I've been a regular benchwarmer customer for a years now and they are one of my favorite breakfast places in Raleigh, but there are some things you should know before going. Their bagels are wood fired so they're not your traditional style of bagels and are a bit harder and chewier. Their variety of cream cheese flavors is what really sets them apart in my opinion - they very dense and creamy. They also have a very unique menu with many different seasonal offerings that rotate frequently. Over the years, I've fine tuned down my order to a couple things each of which I think are 10/10 and some of the best breakfast options in Raleigh! - Grits bagel with dulce pecan or fruit cream cheese (I prefer the grits bagel over plain) - Poppy bagel with spiced honey cream cheese (warning the poppy bagel can be a little messy but worth it) - Breakfast sandwich with sausage and American cheese (sausage is the best - a little sweet and spicy) Every time I go, the staff is always very nice and provides quick service. It can be busy during the mornings and weekends, however they do offer online ordering where you can easily pick up your food and avoid the lines. This location is in transfer food hall, which has plenty of indoor and outdoor seating, however they also have a new standalone location that recently opened. If you go to that location, I definitely recommend trying the coconut caramel latte! read more

See all

This is the cutest little coffee/bagel shop. I loved the sports themed and there was plenty of seating. I ordered the chicken salad bagel and it was AMAZING. I loved the spice I got from the hot honey but the savory taste of the chicken. The service was super quick and the staff was super helpful! read more

Benchwarmers Bagels And Coffee - Chicken salad bagel with an iced vanilla matcha - Sandwiches Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

Vanilla matcha 5/5 Bagels 3.5/5 BW special $4.25 - plain bagel cream cheese + coffee 5/5 I feel like the bagels need more bread in them, they are a bit thin read more

Benchwarmers Bagels And Coffee - bagel in my 6 pack - hole is way too big - Sandwiches Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

See all

Staying at an Airbnb just 3 minutes from here, I feel like I hit the jackpot in more ways than one. Benchwarmers is a great place to start your day. An excellent egg and cheese bagel sandwich at a great price, in a funky cool food hall. I had great service, too. read more

Benchwarmers Bagels And Coffee - Sandwiches Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

See all

This bagel shop is located in a food hall in downtown Raleigh. I ordered an advanced on their website. It took about 30 to 40 minutes for the bagel sandwich to be made. I think it's good but the bagels are slightly chewy. The egg sandwich bagel needed a a bit more moisture like maybe a spread. This is a solid bagel place if you're in Raleigh, but Durham has a bunch of bagel shops as well which I think are better! The ambience is casual because it is a food hall. Service) is good. read more

Benchwarmers Bagels And Coffee - Egg everything bagel sandwich - Sandwiches Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

Located inside Transfer Food Hall. Ordered bacon, egg and cheese bagel (everything). Huge Bagel!! Really good. Place was great. Family friendly. Staff was courteous and engaged. Well worth a visit. read more

A small counter coffee and bagel place in a food hall. Very friendly and knowledgeable staff. Efficient service. I ordered the number nine egg sandwich. Unfortunately they just ran out of the plain bagels but the person at the register recommended the grit bagel which was perfect. The egg sandwich comes with mayonnaise, but I also opted to add bacon and cheese. The first order came without cheese, but they remade it for me. It was very tasty however, FYI I would not order the cheese, again. Although only a $1, they put so little on the bagel sandwich it was barely noticeable. Still a good place for breakfast or lunch. read more

See all

We took some bagels to go for a picnic and they were incredibly delicious! We got the egg sandwich #9 and the #1 avocado sandwich, and they were so good! Not your typical spreads and I like how they incorporated different kinds of flavors. Service was so good, very friendly staff and it came out super quick!! The food hall has a really nice vibe so you can hang out and eat there as well and it feels like a fun ambiance. read more

See all

My daughter introduced me to this Super quaint and unique bagel shop. Today was my second day in a row visiting this establishment and I was keen to try something new. I noticed a falafel sandwich on the menu and could not have been more satisfied with this unique sandwich. It was a little spicy, but not too hot beautiful texture and crunch with the falafel and sesame seed toasted bagel. This place deserves all of five stars+ read more

This place is adorable! They have a full coffee bar too so if you want an espresso it's a one stop shop. I had the sesame bagel with seasoned honey cream cheese - WOW! Absolutely delicious!! Wasn't too sweet - just the right amount. Can't wait to come back! Service was quick! read more

See all

Hit up Benchwarmers Bagels on a return trip to Raleigh for a soccer tournament and absolutely love these bagels. Though some bagel shops pride themselves on having fifty different options, Benchwarmers has less than ten varieties of bagels and they make them with pride and precision. This time I opted for a sesame bagel toasted with the cranberry cream cheese which was a special offering. The bagel was crunchy and had a great texture and the cranberry cream cheese was a really nice addition. Two others in the party went with a plain bagel with plain cream cheese while another had a ham, egg and cheese on a plain bagel which they noted to be quite delicious. We didn't grab coffee here as we hit a local coffee shop around the corner before heading for bagels but there were some nice options available including a smoked butterscotch latte that I would have opted for had I not just grabbed coffee. The staff was friendly and efficient and kept the line moving. Though we arrived right at opening, by the time we were leaving there were about 10-15 people in line waiting and even then the line kept humming along. If you lived in the neighborhood, this would be a spot you'd make your weekend breakfast haunt; great food and excellent service. Definitely recommend. read more

Benchwarmers Bagels And Coffee - Sesame bagel with cranberry cream cheese. - Sandwiches Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

I wish I had photos to share but as per usual the food was too good to let my camera eat. I love this spot- hate that I am not walking distance from here. Parking can get a little dicey. I like to order ahead when I can, this spot is a popular local gem! Service is easy to navigate- take out orders are placed on the side but if you order coffee it is made after you let them know you've arrived for pickup. So far I've been hyper-fixated on their lox bagel- very delicious and hard to not continue ordering each time I go. This is another spot I like to take visitors. It is located in a food hall so there is open seating available. There are also plenty of tables outside of the weather is nice. Looking forward to my next visit! read more

Between the quality of the bagels and the aesthetic of the food hall, I'm obsessed. I will go out of my way to get a bagel at this place whenever I can! read more

Benchwarmers Bagels And Coffee - Bagel sandwich and bagel and cream cheese. - Sandwiches Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

The line to order went fast, and our drinks and food came out quick. both of the bagels we ordered were slightly burnt and tough but it was still fine read more

Benchwarmers Bagels And Coffee - egg sandwich bagels - Sandwiches Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

Service and Staff were great!! Food was awesome too! Definitely recommend this place!

We went here for the first time on a Saturday morning and it was OUTSTANDING! I had the best bagel sandwich I've ever had. My husband is a NY bagel and pizza snob and this place even got his stamp of approval! I got the 828 on a grits bagel and it was so flavorful. They are also donating the proceeds of this bagel to victims of Hurricane Helene! My husband got the egg sandwich with mayo, sausage, and American cheese and on an everything bagel. I also got the brown sugar cinnamon latte with oat milk which was 10/10. The staff were so nice and efficient even with the weekend rush. Can't wait to come back and hopefully try their pizza night too! read more

Benchwarmers Bagels And Coffee - Sandwiches Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

See all

Everything previously mentioned still stands. For the people complaining about price point... Name 5 other local restaurants/counter service establishments with great employee retention, PTO, Healthcare and 401k matching offerings (you can't cheat and use their sister businesses). Benchwarmers strives to source as locally as possible so your money is going DIRECTLY back into the community you claim to love so much. Another thing, Pizza nights sell out early because people order in advance ONLINE. The early bird gets the pizza. read more

See all

Took my lovebug here for breakfast before heading to Umstead for a big walk. This was one of my favorite spots in college and I was ecstatic to share this with my dearest friend. 1. Benchwarmers is a cool location! Inside Transfer food hall there is the best lighting from these huge windows. Plenty of seating upstairs and downstairs-and on a warmer day there is outdoor seating available as well. 2. Service is quick! We ordered bagel sandwiches online and our coffees when we arrived. I love seeing the oven full of bagels! 3. Bagels are superb. I always get the za'atar bagel and it held up to my expectations. My girlfriend tried the 828 sandwich on the grits bagel. She was so impressed and already can't wait to come back here and bring all her friends. Also love that the 828 sandwich profits go towards Hurricane Helene relief funds. This place was so delicious. Wish I lived in Raleigh so I could come here more often. I highly recommend this place for any bagel lover. P.S. - phone did not eat first, I did! No pictures to share this time. read more

its not possible I have not written a review for Benchwarmers before. They are a staple for the family. Do they delete them!? I see the pizza pictures below are from 2019!! SO I guess i started it and forgot to finish? Ok. Way overdue for sure. Before we get to pizza lets talk about where they are then bagels then the pizza. Benchwarmers is a fixture in downtown Raleigh's transfer hall. The empanada place there is also outstanding but thats a different review. Transfer hall is actually on the southern edge of downtown Raleigh. Coming from North Raleigh its a bit of a trek for sure but well worth it. So when you get there, especially on the weekend in the morning say, parking is a challenge. there is an L shaped parking lot so you loop around that and hopefully find something. Failing that you look at street parking on the other two sides of the L. Failing that, and I typically don't, go up to Chavis way and park on the street there. You can then cut thru to Transfer hall. Transfer hall is a lively echoing hall. You can sit inside our out. they have staff at the hall to keep things clean and organized. Benchwarmers is a nationally ranked bagel place so even if you are not into bagels you should give it a try. Their wood-fired ovens give bagels a distinctive flavor. I am on the edge when it comes to bagel passion. But the family is all in, especially when my eldest was living in Brooklyn. Great debates about which city had the best bagels between Philly, Brooklyn and Atlanta, etc. Benchwarmers has largely settled that for us. They are the best for us. For this review I am choosing our visit on April 17th which is a pretty standard order for us. I got the Za'atar, Egg and Cheddar cheese bagel. As an out of town nephew put it when visiting "that is the best breakfast sandwitch in the world, period". I could not agree more. We also got an egg, everything bagel. Then we each got a cardamom bun. I hear this pastry is a swedish thing. So great. They run out of these pretty quick. Then we got a dozen everything bagels to go and thats the key to the logistics issue. They freeze wonderfully so whomever goes gets a dozen then shares with family members who freeze them. That and coffee came to $45+tip and taxes. So what about the pizza in the pic. I can't believe I can't find a pic of the zaatar bagel but anyway. So I am a fairly basic pizza guy. There is pepperoni then everything else. Thursdays/Fridays/Saturday evenings they offer pepperoni or cheese standard. The wood baked crust is amazing and they are generous with the pepperoni. Quality pizza is all about the crust. We typically order it online before they open and then swing by when they open at 5pm for pizza and pick it up. Works really well. Staff is outstanding for both pizza and bagel operations. When lines are long for bagels (not usually for pizza) the staff works thru it really well. Btw, the coffee is not an afterthought. In collaboration with their buddies over at Jubala they have outstanding coffee as well. And speaking of local connections, same team started Boulted Bread which is ALSO downtown and ALSO nationally ranked. And finally Bright Spot donuts is also from the same team. A great asset to the community. These guys really helped us get thru covid with their outstanding online operation and counter staff. A real credit to the operational focus. Thats why I am so surprised I have not written a review before now. read more

Ordered the #6 bologna on an everything bagel. About three bites in, I felt like I'd been tossed into the riptides of the Atlantic.... gasping for air and desperately searching for a sip of fresh water. I'm not sure if it was the bagel, the bologna, or both, but the salt level was overwhelming. Hoping this was just an off day! Now let me check my blood pressure... read more

Inside of transfer co! I love this place. It was my first time and it lived up to my expectations. You can tell they make a lot of their own stuff or source high quality ingredients. read more

Benchwarmers Bagels And Coffee - Specials - Sandwiches Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

See all

I've had Benchwarmers a few times now and I really want to like it but I find their bagels to firmly be just okay. They're a little tough and you're putting your jaw to work. Good deal though if you get the Benchwarmers combo - plain bagel, plain cream cheese with a cup of coffee for $4.50. You'll be waiting a hot minute during the breakfast rush, which is to be expected so maybe have a small snack so no one ends up hangry while waiting. :) My friend got the za'atar bagel and enjoyed it! read more

I love starting my weekend off with a good bagel sandwich. I had heard amazing things about benchwarmers, so I braved the line and decided to try it for myself. You need to go in the morning to get the fresh bagels, otherwise they're just okay. I like the unique flavors and spreads they offer, but honestly I think it's pretty overpriced for what it is. Worth a try for sure, but probably not a place I'll come back regularly. read more

Benchwarmers has the best bagels south of New York. Very tasty with perfect texture. They even slice them for you so you don't cut yourself trying to do it. We buy them by the dozen. read more

Awesome bagel shop run by the Boulted Bread folks! I tried Sandwich #4 with lox and deviled egg spread, as well as a cardamom bun and oat milk latte. All fantastic. Also had a bite of the plain bagel, which was great and had sourdough vibes. Note: Located inside the Transfer food hall. read more

Benchwarmers Bagels And Coffee - Sandwich #4 - Sandwiches Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

Ambiance was such a vibe! Service was quick and fast, and the bagel and fillings were delicious! Coffee was awesome too! read more

Benchwarmers Bagels And Coffee - Iced latte, cappuccino, egg sandwich, and bagel with cream cheese - Sandwiches Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

If you love overpriced and small bagels this is the place for you. I stopped there at 1115 to bet a plain bagel w/ cream cheese. They were sold out so I went with the everything bagels instead. 2 everything bagels with cream cheese $10.93. The young lady gave me a hard stare when she noticed I didn't leave a tip. I waited in line and thinking it wouldn't be long since there weren't many customers ahead of me. 20 mins later they called my name and I got my two $11 bagels and left. The bagels were ok. Bagel was a little bit chewy meaning they need to reduce the boil time of the bagels. Service was nice but they need to work on stream lining the easy orders. There was a young lady in the front literally opening paper bags and placing the order from the line cook in the bag. I say this your lady could make the easy order like toasting and spreading cream cheese vs waiting on the line cook to go order by order. They need more streamline of duties to make them faster read more

Benchwarmers Bagels And Coffee - Sandwiches Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

So this was brill. We had been disappointed that - without any warning online - the whole of the Transfer Co. Food Hall was locked down for renovations on the far more beautiful day that we initially tried to visit. Today we returned, and enjoyed our espresso drinks, our whitefish bagel with pickled corn and chips, and the trial Zaatar bagel & Maitre d' lemon herb cream cheese we were gifted. One of us liked the homemade butterscotch latte more than the other, but the barista skills were on point. Don't miss the specials menu. We loved the industrially artistic interior. The outdoor seating area was so pleasant we stayed for a bit despite obligations pulling us back home. The city skyline and the character of the Mordecai neighborhood surroundings had us hopping on Zillow looking for listings. A fun place to visit and bring visiting guests. read more

See all

I had heard about this location in Bon Appetit magazine. They bake their bagels in a wood-fired oven, and they are quite chewy, which is a good thing. I feel the bagels are quite good, although a little bit small when compared with New York bagels. You should be prepared to wait in a lengthy line, although service is relatively fast. I suggest getting a plain bagel with some schmear, because I tried both their lox and their smoked fish spread, and neither were especially tasty. If anything, they took away from the bagel. So, keep your focus to the bagel and don't try and make it fancy, and then you'll be good. They also have good coffee. Overall, I think it's solid, but not necessarily worth going out of your way for. read more

Benchwarmers Bagels And Coffee - Bagel with smoked whitefish spread - Sandwiches Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

These bagels are FANTASTIC! Came here for brunch and was not disappointed. Benchwarmers is located in Transfer Food Hall in downtown Raleigh. Parking can be found behind transfer food hall or along the street around the area. The line was super long, but went by very fast. We also received our bagels extremely fast. We got an everything bagel with egg, sausage, and pimento cream cheese and oh my. Seriously one of the best bagels I've ever tasted. We also got a lox bagel and it was delicious. Very fresh and filled with lots of cream cheese and lox. The only reason this review is 4 stars and not 5 is because of the price. I would love to come here more, but it is very expensive -- the price does make sense, though, given how high quality the ingredients were. If you are looking for a fun breakfast/brunch spot with friends, I highly recommend coming to Benchwarmers. read more

Benchwarmers Bagels And Coffee - Lox bagel - Sandwiches Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

See all

We came here for breakfast twice while we were visiting Raleigh and it was great! The bagel with the vegan spread was great and my favorite thing that I got. Definitely would recommend if you're visiting Raleigh! read more

See all

I got a plain bagel and cream cheese and a red velvet latte. The bagel was good and had a decent amount of cream cheese. I'm interested in trying the other flavors of cream cheese. The red velvet latte was ok. It didn't taste much like red velvet, and the espresso didn't come through as much as I would have liked. I want to try the butterscotch latte next time, and hopefully it's better. There was a long line, but it went pretty fast. I'll probably order online next time to speed things up a bit. The food hall was nice and spacious and not too busy on a Saturday morning, so parking was easy to find. They seem to focus on the sandwiches a lot and don't have a huge variety of bagels, so be aware of that when you go. read more

Benchwarmers Bagels And Coffee - Plain bagel with plain cream cheese - Sandwiches Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

See all

So this is only for the pizza here - not the bagels. We will come here every so often for the bagel breakfast sandwiches and thought we should give the pizza a try. Now we read about how you shoulder order ahead and time and they sell out. I placed an order and arrived for pickup and sure enough several signs were out saying sold out. Pizza was still cooking which was fine that means it will be hot. Not sure what we were expecting but it was a big let down. The pizza is basically dough and cheese that is so burnt that a hard layer has formed. I love sauce, the more the better and I couldn't even taste it. Husband even mentioned that and he was the least amt of sauce. We also don't know how big the slices weee so we got the big pizza which was pretty expensive end we ended up tossing it because we just couldn't eat anymore. We both have had Sicilian style pizza before or even Detroit style but this was not it. We will stick to the breakfast. read more

Benchwarmers Bagels And Coffee - Cheese and pepperoni - Sandwiches Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

When we first arrived, there was a long line to order, and we almost decided to eat somewhere else. But if there's a long line, there's got to be a good reason right? Well spot on, I'm so glad we decided to wait cause Benchwarmers has some of the best bagels I've had in NC. We got the lox bagel and egg sandwich bagel. My only minor complaint is that it is hard to hold the bagel together with how stuffed the bagels are (which might be more of a compliment). Jam-packed with ingredients and honestly a highlight of my day. If you're in the area I implore you to try this place out. read more

See all

Order #3 on an everything bagel way too salty and too many poppyseeds on the bagel.Quite expensive for what you get.

Raleigh is not playing around in the food department and Benchwarmers is proof of that. These wood fired bagels might be my favorite bagel of all time. I did the egg sandwich, egg scrambled with Duke's mayo, and added sausage and pimento cream cheese. The sausage was a real roller coaster of flavors... a little sweet, a little spicy. It made for a real dynamic sandwich. I was hoping to try the Za'atar Bagel but we didn't make it in until almost noon, and they were sold out. The Everything Bagel is my usual go to, however, and this one was great. The texture of the bagels is much lighter than perhaps a more traditional bagel, which I loved. Incredibly moist and flavorful and chewy, really the perfect Bagel as far as I'm concerned. (I'm not quite a purist.) My husband was suffering from a bit of a hangover and as such went with a plain bagel with plain cream cheese, and both stood wonderfully on their own without the bells and whistles of more complex flavor combinations. We also got a hot coffee and a Flash Cold Brew coffee, and everything came in just around $20 with tax, which seemed pretty reasonable for such great quality. Super friendly staff, quick service. This will be on my list for our next trip to Raleigh, for sure. read more

Benchwarmers Bagels And Coffee - Egg Sandwich on Everything with Sausage and Pimento Cream Cheese - Sandwiches Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

Pretty good! Customer service was great, food came out fast. The ambiance of the food hall was similar to a big brewery. I kind of disliked that they had a very limited menu. I ordered a vanilla latte (my first one ever!) and an everything bagel with plain cream cheese, capers, and olives. Honestly, my bagel was pretty burnt but I still enjoyed it. The capers and olives were in sort of a loaf-like thing that was sliced and then added to the bagel. That was interesting, but still tasted just fine. Overall, I think I'll keep searching for my new coffee spot. But it's definitely worth a try if you're curious. read more

Benchwarmers Bagels And Coffee - Vanilla latte - Sandwiches Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

Had both a plan with pecan butterscotch spread and a zaatar with reaper spread. I would recommend both. the reaper spread definitely has some heat to it but the seasoning from the zaatar bagel blends perfect with it. Staff was super friendly and patio was great to hang out. read more

Great bagel sandwiches - jam packed & full of flavor. Coffee was eh - they messed up my vanilla cold brew and gave me chai. I'm not sure why my order was so difficult ? The service was also lacking. I got snapped at about my coffee because I didn't know the milk was self serve. Geez. read more

Benchwarmers Bagels And Coffee - Inside area - Sandwiches Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

See all

Super delicious bagels! I was here visiting and this was a recommendation to try. I was here for awhile so got to try a few things. The bagels are super tasty, chewy - just perfect. I got the pimento cream cheese the first time because - well I was in the south and why not. It was good, but just a little to heavy for me. The second time I got a bacon egg and cheese and an extra bagel for the road home. The bacon egg and cheese is where it's at. I was super disappointed though when I had headed out I checked my bag and didn't have the extra bagel. I was too far away and not coming back so wasn't able to follow up. But be sure to double check your order! The staff was super friendly and there was a lot of seating. The line came be long but it went pretty quickly. read more

Benchwarmers Bagels And Coffee - Pimento cream cheese on an everything bagel - Sandwiches Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina