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| - Came in to this location since I had taken an unusual route to work and decided I might as well take advantage of my free bagel for 30 days reward. I used to visit Panera a lot more frequently when they still had another location open near my work place. Funny cuz true - I agree with Chris C.'s previous review, they really do all look exactly the same, which isn't bad insofar as the decor itself goes, but, really, a bit boring. It wasn't very busy and early in the day so not surprisingly the place was pretty clean, and appreciated nonetheless. I don't go out of my way to come in, even with a free bagel every day for 30 days, since it's not convenient enough to warrant what you end up spending in not only in premium prices but also time and effort compared to a Tims drive-thru on most days. Again, agree with several previous reviews - the prices you pay for a breakfast or lunch are just way too expensive for a cafeteria style restaurant.
The staff was friendly but not very knowledgeable about the difference between a sprouted whole grain bagel and a regular multi grain bagel, except to say that the sprouted bagel is smaller and difficult to cut and toast. Since the sign for the multi grain bagel was missing, I couldn't compare for myself. I'm going to just hope that a multi grain bagel isn't way more than the 240 calories for the smaller sprouted bagel.
I find it highly inconvenient that if you want your bagel with any kind of spread, you have to do it yourself - especially if it's butter, because by the time you bring your toasted bread wherever you're going, it's not going to be anywhere near warm enough for the butter to melt. It also really adds to that cafeteria feel when you're scraping out little packets of butter (or cream cheese, or peanut butter, or jam, or wtv else) onto the bread yourself. Why would I pay over $4 for a bagel with butter and a coffee, both of which I have to finish making, as opposed to just doing it myself at home?
Having said that, the coffee and food are pretty good. The coffee in particular is nice since you get the choice of a flavoured brew (usually Hazelnut) in addition to the regular and decaf. They provide choices of skim, 2% and half and half cream, and Turbinado brown sugar in addition to the white sugar and sugar-free sweeteners (didn't notice whether they provide Stevia). I do find their bagels a a bit "pasty" - rather dry with an almost powdery finish, but definitely closer to homemade than just about any other chain bakery. I haven't indulged in an $18+ lunch lately but their salads and sandwiches are also usually very fresh and satisfying. They rotate their menu items quite often and keep the choices interesting.
Their pastries are rich and flaky, and many of them are quite sweet, especially the iced cookies and iced cakes, but there are some less sweet options like croissants. A cinnamon bun is huge and easily split between two people (something you might want to consider given that the calorie counts on most of the baked goods are astronomical). You can buy all kinds of freshly baked goodies and bread to bring home, with many seasonal choices of items.
Their reward program is the best I've ever experienced. You don't have to keep spending money constantly to keep up points balances and you always get an annual birthday baked treat reward. You don't have to buy something in order to get said birthday baked treat reward, unlike Timothy's, and I've never experienced anything close to the 30 days of a free bagel that I've received several times now.
They do offer free Wi-Fi, although it's sometimes very weak.
All in all, I still come in from time to time, usually when it's to meet a friend for coffee and a sweet treat. The atmosphere is cozy and comfortable (usually plenty of booths at most locations) and you feel like you can sit and relax - it's far less noisy and not "rushed" feeling compared to Starbucks or the other usual coffee shops. Overall, I prefer to buy overpriced coffee and baked goods here (even if I do have to finish making things myself) than other chains, especially if I'm staying in.
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