Another Panera location for me to try. I really like Panera and it is perfect with many locations as I travel around quite a bit. Panera offers healthier options vs fast food and also a nice place to sit, relax and enjoy your meal. Whether working or just hanging out, comfortable spot. The also have their Sip Club, which I highly recommend you joining. You can get a drink, you choice of teas, coffees, soda, lemonade, etc. every two hours everyday. You can pay monthly or yearly. It is a great perk and one I use almost daily. They also have an app where you can earn rewards, discounts and order ahead, so you don't have to wait for your food, also highly recommended you use. The staff is nice, food options can be better for you and an overall casual dining spot to have your meal. This location is near many other businesses with a huge private parking lot, so plenty of parking for you. Enjoy! read more

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I love this place. The food is great and the prices better. The staff are always helpful and the atmosphere convivial.

They take long to put coffee out Make everyone wait then they get mad bad service not coming back read more

Panera Bread - Big line no coffees no help then they get mad - Sandwiches Near Me - Santa Maria, California

This location never has any blueberry bagels and this is before 10AM! Spoke to management and said it would be 2 hours until next batch was made. Attached are photos of real time frames I've visited restaurant and no bagels in sight read more

Panera Bread - Actual image of no bagels - Sandwiches Near Me - Santa Maria, California

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I ordered online for dine and still had to wait an extra 15 mins before my order was ready for a sandwich half the side of my plam. I don't go to Panera often so I wanted to try something new . I would not recommend this place read more

Panera Bread - Bacon Double Take - Sandwiches Near Me - Santa Maria, California

Pretty impressed when I stopped in for pastries this morning. The food was great and the service was good. I noticed there was a NEW MANAGER and a lot of employee training going on. read more

The food was amazingly good. The sandwich I chose was Turkey 1/2 & Cheddar sandwich . The staff were great especially I want to mention Juan Ruiz, the chef ‍. He did an awesome job with the food as well as service. Thank you. The place was chilled, relaxing and warmth through personality. A great day. read more

They never have iced coffee ready. I'm talking about at least 20 visits were I placed order online for iced coffee and was not brewed at the store. It doesn't matter what time of day 7am, 8am 1pm. And staff is very very rude read more

Terrible customer service. We walked in and walked up to the counter to order and the counter person Who had finished helping a customer Looked at us turned around no acknowledgment or i be with you in a minute and walked away. Also the restaurant was definitely not busy. Is this Paneras's new business model now? read more

Tried panera again, different employee same meh attitude. 7:30 and a large portion of baked goods not stocked on a Sunday. Also the price of cream cheese with a bagel is highway robbery. 1.5 Oz for $1.90 vs 16oz at Walmart for $2.97 that's 730% markup on a condiment that should be part of the $2.00 bagel. Thats not rising prices or tariffs thats price gouging hoping we dont notice. read more

April 1, 2026 1030AM: literally just need a drink and these kids working the line are SUPER SLOW. And they're constantly fraternizing and joking around, talking and what not. WHY ON EARTH would you leave a register unattended when there's a line. Waited nearly 25 minutes just to get a damn drink. It was In the middle of breakfast and lunch, couldn't imagine these kids during rush hour. No one mature working at this time, ridiculous. You have the young team lead moving like a damn sloth too... read more

I'm a disabled person and I asked for help to use the online order app, Samantha said she would not help me out and ask me to leave . So I'm very disappointed in her behavior and service. read more

The service is always excellent and the food is always fresh at Panera. I met with my daughter to have lunch today and we had a great time. There was no masking requirement for either employees or clients indoors. There is always the option of seating outdoors in the pleasant weather. What is convenient about Panera is that you can order through the app and the food will be ready for you to pick up. I also enjoy the club program to accumulate points that I can redeem for rewards on purchases. Plenty of seating space inside if you're concerned about social distancing. Recycling options available in the trash bin. I have to disclose that. I had a yummy candy cookie which I devoured before. I took a picture of my order always have dessert first that is my motto. Let me know what you think about Panera on your next visit by completing a review ! read more

Just walked out of this Panera. Had a gift card which I used one time and card had a balance. Card was hard to activate the first time, but they finally did. This time, problem activating. Manager Josiah said card isn't honored at this store. Told him I used it once before at same store. He refused to help, very poor management plus he had a very cocky and arrogant attitude. I will not be returning!!!! Someone needs to check his attitude and find out why this store does not accept a gift card for Panera. read more

The service here is a little bit slow, but always absolutely phenomenal :) the staff is really nice really helpful and offers. Wonderful recommendations for my 6 year old !! The cleanliness of the place is kind of horrible- the tables aren't wiped and the floors are kinda covered in trash, but at least they keep up with really good service and great food being as low staffed as they are shout out to the girl working tonight, who the old lady yelled at about the dirty booth, you handled that very well. No matter where we wanted to sit, it was inevitable that we had to wipe left over food from the previous guests . The food is great if you're getting soup or a hot sandwich we did get frozen meat in our sandwich previously read more

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Years ago, when Panera was a new thing, it was great and really high quality. But that has definitely changed. The past few times I have eaten there over the past couple of years, it was "okay" and in my mind, even then, somewhat questionable in value. I have felt disappointed several times. But yesterday, December 11, 2025, I had soup and salad there for lunch (because it was very convenient to my other errands). And now I am convinced and committed - I WON'T BE GOING BACK AGAIN! PERIOD. THE END. High prices. Small portions. Marginal quality. Just RIDICULOUS! I ordered the "Bistro French Onion Soup" (Bowl) and the "Greek Salad" without Chicken. Both offerings were very small. Thr French Onion Soup was also lacking the essential and signature cheese, and the full Greek Salad was SOOOOO SMALL!, and also had hardly y any of the signature Feta, and NO CUCUMBERS OR RED ONIONS. I WAS SO VERY DISSAPPOINTED!M IN THE WHOLE LUNCH! AND IN PANERA! I would have complained perhap, but I had to get to an appointment. BUT I WON'T BE BACK!!! NO WAY!!! PANERA IS "GOOD" IN NAME AND REPUTATION ONLY NOW. IT'S NOT WHAT IT WAS IN QUALITY OR VALUE....OR INTEGRITY. read more

Takes forever! A man waited 20min for a bagel. I've waited 20min for a bagel sandwich. They are very focused on rapid pick up orders. So many workers then why is it taking so long. read more

I'm not sure what has happened to this local Panera but it has gone down hill & it's very disappointing. The last 2 times I've ordered the Napa Chicken Salad sandwich & French Onion soup to go have been subpar. There was only a thin layer of the chicken salad on 3/4 of the sandwich & this was the 2nd time the French Onion Soup had a tablespoon of cheese and no croutons. My friend wanted to try dinner in the restaurant, so we gave it another try. Their saving grace is the Squash Soup, which is my favorite soup - ever. But even then I had to ask for the seeds that go on the soup. And this location is filthy - I guess they don't clean during the day? The drink station was just nasty. The staff was friendly but if the public areas aren't clean it makes you wonder about the cooking areas. I hope they get back to the standards they had when they were first open. read more

Panera Bread - Don't think the seats have been cleaned recently. - Sandwiches Near Me - Santa Maria, California

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I have been visiting this location for many years. The staff is always super friendly. Over the past few years I've noticed a change in the management of this location. It seems every time I stop for coffee they are either out of coffee or the cream is out and it takes forever to replenish. At first I figured it was just an off day but seems to be the new norm. read more

Extremely friendly and helpful workers. Ivy greeted me right away when I walked up to check out the pastries. Very cheerful. Makes it a pleasure to be there. I noticed other customers had the same experience. I was on Hwy 101 and stopped in to get coffee for the road. read more

I went in at 11:45 yesterday and they took my order for a cup of Mac and cheese at 11:55. 27 minutes later I finally received my lunch. It wasn't even that crowded. So disappointed. read more

Poor management...waited an hour for "rapid order"! They need to manage their order flow and staffing, not that difficult.

Got dinner there to go. They smashed everything together in 1 bag i get home and the cookies icing is completely melted and the pastry smashed in its bag. Too small of portions for the price. read more

The service is always excellent and the food is always fresh at Panera. I met with my daughter to have lunch today and we had a great time. There was no masking requirement for either employees or clients indoors. There is always the option of seating outdoors in the pleasant weather. What is convenient about Panera is that you can order through the app and the food will be ready for you to pick up. I also enjoy the Panera Rewards program to accumulate points that I can redeem for rewards on purchases. Plenty of seating space inside if you're concerned about social distancing. Recycling options available in the trash bin. I have to disclose that I had a yummy candy cookie which I devoured before I took a picture of my order. Always have dessert first that is my motto. Keep in mind that that is half of the sandwich that you see on the picture. Had a Black Forest Ham and Gouda toasted baguette and onion soup as part of you pick 2 Let me know what you think about Panera on your next visit by completing a review! read more

Panera Bread - Sandwiches Near Me - Santa Maria, California

L placed an online order for pickup at 10 am to be picked up at 12:30 pm on my lunch break I used a gift card when I got to the store shortly after 12:30 my order was not there I waited 10 min when a worker asked my my name for the order I gave her my name she came back and said there were 5 people ahead of me and I could either wait or get a refund I explained that I only had a 45 min lunch and that I paced my order this morning for a salad she then got her manager who was unable to give me my money back because it was a gif card and he didn't know how to put it back instead of offering me a cash refund or another gift card for the amount he asked me for my name and number and he would get back to me it's been almost a week and no contact or refund. This establishment is poorly ran at the time of the pick up there was only a few people eating in the restaurant I don't understand how they could not get a salad prepared when it was ordered 2 hrs in advance and the manager seemed to not know how to do his job I would never recommend this restaurant to anyone again and will advice my company to stop purchasing gift cards from this company. This store got paid for a meal they never provided. read more

Panera Bread in Santa Maria...is very much like every Panera Bread location I've been to. In my experience, if you're looking for a fresh Bagel or a Baked Treat/Pastry...ya need to be a "morning person", because by early lunch time the Bagels (almost all flavors/varieties) and Baked Goods are basically gone. I guess there's two ways one can view this...it's great for the Panera location (meaning they sell what they have relatively quickly), but not so good for some Patrons because once that happens...don't bother asking if they have more of the Bagel you may crave "in the back" because...they don't. It's not that my experience here was bad, on the contrary...I got lucky. I was able to order the last "everything" Bagel in the bin. It was around 10:30AM. They did still have a decent selection of their Baked Goods/Pastries. It's just disappointing is all, that if your schedule is such that getting there early isn't an option...well then, better go elsewhere for your Bagel. The Bagel was tasty, true. The service was prompt, but not overly friendly. The establishment was fairly clean and most of the tables were wiped down in the dining areas. My visit here was not a disappointment (I did get the Bagel I wanted)...but if you look at the pics closely, you can see that there aren't a lot of Bagels left. I also wasn't "wowed" by the experience either. That being the case on this occasion...in this Yelper's opinion Panera Bread in Santa Maria only earned this very average "go early" recommendation and 3 Star review. read more

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Haven't been to Panera in a long time. First thing I noticed was a sign on the door AC broken, no biggy doing takeout. I'm glad to see they stopped using the sheet pans for display. More appealing. Now why only 3 stars. I got the U- Pick 2. Their pepperoni baguette and a salad. When she said it would be $18.03 I about died. That sandwich must be loaded with good stuff. Got home opened my sandwich and wow I paid for a baguette with well look at the picture and you'll see why, and I absolutely love getting a lettuce core in my salad. Bye bye panera. read more

Panera Bread - Pepperoni baguette - Sandwiches Near Me - Santa Maria, California

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Broccoli Mac n cheese - pretty good Wild mushroom soup- pretty good Frozen cold brew- pretty good Grilled cheese and tomato soup- good Service- pretty good read more

Panera Bread - Sandwiches Near Me - Santa Maria, California

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I don't know why I keep going back to this place. My order has literally NEVER been right, and they never do anything about it when I ask. How the hell am I supposed to eat this? Who taught these people how to build a sandwich? Ugh! This was the last time. Never again. The one star is for the lovely kid who took my order. He's always patient about my subs and is very sweet. He puts my order in right, the cooks just can't read, apparently. How are these scrambled eggs? Looks like egg whites to me. read more

Panera Bread - How am I supposed to eat this? - Sandwiches Near Me - Santa Maria, California

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Horrible customer service understaffed and employees seem to hate being there very unorganize

The young man at the register should NOT be working with customers. I told him my order 5 times and he still questioned the two kinds of bagels, and still managed to get it wrong. When I calmly said "I've said this two times already," (in reality it was over 5) he became very combative and argumentative. Claiming he just wanted to get my order correct. I suggest he LISTEN to the customer instead of making them repeat the very simple order five times. I did not get his name, but Panera, you can't possibly keep that guy working with customers. He chose to not listen to the guest numerous times, he chose to be argumentative and rude when he was finally called on it. I even smiled and said "Is everything ok?" I am usually very patient and kind to any person in the service industry. But his failure to listen to simple instructions 5 times gave me the need to call him out. This man took it somewhere I've never experienced before. If I walk in again and see him there, I will walk out. He was that rude and I do not trust him in any capacity handling food that I might purchase. That being said, I walked away and later had a friend order for me with a different person at the register. The food is always good. read more

Way better visit than the last couple. Food was good and overall the place was pretty clean today.

Ordered food via the app and it was ready super quick. By the time I got there, it was placed by the pick up area. I didn't have much interaction with ohh staff so unsure how friendly they are but food was good. Plenty of space there to park. Will recommend and will return read more

My first visit today for dinner. 1st I installed the app and navigated with ease. I ordered the You Pick 2 menu. I chose steak and white cheddar and a mac and cheese with French baget on side. With my first order I was rewarded a pastry but I went ahead and ordered 2, one was a bear claw and cranberry orange muffin. My steak sandwich was excellent not packed with meat the way I normally do with my tri-tip at home but it mixed well with the cheese, pickled red onion, horseradish on ciabatta bread. The mac and cheese was ok, but I put tabasco in it. The French baget was ok after I put butter on it. The bear claw was good, tip warm it. I did curbside and that was a good experience especially using the app. I feel bad because I forgot to tip the associate, maybe the app should add that. Overall I'll be back because I like the app and panera has some good healthy choices. read more

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Disappointed when, yet again, I purchase a loaf of bread that was not kneaded properly, such that there is a gaping hole through the majority of the bread. In this case, easily 1/3 of the loaf was affected, so I'm left to either feed birds or throw it out. Maybe next time I should check the bread before they bag it???? No cheers. RS read more

Panera Bread - This loaf of sourdough cost $7.99 . . . - Sandwiches Near Me - Santa Maria, California

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I've been needing at this particular location off and on for many years. In fact, I think I've been eaten there since this location opened and for years and years, I've enjoyed popping in and grabbing something to eat but lately I've noticed things have changed. I've heard there's new ownership. I guess I don't know if that's true or not, but I noticed a a difference the last time I was in there. The staff was not as friendly, well if you were there was one gal, an older gal who really knew her stuff and was just absolutely excellent! The rest of them just didn't seem like they were happy to be there or didn't want to be working there. I can understand that I was in retail for many many years on the automotive side. I get it sometimes work sucks, now I even said that we were always taught to put our best face for the customers the last time I was in there, I ordered my meal and I'd ask for one of their cookies. I think it was called the kitchen sink if I remember right. Wonderful tasting cookie I asked if they had it in the gal kind of wandered over there to look and didn't really say anything and I guess she added it to my total but didn't give it to me and I didn't even realize it until I got home and I was eating my dinner that I didn't get it. She also didn't give me a receipt so I could not prove that she forgot, and she was also very distracted and carry on a conversation conversations with her other coworkers which I was always taught when I was working in retailing with the public that you always focus on the customer and that you should carry on your conversations later on after the customers left maybe a old school maybe an old-fashioned but that's the way you should run a business. And the food is good, but it's a little pricey. I just think I think it'll be a while before I go back there. Hopefully, they'll get better. read more

I really enjoy going to Panera. This specific Panera is no exception. I love all of the different options they have here between soups, salads, sandwiches, flatbread pizzas and bakery items there's always a little something for everyone it seems. At this location specifically I much prefer dining in then having it delivered. I noticed that when I dine in my order always seems to be correct when I go to pick it up at the counter. However many times when I have ordered for delivery and received it at my home, there tends to be something missing or incorrect. For example if I have specified no mayo on a sandwich I would receive a sandwich with mayonnaise. A few times a couple pastry items have been missing. That could just be because there might not be enough employees working during a busy time, I am not sure. But it's definitely something I think they can strive to improve upon. Other than that I really do enjoy this location and the quality of the food they are producing. read more

This is my least favorite Panera. I don't go often and each time i do, i am disappointed by the quality and value. The line to order tends to be long at this location even after the lunch hour rush. The food comes out quickly though. Today, I ordered a half hot sandwich and mac and cheese and both were barely lukewarm upon receipt. Also, for $13, my half sandwich was the tiniest creation i had ever seen. It was packed w onions, an unmelted slice of cheese ( see above on hot sandwich being cold) and a tiny teeny piece of steak. There is no way, steak deserves to be in the title of this sandwich. It should be called "onion bread".The mac n cheese was barely warm too and just did not hit the spot. All in all, not a good value for what you get. read more

I like coming to Panera to meet my friends as well as enjoying the good food. But since I started the unlimited sip club my visits been more frequent for breakfast, lunch and even tea with a pastry. I am sensitive to caffeine that limits the drinks and after 4 months I am getting tired of the same drink. I wish there were healthier drinks to enjoy. read more

The food is decent but the service is SLOW. Even if you order online for a pick up, chances are high you are still going to wait for your order. Order at the counter and expect to wait up to 15 minutes just for half a sandwich. Prices are high and not worth what you get. And they are ALWAYS out of the broccoli cheddar soup. One of the few things I really like on their menu. Like every single time they are out. Super annoying. read more