Panera Bread

This was my first time at Panera Bread, and from the moment I walked in, I was impressed by how clean and elegant the place looked. Unlike many places and cafés in Salem where the décor feels outdated and the ceilings are full of exposed wires and messy lines that make the atmosphere uncomfortable, this place truly deserves to be called a restaurant. Mary, the employee who helped me, was absolutely wonderful. There are no words to fully describe her kindness and professionalism. My English is still limited, and since it has only been about a year and a half since I arrived in the United States, I am still learning how things work here. It was my first time there, and I wasn’t sure what to do. Mary kindly walked me to the order pickup area, explained clearly how to place my order, and showe

Huge thank you to Carrie at Panera on Lancaster in Salem. After a very hard few weeks for my family, her kindness and patience tonight truly made my day. We never know what others are going through, and Carrie showed real compassion. Panera is lucky to have her. Order #1303704.

The last 2 times I've gotten the broccoli soup it has been watery and soapy tasting. Also this "half" salad is $10 on door dash! That's insane. And $8.29 in store. This is absolutely ridiculous old onions and ROTTEN cucumbers. How do you not see this before sending it out?

This was our worst Panera experience. To start with no one to take our order at noon on a Sunday so we had to use the kiosk. We both ordered soups and they were both so watered down. My husband said he could drink his from a coffee cup. Thankful they did add a few noodles to his home style chicken noodle soup he said. My soup was the broccoli cheese and had very little taste and was so watered down. When we went to dump our trays 3 other bowls of broccoli cheese soup sat on the dump station where other guest had discarded the soup. My hot sandwich wasn’t very warm. Out of chips until Tuesday. That seemed odd to me as well. Our meal cost more than an Olive Garden dinner!

I decided stop in for a pastry and coffee to wait for a friend and was so underwhelmed by the food and service at this location. They didn’t have decaf options for espresso drinks, and only almond milk as an alternative to regular, and when I asked the server if I could get my cinnamon roll warmed up she said the new district manager won’t let them heat up pastries any more. Weird.