Disappointed once again. Went through drive-thru and associate was not friendly. Sandwiches were right but both BBQ chicken flatbread and sierra turkey were cold. Then, they forgot my daughter's cookie. Unfortunately, I only noticed 15 minutes down the road and we weren't going back (my bad for not checking before we left.) Ho hum.
(2)
tom m.
Panera Bread going Asian, I had to try the Broth Bowls. They had soba and the cashier recommended the Chicken, her name was Myia. she was spot on. The broth was delicious. the chicken needed a little more flavor. But the pastries, oh my gosh. next time i'm getting the Quinoa. then I won't feel that guilty about the pastry
(4)
Ron N.
Have been to many Paneras around the country. This one ranks among the worst. After a long wait to be waited on we had another long wait for food. The whole restaurant is set up weird. You enter in a door to a confusing wait line. When trying to exit you have to cut through the waiting line. The small 1/2 power salad was drenched in dressing. I'm guessing there were 6-8 small spinach leaves. I think I am done with this salad because of the inconsistency in preparation. The 1/2 Spinach has been ridiculously small at 3 different stores. The large is a crap shoot. No portion or quality control here.
(2)
E C.
After a week of expensive breakfasts at the hotel resort and waiting in lines at popular dining spots, I was ready to for something quick and easier on the wallet. While the cashier wasn't exactly super friendly (don't really care as I didn't come here for top notch service), and the food preparer gave me the wrong bread for my breakfast sandwich (remedied fairly quickly), my order came out hot and tasty. The place was clean and next to the outlet. Next time I need a quick, inexpensive meal around the area, I'll drop by here.
(4)
Benoit L.
Here is what I posted on Panera's customer service feedback web: Our last visit is exactly that: our last. A recurring issue at this location is a shortage of bread bowls. This has occurred during our previous five visits. I can understand running out occasionally, but this seems excessive. A more serious and disturbing issue is the manager's response when an admittedly annoyed customer brought this observation up. He came across as defensive and not particularly caring, dismissing it as simply bad timing. Don't give me the excuse that a bunch of teenagers or a bus load of seniors disembarked. I'm not sure how the store consumable forecasting process works, but this location needs to review it. 10 minutes later, the manager did attempt to assuage our discontent by giving us 3 end of day bakery items. But again, the gesture felt hollow and insincere, with more defensive posturing. To compound the situation, our alternative selection, the steak white cheddar came loaded with onions, an element not highlighted on the board. To the cashiers credit, she did have them redo the sandwich sans onions. I would strongly suggest a refresher course for management on how to deal with customer service issues with an emphasis on role playing. However, any remediation steps will be too late for us. We won't darken this restaurants door any longer.
(2)
teena y.
I typically love Panera Bread but this location wasn't that great. The (male) cashier wasn't that friendly and it would have been nice for him to tell me my free smoothie expired the day I went. (The other locations tell you and are really nice since there is a survey you can fill out about your experience) Then again, it was also my bad for not paying attention. He could have been a lot nicer. The soup was ok and the bread that came along with it. The tuna salad was just ok and the bacon turkey bravo was decent. The gouda cheese was good. The mac and cheese was just ok (I only ordered it bc the 2 people in front of me ordered it too) I asked the cashier what he thought and he was pretty vague. Also, for the amount of mac and cheese you get it was definitely worth the price
(2)
TJ M.
So gross! My tuna salad sandwich was rancid and tasted metallic. The staff was unapologetic. Don't know why this place is always crowded? it's like bluffton locals have never seen a chain restaurant before and when one opens up everyone has to go!
(1)
Ashley P.
Much, much, much better than when they first opened! =) Good job Panera Bread!
(5)
Carrie R.
Rifling through overstuffed racks of vaguely discounted goods can make a person very hungry. This is evidenced in the throngs of shoppers pouring into Panera Bread at the newly re-opened Tanger Outlets 1 in Bluffton, SC. We (me and my partner in grime) waited a week to try the new Panera, knowing it would most likely be a mob scene. Turns out a week wasn't enough. First, a small quibble: the exterior is poorly designed, with seemingly no walkway from the parking lot onto the sidewalk/front door area. We had to traverse fluffy mounds of pine needles (me in heels) in order to escape the teeming lot. But we got over that pretty quickly. I attempted to order a "You Pick 2" with a "signature" upgrade, but my girl at the counter was not having that. No, it was the garden-variety chain-restaurant menu-deviation confusion that rigid corporate pricing structures invite. So when I picked up my lunch at the counter I was surprised with a standard caesar "cafe" salad rather than the chicken caesar "signature" salad I had ordered. Still, the salad would have been decent if its croutons hadn't been staled to inedible rocks. One thing Panera's got going for it is the soup. The soup was pretty good. And I love soup! The multigrain baguette was purely "whatever." Now, while I was willing to overlook the upgrade snafu and petrified croutons, my friend's Smokehouse Turkey signature hot panini was just inexcusably gross. I almost smacked it with the baseball bat I keep in my purse, because I wasn't sure if it was dead, alive or possessed by some sort of witch. Look, we're jaded enough to know that the food doesn't really ever look like the pictures. But come on. The bread was tough and barely grilled. The thick slabs of cheddar cheese had barely begun to melt. The turkey was pinkish and slimy, like the ovular slices you get in white-label packages of unidentifiable deli meat. And the bacon--oh, the poor bacon. Pink, mostly uncooked, flaccid. My dog probably wouldn't have eaten this bacon (and I don't even have a dog!). If it weren't bad enough, half the sandwich's contents were hanging out the side, as if the bread were so nasty they tried to slither away from it. Every spare inch of the dining room is filled with tables, some of which look like temporary fold-outs, so they can cram the most amount of bodies in at one time. The combination of crappy food, huge volume of annoying fellow diners and high prices (my lunch was around $10 for a standard soup + salad and a fountain drink; really??) spells s-t-a-y a-w-a-y. At least for a while, until the crowds die down and the kitchen gets its act together--which, who knows, may never happen. And that's too bad, because Bluffton is really hurting for a casual dine-in lunch spot with somewhat-healthy menu options.
(2)
Pat B.
Just visited this Panera for the first time. Not the normal Panera experience. Started with the extremely curt and impatient person taking orders (9:10am) today. I did not get a buzzer for my hot food but they were not busy so assumed just not necessary. Went to the food pick up area to get food. There was one other person ahead of me. Good was put up that I thought could be mine. I asked if it was a power sandwich and again got an impatient answer. Nothing was said when he put the sandwich up. You never want to take someone else's food. Sandwich was fine. At 9:10am the coffee had been made at 7:05sm. Not sure what standards are but coffee sitting there for 2 hours is not very appealing. Will go to the HH store in the future.
(2)
Sorry, we don't have Q&A for this restaurant.
Sorry, No Coupons available for this restaurant.
Address :1264 Fording Island Drive
Bluffton, SC, 29910
Takes Reservations : No Delivery : No Take-out : Yes Accepts Credit Cards : Yes Good for Kids : Yes Good for Groups : Yes Attire : Casual Noise Level : Average Alcohol : No Outdoor Seating : Yes Has TV : No Caters : Yes
David M.
Outstanding bagels and pastries
(4)Jo L.
Disappointed once again. Went through drive-thru and associate was not friendly. Sandwiches were right but both BBQ chicken flatbread and sierra turkey were cold. Then, they forgot my daughter's cookie. Unfortunately, I only noticed 15 minutes down the road and we weren't going back (my bad for not checking before we left.) Ho hum.
(2)tom m.
Panera Bread going Asian, I had to try the Broth Bowls. They had soba and the cashier recommended the Chicken, her name was Myia. she was spot on. The broth was delicious. the chicken needed a little more flavor. But the pastries, oh my gosh. next time i'm getting the Quinoa. then I won't feel that guilty about the pastry
(4)Ron N.
Have been to many Paneras around the country. This one ranks among the worst. After a long wait to be waited on we had another long wait for food. The whole restaurant is set up weird. You enter in a door to a confusing wait line. When trying to exit you have to cut through the waiting line. The small 1/2 power salad was drenched in dressing. I'm guessing there were 6-8 small spinach leaves. I think I am done with this salad because of the inconsistency in preparation. The 1/2 Spinach has been ridiculously small at 3 different stores. The large is a crap shoot. No portion or quality control here.
(2)E C.
After a week of expensive breakfasts at the hotel resort and waiting in lines at popular dining spots, I was ready to for something quick and easier on the wallet. While the cashier wasn't exactly super friendly (don't really care as I didn't come here for top notch service), and the food preparer gave me the wrong bread for my breakfast sandwich (remedied fairly quickly), my order came out hot and tasty. The place was clean and next to the outlet. Next time I need a quick, inexpensive meal around the area, I'll drop by here.
(4)Benoit L.
Here is what I posted on Panera's customer service feedback web: Our last visit is exactly that: our last. A recurring issue at this location is a shortage of bread bowls. This has occurred during our previous five visits. I can understand running out occasionally, but this seems excessive. A more serious and disturbing issue is the manager's response when an admittedly annoyed customer brought this observation up. He came across as defensive and not particularly caring, dismissing it as simply bad timing. Don't give me the excuse that a bunch of teenagers or a bus load of seniors disembarked. I'm not sure how the store consumable forecasting process works, but this location needs to review it. 10 minutes later, the manager did attempt to assuage our discontent by giving us 3 end of day bakery items. But again, the gesture felt hollow and insincere, with more defensive posturing. To compound the situation, our alternative selection, the steak white cheddar came loaded with onions, an element not highlighted on the board. To the cashiers credit, she did have them redo the sandwich sans onions. I would strongly suggest a refresher course for management on how to deal with customer service issues with an emphasis on role playing. However, any remediation steps will be too late for us. We won't darken this restaurants door any longer.
(2)teena y.
I typically love Panera Bread but this location wasn't that great. The (male) cashier wasn't that friendly and it would have been nice for him to tell me my free smoothie expired the day I went. (The other locations tell you and are really nice since there is a survey you can fill out about your experience) Then again, it was also my bad for not paying attention. He could have been a lot nicer. The soup was ok and the bread that came along with it. The tuna salad was just ok and the bacon turkey bravo was decent. The gouda cheese was good. The mac and cheese was just ok (I only ordered it bc the 2 people in front of me ordered it too) I asked the cashier what he thought and he was pretty vague. Also, for the amount of mac and cheese you get it was definitely worth the price
(2)TJ M.
So gross! My tuna salad sandwich was rancid and tasted metallic. The staff was unapologetic. Don't know why this place is always crowded? it's like bluffton locals have never seen a chain restaurant before and when one opens up everyone has to go!
(1)Ashley P.
Much, much, much better than when they first opened! =) Good job Panera Bread!
(5)Carrie R.
Rifling through overstuffed racks of vaguely discounted goods can make a person very hungry. This is evidenced in the throngs of shoppers pouring into Panera Bread at the newly re-opened Tanger Outlets 1 in Bluffton, SC. We (me and my partner in grime) waited a week to try the new Panera, knowing it would most likely be a mob scene. Turns out a week wasn't enough. First, a small quibble: the exterior is poorly designed, with seemingly no walkway from the parking lot onto the sidewalk/front door area. We had to traverse fluffy mounds of pine needles (me in heels) in order to escape the teeming lot. But we got over that pretty quickly. I attempted to order a "You Pick 2" with a "signature" upgrade, but my girl at the counter was not having that. No, it was the garden-variety chain-restaurant menu-deviation confusion that rigid corporate pricing structures invite. So when I picked up my lunch at the counter I was surprised with a standard caesar "cafe" salad rather than the chicken caesar "signature" salad I had ordered. Still, the salad would have been decent if its croutons hadn't been staled to inedible rocks. One thing Panera's got going for it is the soup. The soup was pretty good. And I love soup! The multigrain baguette was purely "whatever." Now, while I was willing to overlook the upgrade snafu and petrified croutons, my friend's Smokehouse Turkey signature hot panini was just inexcusably gross. I almost smacked it with the baseball bat I keep in my purse, because I wasn't sure if it was dead, alive or possessed by some sort of witch. Look, we're jaded enough to know that the food doesn't really ever look like the pictures. But come on. The bread was tough and barely grilled. The thick slabs of cheddar cheese had barely begun to melt. The turkey was pinkish and slimy, like the ovular slices you get in white-label packages of unidentifiable deli meat. And the bacon--oh, the poor bacon. Pink, mostly uncooked, flaccid. My dog probably wouldn't have eaten this bacon (and I don't even have a dog!). If it weren't bad enough, half the sandwich's contents were hanging out the side, as if the bread were so nasty they tried to slither away from it. Every spare inch of the dining room is filled with tables, some of which look like temporary fold-outs, so they can cram the most amount of bodies in at one time. The combination of crappy food, huge volume of annoying fellow diners and high prices (my lunch was around $10 for a standard soup + salad and a fountain drink; really??) spells s-t-a-y a-w-a-y. At least for a while, until the crowds die down and the kitchen gets its act together--which, who knows, may never happen. And that's too bad, because Bluffton is really hurting for a casual dine-in lunch spot with somewhat-healthy menu options.
(2)Pat B.
Just visited this Panera for the first time. Not the normal Panera experience. Started with the extremely curt and impatient person taking orders (9:10am) today. I did not get a buzzer for my hot food but they were not busy so assumed just not necessary. Went to the food pick up area to get food. There was one other person ahead of me. Good was put up that I thought could be mine. I asked if it was a power sandwich and again got an impatient answer. Nothing was said when he put the sandwich up. You never want to take someone else's food. Sandwich was fine. At 9:10am the coffee had been made at 7:05sm. Not sure what standards are but coffee sitting there for 2 hours is not very appealing. Will go to the HH store in the future.
(2)