R&A Sourdough

Delicious lox bagel, maybe the best in Chicago, or at least one of them. I got a cold brew with vanilla syrup. The staff is friendly, and the patio is beautiful - a great place to sit, eat, and relax. The flowers outside make it even nicer. I really love this place.

**⭐️⭐️ 2/5** Yet another disappointing experience. The overall rating for this place seems overly generous — honestly, it should be well under 4.0. The secret to a great **lox bagel** is, of course, the bagel itself — and that’s exactly where things went wrong here. The bagel tasted store-bought and, though toasted, was probably the hardest one I’ve ever had. Have mercy on your teeth, folks. I tried cutting it into smaller pieces, and it literally bent my braces. On the positive side, the **lox** portion was generous, and the **dill cream cheese** was delicious. But eating a bagel shouldn’t feel like a dental challenge. Also, since when does a lox bagel come *without* tomato and onion unless you pay an extra dollar for each? That didn’t sit right with me. And the final straw — **sweet potato latkes** priced at $7 for just two small pieces. Unbelievable. All in all, *R & A Sourdough* has potential but misses the basics. Until they figure out that bagels should be chewy, not weapon-grade, I’ll be looking elsewhere.

This was so sad to receive. I ordered a lox bagel with some extra ingredients. Lox was under 2 ounces (yes I weighed it because it looked sparse). Barely had any arugula or capers that I paid extra for. Not acceptable & disappointing.

They have a great variety of bagels and schmears, and the prices are very fair. I tried two delicious combos: the cheddar jalapeño with roasted poblano schmear and the oats and honey with maple cinnamon schmear. While my bagels were a bit chewy and not toasted, the flavors were excellent and made up for it. The waiting area inside is a bit tight, but the staff was friendly and the shop had a nice atmosphere. Just a heads-up: get there early because they do sell out of certain bagel flavors and there is a bit of a wait to receive your order.

I first learned about R&A at the Lakeview Farmers Market and they quickly became a Saturday morning tradition. Now I order from them weekly! The chocolate chip bagel is my favorite, but I also haven’t met one of their bagels I haven’t enjoyed. The Hipster sandwich is delicious!! Love this place.

Crazy waits and terrible service. What started as a plan to have breakfast outside turned into a disaster start to the day. After driving past this place early morning seeing the crowds I decided to pick up a breakfast sandwich for myself. Asked the helpful cashier whether or not crispy bacon was an option which he assured me it was. 35 minutes later I’m still waiting for my order and I can hear the staffs commentary about the crispy bacon request. Having worked in restaurants over a decade myself, I understand special orders can take time but I also understand communicating this and being proactive to resolve the situation. After requesting a refund My sandwich was rudely handed to me as though I was out of line. My sandwich is legitimately cold I’m frustrated hungry and don’t understand this. The commentary from kitchen staff is incredibly unprofessional and unwelcoming. Whether or not my race played into this is to be determined but after witnessing countless patrons who ordered larger orders in groups with specialty coffees etc, it’s hard not to question. Quite a disappointment as my hopes and anticipation were high. Never again.

We got there really early, no sourdough left, no sourdough biscuits, took about 40 min for two breakfast sandwiches. A lot of online orders were being fulfilled with times on the receipts that were past the time or our order. Our food came out and it was ice cold, bagels weren’t toasted. Not a very good place or just can’t handle being busy. Probably won’t go back for a second shot.

I discovered these bagels at my local farmer's market. The plain ones are really good. The sesame ones are a little weird because they have black sesame seeds, too. We also tried some sandwiches and it took a really long time and there's really no room to wait and no indoor tables or places to be out of the way. I also tried what they called a caramel apple muffin but it really only tasted a little like apple. Our sandwiches were decent but not amazing. The prices are also kind of high- $11 for only four bagels.

What a great local place to have a variety of sourdough breads and bagels. This location is one of a kind and if you're traveling, street parking is plenty or it's easily accessible by the Brown line. There is a good amount of outdoor seating, but that's about it. There isn't anywhere to sit inside, so plan accordingly. They have a walk-up window as well and are very dog friendly (a huge plus)! Service was fairly quick for a weekday and the worker was very friendly. Even signed up for the rewards because it did seem worth it. My friend and I ordered a side of the sweet potato latkes and I will definitely be getting these again and again! When it came to choosing what to order for our main, we wanted a bit of a brunch vibe. I went with the big bird and was impressed with the quality and quantity of each ingredient. The sourdough bread was so fresh and each bite had great flavor. My friend had the Keister sandwich and said she enjoyed it quite a lot, too. I wish there were a few more options for coffee, but that's such a small thing. I'm definitely going to be coming back here to try their sourdough bagels! Glad to have a local shop so close in the area :)

Nice people, had the 2000s clubs hits blasting. Fun looking menu too. We were just there for a half dozen cold bagels for breakfast at home this week. Waited 30-35 minutes for them after ordering. Bagels were just OK.

I walked in without knowing exactly if I would find this little tiny business of a commissary or all the bagels are made for this great sourdough business. I know I would meet the owner in there and was able to not just pick up my TooGoodToGo order , but I ended up ordering a simple turkey sandwich with in-house roasted turkey on a simple bagel with some delicious cheese before I left. Bonus was given a couple sweet brownies . A delicious day.

Delicious bagels !!!!!!! R&A is small on the inside, so plan on ordering to-go. If you are there in the summer, they have a few tables outside that you can sit at! The staff were super friendly and our bagels were ready in less than 10 minutes! I ordered a garlic bagel with veggie cream cheese & added cucumber, capers, tomatoes & onions. They had lots of unique bagel & cream cheese flavors it made it hard to choose a combo, but made me excited to go back to try more things from their menu!!!!

Delicious! Love the little walk up window, and the goodies for my pup! And the bagels are excellent!

Great, fresh bagels. Nice variety. The smell alone of the everything bagel keeps me coming back. Excellent, friendly staff. The smears are so yummy. Poblano is my favorite. Convenient walk up window in a great neighborhood!

I still haven't found a bagel in Chicago comparable to New York but was still pleasantly surprised with my bagel here. It was on the smaller side but the flavors were all there and the lox tasted fresh. Service was 10/10, so kind and welcoming. It's a tiny place inside but they have outdoor seating. Definitely putting them on my top 5 bagel in Chicago.

The bagel was fantastic with your topping and choice of cream cheese. First time for me snd I loved it. My son comes here all the time and wanted to treat me

Good spot for bagels! I got the jalapeño cheddar bagel with the chive shmear and it was the best one of the lot. The bagel bread is all sourdough as a name suggests so definitely liked that! My bagel was a bit hard to bite so I struggled with that but the taste was pretty good and hit the spot right. This had a nice patio that we could sit out in as well!

This place is sourdough bagel heaven. And the sweetest people! The Youngster with the hot honey bacon scratches the perfect bagel sammie itch.

Cute little place with an outdoor walk up window and a small patio. The garlic and dill schmear was really good (better than the chive IMO) and the little bit of sour dough taste that came through everything else on the sandwich was good, but the rest was average. The egg was a little big and over priced and the sandwich itself was on the smaller side.

Ventured over here for breakfast on Saturday morning. There was already a decent sized line but we decided to wait it out and checked out the menu on our phones. I ended up ordering a cheddar jalapeño bagel with veggie cream cheese and my husband ordered the big bird sandwich on a bagel. We were unsure about how the ordering system worked as some people would enter inside and ordered but most people ordered at the walk up window. Despite that, we waited it out and received our order soon after. We both enjoyed what we ordered and were impressed with the quality of the bagels but these are def bagels to be enjoyed right away while warm. Next time we might try ordering online to save some time.

I was looking for a bagel spot in the city, and I stumbled upon this gem that was tucked away on a corner. I was happy to see that all of the bagels were made using sourdough. The consistency of the bagel was a little bit dry, but overall great quality and seasoned well. The cream cheese was fresh and you could see the veggies inside. The only criticism I have about this place would be the staff. They were not very friendly, and needs some work Food wise- the bagel was not dry and airy and had a great texture. The cream cheese was fresh and very reasonably priced as well. Come check them out!

This place is always packed and has sold out multiple times when I've gone, so I was so excited to go today and finally leave with something. I got the lox and chive everything bagel, which is one of their most popular items. It was a little bit on the pricey side, good, but not really worth it. If I lived right next door, I think this would be a fun spot to go to for breakfast, especially in the summer since they have a patio outfront. But if I'm going to make a trip somewhere, I'd honestly probably go to Steingold's. I got my bagel toasted, but it wasn't all that warm - not quite the hot bread to cold cream cheese vibe I'm almost always craving. The inside was colorful and fun, and the staff were nice and helpful, the food was just pretty good for the price though

I think about a bagel from this spot so often, its not even funny. but as a carry out only place it is a bit tricky to eat it while its hot without making a mess in my car.

Bagels are amazing. The cheddar Jalapeño was soooo good. But the service was probably the worst I have ever experienced. Great place but not sure I can come back due to slow and rude service.

Very cute little shop with an interior and exterior ordering counter! Take out was also a breeze - I ordered ahead online and then picked up my order from the shelf when I arrived. There is no space to eat inside, but then have quite a bit of space with benches on the parkway. I ordered the rosemary bagel with strawberry cream cheese. I loved the strawberry cream cheese as it didn't taste over sweet or artificially sugary. However, the bagel wasn't my favorite. I love rosemary bagels elsewhere, but I was surprised to see it was dusted in rosemary instead of baked in. This made it a bit dry, and it got stuck in my teeth. The bagel itself was also quite chewy for my preference. It was actually a bit of a jaw workout for me to eat. However, I know people have strong and varied preferences on bagel consistency, so not inherently bad. Just not my favorite in the area! Service and location was great, regardless.

Oh my goodness I haven't had a bad bagel (or bialy) yet from this place! My go-to bagel has got to be the Za'atar bagel with Roasted Poblano cream cheese. Their egg and cheese bagels on an everything bagel are ridiculously good too. Plus the staff is so sweet and wonderful to chat with. They have an outside walk up window to order bc it is rather cramped and small inside. But def order ahead so you don't have to wait in line!

Great bagels!!! They don't always have all their flavors in stock which can be disappointing at times, but everything is so good that it's not a huge deal to to have to pivot! Their ordering system is confusing though, some people order inside but most people, myself included, use the walk up window. Even now I'm not entirely sure how it's supposed to work, but I will fight through it for a bagel from them!!

You can really taste the sour of these sour dough bagels. I appreciated that and the variety of flavors they offer. The bagels we got were fresh and held up for several days in a ziplock bag. We didn't try any of the breakfast sandwiches so cannot comment on those.

I absolutely love R&A as my local bagel shop. They are premium bagels, but they are well worth the cost. Their sesame bagel with a veggie chive schmear is delicious because look how much sesame is on that bagel! Asiago with lox schmear was my second favorite. Pro-tip, sign up for their rewards, and you get a free bagel and schmear on your birthday month! #bagels #chicago

I'm not always a sour dough bagel guy, they are a bit chewy for my liking (taste is great) and their breakfast sandwiches are awesome. Customer service is always pleasant. I do have an issue with the price point... in my opinion $36 for a dozen bagels is too much. I appreciate their operation and understand they make everything fresh but I'm not into them enough for that price point.

another new chicago bagel destination was hit this past week - this place uses sourdough so points for uniqueness, I honestly get so many health Fitness TikTokers, being like carbs are good, but only if your sourdough because it like fixes your gut soooo made me feel uh idk - there was a little line and a lot of the bagels were gone when we got there and 11. That's a good sign! and not too shabby for a wait - . I ordered the garlic bagel with garlic and dill cream cheese (I am kissing NO ONE) - per usual sauce girl tendancies, I wish there was more cream cheese. the creamy cheese paired nicely with the sourdough tang!!!! I was surprised - my friend ordered their BEC special which came with hot honey and thick cut bacon so she was happppy - hers was much bigger than mine...can't say I left full....good quality bagel but wasn't a show stopper... look at pic for size reference

Good idea, execution not quite there. Bagels a little tough, dry. Sourdough could come through more. Cinnamon raisin bagel more sugar than cinnamon taste. A little pricey, too. Maybe an off day?

Very slow & inefficient service for something that shouldn't take long to make: bagels and sandwiches, but pretty yummy food. Tomato soup was another story though. I could only take a handful of bites from it before throwing it away. Did not like.

For the River West location. Bagel is good but just make sure you show up 20 - 30 minutes AFTER your scheduled pick up time. Food is always late and they take forever. They are also always out of ingredients.

Disappointing! I asked for my bagels double toasted as I like them a bit crunchy, a bit crispy. Not only were they not double toasted, they were not even toasted at all. The cheese wasn't even melted! The bagels themselves were good, I got the rosemary and the cheddar jalapeño. Perhaps their staff should work on reading their tickets a bit more closely.

I ordered The Youngster since I've heard good things from an app I frequently use. The bagel was hard as a rock, the egg was cold, and there was barely any cream cheese. Not even a tablespoons worth. And it cost 10.75! THIS is the best bagel in the city? Not even close by a huge margin. Don't bother with this place. The food quality, and the price is simply not worth it. Save your time and money. Absolute rip off.

Bagels are dry and overpriced. But the worst part might be the service. Consistently takes forever to get your order and the staff are rude. So many other bagels places to go in Chicago, go elsewhere.

Everything was Okay Dokey, The woman behind the counter was really nice. I ordered 6 bagels. When I got the bill I was astonished. 18.50!!! Now that is too much money

Aaack, I've learned my lesson: Someone got first to review just before me (3 hours ago!!) after I added the business! R&A bagels is a great addition to the neighborhood. I've seen them coming in as I was going to run errands. It's only about four blocks away, which makes it super convenient. It's also a nice touch that they have a pickup window right on the Lawrence street side. That's especially handy if you do pickup, I'd assume, but also because the actual space inside the bakery is super tiny (with social distancing measures you can probably only have two to three people inside, and if you had five customers in there it would start to get overcrowded). Their bagels aren't the same as other places. They're smaller, but taller. They not have a hole, so if that's imperative for you in a bagel then you may need to go somewhere else. I find it pretty helpful, myself, since I only eat bagels with cream cheese and it's easier to spread, but it can get a bit tricky in a toaster. Their Asiago bagel was delicious so that's probably going to be my favorite, given what seemed to me to be a glaring omission: the lack of a cinnamon raisin bagel (especially since their "bagel nots" come in cinnamon raisin). Raisin bagels are my favorite but since they don't offer them here, I'll stick with Asiago and plain. I tried their plain cream cheese because they were out of the garlic and dill, which is what I really wanted to try. But perhaps I'll order some bagels for pickup (or delivery, within a five mile radius) and can get the garlic and dill to try then. I wouldn't get the plain again, unless it was an emergency (as in I have bagels at home but no cream cheese, and can't stop at a store to pick it up). It's $8 for an 8 oz container of cream cheese--even plain--which is pretty steep. I will be back. However, they feel a bit expensive (maybe it's just the cream cheese?) so it may not be a regular thing. They also require you to place an order for pickup by 1pm the day before, which is real annoying. But I also want to try their sourdough boules sometime, and it's nice having a bakery focused on bread right here in the neighborhood--maybe I won't have to head to Hewn in Evanston all the time when I'm looking for something like this. Oh! And I bought coffee for my partner and he said the coffee was really good. Review 604 - November 3, 2021

Chicago, watch out! This is the single best bagel place I've been to in Chicago. If you haven't been yet, RUN! - do not walk! Adam & Rachel have figured out to make sourdough everything & every single thing I've ordered has been amazing. The bakery is adorable, so clean & I love that I can get my bagel fix in a COVID safe way with their pick up window. As far as the bakery goodies, where do I even begin? I went for the bagels but fell in love with the bialys (among other items). I didn't even know what a bialy was and now I am questioning what I've been doing with my life without them. I've been ordered from R&A for a while and they are always coming up with new things but never neglecting to provide us with our basic necessities (ie bagels, lox, homemade cream cheeses). I find myself at R&A for any situation. I loved to grab a treat & sip on the cold brew they serve (on tap!). I pick up bagels when family come to town. I grab the take an bake things for my house. I just love how simple ordering is & how reliable R&A are! I feel great about supporting a local family & I have nothing but amazing things to say about their goodies.

The bagels, cookies and bread are all spectacular. These are personally my favorite bagel in the city. They have plenty of options of bagels to make sandwiches. The service there is great and welcoming, there can be a wait for items on the weekend or during peak times in the morning.

wowowow okay first of all, wtf? 3.6 stars?! how?! it's sooo delicious!!! and they have 100% positive rating son ubereats lol I want to leave this neighborhood now to the actual food, the youngester, such a great bagel, the egg is thick and fluffy exactly how i pictured it, exactly how they advertised it. satisfied my bagel sandwich craving, everyone should try it. i got mine with jalapeno cheddar bagel and no changes to anything else. it can be a bit spicy if you don't like hot sauce. I love it. the pastrami lox is out of this world! I have never had salmon this good, ever, not even on sushi. it's perfectly seasoned, not salty like other cured places. not greasy which salmon can be especially when it's cured or raw. and it melts in your mouth!!! I should have ordered a pound of it... to be honest I don't even like salmon kind of hate salmon, but I love their lox. git it! this is not a sponsored or paid review lol i just get excited over good food. their bagel is good when toasted, I got a non toasted bagel and it's soso, good flavors, just a bit hard to chew. highly recommend this place and their sandwiches!

We were in line 10 minutes before close and they wouldn't make a meat sandwich because they said they already cleaned up the meat station. Shouldn't you do that after you close? So we ordered a tuna sandwich. It was very basic, boring, and tiny and cost 8.50. I used to think this place was good.

R&A has consistently very good bagels. We have been a few times, it is often very busy so make sure you get there early! Today ordered a dozen bagels and coffee for 8 people, everything was finished on time, employees were friendly and the whole process was great. Thanks for a quick and easy experience that led to a great morning gathering with friends.

Not my favorite bagel. Dry and lacked flavor. Service was quick. Small storefront was crowded and parking is bad.

I love the founders story and have been following them on IG well before they opened this location and were doing bagel drops. They started baking bagels during quarantine and it turned out they had something really special to offer. I tried the Heebster on a garlic bagel: lox, chive smear, red onion, tomato and caper, it was tasty but I wish the bagel was toasted. A nontoasted bagel isn't worth the naughty carbs for me, so that was disappointing and I couldn't toast it with everything already on it once home. I also am not sure if this is a quality of sourdough, but both the garlic bagel and blueberry knot seemed stale for being same day fresh. Between those two items and a 16oz drip coffee it was $22. I would go back to try another sandwich as long as toasting is a possibility.

Great music and average sound. They have a walk up window, great corner location on Lawrence and Winchester. The smell is sweet, of warmth and homey smells. Great little bakery! So it's in my neighborhood

My friends and I were leaving Chicago after an awesome weekend and needed a place to stop for a quick bite before a long drive back home to Detroit. We searched on Google "Best Bagel Places in Chicago" and R&A Sourdough was the first hit. I can say that title is correct as R&A gave my friends and me the best bagels we have ever had. The workers were amazingly kind and the service was fast, and they were playing one of my favorite albums, Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge by MCR, while we waited for our food. We can't wait to come back the next time we visit Chicago.

Avoid this place! I've never done a Yelp review but felt compelled to do one this time. Ordered the $2 iced tea on the menu and was charged over $5! When I asked about the price I was told the $2 item was just for a tea bag. Beyond that the sourdough bagels were mid. Not worth a return visit.

Phenomenal quality. Friendly service. Fast takeaway window. Lovely outdoor seating. My FAVORITE bagels in the neighborhood.

I came in here at 730am on a Thursday specifically to try their corned beef sandwich (the keister) they were all out of the meat. That was a disappointment. I went with with the pastrami instead. The meat is quality, bread is fresh but the sandwich was dry overall. I also ordered the egg sandwich (the youngster) on an Asiago bagel, this one is awesome! Yum! I saw on Yelp images that they have fresh loafs of bread but I didn't see any on display, I'll inquire next time. I also wish they had a couple more drink options but it's not a cafe so I can't complain too hard. I went down the street to Groundswell Cafe to grab a matcha latte. Excellent pairing!

Went in on a Sunday morning and even then the service was great! Food came out quickly. I got the Heebster on an everything bagel. Everything was really solid and loved the sourdough

I had to make sure I wrote a Yelp Review for this business. They get a 1 star review because they served regulars before me last time I was there and I waited like 15-20mins to get one toasted bagel with cream cheese. The bagel was not toasted and tasted bland, they clearly forgot my order because when I asked about my order they suddenly made it in a few mins. If you look at all the reviews on Google the owner under every single negative one tries to invalidate and dismiss them. Honestly one of the most self-absorbed business owners ive ever read, no capacity to receive criticism and apologize, seems incapable of accountability. Hopefully they change their business tactics, get some professional help and maybe I would try their food again. I really wanted to try the place again but all their vitriol and manipulative responses to their Google reviews has me hoping their business closes down and a better business replaces it. ​

Went here for the first time today with my husband and were pleasantly surprised. I got the asiago bagel with the garlic dill cream cheese. Just the perfect amount of cream cheese with perfect blend of garlic and dill. My husband got the veggie bagel. Bagels had a nice texture and were moist (apologies to those readers who don't like that word -LOL). Seating is limited and is outdoors only - they were smart to get the plastic picnic tables - easy to clean and won't rot. The order taker was very friendly and the inside of the shop is very modern and clean. You will have to pay for parking on Lawrence, but that's no different if you parked on Clark in Andersonville. We loved it and will definitely be back.

Bagels are good. They offer 6 artisan bagels for $20. However, individual bagels are $3 each so you get 6 artisan bagels for $18! Hmmm

Bagels are pretty good, but they refuse to slice them because they are "too busy". Literally? Come on?

If you're not of their favorite race don't go to this place. Not only did they discriminate me but the owner got real nasty with me over the phone trying to excuse his lack of professionalism. I wasn't greeted or treated with respect by these people. Ive ordered many times and the one time I chose to pickup my order they treated me like I was going to rob their store. I wont apologize for being of hispanic decent. But this ongoing racial profiling in america has to stop. Not only are their bagels over priced but the lack of customer service skills and belligerent attitude told me what I needed to know about this place. Employees act the same way owners feel. He insulted me by thinking I was asking for a discount and still had the audacity to say "oh im not going to give you a discount on the bad customer service. I hung up once he started to talk over me and resorted to yelling to a loyal customer as myself. This will be the last time I ordered from this place. And Karma is a big B.! Racism in this country has gone for too long. My goodness even if I was born here in chicago I still get disgusting entitled people like this trying to intimidate or provoke. I will let everyone that I know find out about this place and how unwelcoming they are to my people and anyone else who isn't of Caucasian decent.