Why Panera Customers Say You Should Avoid Ordering The Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Some foods, like diner pancakes, somehow just taste better ordered-out than homemade. Grilled cheese, however, does not necessarily belong to this category — especially at Panera. The official Panera website describes its classic Grilled Cheese sandwich as "American cheese melted on our thick-sliced Classic White Miche." Despite only having two ingredients, the sammy somehow still costs $8.39 at a location in Chicago. At least the chips on the side are "free."

One Reddit thread in r/grilledcheese is dedicated to Panera's poor-performing player in the arena, and customers claim the sandwich is soggy and that the cheese doesn't melt. "I can't figure out why Panera's grilled cheeses are always bad," writes one poster. "I actually like Panera which I understand is a hot take, but their grilled cheese is not good," to which another foodie responds, "Because they are literally never grilled and the cheese is always unmelted." Other comments are equally grim: "A few years ago they had a four cheese grilled cheese that [was] SO good. Then they took that off but kept their trash cheese grilled cheese."

Multiple foodies mention that the lackluster sandwich might be more excusable if it didn't cost so much. "They try to market their menu as trendy craft artisan food and 90% of it is just a slightly too salty sandwich made with a panini press," note sone commenter, nodding to a larger down-trend for the brand. The MyPanera rewards program isn't what it used to be, either.

Panera has released a few spin-off grilled cheeses over the years, like the Kickin' Grilled Cheese with spicy salsa verde, and the Grilled Mac and Cheese Sandwich – both of which were pretty good. However, sometimes, you really can beat the classics, and Panera's classic grilled cheese sammy is crying out for a forgiving upgrade.

Tasting Table ranked Panera's grilled cheese in second-to-last place in our definitive ranking of 16 Panera sandwiches. If other reviews are any indication, Panera has had pretty lousy grilled cheese for a long time now, and upgrades might not be enough to save it. A 2020 review from Business Insider also ranked Panera's bacon tomato grilled cheese as the lowest sandwich out of 17 on the chain's menu. In fact, Panera Bread as a whole has a dismal 1.8 out of 5 star ranking on TrustPilot based on over 1K reviews. Customers write, "their prices are quite high! Their food isn't that great," and "never in my mind did I ever think someone could screw up a grilled cheese."

We've also rounded up 16 more items to avoid ordering at Panera, to help steer foodies straight. Instead, we recommend making a grilled cheese at home, or looking to the cream of the crop: the best grilled cheese sandwiches in the U.S. Dare to dream bigger than Panera's grilled cheese has to offer.