Panera Bread
Sandwich, bakery · Roanoke
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About Panera Bread
En Panera Bread Roanoke, te damos la bienvenida a un espacio donde el aroma del pan recién horneado se une a la calidez de un café. Somos una panadería-cafetería donde encontrarás desde deliciosos sándwiches y ensaladas hasta una gran variedad de panes artesanales. Disfruta de un ambiente acogedor c...
En Panera Bread Roanoke, te damos la bienvenida a un espacio donde el aroma del pan recién horneado se une a la calidez de un café. Somos una panadería-cafetería donde encontrarás desde deliciosos sándwiches y ensaladas hasta una gran variedad de panes artesanales. Disfruta de un ambiente acogedor con WiFi gratuito, ideal para trabajar, reunirte con amigos o simplemente relajarte.
What Customers Say About Panera Bread
Panera Bread in Roanoke offers a mixed experience. While some customers praise the cozy atmosphere, clean environment, and friendly staff, many report issues with slow service, incorrect orders, and inconsistent food quality. The cheesesteak gets high marks.
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Tip: If ordering soup, be aware that the portion size may be smaller than expected relative to the bowl size.
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Panera Bread Roanoke Reviews
Panera has been getting a bad rap in some recent reviews, but my experience recently was positive. It was a cold day and all I wanted was a bowl of hot soup. I ordered their cream of chicken and wild rice and got a very generous serving in a large bowl, along with a crusty chunk of bagette. It really hit the spot! The service wasn't the fastest ever, but the food and friendly staff made it worth the wait.
The seating layout with the two fireplaces is a great atmosphere, very cozy. Dining areas, drink stations, and restrooms are clean. Sits in a nice centralized location and near the highways. Staff is friendly. Only had drinks but they were as they should be and milks for coffee stayed stocked. It is a nice spacious Panera.
Excellent, low key relaxed place for breakfast. The sausage, egg, and cheese on a toasted asiago bagel with aoli sauce is great! Their hot coffee is excellent and you can get refills self serve on it. I typically like iced coffee but thst does not have refills, so I get the hot coffee and prefer the dark roast. Had some issues with the use of purchased gift cards loading and being used from the app (and it was not the $5 gift card bonus that has a limited month of use in the future to remember to use), it was on the base $50 gift card use from the app. It took a while for manager to get it to work and there is some improvement that could occur from a customer service standpoint. The gift card purchase was not worth the hassle with not being to use it seamlessly due to IT issues. Not entirely the stores fault but a big chain like they are, they should not have any IT issues on giftcards purchased.
Update 11/12/25: Cheesesteak I had in this visit was FANTASTIC. By far the best meal I've had at this Panera, but the service was still quite lackluster to me. Original: This place is hopping, and for good reason. A couple visits to here, and the food has been pretty damn good, especially today's orange and cranberry pound cake that is out of this world. The staff are quick, but overall service is very slow as it took almost 20 minutes to get served two soups and a sandwich. The place otherwise is well run and clean. Strongly recommend!
Would have given 5 stars, but the bread bowl was way more bread than soup. The manager-Jessica on duty is running everything. Making sure everything is running smooth. The bathrooms were clean. She is checking on her employees every time it slows down. That's what you call a team leader. Definitely will be back.
Ordered our food at 11:12 am, dining room not busy, they were busy fixing orders for drive-thru and pick-up. Checked on my order at 11:30 and staff was not friendly, rather snippy, said your order is 2nd on the screen and your buzzer will notify you when ready. Got our order at 11:38, soup was luke-warm. Would have appreciated some sort of apology for the delay, or thank you for your patience. Not in my future to come back here anytime soon.
I ordered at the kiosk and still had to wait 20 minutes for my food. The ginger/plum tea is costly and small and definitely not worth it. I ordered the Asian salad, which was good, but the portion was small - not worth $13. Staff was busy and service suffered greatly. I was able to hear staff complaining about the rush, plates were thrown onto the counter and mine had oil/dressing smeared onto it from another order. I used to enjoy Panera very much, but my last several visits have not been as enjoyable.
What a bizarre lunch at Panera! We ordered from the somewhat confusing overhead menu. Our questions were answered briefly with a somewhat curt reply by the counter associate. Food was ready in a timely manner and picked up at a window. My order was incorrect and was rectified with a return trip to the pick-up window. I had no utensils or napkins, so another trip to the window was needed. I was informed that the napkins were low in supply, so I was only given one per person. Our table was the nearest table to the beverage area. We heard a noise, and the lemonade-tea machine was emptying, pumping sticky beverage all over the counter, dripping down the cabinet and heading straight for our table. We alerted a staff 6 set out chairs around the ever widening area, but no one was able to get their beverages. Finally, a staff member appeared with a wet-dry vacuum while the machine continued to empty. An older diner became upset and berated the staff for using the loud vac and disrupting his lunch, obviously not sensing the reason for the vacuum. Back to lunch, I discovered a hair dryly stuck to the inside of my soup bowl! Another trip to the window, where I was given another bowl of soup, which was very delicious and hot. I inquired about a to-go box while back at the window but was told the restaurant was out. The staff wrapped my untouched sandwich and bagged it for me at the window. Overall, the food was good, the staff were fair in executing their duties, and I grew very embarrassed with my continued need to go to the window on countless occasions. I ordered the Strawberry Poppyseed Salad, making no reference to chicken. The order taker repeated, making no reference to chicken. After receiving the large salad, I noticed half frozen chicken slices that were watery, bland, and mushy. I checked my receipt and saw that I was charged an additional $3 for the mushy chicken, which I did not order. I inquired and was told they did not sell the salad without chicken. When I pointed out the dish on the online menu, I was told one could not purchase without chicken. (Menu picture attached). It's so weird. Did not see any employee staff in the dining area thru the whole meal. I hate this place, something always is wrong!
online preorder for pickup. Green Smoothie was very good. Bagels cold, not toasted, not fresh and they DO NOT put the cream cheese on the bagel. (There is a deli called Full Moon that has fresh, toasted bagels and they put cream cheese on it for you. Highly recommended). Panera gives their customers a tablespoon of cream cheese to assemble yourself… this is a bad joke for commuters. The bagel flat should be marketed on the kids menu - tiny size. The smoothie was good. CS needs improvement.
Food is good every time I get it but the service is awful. I ordered ahead and still waited 45 minutes just for my mac and cheese to be cold. They then wouldn’t take it back and I had to microwave it myself. The prices have also gone up to a ridiculous amount. I love the food but can’t keep waiting 45 minutes for mac and cheese.
Is anyone like me, and remembers when going to Panera was an upscale experience? Like, anyone can go to fast food, Panera was a cut above. Oh, how things have changed. I just went in, and once again, they are out of everything. Every single bagel except two varieties were gone. I reluctantly ordered one of the two kinds they had left only to have the kiosk tell me it was sold out too. It clearly wasn’t. I went up to the counter, and after the employee dusted off prep table after prep table, and then fiddled with the trashcan, she turned around and gave me a “why are you bothering me” look. I ordered my bagel and drink, and prayed she actually put on gloves since the last thing she touched beforehand was the trashcan. The gloves went on, and I’m just gonna pretend that her trashy hands didn’t grope all over those gloves before getting them on. The flat bagel was ran through the slicer and sent somewhere to be toasted. Finally, after 10 minutes, I got the bagel and left. I have not quite found the courage to look in the bag, but I am not hopeful. I will never be back.
I was there at 630am one morning. No one in site. I got to the drive thru waited and waited. Finally someone answered. She asked me was i picking up an order. I told her no. She said i will be back. Came back to take my order. Waited at the at the window 5 mins. One od the employees came and brought my food. I asked him who was the lady that took my order. He said it was the manager. She came to the window. Asking what was going on. I told her service sucks here. Then she closed the window said goodbye. I will never go back
I drove nearly 10 miles to this Panera today (Aug 29, 2025, around 2:15 pm) and had one of the worst customer service experiences I’ve ever had. I ordered soup and a frozen coffee, and the drive-thru employee argued with me, insisting Panera doesn’t have frozen coffee, and even compared Panera to McDonald’s in a rude, dismissive way. When I went inside to speak to the manager (Sarah K, per her badge), she refused to give me the employee’s name and brushed me off with just a quick “sorry.” I left without ordering anything. Completely unacceptable service, especially after driving across town. Very disappointed in how customers are treated at this location. — Ronda Hale
The service at this place is beyond horrible. They not only messed up 3 of the 4 things I ordered but also very rude. Not one apology and acted like I was annoying them when I asked for things that were missing. Worse of all, when waiting for another correction, I taste the soup and realized it's not the one i ordered. When I told them I was given the wrong soup, she basically called me a liar, saying no I put the chicken noodle in the bag myself. I finally get a new one but I really hope after she asked for it back that they're not so disorganized/reckless to have given it to one of the cars behind me. I think the most shocking part is that several people came to the window with the same nasty attitude. 😒
I’m extremely disappointed with my recent visit to Panera Bread. I ordered a sandwich and was shocked to find it had no protein at all—just bread and toppings. On top of that, we didn’t receive any of the side items that were supposed to come with our meals. For how expensive everything is, the quality and service should be much better. To make matters worse, I tried calling to report the issue and they hung up on me twice. That’s completely unacceptable. I expected a lot more from Panera and sadly, this experience has made me rethink coming back.
I, like so many others, keep trying to give this location chance after chance to meet expectations of accurate, timely orders fulfilled with a pleasant employee interaction. No such luck today. This was my last visit. I went through the drive thru mid-morning. I was the only car, so no real wait. The drive thru employee clearly hates her job. This was apparent by the look of complete annoyance on her face by my mere presence. When I got to the window, I asked her to input my phone number for rewards (something she should have asked to begin with). After four failed attempts because she refused to look or lean my direction (a total inconvenience to her) as I clearly annunciated the numbers, we finally found success. There is a whole other story revolving around payment for my one bagel order, but you get the point that I'm trying to make by now, so I won't bore you those details (hint...employee was further annoyed by my presence). Long story short, don't visit this establishment. See below for the picture of my bagel that my new drive thru friend worked so hard to get me.
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4202 Electric Rd, Roanoke, VA 24018
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4202 Electric Rd, Roanoke, VA 24018
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