My preferred comfort food is often a good soup and sandwich. Panera is usually my go to for that craving. A grilled cheese with tomato soup on a chilly day, is perfection. Their grilled cheese sandwiches are the right amount of melted cheese between fluffy slices of fresh white bread goodness. It's definitely those thick slices of bread that elevate the sandwich to heavenly status. Every pillowy bite! But I won't forget how wonderfully delicious their tomato soup is. It's a divine pair I seldom steer away from. But we also look forward to the addition of butternut squash soup in the fall...and its sweet creaminess hits all the marks! Love it! I could go on and on about other sandwiches, salads, and soups there, but I'll just say...it's always quality fresh ingredients and will forever be one of my favorite sandwich places. Also, when they offer the baguette sandwiches on the menu...they're not to be missed! I love all their baked goods too, but their brownies top my list. I had to take a star off because they don't frost their brownies with chocolate ganache anymore. I can't forgive them for that...I can really hold a grudge. We also preferred the old Panera and its cozier vibe, to the newer remodel. Just saying...‍ read more

I love Panera Bread food but the Bloomington store was filthy on April 30, 2026 at noon. sorry to say.

Surprised at the low rating for this Panera. Are people more likely to review a chain only if they have an exceptionally bad experience? I've eaten here a handful of times in the past few months and I come back because it's simple clean food at affordable prices with a comfortable dining room. Sometimes when I've visited around lunch time, when it's busy, someone doesn't bus their table and you have a table or two with plates left on it, but it's usually pretty clean. There are 3 ordering kiosks, but you can go to the counter to place your order with a staff member if you prefer. The staff that I've interacted with have been pleasant. I used to go to the Panera in my hometown when I was a kid and the food is pretty much the same as I remember it (except the baguette, which is definitely not as crusty as it was 10 years ago, but still decent). Special mentions to the bread bowl which has that tangy sourdough flavour and the brownie which is super fudgy but not too dense. The chai latte is a little underwhelming - it tastes like spiced milk with just a hint of tea. Decaf coffee is decent. It should go without saying that you won't find the most exciting or flavourful food at Panera, but I find their offerings satisfying when I just want something simple and balanced. read more

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I realize that as an adult dining in a college town restaurant, I'm expected to lower my expectations by about 50%. Even after doing that, I was still very disappointed. This place is absolutely filthy. There was more food on the floor underneath our booth than on the table. I can't comment on the service because there aren't any people here. They've removed all the human order takers at the counter and replaced them all with touch-screen kiosks. Is that really where we are these days? read more

Panera Bread - NEW Hearty Fireside Chili - Sandwiches Near Me - Bloomington, Indiana

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Super nice people working here when we stopped on our way from Indianapolis to Camp Ransburg. We ordered coffee, soup, Mac n Cheese, and a scone. Both of us had a baguette with our meal. It was fresh and delicious. We enjoyed in a clean restaurant. Thank you Panera Crew! read more

Panera Bread - Sandwiches Near Me - Bloomington, Indiana

Miss Brenda, the team manager, is a breath of fresh air! She treated us like family and the service was amazing. The food was top notch and delectable. This was our first time stopping in here and we will be back a lot now since we will be traveling to Bloomington a lot more often now. Highly recommend! read more

I love a classic pick two option with a salad and soup, and I truly love that panera bread has baguette bread available with the soup. I do not see that option anywhere else. The workers at the Bloomington panera have always been kind and understanding. read more

Waited in drive thru for over 40 mins to have the food be cold and the order wrong. Will not be returning to any Panera.

Ordered online, waited until I got the alert that it was ready, went it inside and asked a worker where it was, worker replied " we are fucking 24 orders deep". Very disappointed in the staff and managers that allow their staff to talk to customers like this. read more

So disappointed. Spent 30$ on two sandwiches that had barely anything on them. Definitely has gone down hill like the rest of the country. I have worked in food industry most of my life and I try not to complain. I couldn't help myself tho. The management offered to re make the sandwich but after they told me they were pre made .. what would be different. They also told me that management doesn't allow them to do refunds. Go figure. Do better !! read more

Panera Bread - Nothing. - Sandwiches Near Me - Bloomington, Indiana

Second time I order from panera and I can definitely say the food has been amazing. Their Turkey chili is great. The Mac and cheese it's was very good and the breakfast sandwiches. Could it be used more salt? Or flavor but all in all, it's very good. Customer service is great and the place is clean. read more

Panera Bread - Breakfast sandwich. - Sandwiches Near Me - Bloomington, Indiana

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This was a very good breakfast sandwich, a little light on the ingredients and looked small compared to the photo advertised but I thoroughly enjoyed it read more

Panera Bread - Breakfast sandwich with Chipotle Chicken Avocado Melt - Sandwiches Near Me - Bloomington, Indiana

Chipotle chicken & bacon flatbread pizza. Wasn't bad. Almost reminded me of azzip's pizzas read more

I used to work there and can say it is clean and has good food. It isn't much more than the fast food poison and is real food.

Every time I have been to this Panera, something has gone wrong. They never seem to have baguettes which is the main reason some people go there in the first place. This time, the cashier service was just not okay. She was very unprofessional and not pleasing to talk to. My food took about an hour to make, and I ended up getting a full sandwich instead of the you pick two with is what I asked for, maybe that was my mistake but I assumed the you pick two was a half sandwich...Then of course, after everything, there was a hair in my soup. It was too late to bring back so here I am writing this yelp and I do not plan on going back. read more

Panera Bread - Hair in my soup. - Sandwiches Near Me - Bloomington, Indiana

My wife and I ordered two dozen bagels for pick up the next day. We drove to the store and they had no record of our phone order. We drove 40 miles for nothing. I asked the manager how am I supposed to know if a phone order had gone through. She said that I would have to call the store again and see if they have my order. If you order by phone be wary. read more

This is the second time and last time we will order cinnamon rolls. Both times they have been stale and each time it was before 9:30AM that we ordered through the drive through. Very disappointing. The rolls are not like they used to be. read more

Great drive thru service in the AM. The line can get pretty long, but they're always so nice

Expensive but the soup is awesome! We have only ever used the drive thru but the service has always been decent. I am only giving 3 stars since the only thing that has been worth it is the soup. read more

We went to Panera for lunch. The foot steps laid out and the requirement of mssks was great to experience. The wait staff was great and the food was delicious. read more

Panera Bread - Ordering area - Sandwiches Near Me - Bloomington, Indiana

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Wanted to give a shout out to the incredible customer service at this location. They previously made an error in an order and when told about it they immediately gave the customer (elderly man) a free sandwich to compensate. They just bent over backwards to apologize. I've found food here is always consistently great. Thanks so much, guys. read more

Who would've thought a Panera drive through would be a good idea? Took around 15 minutes for them to cycle through 7 cars. I thought I got bottled water, but they gave me fountain water in a plastic cup. That water tasted disgusting. Tasted like what I would imagine unfiltered sewer water to be. Probably tested positive for e-coli. Grossed out. read more

Food is extremely disappointing. Only thing that's good is the soup and it's way overpriced. I ordered a pepperoni sandwich they have on the menu. It was not good. But what stood out more is that it was just weird. Weird taste, weird appearance. I don't even know if it was made wrong. I just won't go back. read more

Mannnn have me broccoli cheese soup w no damn bread bowl pissed ! And forgot my damn lemonade ! TF ?! Check your bags before you pull off !

That was about the worst sandwich I've ever had, the turkey bacon avocado "club." The avocados were crunchy, the tomatoes were crispy and bright pink, the lettuce was wilted, the chicken was soggy and tasteless, and the bread was refrigerated and cold flavorless. The picture online is of a lovely toasted club sandwich cut in four pieces. This was like big oval piece of wonder bread mashed onto a bunch of mush. Disgusting. read more

I wish I could give no stars because this place is horrible. I've went there twice now and both times they have messed up orders. The first time they gave us 2 wrong sandwiches and the second time they didn't put chicken on my salad. How hard is it to remember to put chicken on a chicken salad?? read more

Their mac and cheese tastes like fucking dog food. I pay way too much for this shit. Do better. read more

Panera Bread - Bullshit Mac and cheese - Sandwiches Near Me - Bloomington, Indiana

I finally got around to going to the new Panera Bread location on East 3rd Street. Sorry Panera Bread, but I lead a hectic life. I went there with a good friend, and it was dinner time, during the week. We had always been reasonably satisfied with everything we've had at the Panera Bread at the old location. Overall, we were not all that impressed. It's a great location, but the parking leaves a little bit to be desired. No big deal. Our table was a bit dirty, even though it looked like it had been wiped. I ordered the steak and white cheddar panini. It was good, but not great. And I had a mango smoothie with that. Pretty good, but I would have preferred it to be a little sweeter. My friend had the frontega chicken panini. She said it was good. And she had a sparkling orange drink and enjoyed it. Then for dessert we shared a bear claw, and a caramel apple scone. Those weren't so good. They were very dry. I have this philosophy that dessert should be the best part of the meal, not the worst. Haha. We thought the prices were a bit on the high side. All Things Considered. I would give the new Panera Bread 3 stars based on this experience. However, we do intend to go there again, and will probably try their breakfast. It sure looks good on the menu. read more

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Generally, I am a local eatery kinda gal. When I am visiting other towns and cities, I always want to try something new... But Panera is my Old Faithful. Traveling around the state for work, I often need a quick meal and that is one of those times that the power of a chain is a good thing for me! I know what I am gonna get, how to track it (because I do that whole tracking meals thing), that I will like it and it is always consistent. And, the thing is, the Spicy Thai Chicken salad is SO FREAKING GOOD I also am a big fan of the steak and arugula sandwich. My crowd please order for a big group is the Green Goddess Salad with chicken - when we order office meals, people always ask me every single time "what was that amazing salad?" Bonus, ask for your cinnamon crunch bagel to be bread sliced and dip it in your cream cheese. Trust me. We have done a couple quicky curb pickup orders on the app during COVID19 and I have to say, they staff there is on it! read more

Girl at the front counter on November 10th at ~2:15pm did NOT want to take my order, clearly lol. I said I wanted to dine in, she gave me the order to go, meaning smaller sizes. Ended up working out, I didn't want to eat there anyways, and I didn't stay to complain as I was in a rush. read more

First and last time I'll ever eat here! The food really isn't good and it's WAY overpriced! Went for dinner with family around 6:30 pm. It was nothing but a disaster! I ordered the Goddess salad w/o the goddess dressing and instead asked for Ranch. The only Ranch option was bbq Ranch I opted for Ceaser dressing. I ordered a strawberry lemonade and broccoli cheddar soup. They brought out the food to our table, it was a large order, 3 people eating. All of my stuff was messed up except the soup. The salad had the goddess dressing on it, they had to make me another. I had to throw the salad away. Does wait staff no longer wait on customers anymore??? I went out to eat so I wouldn't have to cook or do the cleanup and here I am having to work busing my own freaking table! When I went to get my lemonade it said strawberry lemonade with mint. So I go ask, where's the strawberry lemonade at, just the regular, no mint. She looked confused.‍ Apparently, I paid for the frozen strawberry lemonade which is what I wanted but she didn't even move to fix it. I stood there and after a few minutes of us staring at each other said it's fine, I'll take this cup and get the other kind. It was nasty. So I asked them if I could get something else. Mind you, I'm doing all the work here, they're just standing there like it's not their concern. I try the mango one. About 2 and 1/2 cups of drinking this I noticed it said "charged" on the cup. I freak out! Caffeine, it has caffeine in it!!WHO THE HELL PUTS CAFFEINE IN LEMONADE?!? I'm 50 and I don't drink caffeine after noon!! That's why I ordered strawberry lemonade!! I didn't give them any crap over any of it, I'd never be rude to service workers, but this was ridiculous! So, needless to say I've had zero sleep, it is now 6:00 am! I hate you Panera Bread! read more

Ok, I know it's always caveat emptor when patronizing corporate places so I went into Panera expecting. . . not much. It was ok, not bad not good altogether. Counter Service was polite and efficient & the restaurant was cozy with its fireplace on a rainy day. I ordered a cappuccino with an extra shot and the girl reiterated that at the counter, but when it came, it was like a quart-size cappuccino in a cup the size of a mixing bowl and at least 10 oz of milk which made it bland, though preferable to their regular coffee. Meh. For lunch, I ordered the pick 2 with a chile lime chicken salad and French onion soup. The soup was tepid enough that the cheese didn't melt as if it had been served up before they started on the salad. It did have a nice onion-y sweetness, but I could not finish because cold soup is distasteful. Now, the salad had excellent flavor and great texture: crisp romaine, corn chips, roasted corn, feta cheese, chicken, lime. It was marred by avocado served past its prime and a couple of huuuge chunks of chicken mixed in with the bite- sized pieces. It also looked terrible, like a bowl of leftovers destined for the compost bin, though I'm not sure how to make such a busy salad look good. As a side, I chose an apple which was pretty good. Altogether, the cost was $16.79 (with $1.00 tip) which seems high for a lunch you have to stand in line to order at a place where you bus your own table. I wasn't really looking at costs, but I'm sure I could have ordered more cheaply. Overall, the meal was not offensive. I like the staff here and like the vibe. It's quiet and pretty comfortable, but it won't be on my regular rotation of places for the limited times I go to lunch. I could see how Panera would be a popular choice for many people. read more

Panera Bread - Soup, salad, and giant cappuccino at Panera. - Sandwiches Near Me - Bloomington, Indiana

Very quick service with pleasant staff. A worker named Azul was very helpful and friendly to talk to. It was nice and quiet inside and the lighting was good for reading and studying. I don't know what all these bad reviews are about. read more

It took sooo long to get the order in. They have 1/4 of the staff and they are giggling and so immature working in in the back. No drive through, no customer service at the desk. read more

Spinach was given to me and I am allergic. My friend got a scrambled egg instead of fried and they didn't cut his sandwich in half. I don't recommend going here I would choose a different option. I hear Cheddars has a nice breakfast. Absolutely infuriated with this restaurant right now read more

So I went through the drive through. Ordered a Iced Chai Tea Latte. They misheard me and gave me a Chai Tea Latte (a hot drink) and I said "actually i ordered an iced Chai Tea Latte." The woman turned around and dumped the hot drink into a new cup and put ice in it ... but the worst part was it wasn't even a Chai Latte. It was literally just hot milk with ice in it. In the picture you can see it's completely white. Chai is brown lol read more

Panera Bread - "Iced Chai Tea Latte" ... it's actually just warm milk with ice in it? - Sandwiches Near Me - Bloomington, Indiana

The staff is always so friendly and nice! I love Panera but last two times I ordered mac n cheese it was burnt .

The key with Panera bread is to know why you're going there. Are you looking for eclectic, homey decor? You'll probably be disappointed. Are you looking for quirky signature dishes? You'll probably be disappointed. But, if you're looking for a solid choice, at slightly higher than average prices, if you're looking for free refills on your coffee, and if you're looking for a great place to sit down and get some work done, maybe while enjoying a meal or a baked good, Panera is definitely the place for you. I'm never particularly wowed when I step into a Panera bread, and this location is not an exception to that rule. But I'm also never disappointed. I know what I'm going to get. And that's the beauty of chains: not every dine-in experience has to be a culinary revelation. Sometimes you just want a salad that tastes good or a sandwich that will fit that craving that you have. And because Panera does a good job of just being exactly what you need it to be, I'm rating it as such. I would have given it four stars, but this location, for some reason, seems to always have flies buzzing around. Other than that, good job Panera. Side note: depending on the time of day, seating can sometimes be hard to find. But I count that more as a sign that business is good, not that they haven't provided enough seating- because there is PLENTY. read more

This location is filthy. Dirty tables, dirty floors, dirty high chairs, panels coming out of the wall, tea and lemonade dispensers haven't been cleaned in forever. Avoid this location it's not worth it, who knows what kind of germs are living in this mess! read more

Panera Bread - Sandwiches Near Me - Bloomington, Indiana

This is a decent Panera. I've been to dozens - I travel a lot, and they are one of my go-tos when I just need some safe grub. This one is one of the "new look" layouts, with a few self-order kiosks to one side, and those food-pick-up cubbies. It works. I won't go into detail on the food beyond saying it met my expectation of being just like the majority of other Paneras, which is good. Service is pretty standard. read more