Panera Bread - Seal Beach

It pains me to give this place a negative review. Panera’s are wonderful but 80% of the ones I visit are just run down and remind me of a rotting whale on the beach. The building is unique/cute. The outside seating area is plentiful and clean. But the interior looks dead/dark/dreary. Went in at 3pm on a Saturday. A really bad pungent odor was lingering around the whole dining area. Couldn’t tell if it was mold, sitting water, etc. (I came to the same location a couple weeks later same awful pungent smell. Though not as strong as initially. If this is a yeast smell from the baking, then I apologize. And readers can ignore this complaint. But if it’s not yeast, there’s a serious mold/sitting water problem somewhere. There were 8 tables that had finished food/bowls just sitting there for God knows how long. Perhaps this was the cause for the smell? Unsure. But I can’t blame them…there were only 3 4 people working. So perhaps they were understaffed. The internet was nonexistent. It was beyond bad. Couldn’t even load the Google homepage once connected. Not even heavy traffic. There were 5 customers in the shop. Defeated the whole purpose of coming here to do work. Cups were not stocked. So you have to wait at the register until a skeleton crew member can come to serve you. Not sure if this is due to the homeless population or general abuse of free drinks. It is Rossmore, so perhaps that’s got something to do with it. A place that has great potential, but left to neglect. The employees were all friendly and nice though. Service was good.

I'm a Panera Bread Fan. But the service rendered at this one was horrible. I did like the big round retro building ‍ though. Very unique.

I had the beef and cheddar on Asiago focaccia bread and half a chicken Caesar salad. The food is vary good. The service fast and friendly. I don’t normally go to places like this but I was given a gift card. Cost was $32 for what would cost about $6 made at home. And that’s why I don’t eat at places like this.

I’m sorry but the older Caucasian woman has terrible customer service and must be stopped! She should not be working the front, AT ALL LOL. The place also smells terrible. Smells like mold/sewer. Other employees are friendly though.

Always a great experience. Food is wonderful and place is always clean. Food was also prepared fast and was delicious.