We were looking forward to Panera finally coming to town. Here in Redding, we didn't get a full Panera but their "cafe" concept, which is a smaller footprint with a simpler interior and a drive-thru. We tried it the very first day it was open, then twice more through the week to compare service and food quality. That first day, I knew it would be chaotic because openings often are. The interior looked packed, but there were only 7 cars in the drive-thru, so I opted for that. It took about 45 minutes to get served and out of the drive-thru, for a broccoli cheddar soup, flatbread pizza, cookie and a drink. Soup was very small for $10. The Chicken/bacon flatbread pizza was the better value. The next time a few days later, I decided to order ahead using the app to try to shave some time by using the express pickup inside. It told me the simple order (just a drink, cookie, broccoli cheddar soup w/bread bowl, and sandwich) would be ready in only 10 minutes, which I didn't believe for a second given my prior experience. It said my order was done, but just in quality check for completeness, so I went in to pick it up at the time the app said. Nope. Not done. Not even quality checked - it wasn't on the pickup rack. This pointed up a major problem with the layout inside for quick pick orders. They have a large TV near the pass where the food is served that shows what order is being delivered next, and in that relatively small space they also have the self serve drink bank and a very inconvenient bar table that makes it hard to get to the pickup shelving or drink bank when 10-12 people are hanging around waiting for their to-go order. The table needs to go. Watching the guy handling the orders on the pass expediting them pointed up a lot of why orders were taking so long to get out. He had a bunch of finished orders coming out from the kitchen, but he was operating in first gear processing them. There were a bunch of orders that had only 1-3 items, but he would spend a ton of time getting a larger order ready, making all the small order people wait when he could have blasted through the onesie-twosie orders and cleared out at least 3-5 of the people waiting quickly for their food that was RIGHT THERE and then did the large order to reduce the congestion. Didn't happen. When the quality check finally happened 15 minutes later they didn't have the cookie that was available when I ordered. We had a chocolate chip substituted so we could get out of there. It was a bad cookie. Very hard and tasted old. The bread bowl was very small and the bread was not great. Lots of crust, not a whole lot of soft interior. Sandwich was good, but the baguette was weirdly flat, like they didn't proof it long enough. The chicken featured on the sandwich was unavailable, so regular chicken was substituted. Final visit, ordered on the app for quick pickup. Order was literally dump mac n cheese and soup into two bowls, give a cup for a drink, and serve. App again gave what I knew were completely unrealistic pickup times that were missed by a LOT. When I arrived, the same guy running the pass "expediting" orders in complete defiance of what that word means. There were again a bunch of people trying not to bump into each other as they were clustered around the bar table that shouldn't be there as they watched the TV in vain, hoping to see their name pop up. Saw our items hit the pass (there's a large tag with the customer name on it with the food when it comes to the pass) and waited an excruciating 15 minutes for quickdraw mcgraw "quality check" it into a bag and hand it to me. Total time for this extremely basic order - 35 minutes. The mac n cheese was good, as expected. The bowl of "homestyle" chicken noodle soup may have been a typo, because we received "homeless style" soup - all broth with literally 8 noodles and a couple chunks of chicken. Would not recommend. At Olive Garden across the street a few weeks ago we got a chicken gnocchi soup as a throwaway extra included with an entree order that was 10x better and 3x larger. Baguettes that came with the mac/soup orders were again weirdly flat. Baguettes are not supposed to be fluffy but these were the flattest baguettes I've ever had. So, three visits in less than a week. Much slack given due to this being a new opening, but the successive failures were pretty hard. The best items were the smoked chicken sandwich (even though regular chicken was substituted) and the flatbread chicken/bacon pizza, but I am in no hurry to go back and do another order here. Prices are high for the quantity of food delivered and the poor service. My two pieces of advice for this Panera location: remove that weird table cluttering up the to-go shelving/drink bank/tv area and either completely retrain the guy at the pass or replace him with someone who can prioritize and expedite better. My advice to you? Try Sourdough Bread Company by Save Mart. It's better all around. read more

Panera Bread - View from the entrance into the cafe. - Salad Near Me - Redding, California

I've been to Panera many times in other areas, but it had been a couple years so I figured I'd give the new Redding location a try. It will likely be the only time in eat at this establishment in the foreseeable future. The quick version of the experience: Order was messed up, I was overcharged, (though that was quickly rectified). Food took 20-25 min to arrive, even though it was 8:20pm, and the restaurant was only about half full. As far as quality, the food was passable. Absolutely nothing special or memorable. The main thing noticed for me was the fairly extraordinary prices. A small soda is $4.20! In summary, Panera has opened a new location here, where it is still working out some bugs. However, even once that is complete they will be offering a casual-dining experience, serving so-so food, at the same cost as much nicer sit-down establishments. Unfortunately, I have to say the Panera has not earned a spot as a location that I'll ever suggest when looking at dining options with friends or family. read more

Food is delish as always however I waited 30 minutes for a bowl of soup and a half of a turkey sandwich. Had to ask for a spoon for my soup because one wasn't provided. They pointed to the side and said they're over there ( rudely). No, no they were not. Also I wanted the bread as my side but they gave me chips. When I asked, they said they were out of bread. Uuum ok well you can take your chips. People that ordered after me were getting their food before me. Also there are dishes piled up a mile high on the counters. Come on Panera step it up. read more

There is no one to meet and greet you. I love Panera Bread but to fight with the stand alone machine to order was a disaster. And made us start over even though we twice said yes to continue twice. It did it to us again when we were trying to figure out how to pay. This is the first Panera bread restaurant that we have gone to that doesn't have clerks to greet you. I'm very very disappointed. But it saved us $63.00. Because we left. Sorry to be so negative because I KOVE the food!!!!! read more

Worst Panera I have been to. I tried to order Mac and cheese and a large smoothie and she told me no I wasn't allowed to do that. Lol I would have paid however she had to ring it up but she kept saying I couldn't. I went one other time and they forgot half my food read more

I arrived at 5:20 pm. The cashier at Panera Bread would not sell me a fresh baked bread. I was totally upset and won't buy bread that has been sitting since yesterday. read more

An hour wait when it wasn't very busy. No Panera is worth that. Many workers so should not have been that long of a wait.

Went to Panera's this morning for coffee and a sweet roll. Asked for two 12 ounce cups of coffee and they informed us that they don't sell 12 ounce cups of coffee only 16 and 24 ounces. Neither one of us can drink that much coffee so we decided to buy one and split it. we were there a few weeks ago after they had been opened for a short period of time and we did order 12 ounces of coffee and it wasn't a problem. They still have a menu board above the cash register that lists 12 ounce cups of coffee for 2.99 , but said that was for catering and they had no way to ring it into their cash register. Does that make any sense? In the future we will not be returning here because neither one of us wants to drink a 16 ounce cup of coffee. We also ordered a blueberry scone which was very tasty but hard as a brick. We decided to cut it in half and share it, and that was a difficult task. This is a real shame as we were waiting so long for Panera to open in this area. We were looking forward to going there in the morning for coffee. But alas, that's not going to happen. read more

Panera Bread - Menu board 12 ounce coffee listed for 299 - Salad Near Me - Redding, California

Ordered on line for rapid pick up. Food was correct, everything was hot and tasted great.

Not too crazy about the new menu, and soups and mac are overpriced for the portions. The only time I go is when I have rewards from the app to redeem, and Sip Clup. Staff is always friendly and acknowledges customers promptly. read more

Love the crunch bagel and seasonal coffee drinks. They had balloons and tons of staff on hand for opening day.

Love Panera in other areas. Was very excited for the one here to open. Sadly, have been grossly underwhelmed at the Redding location. They are often out of major staple items, long wait times for food and missing items from orders. I really hope that they can get things turned around. Paneras all over the west coast have good service and reviews and I feel this one could do well. They have a bit of improvement to make and need to do it soon before its too late! read more

I almost always love Panera, but today was not a good experience. Two employees were extremely rude and tried their hardest to gang up on me and loudly over talk me when I finally spoke to the manager. One employees name is Heavenly, and the other was a tall boy prepping the food. The drive thru took an extremely long time, like normal, so I wasn't stressed. I finally made it to the window. After being at the window for about 10 minutes, I decided to go inside and get my tea, no biggie... Heavenly was mad that I did that and started glaring at me and didn't want me near the counter. She says this is the lady who left the line and didn't want to wait...and said a few other rude remarks... I asked very calmly for her name, and she said she didn't have one. And preceeded to yell out to all the other employees to not tell me her name. IT WAS UNREAL!!!! The manager was nice and calm and we chatted for a bit, and he gave me a free pastry. It was all cool, as I leave the store Heavenly yells across the whole restaurant at me as I'm leaving, in a very annoying sarcastic voice, GOODBYEEEEEEE.... YOU HAVE A NICE DAY!!! It was so shocking! read more

Panera Bread - Sip club drink. From a rude employee. - Salad Near Me - Redding, California

Very helpful staff. I asked why the low rating. Turns out the first week everyone gave poor reviews because staff was all new. They worked out the kinks, give them a try. read more

This was my first visit and I was a bit apprehensive because of the bad reviews. But I was pleasantly surprised. The cashier was very helpful in explaining the menu. Food was great. Service excellent. read more

The cherry tomatoes were rotting. I bigot into one and then investigated the rest. I pulled out the cherry tomatoes because they were past their prime. For a new store, I am surprised at this poor quality of food. The coffee was good. read more

My mother knowing I love onion soup, picked me up a Deli Turkey Sandwich (spicy brown mustard made this sandwich) and Bistro French Onion Soup. Perfectly portioned for lunch and the soup was delicious. Saw another review talking about the darkness of the soup and lackluster of it, but I can say it was dark (as dark as every other french onion soup Ive ever had anywhere else) and delicious, will definitely be going back for more and loved the amount of onion they put in it. Cannot comment on wait, staff or price as this was delivered to me by surprise, but based on taste of food and ingredients, THUMBS UP. Can't wait to dine in to check out the ambience in the near future! read more

I just went there and the sandwiches are delicious and the broccoli Mac and cheese is the bomb. I'll be back and the prices are not overrated. read more

I love love love their hazelnut coffee! Good deals through the app. I find the ordering system good when it's not broken. This location lacks the charm of other locations. Love their sugar cookie. Pastries leave something to be desired, although the muffins and bagels are good. read more

Chicken BBQ sandwich had very little chicken for $16.00. There is much better local Sandwich locations in Redding that give you what you pay for, ie San Francisco Deli & Dills Deli just to name a couple. read more

I love Panera restaurants in general and moved to where there are none! So I was happy to find the Redding Panera recently. This location is clean, food is good and service quick. read more

Don't waste your time or money at this location. Excessive pricing, small portions, slow service, ambiance non-existent, excessive noise, and employees not responsive to customer service issues. Expected a pleasant dining experience like Panera's Vacaville and Morgan Hill where dining rooms are carpeted, spacious, have substantially padded seating at their booths, have good acoustics, and a pleasant ambiance. Dining in Redding location is cafeteria-style... booths, tables and chairs are crammed so tightly together we could barely navigate a wheelchair through the dining area without hitting other customers. Due to the overly tight quarters, the volume of voices was so loud we were forced to listen to all the conversations around us, but could not enjoy our own. Add to that, we had a server who constantly screamed out orders over our heads. Chicken salad sandwich had 1 tablespoon of filling which did not cover 1/4 the surface area of bread. When we asked about portion size, we were told portion of filling given was the standard portion. We will not be returning. read more

My second time trying our new panera restaurant. so today I ordered a tuna sandwich and requested that there be no lettuce or tomato on it. They got the double toasted, right? Which was awesome, but it also came with a lot of tomato and a lot of lettuce. Kind of disappointing. read more

This place is always amazing! I am in love with their soups and salads. The managers (Bryce and Coco) were amazing and helpful. Helped me pick out exactly what I was looking for in a meal. read more

Good food and service was great. I don't understand the bad reviews. Even the bathrooms were clean. This isn't the French Laundry or some other fancy restaurant. How high are people's expectations? The food was fresh. We had soups and sandwiches and all were yummy. read more

Ah man. Such a bummer. Was stoked that Panera was coming to town, cause it used to be one of my go too's when I lived in another city. BUT, third time trying and they are struggling! 1st time, bad experience but I chalked it up to they just opened, 2nd time, literally they're Wi-Fi didn't work, canceled order went somewhere else. Third time, ordered a vanilla latte, and their steam machine was down with no hot drinks available. The icing on the cake, a burnt chocolate chip bagel. My advice go to Einsteins read more

Panera Bread - Burnt bagel - Salad Near Me - Redding, California

I really enjoyed their food and bread. However their coffees are terrible! They claimed use Peets coffee beans but it's very thin and it's the same coffee in all their types of coffee they sell. Very disappointing. That's the main reason I did not purchase the special monthly subscription coffee they are pushing. The one in Chico California is very good coffee. I believe they need to learn how to make the coffee. Please do not get the coffee promo they offer; you will be very disappointed and you will cancel your coffee deal. Go to Starbucks for the coffee and comeback for the salads and soups. read more

Staff had no knowledge of the menu and prices. It seemed that I was going to be charged nearly $20 for 1/2 sandwich and a 5 oz cup of soup. The staff were like dear in the headlights, unable to explain the price. I just left. read more

For the price it's not worth it! I had a BLT , the bacon was very tough!!!! Chips were good!!!

$32 for two sandwiches and two small bags of potato chips for lunch. Sandwiches were poorly prepared with wilted lettuce and tomato chunks. The only thing I liked was the pull over parking for drive thru customers. Not worth the price. I'm read more

There was three people behind me that had got their food before me when they had more than me. My order was 25 but after tax it was 32...this place is ridiculous and there were multiple employees just walking around doing nothing. read more

Wow does this place suck. We ordered two half sandwiches and got one whole sandwich and someone else's skimpy broccoli bowl of soup. I asked them to make it right so they cut the sandwich in two and put two cups of chicken noodle broth on our tray, which we didn't order. The bill was over $27.00 for half of what we get at Chipotle. Time to eat somewhere else, plus the tables were sticky and so were the chairs. Doesn't anyone police there places. This Panera Sucks. read more

Insanely behind the times with their offerings. They couldn't do a vegan bowl - they tried twice! Save your money!

Went to grab some lunch here yesterday. It was busy but the girl taking my order indicated nothing was out of the norm so I ordered and waited. And waited. And waited. After 30 min my name (including my last name btw which is not something I need up on a public board) said my food hadn't even started to be prepared yet. Now I love Panera but if I had been told it was going to take an hour to get my food I would have gone elsewhere. I ended up canceling my order and they didn't even seem to care. No sorry. No trying to make up the 45 min I had just waisted there. Nothing. I told the workers I knew it wasnt their fault and I'm sorry they were having a bad day and the manager said he wasn't having a bad day. It was actually a great day. Well I'm glad they were having such a good time frustrating all their customers. It was also super expensive. $8 for a half salad?!? My pick 2 ended up being $22. I could go to a sit down place for that. I won't be going back. read more

Been sitting in the drive thru for 30 minutes. And the girl taking my order was not sure of their drinks. If people are on their lunch break they are out of luck. read more

Cost is too much for the amount you get. $50 for 2 plates with a half sandwich and a small bowl of soup.. Plus the lemonade was bland. Won't be going back there again. read more

My brother went to get us something to eat and we super excited lol but then I get a call from him 30 minutes later saying he waited for ever to get our order and it wasn't even complete, my salad didn't come complete had a couple things missing in it , and we had 2 missing plates . And all was 50$ bucks .. it not worth the wait , the service not good . Not in person or drive thru . read more

Tried Panera for the first time today. Was totally impressed by the food quantity/quality and flavors. By reading all the negative reviews I was expecting a mediocre meal. Wow was I surprised how good this was. I had the family meal with 4 sandwiches, soup and salad. Everything was well packaged and even had a full baguette in the bag. I'll definitely be going back. Easy on-line ordering and fast! Delicious! read more

Yes I would also like to thank phelan the manager and her very excellent staff of fine chefs thank you I would like to say more I would like to add I would like to thank phelan and her fine staff for a wonderful treatI ordered a warmed chicken Avocado seasoned tomato in a really interesting chipotle sauce...in an ample size (you might be full after half) I would like to add..Once I had my first bite.. I was transfixed.. how perfectly prepared this recipe of tastes bud enlightenment was done on read more

Food was good, but the price to portion ratio was ridiculous. Bought 2 Sammie's and Mac cheeses for $41. Clearly was expecting portion sizes to be decent, but I received the most unfilling saddest little sandwiches. Tasted great, but NOT worth the prices at all. read more