Panera Bread in Lakeland - Phone Number, Reservations, Reviews

Firstly, I have been going here frequently recently and have been a little irritated by the quality of food. The chicken specifically is never fully cooked. But this wasn’t enough to keep me from coming back because I would just go home and cook the chicken longer myself. What has me not wanting to come back is what occurred yesterday evening. I placed an online order for this location to pick up during my break from work. It’s was just a bagel and spread. By the time I arrive it is raining. I pull through the drive thru and the employee (red-haired guy) tells me that he can’t grab my food because the floor is flooded. I didn’t believe it to be true, but if so, Panera has to do better with having them work in those conditions. Here’s the kicker… I park my car and through the rain I run inside. While waiting for my food, the drive thru guy was doing exactly what he just told me he couldn’t do. He walked to where the food was. He even briefly exited the door to the lobby. Once he noticed I was standing right by the door he went back in to cover himself in a hoodie as if I didn’t already see him. The act of sending me inside instead of just giving me the food through the drive thru was just a very careless and inconsiderate act.

I placed an order for delivery and the chicken sandwich did not have any chicken on it. I called and spoke to someone who was apologetic and she made it right. I understand companies and their employees make mistakes but what's important is how they choose to recover from it. The Lakeland Panera's customer service won the day and I am very thankful.

Make sure to check your bag before leaving. This is probably the 5th different time I have gotten home and missing food from my order.

The crust on bread was hard and the cream of chicken wild rice soup was fair. Almost tasted like canned soup. It wasn't that clean either. Seems like an update remodeling job is due.

I come to this Panera often and love the food and people there but I guess there's a new manager with whom I spoke with and I was disappointed in the way she conducted herself and spoke to others. I still love Panera but hope they can fix this.

Cut your trees at thr drive through menu and when you leave the service window. I just bought my new car and have had it a week, and I'm pretty sure I have a nice scrape going down the entire top of my car from your overgrown tree branches. I'm not happy!!!!

Amazing staff!!! I'm not a big Panera fan, but I frequent this location for the fresh bread and bagels for my retired parents! Thank you. Keep up the phenomenal work!!

07/04/2024 Nice clean location. A few tables with nearby power outlets to sit and work on your laptop. I ordered the duets with smokehouse chicken and tomato soup. I also ordered a half chipotle avacado chicken sandwich. The food was hot and fresh. It was delicious. Used the discount code FREEHALFENTREE.

This location goes severely down hill after lunch time. We had to repeat our order to the cashier multiple times for each item and she still got it wrong. When I complained I was told I did not need to be like that. They were out of a lot of the breads and I was sorely disappointed with our experience. I will not be coming back to this location.

Update 6/24/2024 - Not surprised to be making another review. I went through the drive-thru today. Ordered a tuna sandwich, I asked the girl twice if the bread as changed due to all the new menu changes and she said no twice. Great. Got my food, opened it. Saw it was a different bread. No big deal, I go inside and ask for a refund. Nice interaction with the managers. This whole thing could’ve been avoided if there was training on tje new menu. I understand the staff has nothing to do with change, however it needs to be learned. Prices are too high to be taken lightly. Over $10 for one sandwich. No drink. Came for a quick lunch on Sunday. I usually come to this location. Waited 10mins for someone to take my order. No big deal, order a bacon Turkey bravo. But my bacon was raw & the lettuce was unwashed with dirt on it. I’m very upset considering I spent $15 on this meal. Lobby was basically empty, only 3 tables were taken. They had about 5-6 people working. It’s now Tuesday an I’m sick from eating here. I will not be returning.

Food was great...when I finally got it. Was about 12 minutes late from the time I was given when I placed my online order. Person making my sandwich got carried away talking with the other 2 employees & burned it. So had to re-make it

The staff at this store is AMAZINGLY FABULOUS!!! Nelson, the cashier, was super Efficient, Engaging, and Knowledgeable. The food preparers made my salad quickly and were engaging went I picked up my order from the counter. This is an AWESOME place to eat!!!

We love it here. Reasonable AND healthy food.

Great service, you can ask for substitutes and ythe will be happy to help. Yummy shortbread cookies. ( July 2, 2023) Cashier made a mistake and the prep cook pleasantly understood . He immediately corrected and I walked away with a smile 05-05-2024.. chicken Fortanga Sandwich with the mango drink and chips..yum

I don’t know what happened to Panera but it has gone downhill since Covid. Four options of bagels, and one option gone at 7 am. What happened to all the choices?? I remember many more options to choose from. Potato soup gone, bacon turkey bravo is different now. The changes they are making are not good ones!

In the world we live there’s not much human interaction anymore. Everyone is busy on their phones. This is why I want to give a big shout out to Nelson. An adorable young man who is very good at his job! He works at this location. Not only did he make us feel very welcomed, he is also very knowledgeable about new products and shared them with us. There is something very special about this young man and I hope he is valued as an employee. Thank you for a great experience Nelson !!

The service of the young women Excellent

Order chicken ceaser salad , it came with no chicken very disappointing not happy place except the lady in bleu I believe she is manager , was very welcoming. So surprised about the customer service

I like the broccoli cheddar soup no matter how many bags that come out of

What's not to like about Panera I always like their two for one It's a perfect size meal for a single person. I did the turkey chili and the turkey avocado BLT on sourdough bread.

8.30am .. Ordered sandwiches with 2 lattes at drive through.. Got sandwiches and told to wait around front for coffees as machine was playing up..After waiting in car for several minutes with place being very quiet, I go inside to ask for coffees..Girl goes to back and brings then out with apologies..Ok .. Get home and to discover 2 luke warm basically milk drinks…I’m sure a lot of people are going to be ripped off today when it gets busier..I won’t go there again

Great place. Clean and good outside seating

My go to for my morning coffee and a mid day snack. Always have great service and atmosphere

Some of the worst food I've had. Very disappointed.

Great place to meet for a small meeting. We did not eat but I will be back.

My friend took me there for a birthday lunch. The food was outstanding. I tried the new melts and I'll be back for more.

I’m very disappointed in the food that I got. I got a buffalo chicken sandwich which I was extremely excited for, only to be met with ALMOST NOTHING. My sandwich is so bare and I am very angry. There is a tiny layer of chicken and it doesn’t even look like chicken! I got like 10 red onions total and there is almost no cilantro or buffalo. Also, the bread I ordered on the sandwich my girlfriend got was uncooked and the Mac and Cheese was only half full. I will never eat here again.

Great place to kick back & relax.

Soup was cold, they didn't have bread, and I wasn't given a spoon

Dante is amazing! Super nice and amazing at his job! Staff was working hard to get everyone's order out! Thank you guys!!

As always great food and selection. No matter the city or town, you can always count on Panera. Jen is the best!

Incompetent place can’t complete orders

There is no reason a customer should be standing in line for five minutes while employees at the counter twiddle their thumbs. This location has complete disregard for the customer. Management stands around with a dumb look on their face. I used to work at Panera, and I would never have acted this way.

The Unlimited Sip Club brings me here. The food is better than any fast food. Nice staff.

Food was great. A little expensive for the order and pick up at the counter. We spent $50 for 3 people.

Subpar and expensive for Mac and cheese

Always good. But do run out of things a lot. But everything is fresh. Place is always clean. Staff is friendly.

Panera Bread in Polk County, Florida offers a fantastic atmosphere for studying or enjoying conversations with friends. The food was not only delicious but also served promptly. This establishment is an excellent choice for those seeking a welcoming environment and tasty food. Highly recommended.

Ordered sandwich. Got completely different one with lots of order missing. I ordered at the drive up. Never again.

Always dependable…great salads and soups and sandwiches! Quick service!

Service in drive thru was fine. Food smelled good. Very disappointed when we got home and actually saw our food. There’s like NO meat on this sandwich and the bread was soggy! Never had an experience like this before here. Most likely will not be back.

My go-to place when I'm craving soup. Also got a sandwich one a pretty crusty, hard baguette. But flavor was great.

I tried a Panera croissant, and a bagel for breakfast. I sat at a table outside the weather was beautiful , the atmosphere was really pretty and the food was yummy! It was made quite quickly it is a big Cafe and was really busy but overall very nice visit.

Great food and great staff. Lori Ann is especially well versed on the menu and provided great customer service!

Great coffee and great meeting lasith friend!!!

Lori was so friendly and made it the best experience for me! It was my first time having Panera & I will DEFINITELY be going back! You’re awesome Lori!

Today I went back due to a missing item I paid for earlier the the week so decided to order in and eat with my daughter atbthe store. I tend to do the drive thru multiple times during the week. Did not receive the soft drink plastic cup I paid for so, I told the manager when he asked if I had everything. I said it in a pleasant manner as I just wanted to get the plastic cup. The manager made a face and that totally ruined my experienced there. So much so that I decided today would be my last time spending my hard earn cash at that Panera store. The restaurant business is primarily about the service. Yes, great food and ambiance only to be totally ruined by the terrible service/attitude. It's truly a shame. I can certainly spend my money somewhere else.

Super friendly and fast service. A clean restaurant and restrooms. My new fave lunch spot!

Great place! But it's sometimes inconvenient to find parking.

Food taste was good but portions were very small for the price paid!

One of my most favorite places to enjoy an early breakfast at - makes a great way to start my day! Healthy ingredients in the breakfast sandwich that I favor ordering at Panera Bread - the Avocado Egg White Spinach sandwich!

Love this place. The turkey, bacon and avocado sandwich is on the money. Highly recommended.

Always a pleasure to come here, new employee Jay was very friendly in drive thru. Only complaint is that they often run out of bagels and other pastries.

Ordered a Greek salad. It was good but there was some dried up avocado on my bowl when I picked the order up. Regardless - would recommend for a quick bite!

Love the Napa Almond Chicken salad. Yum

Drive thru order. Customer service was top tier! However, it’s a no for me with that chipotle chicken avocado melt, it had zero flavor!

Always good food here but what was so awesome today is the cashier who rang our order up!!! Her name is Lori and she absolutely made our day with her friendliness and positivity. She was also extremely versed in the menu and products. What a nice surprise in an age where the custom is at many places to get a luke warm personality at best to help you. Whatever you did to recruit her Panera, keep on doing!

Very clean good food Management was definitely walking around asking if everyone was doing well and making sure that everyone was well tanking care of definitely a nice place to come and read a book or just get online to do some school work on your Laptop

The food is so delicious and as expected every time I visit, whether it’s the drive through or dining inside. It does take a while to get your food so I think they may need to hire more people. Other than that, I really enjoyed my last experience. The store is well kept and the bakery items are all displayed so beautifully that it makes you buy something to try every time. The hot tea is really good. They could add at least one more herbal tea option and that would be great. The one they had was pretty good still. The pumpkin muffin is to die for.

Just in for a breakfast pastry and coffee. The bear claw was great as expected, the coffee was exceptional. They have choices of espresso, bold, and mild flavors + creamers.

Great hot food when the items are "in stock" however there were a fly or two in there the last two times I ran in to grab begals for the office.

I love their menu. Especially their salads. The fact that you can customize the salad allows your choices to be endless. The sip club is also a great deal.

Very good people and excellent service. Ileen (spelling?) was very helpful over the phone making everything right

Went for lunch...needed some soup. My cashier was sweet and friendly and my bread was hot. It was amazing...it's never hot. This place was great 👍

A dangerous, delapidated dump. Please close.

Amazing Service. Food is Fresh and staff is Kind. What more can you want?

Fabulous salads, scones, baguettes.

I have to change my review from decent to terrible!! The soup and sandwiches can be tasty and I especially like the tomato soup , but the last 3 times we have eaten there they have left meat off our sandwiches, and literally one full sandwich does not even have enough meat on it for half of a sandwich!! We once ordered a Turkey club and there was no Turkey!!. I understand making a mistake which is why we even went back, but not again. They have been consistently scrimping on the ingredients so if you go there let’s hope you like bread!

I would like to say that the manager Jen (jennifer) is the worst at this location. she treat the people bad and talks bad to the employees inclusive i hear that shes bestfriend with the district manager and i will be speaking with HR from panera bread to solve this problem.

It was good! My drink was flat but honestly i didn’t care. Food was great and People were great!

Management and staff really have it together at this location!

A good place to meet friends or colleagues for a meal and a meeting. The new self service feature is great.

The women's bathroom is always gross!

Love there Terriyaki bowl its always hot and fresh and so delicious the staff are friendly and great! Great quality of care

Great pizza! My daughter loves going to Panera, best broccoli and cheese soup. It's pricey but everything is fresh and employees are courteous and happy to help.

Food delicious and service great. I went through the drive up window, and the person was friendly and funny. Nice visit.

The food is delicious the service was off but go at the same time

So disappointed in quantity vs price... I paid $11 for a half salad...that is ridiculous for the size of this salad. Now I wasn't expecting an giant salad, I know it was a half order, but what I got is barely a side salad. Definitely not worth the price.

I always go for breakfast! Excellent!

It's Panera Bread... Of course it's great.

I've always kind of liked Panera but after reading recently it's the highest priced restaurant around basically and I have noticed that everything is pretty high-priced if you just get some basic bowl of soup and have a sandwich it's $15 so I don't eat here unless I absolutely have to because of timing

TLDR - if you go to the location to eat, overall good. But been consistently disappointed in their delivery food product and drinks. This is just the most recent example of how they treat customers who order food online. We ordered a dozen bagles and all of them except 2 were cut horribly and could not be salvaged. Coffee has never tasted good when ordered online. In the store it is great. My running theory is they have a kitchen shack set up in the parking lot where they make the online orders.

Amazing Service. Food is Fresh and staff is Kind. What more can you want?!!

Do not go to this location. Woman manager is nasty place orders on counter and do not call out names and then tells you you were the one that missed the order! She was rude and disrespectful. I’m a store manager you never argue with customers I will never go back.

slice? Was great in my to go order except the strong garlicky taste on the sliced bagels. Can the garlic items not be sliced separately so as not to contaminate the othere?

No tenía muchas de las cosas disponibles en el phone.

Probably go hear more than I should but it's okay, definitely worth it.

Great place to eat.. love the cinnamon bagels with cream cheese.

They never have bagel packs anymore

I’m always a fan of Panera. This has to be one of the best locations I’ve been too. Bread so soft and fresh, the greens so crispy and tasty. My salad was amazing. Great location off of a busy street. They have ordering kiosks at this location which I wish they had at all. You ask why? Well it makes customizing your order a breeze! I can add to my Napa almond sandwich which I do every time and with ingredients you wouldn’t think of. Then you can add a whole or half salad. Makes ordering super efficient and you know exactly what’s on or in your food without asking.

customer service IS TERRIBLE... AND LOOKS LIKE THEY DON'T CARE.

I love their Pepperoni Mozzarella Melt but it is best with extra pepperoni!

Had some great Mac and cheese and the service was kind

Not enough personal to keep up with the orders coming in.

Had a lunch date with my hubby and it was a nice relaxing time. Food was good and service was quick.

Bagels and coffee for me... Not many vegan friendly options...

My salad was not even full. The bowl was half empty. $12 for what. I do have pictures. Very disappointed!!!

Great food, great service. Would recommend.

Manager walks towards, making concerted effort not to make eye contact. I say, "Good morning." Barely a grunting response. She walks away. With their newest competition across the street in the form of the new Black and Brew location, won't be back. Adieu and adios.

I love everything about it. The menu is really good and healthy.