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Panera Bread
Rating Details »
Category: Restaurants [Edit]
7349 Lake St(between Clinton Pl & William St)
River Forest, IL 60305
(708) 714-3140
- Nearest Transit:
-
Harlem (Green)
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Attire:
- Casual
- Price Range:
-
$
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Good for:
- Lunch
- Alcohol:
- None
12 reviews for Panera Bread
I like going here for the free Wi-Fi and a cup of coffee.
As far as Paneras go, they also hit you with an amazing display of sweets as soon as you walk in the door. damn.
One thing I really dislike about Panera in general is how the prices always end up more than what's probably fair - the prices they advertise on the wall seem reasonable but then when you check your reciept it's always a few $ more expensive than you thought it was gonna be.
I am normally a big fan of Panera Bread. I love their fresh bread, their seemingly healthy menu, everything that I have ordered and eaten at other Panera Bread locations have been very satisfying.
We stopped in on a Friday afternoon for a snack. It was super crowded and neither of us wanted to delay the line behind us by studying the menu too long. Because of the heat, we both opted for salads. For my little one, I requested a bowl of fruit. It was not on the menu, but the counter person said that it could be arranged. The total came to $30. I was a bit taken off guard, but I assumed that it was because I had placed a special request. We had simply ordered drinks, an Asian Sesame Salad, a Chopped Cobb Salad, and the fruit was billed as a Strawberry Poppy seed Salad.
What a total toilet flush. The chopped salad was a big bowl of romaine lettuce with a teaspoon of bacon, cheese and egg droppings and a few slivers of chicken. The Asian Sesame was also sparse in ingredients and was not "hand tossed". The dressing was only at the bottom. My son's fruit bowl was actually a bowl of romaine with a child sized handful of blueberries, strawberry slivers, pineapples and pecans. Apparently they decided to make the Strawberry Poppy seed salad, and held the chicken. This wasn't the fruit bowl that I was promised. Did I stutter? What 4 year old wants to eat a bowl of lettuce? I already had a disappointed kid on my hands so I did not want to wait in line to complain. I just had to grit my teeth and pick out the little bits of fruit in there, and get the hell out of there before he had a fit. Most expensive lettuce that I have ever bought.
They need to figure out an easier way to show everything that is on the menu b/c trying to check out everything that is written on the wall takes too much time. I was drawn to "pick two" and got a great bowl of creamy tomato soup and a turkey/apple/walnut salad. (A little skimpy on the turkey.) I like that you can get fresh fruit as a side. The freshed brewed iced tea is flavorful - as are the hot teas. And three cheers for real flatware - none of that plastic stuff. Love the bakery selection - you get a lot more for your money at Panera than you would at a coffee shop.
There's no difference in the food between this Panera or others I've been too, except here they put way too much raspberry dressing on the fandango salad (the two times I've had it here). Also, it's small and narrow with not very many tables compared to the others.
But they do have free wi-fi and I work here sometimes.
Its convenient location and cool outdoor seating + fountain aside, everything else is pretty mediocre.
Sandwich menu is okay. Panini menu is better, tho' a bit pricy for the ingredients, taste and size they offer. $7 for a Chicken Pomodoro? For the same price I can get a kickass Zesty Italian panini at the Buzz Cafe. The menus are constantly changing, including the soup. I actually like their lentil soup (great with the mini baguette), tho' it's rarely offered.
The queueing system is hopeless. One line is for pastry/coffee, the other lunch/dinner menu. It can get so long, some Saturday mornings I can see a snake of hungry folks in line up to the fountain, OUTSIDE!
Would've given two stars, but the free, non-encrypted wifi is nice - no T-mobile hotspot nonsense like at Borders and Starbucks!
Got dragged here for lunch over the weekend and was pleasantly surprised by the tempting menu. I ordered the French Onion soup in a Sourdough bowl, and it was satisfying. However, our pager didn't work, and our stuff just sat there until I saw diners who were seated after us get their meals, and I went up to the counter to investigate. Also, the long, narrow layout of the place makes it hard to maneuver when you have to carry your food to the front seating area THROUGH the line of patrons waiting to order. It's amazing no soup was spilled.
All Panaeras have the same food and it's good (and a little expensive) but this is one location I avoid. The service is lousy. At any given time, there are two-three workers hanging out doing nothing when there are long lines of people. So not only do the employees not care but they are very rude to you if there is something wrong with your order. Like it's your fault!
Our favorite soup n sammie place! Wish we had one closer to home, but it's always fun to go to River Forest and scope out all the beautiful homes and dream of which ones we'd buy if we hit the lottery!!
They have developed a new system for order pickups that works pretty well. Now you get a pager after you pay for your food so you can scout out a table while you wait. I usually eat in the city and was pretty amazed at how busy it was at 1:30pm in River Forest. They handled the lines well and I was in and out!
The food here is the same as all Paneras. However, be prepared to wait quite some time at the coffee, tea and bakery section, as the staff there, while pleasant, appears in no particular hurry. It does have free WiFi like all other Panera locations, but if (like me) you have a laptop that doesn't have the longest battery life and you came to work choose another location, there are virtually no outlets to be found. Also, the layout of the store is such that all the tables are next to a floor to ceiling window or a door, which makes it very cold in the winter!
A standard Panera. Though the place can get pretty busy, I've never had any complaints with the service. Though I always ask for a pickle with the you-pick-two sandwich and soup, I get it only occasionally.
I come here with friends all the time- Cheap, great food. I can get a delicious toasted bagel for under a dollar. Only a few complaints- One time I ordered a pizza and it had a pube on it. Yes, a pube. Another complaint- I've noticed when I come with friends people behave.. well.. snooty. I don't believe we're very loud nor obnoxious, but people insist on giving us hateful looks. They don't realize panera is for casual eating and is no where near wine and dine service. But they have great customer service- One time I ordered a pizza, and I slowly realized that it was taking forever for me to get my meal. The manager came to me saying that one piece had been dropped and that was why it was taking forever. He was extremely kind, saying I could have anything I wanted to compensate for that piece of pizza. I was modest (because he was so kind) and asked for a few bagels- Instead he packed about twenty bagels in a bag and apologized repeatedly. I even received my pizza as well. I still continue to go there with friends all the time.
