Panera is absolutely amazing! After I visited for the first time, it immediately became my go-to. I'll talk about the environment later, but first let me talk about the salads. I come for the salads--I don't get anything else because salads are what I want.
They have a lot of different salads, and they are masterpieces! Each salad has a variety of flavors and textures. They are healthy, filling, and enjoyable to eat. Each salad comes with a free apple or piece of baguette. If you're needing more protein or grains in your diet, they have salads with those in them.
Can I just mention the environment, too? It's a super enjoyable cozy environment. It's got a lot of seating, but there's such a wide variety of types of seating that half the fun of the visit is choosing where to sit. There are round tables, rectangular tables, booths with benches, a tall counter with chairs, and comfy chairs by the fireplace with side tables.
The way it's designed, it feels nice and open when you walk in. There are plenty of seats in the middle of the area, but there are also smaller walls making it easy to find a corner to sit in if you're worried about being overstimulated by seeing the entire restaurant.
There are several ways to order, too, which is awesome! You can go up and talk to a person like in a normal restaurant, you can order at an electronic kiosk, or you can order from your phone on their website or app. If you come regularly and make an account on the app, you can get rewards and deals. They're pretty good too if you come fairly often.
Last but not least, it never takes very long at all for my food to be ready.
Overall, I've been coming nearly every week for a while, and I love it!
P.S. It's sit down, but it's not awkward in the slightest coming to eat here by myself.