Not being able to leave during my lunch hour, I often ordered from Panera in Apple Valley. Today marked the 12th time in three months that my delivery order came with the wrong item. Many times items were missing that I had paid for. Every time when I called Panera to return to deliver the missing item or to exchange the wrong item for the correct one, I was told they couldn't do that because they use a delivery service and that they also could not refund my money for the same reason. I am out a lot of $$$ due to their mistakes. The person on the phone treated me like it was no big deal to take money from me but not deliver the product. read more

It's been awhile since walking in here at Panera and I don't mind telling you that I probably won't return for a while either. Things certainly have changed, although I'm convinced it's not for the better. Let's start out with location. Great location and should garner a considerable amount of traffic into the shop. That's where it begins; upon walking it, there was a line. Typically a positive, right? Well, those changes mentioned above now have customers funneled into the shop and where there was three order counters there are now two. Thing is, there is a tremendous waste of unused space around the order counter. What used to be the bread and bakery area is now much smaller, to the degree where it's rather unappealing. Now I'm not so dense that I don't realize the world is getting faster every day, however I likened this suburban restaurant as a place you could get a bite to eat, relax a bit, and get a pretty decent cup of coffee along with a bakery treat. Ok, maybe I get it. Perhaps the sitting down and relaxing bit isn't part of the business plan anymore. The kiosks set up in the shop to avoid the line or to make a to-go order certainly make a presence. Nobody was using them, but they made a presence. Well, I did try to use one. I forgot to order my drinks in the regular line. To complete my order however, I had to put in the number from one of those discs that buzz and explode with light when your order is up. They didn't have any there. They had drink cups there, and I would have gladly paid for my two drinks but that damn funneled line was now past the foyer and into the vestibule (word of the day btw). Despite to fervor of delivering food to tables now, with the help of those buzzing discs, I wasn't able to flag anyone down. Sorry, I'm getting a bit off track. The prices, they've gone up. Considerably. Sure, everything has gotten more expensive. Yet, that bread bowl of soup I ordered that was only a third of the way filled doesn't quite warrant the big hike in price in anyones opinion I'd wager. The full size sandwich I ordered as well was also considerably smaller. No, when it comes to food, I have a pretty darn good memory. The upside to this review is that the food tasted pretty good and the attitudes of the staff were pretty good as well. read more

I have to say that this place used to be my favorite but lately everything seems overly processed. Their soups are too salty and stale. I used to go every week but it's not how it used to be. read more

Three of us had lunch here last week. My chicken noodle soup bowl had ONE piece of chicken in it. The grilled cheese sandwich was good but the Caesar salad was all the bitter white parts and hardly any cheese or croutons . The other soup cup had NO chicken in it. We used to love Panera but they just keep raising the prices and lowering the quantity and especially the quality! read more

The website says they have a drive thru, could not find it. Ate dinner around 6, have been violently ill since 645. I couldn't even make the 40 minute trip home without getting sick 2 times. The restaurant needs a deep clean. Will not return to this location. read more

I love this Panera, have been coming here since they opened. The staff are always very nice and courteous and I enjoy the fact that I can get in and out in a relatively short amount of time. Two concerns I've noticed however about this location. The ordering process is very unorganized. There are registers positioned across both the bakery and sandwich areas and often people crowd in the restaurant entrance not knowing if they're in line, simply looking at the menu, waiting for a smoothie, or waiting for an order. What would (really) help is if they got some line dividers of some sort to help people form lines when they're ready to order. I feel that this would help speed up the ordering process. Second, there have been multiple times where they run out of bagel selections quite early on into the morning. Not knowing their selection forecasting, but one would imagine that they would stock up more on (popular) bagel selections for this very reason. Overall though I'll continue to be a visitor! read more

Foods great however Apparently the checklist on the bags don't mean much. Cause they checked all our stuff was in the bag. To get home and realize they forgot our sandwich... and now they are closed :( what a let down read more

Really disappointed in this location. Came for dinner and all the side bread options were out. We dined in and yet received our food in to go containers because they didn't have clean bowls. My panini was tiny, way smaller than when I've ordered it in the past. All the tables in the restaurant were dirty and every new customer would have to track someone down to ask them to clean a table. read more

This place is expensive but can't get simple stuff right. Grounds in the coffee, right ingredients in right sandwiches, cooking food so it's actually warm, the basics read more

Forgot to deliver half of my meal and tried to make up for it by giving me a cookie I don't even like.

Panera corporate needs to shut this place down. Disgraceful customer service coupled with incompetent management at all levels. Best of luck to you. read more

This location flat-out sucks. We placed an online order almost a week ago. My husband picked it up; when we got it home, we discovered that the store had completely messed up the order. I called the store, and the (apparently mouth-breathing) manager to whom I spoke apologized and said she was going to promptly issue a refund to my credit card. Almost a week later, with no refund showing up on my card, I called the store (and I had to call three times to get anyone to answer the phone). The manager on duty today said oh, no, that's not the store's policy; they don't do refunds. She said she'd have to speak to the manager and find out if she "recalled" the incident. (My educated guess is that the mouth breather is going to say she doesn't remember it.) She offered me freaking vouchers. My advice: Go to a different Panera -- one that hires people with IQs somewhere above room temperature. read more

Panera bumped our order back behind orders that came in after ours because they were for a speedy delivery which meant that we sat and sat and sat with no food coming to our table. When I went up to check on the order to see if it got lost I was told that some speedy delivery orders came in and had bumped our order down the list and we had four more orders now ahead of ours even though we had made ours over 20 minutes before. We opted for a refund and left and do not plan to return. If this is the way corporate wants to run their Panera's, then I want no part of it. read more

Great food, Friendly staff! The only bad thing I can say is that there is only one wall plug you can use (at least that I could see) so if you're planning on charging your device I'd recommend a different place, other than that 10/10! read more

Every time I go to this location I always swear it will be the last time. This for sure was. Got a you pick 2 to go. My soup cup was defective so it leaked about half way by the time I was home and noticed. And the sandwich looked like a 5 year old slapped it together. And it also took them an excessive amount of time to prep those two things... last time coming to this location. Maybe Panera in general. read more

Don't go to the Apple Valley Panera: Ordered early morning online in advance for speedy pickup at 2:30 pm and paid by credit card. When I got there I was told sorry we are out. I went to the manager and said I'll take this in place of it: another order. His response; he brings me a return receipt and tells me to get in line!!!!!!!! Reorder something. read more

What happened? We used to come here quite often, there is always something for both of us and our 8 year old. We have frequented here for a couple years until recently. I don't know if management changed or what, but the last couple times has been awful! This last time we went we ordered a chicken bacon avocado salad and a chicken avocado sandwich. It came out quick even though they were busy, and that is about all the positive I have to say for it. First off, the salad was a hot mess, avocado was rotten, I know it looks "bruised" after sitting out normally, but this was straight up bad avocado. One piece still had the skin and stem attached to it, I accredit that to pure laziness. Husband picked the avocado out of the salad and then noticed the lettuce was slimy as well. He was still going to eat it! I finally grabbed it away from him and went to the counter to talk to a manager. The manager was really nice and had it remade and delivered to our table pretty quickly, everything looked good. I took a bite of my sandwich and of course, bad avocado and my tomato was completely green...and crunchy. Went back to the counter and the manager apologized and brought a new sandwich out....super disappointed! It really seems like the restaurants around here aren't checking quality of food before it goes out. I have been a manager, when you don't care...your staff won't either. They need to get on top of it before it causes a negative impact on the store itself. We weren't the only ones having issues that night...wake up management. read more

Closest location to us for delivery, so we have no choice but to order from here unfortunately. Worst location I have ever been to. Not only have they failed to deliver an order 100% correct anytime, they make you drive into the store to get the replacement which defeats the whole purpose of ordering online for delivery in the first place. They fail to make it right and don't fix the situation. Also it may sound so silly, but why the heck can't you ever include some dang butter packets to go with my dang baguette?!? I even put a special instructions to include a handful every time and you NEVER do it! read more

I wouldn't wast me time here either. Randy the manager didn't seem to interested in my concern. Paid over 10 dollars for cup of noodle soup 3.99, and have steak sandwich 6 bucks. I've seen happy meals bigger than this meal. Don't go back read more

Good food served quickly - some of the tables were a bit crumb laden but all in all a decent lunch - I can't really wax poetic here...if you're hungry, give it a shot ( we like it). read more

Come to Panera on a cold day and have a hot soup.

almost every time my order gets mixed up. I ordered a half sandwich with Mac and cheese and a bread bowl with broccoli cheddar. I got home after a rough day at work...thought about panera all day and finally got home to see if didn't even get my soup. I got two sides of Mac a cheese and no soup. you would think the person bagging would notice no soup with a bread bowl but I guess not. supper upset. I use to run a restaurant in Apple valley that was a top competitor I won't mention, and I can't belive the prices of panera with such a small amount of food, and the orders always! messed up! read more

I truly do not understand why this place is packed. The price is high, the taste is so so although its claim of using premium ingredient. I am not planning to go there even it is free. read more

I work in the area so end up coming here a lot. I've never been disappointed in the service or the food. It's relatively quick and the food is yummy. read more

I had a couple days off this week and with the brutal cold decided to treat myself to my favorite sandwich, the Smokehouse Turkey panini. I usually get this once a week or more (nine visits in the past six weeks) at one of three around the twin cities. Either the Apple Valley, Burnsville or the Mpls skyway locations. Usually, I am on my lunch so I only have 30 minutes to get the food and eat so I typically have called ahead. A few weeks ago Panera started requiring payment upon ordering and I unwittingly forgot that meant I was not earning rewards on my card, since I no longer was paying at the register. Well, darn it, I figured I am a regular customer so maybe they could figure out a way to help me get at least some credit for all those Smokehouse Turkeys I paid for over the phone. When I went to pick up my sandwich at Apple Valley I saw a manager and thought "this should work out great". I explained the situation and the manager asked if I had the receipts for those visits. I explained that I do not save the receipts but I could bring in my bank statements showing the purchases. He seemed really distracted talking to the other employees as I was sharing the story and I found out that was because he already had his patent answer. "Well, there is nothing we can do for you if you do not have the receipts. Then the cashier cheerfully said "you do have a free bagel available". Well, to be honest I wanted to shove that bagel up the heavy set managers a-- but just decided I would instead use the power of the internet to make my point. If you want a great overall experience go to the Burnsville location. It is only about 5 - 10 minutes away and you will not only get a better sandwich but the management at that location actually cares and is wonderful. The guy in Apple Valley needs to stop flirting with his uber young cashiers. Yeah dude, a 17 year old high school senior is not going to be attracted to a 30 something overweight guy unless you are a movie star. Stop wasting time and get back to work! read more

NEVER HAS MAC N CHEESE every single time I go here there's no Mac n cheese and I'm getting very upset... please keep more mac n cheese in stock read more

Being that I have eaten at Panera's before, you come in with an expectation and this location met that criteria. This is a clean location and the food was to the standard I expected. Seems you can always count on Panera to bring the same consistency no matter where you are in the country! read more

Some of the WORST Customer Service I've experienced, and I'm a Manager at a restaurant so I would know. No one greeted us, no one offered to help, had eyes rolling and long impatient sighs while ordering, just passion BAD. Food and drinks, VERY good thank goodness. read more

first of all i got there @ 12 and left @ 12:40 and second of all i ordered a bread bowl and waited 40 minutes to get in in a regular cup... read more

Panera Bread - Sandwiches Near Me - Apple Valley, Minnesota

Very upset after my recent visit to Panera. I ordered a specialty sandwich because I am dairy and soy intolerant and my order was wrong once I got home to eat it. After my husband called to let them know our order was wrong, Panera offered to make a new sandwich and add some free cookies for the inconvenience. Once my husband got home and I went to eat the sandwich, not only was it wrong again- they didn't include the free pasties. Very disappointed- very hungry- not happy at all. read more

Our family of 4 ordered food to pick up. Panera totally forgot one meal. I called to tell them and asked if they could deliver it since they forgot it. "Yes, in 45 minutes". "You can come in and get it or come in and get a credit if you want." ARE YOU KIDDING ME!? Panera made the mistake but I have to do the work! I ordered because I didn't want to cook. Will NEVER go to or order from this Panera again. Get your stuff together! read more

This used to be a great restaurant but it has gone WAY downhill. Today we ordered online and when our order arrived the bread bowl from the breadbowl soup was missing (AGAIN, this is a recurring issue with them), there were no utensils included as well as no butter. Tried calling them repeatedly but they wouldn't answer and their phone drops the call after repeated ringing. We had to go up and get it fixed but the delivery charge was not refunded. The staff just do not seem to care and we've had issues with rapid pickup (they don't seem to know what rapid means) as well as in-store dining. I'm not using this location again. read more

Wow.... waited 14 minutes for my full spicy thai chicken salad for takeout. I'm certain that I received no more than 50% of the ingredients that a 'normal' panera would prepare. Should have read the other reviews, something's wrong at this location, folks! read more

I order the same drink every time I'm at Panera and know the color/taste. They gave me a completely wrong drink the first time, made the drink wrong the 2nd time, and the 3rd time the manager told me to order it correctly, even though the employees made it wrong- completely not my fault and they were very unapologetic for the time it took to resolve. Very disappointed in this service at Panera. read more

Very very good food! Fresh tasting and sitting inside on a cold mn winter is the best! Grab a bowl of soup and a friend and have a great afternoon! The broccoli and cheese soup is fantastic! read more

My food was done fast, and tasted good. The soup was hot, which doesn't happen at all panera locations. The fire place was really nice to sit by too. read more

Best online ordering and pickup experience ever! I ordered bagels to pick up for my team at work. Placed order the day before using their super easy online system. Bagels were ready and waiting when I got there in the morning. Super friendly manager and staff! fyi- the cinnamon crunch bagels are the bomb! read more

I always order panera all the time from here and I got a pumpkin spice latte and the first one was very good!! The second one I ordered for dine in and they made to go but it still tasted fine. Then I ordered one and it was just hot milk, no flavor or anything. I asked for it to be remade and it was exactly the same, just hot milk. Will not eat here or order here ever again. I am sick of things being wrong. read more

I have been coming to the Apple Valley Panera for several years and never had a bad experience until the past year. Sunday, 9-27-15, my daughter and I stopped in around 3 p.m. There were less than 10 customers who had been served and already sitting at tables. Not busy at all. No one in line. The order taker/cashier was a scowling young blonde with a pony tail who did not smile. She tersely asked what I wanted and her attitude was so different from what I was used to that I was kind of taken aback. I gave her my order, got the buzzer, waited about 5 minutes for completion. They gave me the wrong soup, no chips (which I had chosen over the baguette). Once they corrected the order, the soup was lukewarm. Some guy was tearing around in a red shirt replacing contents of soup servers, sweeping the floor, and no one seemed to be happy to be working there. It looks like they are converting to a more "automated" system requiring fewer staff, but it wasn't up and running yet. The dirty dish collection point was overflowing. Very poor service and management. read more

This place is still completely disorganized. Every one in their long lines are confused. I ordered and paid for 5 cinnamon bagels and other food. My other food was taking a while, but I noticed they were running out of the bagels as they were handing them to people that paid after me. I finally said something and they set mine aside and indeed that was the last of their batches. It will be a long time before the wife convinces me to come here again. read more