Would have given zero stars if it wasn't for the delicious bagel. God awful service. Painfully slow & they got a simple order wrong. Waited for 20 minutes for a plain bagel with lox at 10:30. There were 4 people working but simply not working quick enough. Disappointed read more

favorite restaurant in town. This is what a bagel should be - hand rolled, boiled, and baked for a hard crust with chewy interior. Try the chimichurri cream cheese! Try the G! Try it all! A little pricy but it's high quality food right on the square so complaining about that seems misguided. You want a cheap breakfast sammy, go to McDonald's or Bagels Forever (no shade on either of those establishments). Lines can be long on the weekend. Staff is all about their business, which I appreciate. read more

great bagels scared of that man behind the counter. they are so scary and so mean. beware.

Gotham has become an institution to me the last few years, serving authentic NYC style bagels that are top quality. Simply put, the best bagels in the Midwest. The bagels and spreads are always fresh and made right at Gotham. I've been cycling through combinations to try everything they offer. I've come to the conclusion that it doesn't matter what you order, as everything is outstanding. I usually get two bagels; one for breakfast and one for the road - known as the pocket bagel. Gotham is also a deli and has some awesome items in the case. The freshly squeezed juice is a perfect revitalizer on post-Badger game Sunday mornings. Also, Gotham serves Alterra coffee, which is amazing in itself. Come early and come often! read more

It had been a couple of years since I visited Gotham, and decided to stop in and get a toasted pumpernickel with cream cheese and lox. Hadn't had one in ages. So here we go, let's take a look. They gave me a nice spicy pickle on top of the wrapped bagel. Nice touch, liked it. Plenty of cream cheese, and the bagel itself didn't disappoint. But hold up.... $6 for this bagel, cream cheese and lox?? And.... hello??? There's not even any red onion or tomato included. I'da thought that was a given when asking for bagel and lox???? Okay, stlightly miffed and disappointed, but still my favorite place here in town for bagels, although there are other options I have yet to try. read more

Gotham Bagels - Lox on pumpernickel - Bagels Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

the most rude staff i have ever come in contact with. whoever was handing out the food at the window was so incredibly rude. he treated every male that came to the window with respect and every female was yelled at for not asking how his day was. he also said we were "bothering" him. i will not be back. read more

Awful wait times. Online ordering says 30 min. Expect to wait over an hour and thirty....................

As a native New Yorker (Long Island to be exact), I can say these are the best bagels I've ever had outside of NYC or the island. There seem to be a lot of haters on here who are too sensitive to the NY attitudes of Gotham staffers. Get over it! Life is too short. Chalk it up as part of Gotham's charm and enjoy the food! read more

This place would get chewed up alive in New York City. Their bagels taste like they are from Wisconsin. All due respect to Wisconsin but the state is known for great cheese and not Bagels. We ordered a couple of dozen sliced bagels and they came unsliced and the cream cheese and butter were frozen. All of the above and their NYC like pricing makes this place not worth it. We recommend you go elsewhere in town. read more

Good bagels and sandwiches, but terrible service. After ordering online, I received a text telling me my order would be ready in 20 minutes. I arrived shortly after and waited another 35 minutes for more order, which was given to me with out a word of apology or explanation. read more

So good Saturday came back Sunday. Great bagels form base of sandwiches - egg and cheddar arugula and spicy sausage one day, heritage ham and Swiss with a side of pasta salad next. Right off square. Customer service is good, vibe friendly. read more

Gotham Bagels - Bagels Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

The people running the register are so extremely rude. Service is terribly slow, and you constantly see people behind you getting served before you. My girlfriend got an egg bagel and I ordered a normal bagel and cream cheese. Surprisingly, her's was done before mine was, and I realize after the fact that I saw it sitting there ready to serve for five or ten minutes before anyone put cream cheese on my bagel to complete our order. They were also extremely rude to my friend and when he tried to use his debit card (on a $5 order) the guy asked him if he had cash instead. Who does that? He eventually accepted the card so obviously it wasn't against policy or anything. Never again will I go there. read more

Having lived in Madison for many years, I somehow have never stopped into Gotham before. I went this morning and am very upset that I never went sooner. Reading other reviews I didn't expect to be wowed. The "G" bagel sandwich was INCREDIBLE. The capicola and special cream cheese combine for a zesty kick. I would call it flavorful, not spicy. But I love spicy foods. Coffee was excellent as well (Collectivo). Little pricey to make it a place I will frequent (sandwich and bagel were $7), but it was the perfect Friday morning treat. I will be back. read more

We were walking to a different breakfast spot but, upon seeing the packed restaurant and the "hot bagels" sign, we really couldn't resist. I really wanted to like this place. Bagels are one of my biggest weaknesses, and this place looked legit, but it really did nothing in the end to earn my favor. For starters, there's the wait time. My husband ordered a bagel sandwich and I just ordered a toasted bagel with butter. It took a solid 20 minutes for us to get our food, and it was clear they made my bagel right away and left it to sit, as it was cold. Even worse, the combination of toasting it and letting it sit left me with what amounted to a solid jaw workout as I tried to chew through each bite. I seriously gave up halfway through. Maybe if I'd gotten, as promised, a "hot bagel" and I could have just added butter, that would have been one thing. But the suuuuper over-toasted, chewy option was lackluster at best. My husband's sandwich looked good, but not $10 good. Maybe $7 or $8 good, but $10?! Also, it seems that they pressed it in the process of preparing it, which left him with a similarly impossibly chewy bagel to chew through. I also tried what appeared to be their show stopper, the coffee cake, but it was so unimpressive I threw half of it away. The coffee was disappointing as well. Finally, each bagel dish is garnished with a bagel chip, which made me really excited, but it also tasted so bad I took two bites and gave up. So maybe this would be worth a future visit if I got a bagel to go and heated it up at home, sans toaster, but as it stands, I really don't understand the super high reviews or the crowds of people jostling for their Saturday morning bagel fix. The best thing I had was the bagel itself, and even that was disappointing, so that should say it all. read more

The bagels are decent but their customer service needs some serious help. When my bagel was finally ready (30 minutes after they told me it would be) the man giving me my bagel was extremely rude to me because my instructions on my order were apparently too long. I only include these instructions because they mess up my order every time. And ironically my bagel today was also messed up. Also his butt crack was out. Gotham get your shit together. read more

Moved to Madison 2 years ago and have not been to the deli until today. Outstanding sandwich with quality meat & cheese on a NY style bagel! Good for breakfast and lunch near the Capital. Be ready for a long wait though - only 1 register and it seems to take a long time for people to order (suggestion to restaurant - a cream cheese menu covers up the real menu view from the line) read more

I have stopped going here. They were out of lox on a Saturday morning, so we went somewhere else, and just never bothered going back. It's too expensive, and they're often out of things. And, with the exception of maybe two guys who work here, everybody else has been rude, short, and seemingly annoyed, in my experience. Also, I got really sick after I last ate here. And I'd had a bagel with cream cheese. How could that go wrong? read more

Placed an online order for 8AM. Still waiting at 835. Pretty sure this is not going to be worth it. And I was right...dropped ninety dollars for a fish platter for 4. They substituted Halibut for Salmon without saying anything. read more

Decent bagels. Terrible services. Just not worth the wait. Ordered a plain bagel with cream cheese to go. 20 minutes! Sorry guys. Management needs to take a cue from New York. Have your workers work with each customer when taking orders. Then let these guys ring up your sale. No sense in having one guy take all the orders and you have another guy doing the orders based on first come, first served. Hopefully they will wake up and change how they run their business. read more

Just met the owner, joe. Class act! You can take the boy out of NY but you can't take the NY bagel out of him. Top best 3 bagel I have ever had. The whitefish, Salomon, all excellent. There's a reason we waited 1 hour to eat. Robby read more

The consensus within the Jewish org I work for is that Gotham is the only place to get a New York bagel in these parts. Everything is DELICIOUS. Fun and well thought out menu with great combos of things. I love their lavender cranberry drink. GREAT coffee. Pretty crowded at all times, for good reason, so prepare to wait a little for your food. WORTH IT. read more

The bagel with the salmon! Very good, very filling and doesn't make you feel bad about eating out since they do have have tasty, healthy options! Went in here for a quick lunch, and I do advise against that! Usually there is a line and decent wait. But trust me, if you have the time, it's worth the wait! Every time I've been here I've had a great meal. Thanks read more

Gotham Bagels - Bagels Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

Okay this place is chill I get it BUT why do they make using the bathroom so confusing. Why is there a key in the door with a large kitchen spoon attached to it, and no lock on the inside. If you come here and plan to use the he bathroom, expect anxiety. read more

Visited Gotham Bagels for the first time this weekend. I immediately liked the New York-deli vibe and the variety of menu choices, which offered everything from bagel sandwiches to vegan cream cheese and prepared deli foods. I ordered the everything bagel with scallion cream cheese, topped with avocado and a fried egg. The flavors went really well together, and the cream cheese was delicious. In terms of the actual bagel itself, I wasn't too impressed with the quality/texture-as someone who has had real New York bagels a lot, I went in knowing that these weren't going to be as good-still, bagel was a little hard, and the texture was mildly chewy which I wasn't a fan of. The sandwich was good, and for a local bagel place in Madison that has a cute vibe, I'd go back. read more

Gotham Bagels - Everything bagel with scallion cream cheese, avocado, and fried egg. Came with a bagel chip-pretty good overall! - Bagels Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

took absolutely ages for 2 bagels. said 30 minutes, us and many more people have been waiting for over an hour.

Yum! You know a place is doing it right when even the New Yorkers are loving their bagels! Delicious soups as well. Not somewhere I want to be on the weekends though - too many customers with too many questions and demands. (oy!) My recommendations: sesame & salt bagels. A good deal: the egg sandwich on a bagel. read more

To start - I am a college student who has gone to Gotham bagels for the last two years very frequently. Although it's expensive, I love their bagels and agree to pay the price because the food is so tasty. It's one of my favorite places in Madison to eat breakfast and have recommended it to many of my friends, but after my experience today I will never go back. I ordered a cheddar and egg bagel sandwich and my boyfriend bought the 4/$2 day-old bagels and ordered cream cheese. We sat down and waited for our order and as we sat down the man behind the counter scowled at us. We ate the day old bagels because we were hungry and waiting for my order, and the man continued to scowl. I am a calm person -- I've never complaint or sent anything back -- I'm not someone to be obnoxious or talk loudly -- but I was found to be an unwelcome guest at this establishment. My boyfriend is also pretty calm, and we did not react to this man or make a huge fuss of being there. After a while he asked us what we were waiting for and I told him my order - thinking that he was going to see if the order was almost ready. To my surprise, the man responded by saying "You guys can't do that here, you can't free-load off of our restaurant and take up valuable customer space". He went on to lecture us about how by buying day old bagels we were cheating him out of his business. He said that "that's not what they do here" and that they sell fresh bagels. It's a bagel shop-- not some fancy espresso bar where there are three seats. There were multiple tables opens and no lines. He had no right to tell us that we couldn't eat in his restaurant because we had ordered day-old bagels and an overpriced sandwich. He then proceeded to asked my boyfriend to leave the restaurant, then asked me "so what are you going to do?" as if I as a "normal" (non day old customer) customer also wasn't welcome. He didn't offer us a refund for kicking us out of the restaurant. We left, and I'm never going back. We didn't do anything to deserve this -- we were peacefully eating our bagels when he approached us in such an agressive manner. Turns out this jerk was the owner. A worker came out and told us that "Joe's from New York" and he doesn't work well with customers. If the owner of the establishment isn't interested in treating his customers with respect and equality-- I don't want to continue doing the same for him. Regardless of how much a customer spends at an establishment, they should have the right to be treated the same as any other person. It's not even a matter of customer service, it's a matter of being nice. I don't care what state you're from - when you sell a product and someone buys it - that's a good business model and you should respect the people who are buying it. Don't support this guy--- his prices are high - and he intends on keeping it that way. read more

Dropping them to one star after receiving this message from the owner: "You should be arrested for your food photos. I can show you how to properly cut, sear, and present food. After you bail me out for making bialys, I want to teach you how to properly sear a scallop. You called me out? I accept. Walk the talk brother man. You can't cook to save your life, don't worry about the bialys." The bagels were solid, but this owner is clearly quite the dick. I may have moved away from Madison, but there's no way I'd recommend anyone going back and supporting this business. Certainly not with attitude. Oh, and fyi: The bialys suck. They aren't bialys, and they certainly don't taste like them. To the owner, I respond with this: anyone can sear a scallop, including me. Why would I ever want you to show me? You and your staff can't even make a sandwich correctly. read more

I will never be entering this store again based on how I was treated yesterday. Upon asking if my order was almost complete (I had one bagel and side of cream cheese---was waiting 10-15 minutes and had friends outside waiting for me) the person behind the counter ignored me and when I asked again he said "I heard you." But still No answer. So when I asked again---he screamed at me that I was rude. Folks nearby were confused and I was mortified. Called today to talk to the restaurant higher-ups--turns out the rude guy is the owner!!!!! The staff was very nice on the phone but I get the feeling this is pretty common place. So AVOID the EMBARRASSINGLY RUDE owner if you go. read more

Found a used bandaid in my bagel the other morning.... brought it and the uneaten bagel back in the next day and was treated so rudely by the manager (owner?) of the store that I will never again be able to patronize this business. Too bad, because I've been a loyal customer for over 4 years now. Guess that doesn't count for much with them... read more

These are the best NYC style bagels outside of NY! The brighton beach is my absolute favorite- a super egg everything bagel with caper cream cheese, crunchy cucumbers, red onions and tomatoes, with salmon lox they make especially in store! They never charge me when I ask for extra lox either. Great guys here and great bagels!! read more

I stopped into Gotham last week for breakfast and service was so good, I came back this week for breakfast. Again, I wasn't disappointed. I won't gas on about both experiences, but I'll tell you what made the difference this morning. I waved a couple customers ahead of me, because I was unsure of what I wanted and I thought I might be a little longer at the register. When I stepped up and after ordering a bunch of bagels and cream cheese for the office, the young gentleman behind the counter asked me if I wanted any coffee or juice. I said, "No thanks, they can get their own coffee and juice." His reply? "I wasn't worried about them. I was worried about you." Hospitality. That's what it was. 100% sincere and easy as pie. More places should do it. It takes but a few words to make a connection with a customer and win loyalty. A little bit of loyalty goes a long, long way. It only got better when he shouted out to the customers, "Who's parked out front?!?!" I turn to see the parking enforcement man circling my car with a catlike grin on his face, rubbing his hands together greedily. Okay, that's an exaggeration. I ran out and managed to avoid the ticket. Thanks, Gotham. Bagels. Hospitality. And a hand with the meter man. read more

When I first came to Madison from New York City, where I grew up, I found myself missing many things - but I missed nothing so much as delicious New York bagels. Madison's a great town, I thought, but damn do I miss those bagels... Until I found this place. I never thought I'd say it, but I really can't tell the difference between these bagels and the ones from my favorite spot in NYC. They're just superb. Lox and cream cheese on poppy with a tomato is the best if you want the true New York experience (make sure you ask for that tomato!), but you really can't go wrong whatever you choose. Also, they serve the bagels with a really delicious pickle and some bagel chips. Beautiful. Oh, and they have amazing fresh-squeezed orange juice, and their espresso is surprisingly good! read more

I've never been emotional over Bagels before, but I got emotional over these. Absolutely beautiful, chewy, golden and amazing. I tried the Arugula and Salmon which was delicious and their Pumpernickel pastrami was to die for. Highly recommend! $1 for a plain bagel? Worth going to Wisconsin for. read more

Food is good, but it's always shocking how, with less than 5 people in the shop, it can take 20 minutes or more to get your toasted bagel. Come with a book and not an appetite. read more

I went to the Farmers Market to walk around in the glorious warm sun and left with pretty much just carbs...I bought bread, pasta and unfortunately, bagels from Gotham. The bagels themselves weren't bad...nothing to write home about in my opinion..but not awful. It was the service that is really why I would never go back. I waited in line with a friend-she ordered her bagels and then I went to order next and was VERY loudly accused of cutting in line by a rude man who seemed to think he was in charge. I calmly explained that I was waiting here the entire time and then started to order the bagels but he was extremely short and rude with me the entire time. No time for that-I'll get my bagels from Bagels Forever instead! read more

Gotham makes decent bagels (I'm from New York, so I'm comparing them to their namesake), but the service (over the past three years that I've lived down the street) has gone from very good to awful. If you can wait 15-20 minutes for your bagel or sandwich because everyone behind the counter forgets to work, then this is an okay place to go. Also, don't order an egg sandwich unless you like your eggs very, very runny. Undercooked, even. read more

I would give this establishment a negative -10. We placed an online this morning and when we picked the order up my boyfriend was handed a bag my boyfriend then said to the gentleman I also ordered an orange juice the man very rudely said can you look in the bag. So rude!!!! I called the store and was told this was the manager that spoke to him. I had a chance to speak to the manager and instead of apologizing for his rude behavior he decided to get combative and argued with me the told me he would include this in his company hand book. Listen!!! If you need to add having customer service skills in your company hand book then you have a bigger problem. Why don't you put this in your handbook, companies that survive during this pandemic are the ones who treat their customers well. You then had the nerve to call my boyfriend back and yell and scream at him for sending his mommy to call and complain NEWS FLASH this is not his mommy. And why on earth would we tip you. Better yet let me give you a tip! Drive down to the unemployment office and take a look at the people that have lost their jobs most of them shouldn't be there but because you are running your business to the ground this is where your ass is headed!!!! read more

get the OMFG special. Has a slight kick to it, but you won't regret it. You can't go wrong with any of their breakfast sandwhiches.

Gotham bagels are simply the best in Madison and closest thing to NYC bagels. They are hand-rolled and topped with artisanal cream cheese that ranges from plain to even Gochugang flavored. The cheese is really tangy and fresh. Highly recommend! read more