Okay, I don't normally write reviews for chain restaurants, but today I had a spectacular experience here, and it was pickle related.
I was meeting my wife for lunch, and she ordered one of the cheesesteak ciabattas. Yes, I know it's not really a cheesesteak, but from the limited selection of Panera items with oomph, it's pretty okay.
I am in foodservice, so I want to get something straight here. You can hate on big, corporate chains for being soulless outposts devoid of culinary heart, but some of them do a few things right.
Panera does the assembly line of getting the cascade of orders constantly flooding their kitchen done quickly, correctly, and with excellent plate presence.
Today, however, they did not achieve the accuracy goal. My wife, who ordered for me, absolutely requested pickles ON my sandwich. For me, a sandwich is unacceptable unless it is 25% pickles. Sour or half sour normally, with bread and butter only acceptable in specific situations.
Anyway, there were ZERO pickles on my sandwich, and only one on the side, as is typical.
The true sign of an organization's strength isn't measured in terms of perfection, or anything similar. No, it is how it reacts to adversity, and how it recovers from mistakes. We are all human, and we all make mistakes, and pickles ON sandwiches isn't a normal thing at Panera.
I can't help it that the rest of you are philistines who just accept pickle-less sandwiches as if that were acceptable, and neither can Panera. So yes, they screwed the pooch.
But what they did next more than made up for it. The two folks who looked like the leads on the line sprang to action, finding me a soup bowl and piling it high with pickle spears.
There were enough to put three or four on each half of the sandwich, and to have one as an amuse bouche and another as a sort of food digestif. Of course, I also ate my wife's pickle, to remove the offending object from her pickle-hating view.
By their swift action the Westminster has entered the annals of pickle greatness, only exceeded on the scale by the Wawa in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Avery Adkins
The manager (I believe), Josh, was extremely helpful and kind when I had a small issue with my order today. He offered great customer service, thank you.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Sam McNeilson
Overall a normal Panera with fairly negligent management as evidenced by the regular lack of attention to the bathrooms. At 7:30am the toilet paper in the men's room was completely out (meaning someone didn't check it the night before or upon opening) and there was a large water leak spreading across the floor from the urinal.
Came back in the evening to find the water leak still present and I'm guessing the tp only got refilled because some worker needed to use the toilet.
Overall nice employees though and it's typical overpriced but tasty Panera food.
Ken Harris
Good place to catch up with friends.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Brad K
Same as any other Panera, really. Can't miss with the Bacon Turkey Bravo, even though they're no longer serving it with gouda cheese (thumbs down). Their bread has gone wayyyy downhill over the past few years, but I can't fault this particular location for that.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
Christine Stidham
Thank you Panera Westminster for good food and good service. Over the years since you've opened I've enjoyed an early breakfast on Black Friday with my kids, an enjoyable lunch or dinner with friends and family and picked up bagels for the sports team.
Rami More
Who came 9 PM when they close but they still let us in. Waited in Russia’s we enjoyed the meal was very good. The price arrived was all good. Recommend to anybody’s hungry to go there.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chips, Steak & Wake
Michael
I can't remember the last time that I had a 5 star experience here. The best that you might get is 4 stars but the average is 2. The staff don't seem to realize that they are in a customer service role as the best is barely friendly. The good is ok & you can tell that the franchise owner wants to get the most out of their money as the atmosphere is overdue for a refresh.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 4
Service: 2
Emily Wantz
I'm a Panera fan, so of course I'm gonna love it.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Broccoli Cheddar Soup, Bacon Turkey Bravo, Greek Salad, Brownie, Mac & Cheese, Fuji Apple Chicken Salad
I like going for breakfast. I love the Cinnamon Toast Crunch bagel
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 4
Cindy Harper
We are not too far from Westminster. So we use this location and the Gettysburg location. There is a world of difference between the two locations. Gettysburg just doesn't have the volume of service as Westminster does. Westminster is efficient, helpful, and has so much more product to offer. There are times for both, but thank you, Westminster, because sometimes it is nice to be bigger.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Edward Weglein
Bagels are excellent....the coffee is delicious. The service is always efficient.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Maryjane Miller
The entire restaurant is absolutely filthy and disgusting. The silverware put on your plate with your food was dirty. The new menu options are absolutely disgusting. Why can’t you just leave well enough alone. The food was half cold. Don’t bother coming here. There are way better options locally.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Kevin Cruz
I paid 5 dollars for this!?! Not even the cup is filled halfway… this was my last straw.. ridiculous.. The sad thing is this is from the Kids menu so my kid did not get what she expected. Total disappointment!
Okay, I don't normally write reviews for chain restaurants, but today I had a spectacular experience here, and it was pickle related.
I was meeting my wife for lunch, and she ordered one of the cheesesteak ciabattas. Yes, I know it's not really a cheesesteak, but from the limited selection of Panera items with oomph, it's pretty okay.
I am in foodservice, so I want to get something straight here. You can hate on big, corporate chains for being soulless outposts devoid of culinary heart, but some of them do a few things right.
Panera does the assembly line of getting the cascade of orders constantly flooding their kitchen done quickly, correctly, and with excellent plate presence.
Today, however, they did not achieve the accuracy goal. My wife, who ordered for me, absolutely requested pickles ON my sandwich. For me, a sandwich is unacceptable unless it is 25% pickles. Sour or half sour normally, with bread and butter only acceptable in specific situations.
Anyway, there were ZERO pickles on my sandwich, and only one on the side, as is typical.
The true sign of an organization's strength isn't measured in terms of perfection, or anything similar. No, it is how it reacts to adversity, and how it recovers from mistakes. We are all human, and we all make mistakes, and pickles ON sandwiches isn't a normal thing at Panera.
I can't help it that the rest of you are philistines who just accept pickle-less sandwiches as if that were acceptable, and neither can Panera. So yes, they screwed the pooch.
But what they did next more than made up for it. The two folks who looked like the leads on the line sprang to action, finding me a soup bowl and piling it high with pickle spears.
There were enough to put three or four on each half of the sandwich, and to have one as an amuse bouche and another as a sort of food digestif. Of course, I also ate my wife's pickle, to remove the offending object from her pickle-hating view.
By their swift action the Westminster has entered the annals of pickle greatness, only exceeded on the scale by the Wawa in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The manager (I believe), Josh, was extremely helpful and kind when I had a small issue with my order today. He offered great customer service, thank you.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Overall a normal Panera with fairly negligent management as evidenced by the regular lack of attention to the bathrooms. At 7:30am the toilet paper in the men's room was completely out (meaning someone didn't check it the night before or upon opening) and there was a large water leak spreading across the floor from the urinal.
Came back in the evening to find the water leak still present and I'm guessing the tp only got refilled because some worker needed to use the toilet.
Overall nice employees though and it's typical overpriced but tasty Panera food.
Good place to catch up with friends.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Same as any other Panera, really. Can't miss with the Bacon Turkey Bravo, even though they're no longer serving it with gouda cheese (thumbs down). Their bread has gone wayyyy downhill over the past few years, but I can't fault this particular location for that.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
Thank you Panera Westminster for good food and good service. Over the years since you've opened I've enjoyed an early breakfast on Black Friday with my kids, an enjoyable lunch or dinner with friends and family and picked up bagels for the sports team.
Who came 9 PM when they close but they still let us in. Waited in Russia’s we enjoyed the meal was very good. The price arrived was all good. Recommend to anybody’s hungry to go there.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chips, Steak & Wake
I can't remember the last time that I had a 5 star experience here. The best that you might get is 4 stars but the average is 2. The staff don't seem to realize that they are in a customer service role as the best is barely friendly. The good is ok & you can tell that the franchise owner wants to get the most out of their money as the atmosphere is overdue for a refresh.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 4
Service: 2
I'm a Panera fan, so of course I'm gonna love it.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Broccoli Cheddar Soup, Bacon Turkey Bravo, Greek Salad, Brownie, Mac & Cheese, Fuji Apple Chicken Salad
Great food and great service.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
I like going for breakfast. I love the Cinnamon Toast Crunch bagel
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 4
We are not too far from Westminster. So we use this location and the Gettysburg location. There is a world of difference between the two locations. Gettysburg just doesn't have the volume of service as Westminster does. Westminster is efficient, helpful, and has so much more product to offer. There are times for both, but thank you, Westminster, because sometimes it is nice to be bigger.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Bagels are excellent....the coffee is delicious. The service is always efficient.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The entire restaurant is absolutely filthy and disgusting. The silverware put on your plate with your food was dirty. The new menu options are absolutely disgusting. Why can’t you just leave well enough alone. The food was half cold. Don’t bother coming here. There are way better options locally.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
I paid 5 dollars for this!?! Not even the cup is filled halfway… this was my last straw.. ridiculous.. The sad thing is this is from the Kids menu so my kid did not get what she expected. Total disappointment!
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 4
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