The Iconic Soup That Panera Just Can't Get Right

Before the controversy sparked by a lawsuit over charged lemonade grabbed all the headlines, Panera Bread was — and will likely continue to be — known best for its soup and bread selection, and it's easy to see why. While their seven soups vary in terms of taste, popularity, and quality, nearly all are beloved by a certain subset of Panera's consumer base. That's why it may upset some of you to know that there is one soup from Panera that falls remarkably short of being the best soup it can possibly be. While the chain's Broccoli Cheddar Soup tops a customer survey of the company's best soups, Panera's Bistro French Onion Soup will instead live in infamy as their worst offering still in current rotation.

The Bistro French Onion Soup is Panera's take on a classic flavor that is beloved by soup lovers around the world. Unfortunately, Panera's version doesn't quite stack up when ranked with its contemporaries, nor does it truly encapsulate just how delicious French onion soup can be. Instead, the fast casual food chain's Bistro French Onion Soup underwhelms in terms of both taste and general quality.

Panera Bread's Bistro French Onion Soup was the sequel to their original French onion soup recipe, which was discontinued in 2019 and replaced the following year. While this soup variant withstood Panera's incredible shrinking menu strategy from 2023, many are still left disappointed by its weak flavor. Ultimately, customers stated that the Bistro French Onion Soup has an undesirably watery and unappetizing presentation and a taste that fails to live up to its name as a French onion soup.

This failure is especially notable when you consider just how delicious a good cup of French onion soup can be if purchased from a local cafe or, even better, when it is made homemade from scratch. It is often said that French onion soup is difficult to get right and the canned variety is rarely up to snuff. So while it's not surprising that Panera Bread's take on this 18th-century soup doesn't compare favorable to others, it is also very disappointing that it doesn't manage to live up to the expectations that I and many others have for Panera's soup selection.