past three months. If you get an order to-go, be sure to check everything before you leave! read more

This is the most poorly run Panera I've ever been to. They consistently have no idea what they're doing, the food is never ready, and all around the experience is just not good. The employees will do anything except serve you and no one has any clue what's going on half the time. Do not eat here. read more

Stopped by on a road trip on a busy Sunday around noon. Great service with three cashiers pleasantly taking orders. Food was up in less than 5 minutes. Great location. read more

The wait wasn't long and the food was ok. But the bathroom is dirty, as if it's never seen bleach or a scrub brush. There's dirt encrusted into the floor and dirty slime on the soap dispenser. Just gross. The staff is friendly, though . read more

Panera is one of the most popular stops when we grab breakfast for our staff meetings. They really do breakfast items exceptionally well. Their souffles are in my opinion their strongest item and they do a very solid job on their scones and pastries. This place is always very busy, it's a popular place in the mornings for people to congregate and grab a cup of coffee. I have found their coffees to be underwhelming and their lunches to be expensive and disappointing. They do make a wide selection of artisan breads that you can purchase and take home with you aside from their ready to eat pastries, sandwiches and soups. My biggest gripe with Panera is the expense. I can get similar items (which the exception of their exclusive souffles) elsewhere in Ames at much more competitive prices. read more

I love this place! The food is great. Service was fast and friendly even during busy times. Atmosphere is usually pretty busy. Great selection of breads and desserts. I would highly recommend their creamy chicken and wild rice soup and the brocoli and cheese soup. read more

Good Panera bread, soup & salads. Plenty of parking, free wireless & booths available when we stopped in (dinner-time). read more

Panera Bread - Sandwiches Near Me - Ames, Iowa

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I love panera. I really do. But don't ever try to rapid pick up order from this location. :/ I just placed an order at 11:01 am (granted it was Sunday morning) BUUUT it's rapid pickup! I expect to spend 5 minutes in the store waiting and then pick it up RAPIDLY and leave. But no, I was there until 11:30 waiting and all I ordered was a blueberry bagel/cream cheese and a smoothie. I might as well have waited in the long line and ordered at the location. Orrrr gone anywhere else. read more

I ordered chipotle chicken avocado melt two days ago, ate a white string from the sandwich, the staff works there told me it's a hair, apologized and offered me a new sandwich with a free pick-two coupon that I can use next time. Went back today, ordered the same thing using the coupon. Now this. TWO CLEAR STRINGS right there that none knows what it is. It's not hair, and I stretched it and it didn't break. Already called the health department. The assistant manager took the sandwich and said they will investigate. Angry! read more

Panera Bread - I ordered chipotle chicken avocado melt. TWO CLEAR STRINGS right there that none knows what it is. - Sandwiches Near Me - Ames, Iowa

Ordered in advance by two hours. Was notified food was ready, when it was not. Half the food plus all utensils were missing from my order. Bummer for my students and I who didn't get lunch today. read more

I will never know how the food is. Tried for two days to place a delivery order. Went through the whole process and at the end was told to try later! Called and talked to the manager, Anthony, and he could not have cared less. Adios Panera read more

I mobile ordered and they didn't give me all my items and were very rude when I asked for them, they also did not give me any of my baguettes. read more

I really like Panera, but this location messes up my order more times than they get it right. I advise that you only dine-in. Do not order online (yes, they mess that up), get delivery, or place an order to go, even if you order in the store. Best way to protect yourself is to eat in the restaurant. read more

Panera is and always has been high quality bagels, soups and etc. I've never not enjoyed their food, however the amount of time it took for a delivery was ridiculous. I waited an extra 30 minutes past the estimated delivery time of 30-40 minutes. Obviously I would have visited their one Ames location if I could have, I don't normally order delivery. But I live literally 3-4 miles away, it shouldn't take that long. read more

I hate the pager system. They ask for a name for the order, do you need a name if you are giving me a pager? A pager that 50 other people have touched and then I'm going to pick up my sandwich and eat it? Only if I want to get sick. So after I get my food I have to go to the bathroom to wash my hands. Not a good plan. The food was fine but my sandwich was to have avocado on it so they scooped half an avocado out and plopped it on the sandwich. A thinly sliced piece would have been preferable. Just take a few seconds longer and make it nice. The flavor was good. read more

This place has high quality foods. The pastry is Excellent and the sandwiches have great quality ingredients.

I love Panera with my whole heart but this location really freakin sucks. Every time I try to order food from this location, or even try to go in and get food from this location, they're out of almost everything. Just tried to place an order, but couldn't because they were out of the bread for my sandwich, out of multiple other replacement breads, and out of baguettes! How can you be out of baguettes?? Last time I went in they were out of "all soups", as the woman working out it. HOW CAN YOU BE OUT OF ALL SOUP?? That truly makes zero sense to me. This location really is a let down to the entire franchise. Go elsewhere read more

I'm a big fan of panera. This panera is basically just like any other. Reliable, delicious, and quick food. I haven't had any issues at this location. The staff is pretty average, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Overall "A-OK". read more