Gotham Bagels

Gotham Bagels has a really nice atmosphere and the food itself is genuinely tasty, which makes this review a bit tough, but unfortunately, our overall experience just didn’t live up to expectations. We went on a Saturday, so I expected a bit of a wait, but we ended up waiting about an hour for just three bagels, which felt excessive. Still, I was willing to overlook that until we got home and found that all three bagels were made on the wrong kind of bread. We had ordered two on everything bagels and one on garlic, but received what looked like whole wheat or something similar definitely not what we asked for. What really brought the experience down was the lack of communication; if they were out of the bagels we ordered, a quick heads-up would’ve gone a long way. Instead, we were left confused and a bit underwhelmed. Great flavor, but the poor service and incorrect order made it hard to justify more than two stars.

For the last year and a half Gotham Bagels has been our go to bagel shop. The perfect breakfast after the Farmer's Market on a Saturday morning. We found this place through a catering event and absolutely fell in love with the flavors. Have a sweet tooth? Definitely try the Honey Tart Cherry. You can never go wrong with a Salt bagel (if they're in stock). Is the weekend packed? Yes. Is it worth the wait? Depends who you ask. If you're not pressured with time and come with your favorite person then you probably won't notice the wait. We've met Joe once and he was okay. But we are here for the bagels not Joe. You won't know until you try them but whether it's worth the wait that's up to you. It is for us ❤️.

Our office recently ordered lunch from Gotham Bagels for 18 staff members, and it was excellent. The food quality was great, and the individual packaging with clear numbering made distribution easy. Although one sandwich was missing, their customer service was great and resolved the issue quickly. Despite some initial hesitation due to reviews, our experience was very positive & everyone loved it. I recommend the chicken salad on an everything bagel. We will definitely order from them again!

I've been dreaming about this sandwich since I ordered it months ago, so it only felt right that I leave a review. I think this was the "Super Tuscan"... bagel of my dreamssss!!!

I know there’s some shade on here about the owner and wait times, I’m here to clear some of that up. The New York style bagels are amazing and made fresh, with that it’s going to take longer than a fast food place, you get what you pay for. Go in or order ahead, have some coffee and relax. The owner, he’s passionate about his business and the food he puts out. He’s east coast so yeah, he might be a little louder than your typical midwesterner, you’ll be fine. Highly recommend

Go classic or go home. Got a bacon egg and cheese everything bagel sandwich and it was not bad. Nice thick cut bacon, cheese was real and tasty, and the bagel was not too chewy. The coffee was local JBC roasters and flavorful as usual (even JBCs light roast is bold). The long wait times unfortunately are the reason I cannot give this place a higher rating, also no washroom. Don’t know what the heck takes so long to get a classic bagel sandwich, but if anyone can enlighten me, please do so!

Took me a little over a year of living here to finally try it. This place is legit 😊 delicious and they do not skimp on the toppings. I got the Original V, a vegan option, which was loaded with poblanos, avocado, tomato, and scallion cream cheese. Expect a wait because this place was packed to the brim barely 15 minutes after opening. With reason :) My only take is it’s a LITTLE on the pricey end despite the amount of toppings you get, but delicious and also an easy endorsement for a place. I’ll visit frequently when I’m wanting to indulge a little more at breakfast time.

Gotham Bagels is honestly just okay. The food is fine but nothing you can’t make yourself. The bagels are about as good as ones I buy from a local grocery store. The sandwiches are messy, overpriced, and, again, I can make this same thing at home easily. I only eat here when a friend asks me to or when someone brings bagels to work. I would not really recommend this place necessarily as there are better breakfast spots in Madison. If you’re from the East coast and looking for a good bagel, I’m not sure you’d be satisfied here. Finally, an employee (or maybe the owner or manager?) regularly parks in the handicap parking stall out front. I think that’s very rude, besides being illegal, and it’s troubling to me that Gotham Bagels allows this.

For the first time, I found myself near Gotham Bagels when I was hungry. I'd seen it many times, but just never had the time to get there, or I'd already eaten elsewhere. I opted for a #17--The Williamsburg. Hot pastrami, strong mustard, on an everything bagel. It came with a spicy dill pickle spear and a four-ounce cup of coleslaw. First, the good: The bagel was tasty, the pastrami was really good, and being able to eat a bagel while staring out a huge window at the Bartell Theater while I was crammed into the place shoulder-to-shoulder with strangers made me feel like I was in New York. Second, the mediocre: The bagel was overly tough. It didn't make a good sandwich. I imagine if I was just eating the bagel with some schmear, it would have been okay, but as a sandwich, it was subpar. The sign also claimed the bagel was "piled high" with pastrami, and in New York this means something. However, it was just a normal amount of pastrami. Pretty lacking, actually. Could have used another couple of ounces of meat to make it "piled high." Third, the bad: There really wasn't anything I found overly lacking. There are a few things I'd complain about if it mattered, though. The location stinks. It's inconvenient to get to. Street parking is always full and it's at least a three-block walk to the nearest parking ramp (which charges a flat fee on the weekends). The girl at the counter was timid and too quiet for such a crowded place. The layout of the store was a little inconvenient. It took more than 15 minutes to get two bagel sandwiches, which I think any NY bagel place would have found appalling. But none of this was really "bad." Just not great. I would definitely go back for another sandwich at some point, but I'm not in a rush to get back there.

EDIT: I lowered their rating from 2 stars to one star. They made me wait 80 mins, were rude about it at the pick up window, AND they got the order completely wrong. IDIOTS!! The good: food is great. All locations make smashingly good bagels. The bad: waiting times for pickups and lack of clarity to the customer. Restaurants using Toast app for pickups can update customers via text or phone call, when the pickup time extends longer than the promised time. In my case, the promised time was 55 minutes and it ended up taking 80 minutes. 80 minutes for a couple of bagels is absurd to begin with, but understandable if it is truly busy. It can't be difficult for restaurants to update a customer with a new ETA. Other restaurants do this. I'm totally not impressed by this location. The ones near Chicago are way more expensive but I never had to wait 80 minutes for a bagel or two.

Bagels were solid but the special sandwiches is where it's at! When I said I wanted my bagel NY style they delivered. Everyone we interacted with was super friendly and we will definitely be back!

Love love love this place! Right off the square and just like NYC bagels! Great service great vibe with lots of old time pictures & the freshest bagels you can imagine!

Stopped in on a weekend around lunch time and got some breakfast bagel sandos. They have a neon sign out front that says espresso but we were told they do not... just regular pour it yourself hot coffee. Great bagels, long wait time as they ran out of everything bagels (they didn't mention it when we ordered though), but they did make more fresh! Very good! Would definitely come back for breakfast!

Should not have taken 45min for the most basic (bacon, egg, and cheese) bagels. The bagels were great but we will order ahead next time.

Opens at 8am on weekdays :) I showed up early and still wasn't the first in line! The Calabrian chili bagel was delicious. Love this little place with so much character!

The other reviews about service pacing were on point. The bagels were average. The staff, particularly the counter help from Arizona, was friendly, so yay her! It is not a place I would go back to but it wasn't horrible.

My friend swore by the bagel sandwiches here. I got a breakfast sandwich on an egg bagel with egg, cheddar cheese, and a latke. I was really pumped because having latkes on your bagel sandwich is genius. The latke was way too soft in my opinion. It should have been fried and crispy. Also, I couldn't detect any onion in it. It was just a sadder hashbrown. The egg was cooked well and to my specifications. The bagel was good too. I was just disappointed in the sandwich as a whole. I think I would like to try some of the more creative menu offerings instead of going for a classic breakfast sandwich if I came back here.

I've had a pretty good bagel/cream cheese combo here several times in the past, but today was a real big bummer of an experience. We ordered two sandwiches (one hot) and one bagel with cream cheese and waited over 45 minutes for it which I just can't wrap my head around. When I did get my sandwich it was missing the cream cheese. I did not complain about anything, and was never offered a "sorry for the wait" - but did get an audible sigh when I went up to ask for the missing cream cheese on the side. Interestingly, the person who I assume is the owner was out at a table intermittently playing chess with friends/family) while his restaurant was clearly in the weeds all around him. We had walked in with nearly finished Sencha drinks - my bad in retrospect, I honestly didn't even think twice about it and should have - but still not deserving of the passive aggressive comments from the above mentioned friends/family to the owner (?) about it. Saw a LOT of people in there with outside drinks and one suggestion might be a prominent side outside asking us to refrain instead of being rude. Know that it's hard to find a seat while you wait and it's a pretty crowded atmosphere. Today I half wondered if the owner is trying to go for a stereotypical NY attitude/experience alongside the bagels they serve, like some sort of gimmick. I love downtown Madison and supporting local businesses, but this one is falling to the bottom of the list.

Honestly... I think they are trying too hard to be an authentic New York Deli... When in reality they should just work to be themselves. You walk in and are subject to a weird check in counter with no menu. They want you to order online and are really forcing the pick up model. They must still be in Covid times. It was not conducive to eating in the restaurant so we took our bagels to a local coffee shop and went about our day. We stopped in over the weekend to try something new downtown... Out of the ordinary! I'm always happy to try somewhere new. Next time I'll stick with a fan favorite! The ambiance is a bit off if I'm honest, on one wall is a collection of old photos and menus that don't seem to go together at all. At first we thought they were family members and old family photos... but in the end they just seemed dusty and outdated. Too bad! Their price point was fairly high. For a bagel sandwich... $10-$15. Drink and chips only add to the price. For average tasting bagels... This is located near the capital so parking is metered parking or parking garage. So not ideal for a quick pick up and leave.

I really love the bagels I get from here. However, it shouldn't take an hour and a half for a bagel and cream cheese. I would strongly suggest turning off your online ordering capabilities at some point in the morning to help manage expectations with your customers. Edit - after the hour and a half I received the wrong bagel! :(

This is your local neighborhood bagel joint. The food is great and they have a pick up window outside. They use Toast for ordering, so I recommend ordering ahead. However, that being said, the estimated pick up time? Add at least 15 min to it or stand outside awkwardly while waiting for your 2 sandwiches. The lox Brighton Beach is very tasty with fresh summer tomatoes and microgreens! I would happly wait for this bagel again. The spicy italian sausage, egg, & cheddar is a classic with a kick. The bagels are perfect chewy and soft. I would order from here again, but with th expectation that it will take at least 30mins for 2 sandwiches!

This place is an absolute s-hole . The self check out kiosk doesn't work. No Ac It's like 100 degrees. Not worth it. Over priced. Einstein bagel or brueger is better

A fast-paced place with NYC themed decor. As far as I've found, Gotham is the only place in Madison with vegan cream cheese, and oh my god is it good. For the 6 or so years I've been coming here, it's never not been busy. So expect a bit of a wait if you're stopping in on a whim. And it's not in the most convenient location for parking. But with their walk up window/order ahead model, you can very easily avoid any lines. You can add toppings or get a breakfast sandwich, but I believe the best order is an everything bagel with the tofu scallion cream cheese. It's a short walk off the square, so it's the perfect breakfast on farmer's market Saturdays!

The service was very late--waited 30-something minutes for 5 bagels (4 were normal with just cheese cream and one with eggs and bacon). Only to get home and realize the eggs and bacon bagel was missing despite paying for it... (we confirmed on our receipt that we were charged for it). There was preferential treatment given: a group of 4/5 people ordered after me and received their food within 10 minutes while the employee who brought them their food stood there and spoke with them for the next 15-20 minutes. The bagels tasted ok I guess.

This is the best bagel place in town. The food is great and the staff are very friendly. I do know about the order ahead option, but we came at a good time to just walk up to the register and order. Our bagels took longer than some others just because we got egg and bacon on them. I will say that it seems like it would be easy for the line to be out of control and for seating to run out. The bacon, egg, and cheddar on an everything bagel is what I got and I would definitely get this again. It kept me full for so long. I wanted to get some freshly squeezed juice but I thought I was overpriced so I stuck with a Diet Coke, but they had Collectivo coffee there that was reasonably priced imo. I will absolutely eat here again, however I may choose to come earlier in the morning to avoid the "brunch rush".

I stopped at Gotham Bagels right when they opened on a Saturday morning. The line was short, but there were definitely people there who had already ordered. I think we waiting maybe 15-20 mins for our bagels. Well worth the wait! I got a bacon, egg, and cheese on a Everything bagel. This was so good! These bagels were perfect - soft to bite into and very fresh. The chocolate rugelach was out of this world delicious, I wished I would have grabbed 2 bags! I can't wait to go back next time I'm in Madison!

This may be my favorite bagel sandwich ever!! Make sure to ask for their hot sauce for the extra kick!! Love the vibe in there also got some cream cheese to go since they have dairy free scallion!! The service was overall good! Cashier seemed a bit overwhelmed but understandable for how busy it was! Will continue to come back for sure!

CHECK your order. We just picked ours up (to go) and it was wrong. Wrong cream cheese and missing tomato, for which I paid extra, and tipped. :(.

New York style bagels in Madison, WI! This place is good for a quick bite, however, it gets insanely busy on the weekends so be prepared to wait (especially on a farmers market Saturday). All the workers are super friendly and all their menu options are fantastic!

I've loved Gotham Bagels for years; it's our favorite bagel place outside of NYC. We caught the bagel episode on WI Foodie and decided to take a drive to get the Brighton Beach. It was the most perfect bagel & lox sandwich we've ever had--ever. Each component, from the perfectly seeded everything bagel down to the gorgeous and deeply-flavored tomato, sang in unison to create an expertly balanced bite. We could not stop eating--we only stopped to share how much we freaking loved each rich, tangy, salty, sweet, briny, fresh, beautiful bite! The place was hopping; they ran out of bagels about an hour before closing time, so get there early. The service was fantastic and the atmosphere was bustling but laid back. We can't wait to go back!

This was my fourth attempt to eat a Gotham Bagel. Between business hours and technical difficulties with online ordering, we've been unsuccessful in ordering from Gotham Bagels. That all changed today, and I can confidently say it was worth the wait. We placed an online order before starting our 15-min commute, and were very excited to see that our order was confirmed and would be ready when we got to the store. Pickup was seamless, folks were nice, and before we knew it we had two hot and delicious bagels in our hands. The bread was perfectly toasted - crispy on the outside but soft enough to chew. The cheese was DELICIOUS, but I wouldn't expect anything less of a Wisconsin-based sandwich store. The bacon was plenty, and overall, the sandwich was a 5/5. I can't wait to order again soon!

Just do it. You won't regret it. Super gnarly, super delicious, super worth it! I almost combusted.

Yum! Loved this beautiful, savory bagel sandwich. Would very much recommend. Would have liked the front window and lights to be cleaner. Service was friendly and upbeat.

Best bagel you can get in Madison. The low reviews are from insular wisconsinites that don't understand NY deli culture lol

Great bagel place in the heart of Madison WI. I came here for the first time on a Sunday morning and the line was to the door. We waited for about 30 minutes before our bagel was ready - so I will say if you have the app you can order ahead. Highly recommend doing this so you don't have to wait long. For how long we waited, I do have a couple recommendations for how they can improve: 1. There is no big menu in the restaurant. As a first timer, I was confused and had to look up the menu online while I was waiting in line. They should have a bigger menu with all their bagel options, and coffee options. 2. The bagel was not toasted. I was a little disappointed in this because it made it harder to chew and was cold. I don't know if this is an option if you request it but would definitely ask. 3. They don't have any cheese bagels like an Asiago bagel. This would be a great addition to the menu. We got a everything bagel with scallion cream cheese and lox and the flavor was delicious. Obviously this place is doing well because they are so busy. I would recommend.

Came for breakfast after seeing the place on Wisconsin Foodie. Did not disappoint! I got the spicy sausage egg and cheese bagel and my wife the BEC. Both were outstanding. And most importantly the coffee was great!!! Took two cinnamon raisin bagels to go with their cream cheese and it was ridiculous the next morning. Gotta make regular stops! Wonderful busy but quiet shop and was fun watching everyone work so hard. Thank you!!!

The service was super quick, there's plenty of seating even though it's a smaller establishment. Our were toasted just right, they had the soft crunch I look for in a good bagel; and the flavors of the cream cheese were great. Would totally stop here again if I was hankerin' for a good bagel.

Excellent big variety of great bagels. Great location. Cant go wrong. Cute inside too.

Bagels weren't worth the hassel of their ridiculous, no stroller policy. Can't package savory and sweet separate? Obviously, it's not about what the customer wants. Won't be back

Delicious bagels, in a good New York style. Recommend the sausage, which was super flavorful.

Grabbed lunch here on a Friday and I must say they have their takeout process down. Its probably more efficient now ordering through them since you can just order online and the text you when the food is ready. We got the new cemita sandwich on a garlic bagel and the bronx bomber on a sesame bagel. The cemita was one of the better if not most messy sandwiches I've ever had. The wrapper around it was leaking with juice when I got it, so much so that the bag was dripping from the juices. This sandwich might need a different wrapper. The sandwich itself was very tasty with the avocado and onion-cilantro mix paring well with the tender slow cooked chicken. The pickled red jalapenos gave a little bit of heat but I think I could have used more. I think the pickled jalapenos, avocado spread, cilantro-onion salad, and a slightly runny egg all lead to the messiness, so make sure you grab some extra napkins! That being said I would definitely order this sandwich again! The bagels themselves were just as tasty and soft as always, you can't go wrong here. I will say though that online I noticed that there was the option of a spinach bagel. Not sure if this is just available at the Chicago location, but I would love to try one if they have it in Madison.

Twice I have found plastic shards in my pesto macaroni salad and didn't ask (or get offered) refunds because the people were generally kind. But having ordered today and calling for an hour long wait delay without update I was told that the number I'd reached wasn't Gotham bagels despite having already heard the voicemail before and then when my friend called from a different number the person answered saying don't call here again. The food is decadent if you keep your eye out for shards but apparently the service is now trash and that combo is something I should warn you all about.

Yes, the bagels take a while to come out. Yes, you will have to wait longer than they/the online ordering tells you. Have a little patience, and you'll enjoy your meal. Easily the best bagels in Madison! They have SO many topping options and fun combinations. I've truly never had a bad bagel sandwich from here. They've got endless options and something for everyone (I love that they offer vegan cream cheese). It's truly the only place in Madison to get a NY style bagel. The jalapeño garlic cream cheese is next level good. I will forever be returning here for more bagels and sandwich combinations.

Got to Gotham bagels at around 11 o'clock on Saturday. Waited well over an hour for our food. Bagels seemed fine Sandwiches were quite tasty, but we likely won't be back. Just not worth the wait...... even people who had ordered online were complaining about how wrong their ETA was. Can't comment on the ambience as we never got a seat inside.

Grouchy servers, rude to customers, and they got my order wrong. Spent more time working on internet orders versus serving customers in the store. If you're barely going to grunt at me, you can at least attempt to get my order right.

Should be able to produce one toasted poppy seed bagel in under 15 minutes when the shop is nearly empty. But no... this bagel shop does a huge online/togo business and has only two employees prepping sandwiches at lunch hour. Don't expect to pop in/pop out as you would at most bagel shops. Nor to promptly pop out with the bagel that you had ordered in hand.

These bagel sandwiches are really just amazing and delicious. I've only been here once so far and I must go many, many more times. I mean, the photos of the food say it all! There's also coffee and fresh juices. It's more of a eat and go place more so than a place to linger and hang, FYI. But it gets the job done in splendid fashion, for sure 100% You must, I say must stop here before leaving Madison if on a visit. Grab these for the ride home. Yes, it's not a cheap sandwich but what the hell, quality takes effort and people like to get paid for working and crafting a fine product!

I see a lot of reviews here criticizing their employees and customer service. For my review, I'd like to highlight how friendly the employees are and how much I value their hard work. It's as easy as mobile ordering 20 minutes in advance to promote a pleasant experience and you will walk away happy with delicious bagels and coffee. This place deserves more kindness and respect and I will definitely be back to give that to them; I hope you choose to join me.

Was so excited to try this because I absolutely love bagels- although mine was done quickly, it was SO hard I had a hard time biting into it or biting a piece off. Why?? It tasted day-old, not fresh. They literally make bagels- you have one job. No excuse for them not being amazing!

Gotham is a pick up only bagel place with some interesting bagel choices. As other reviews mentioned, service is a bit slow so make sure to order on their website before you come to pick up. If you want to order at the store, there is a QR code on their door to scan to order online (no cash accepted at the store). There is no option for guests to go inside - there is one door (not open) and one pick up window. You will get a text when your order is ready and the pick up window is where you will get your order. I tried the cinnamon raisin bagel with the cherry cream cheese filling and the OMFG bagel sandwich on a kale bagel (Nashville chicken, egg, cheese and bacon). The bagels were good but tasted like a normal bagel. I didn't really taste the kale flavor on the kale bagel. Gotham has quite a few cream cheese flavors such as scallion and smoked salmon. The cherry cream cheese filling didn't have much cherry flavor but it was still tasty. I want to try the smoked salmon filling next time. The OMFG sandwich was so good and I highly recommend it.

Good food but way overpriced and poor to middling customer service. I've been there a few times--had a couple of sandwiches and a large order of bagels and schmear. Your wait time and service is heavily dependent on who is around.

Need an authentic New York bagel, but live in the Midwest? Get yourself to Gotham Bagels!! The bagels are superb. The sandwiches are fantastic! Order a bagel so you have one for the next day! They deliver and have a walk up window currently after you order online. They're amazing! Who knew bagels could be so good.

We ordered two bacon egg and cheddar bagel sandwiches and was told that it would take 30 minutes. An hour later, the sandwiches still weren't done and once we got them, although the bagel itself was pretty good, the egg was over cooked and there was just not much in the bagel. For the price and the extensive wait time, completely not worth it, although the staff did say they'd give me a discount.

Bagel sandwich was fine (after order was corrected) but woman working on 10/26 was super unfriendly. Maybe she should not be working in a job with customers? She didn't even look up after I was waiting awhile, and kind of grunted when I asked a question. I wanted to reach them by phone, but not an option even when they're not busy. A much friendlier NY style bagel place is needed.

Oof, rough day at Gotham bagels! Would be a 5 based on how our sandwiches tasted (delicious!) but had so many issues with our order. They were completely out of every bagel except sesame. They left the lox off of one sandwich. They left the frozen bagels out of our order completely. And gave us the wrong flavor cream cheese. I wish I could say we would be back, but it's hard to justify after this.

This may or may not fall on deaf ears, but it's fine either way given I'm leaving the review online. Had family visiting from San Diego on November 25, 2023 and touted Gotham's reputation for food. They stopped by and ordered 5 bagels: 1 breakfast sandwich, and 4 bagels with cream cheese. After witnessing the owner give discounts to other families and personally preparing their orders and serving them in a reasonable time, my family waited 45 mins to get the bagels with cream cheese and never got the breakfast sandwich because one would assume the order was right after 45 minutes. Out-of-towers, be weary of patronizing Gotham as you may experience longer than normal wait times due to lack of local recognition.

Solid food but annoying that you have to order online. They accommodated and let me order at the window (cash only) but I received several snippy remarks to order online next time. Come on guys, the pandemic is basically over and it's winter in Wisconsin (aka it's so cold out my phone literally doesn't function). Anyway, bagel was good and there was a good amount of lox (doesn't show up well in the pic). Coffee was standard. Have had their matzo ball soup in the past and it broth was so salty it was inedible and you literally needed a knife to cut the matzo ball... stick to the bagels