Opens bright and early at 5:30am, with locals grabbing their breakfasts to go. I got the Taylor Ham Egg & Cheese on an everything bagel - generous amounts of Taylor Ham and paired nicely with the pepper and ketchup. read more

Modern Bagel Cafe - Taylor Ham Egg & Cheese - Bagels Near Me - Fair Lawn, New Jersey

Went today egg whites on plain bagel Got smaller and flat Not worth it Going here 30 years Lost my business Other places in town much better read more

A large coffee and a whole wheat bagel with plain cream cheese $7.20 I questioned the price and the girl said that's it ?? Did I get ripped off or what ?? read more

Walked in this AM to get 3 bagels. Ordered them at the counter with no wait 9am on a Tuesday. Truly annoyed when I got home and opened up what I saw. What a sloppy job and at a cost too. read more

Modern Bagel Cafe - .... thanks - Bagels Near Me - Fair Lawn, New Jersey

The outside of this place has garbage everywhere. They don't clean up the trash under the tables and it's all over the sidewalk. The trash can in front is always overflowing with garbage, not inviting at all. I wish the owners of these stores in this strip mall would pitch in and make the town look clean and inviting. It's sad to walk through trash. read more

Had been there one time before and was not impressed, but girlfriend and I wanted bagels as we had skipped breakfast, so gave it another try. (Was the only near location were we were driving) Ordered TOASTED onion bagels with lox spread. Astonished that bagels were put on a little flip open grill until it had a few grill marks. Right next to it the typical bagel toaster with conveyor was not running. (Maybe too hot for personnel?) Benefit of the doubt given , maybe broken, but then how about a using a regular toaster? Good service would have been to mention that toaster was down and bagel would be grilled asking if that was okay. So, bagel actually nowhere near toasted. When I paid I saw $ 9.40 on the register screen gave a $ 50 bill expecting two $ 20 bills back. However , I got 98 cents in change and $ 39.00, because after tax the bill came to $ 10.02. When I complained, the counter lady printed out the receipt and was just too dense to understand that a customer friendly approach would have been to disregard the 2 pennies. Many stores have take a penny leave a penny bowl and in the future pennies will be discontinued by the government. I get that I was paid mathematically correct, however in the business world one should operate customer friendly. She also robbed herself of all singles to make change. Lastly, the bagels are small and our "GRILLED" bagel did not taste good, confirming my first visit which left me unhappy. read more

Terrible service .... Was waiting in line for ten minutes and they let some guy they know cut in line. Not coming back. Was treated like a second class citizen. Staff couldn't care a less. I'll spend money money elsewhere. read more

10.95 for a sausage egg and cheese croissant. Charged me 7.35 for the sausage egg and cheese, and then 2.99 for the croissant? Ok. I'll go anywhere else for a normal priced sandwich read more

Used to be good but it's gone downhill. The last four times I've been in my breakfast sandwich has been made wrong. Today my order was a sausage egg and cheese on an egg everything toasted with extra cheese. Got just an egg bagel, two eggs that had shell in it (couldn't eat half the sandwich as it was crunch after crunch) no extra cheese, and a non toasted bagel, with some sort of chili pepper. Last order they got the type of cream cheese wrong and the bagel wasn't toasted. Order before that (toasted everything with butter and jelly) they didn't toast the bagel as per order, or put any jelly on it. Also the coffee is so hot you can't drink it for nearly 10 mins after ordering. Sad that a great local shop turned into a dump. read more

So you sell me a stale bagel at 8:30 in the morning and you don't even have the decency to put a little extra ketchup on the sandwich ( barely any at all) , I wouldn't touch this place with a 10 foot pole. They obviously don't care. read more

Solid bagels but unfortunately slow service. Not worth waiting on a line 30 minutes outside for...

Very clean place and they actually served Matza during Passover! Love the bagels and the staff. read more

Modern Bagel Cafe - Bagels Near Me - Fair Lawn, New Jersey

Really solid spot. Service can be a little all over the place, but the bagels are great. The BECs are a lot better than a lot of other places I've had in Bergen County. read more

Today was last time I'll go here. The bagels are stale more often than they're fresh. The BEC I ordered had literally one piece of bacon on it. ONE PIECE! Shame on me, honestly, for not driving the extra half a mile to River road. read more

Delicious & reasonable food! Super clean. I have celiac disease and was just going to order a salad, surprisingly they had a gluten free bagel (which was amazing), and accommodated to cross- contamination while making my food. read more

Small, clean cafe with seating on the left side. The ordering area is tiny and can get crowded quick. I suggest calling in your order. They have a variety of breakfast items, pastries (they even have cupcakes!), and drinks. Everything tastes fresh and is packaged nicely. I've never had a bad order from here. There's a 4% surcharge for credit card purchases, so I recommend bringing cash. There's street parking, or you could park across the street at CVS and walk over. read more

Stopped her for breakfast after an appointment. Had a Bacon Egg and cheese on a plain bagel with coffee. Coffee was okay and the sandwich was good. There was no one when I went in but it definitely stated picked up when I was leaving. Stayed there to eat my sandwich ad they had a seating area and it was empty. read more

I'm pissed about the unfavorable ratings here. Read and reread all the reviews and my consensus is that most of you are wrong. Someone wrote that there are long lines because the workers are slow. Nothing could be further from the truth. During prime time hours they have quite a few people behind the counter and, even though the food is cooked to order, it moves quickly. If the lines were long because the staff was slow, there wouldn't be lines for long because people would go elsewhere. There is no shortage of bagel competition in Fair Lawn. Someone else mentioned in a negative way that teenagers work there. Duh. If they hired much older people, they would have to pay them more, prices would go up and they would complain about that. Businesses that have bad, food, high prices and lousy service don't remain in business very long. Modern Bagel Cafe has been a fixture in Fair Lawn for quite a long time. Their food is quite good and very reasonably priced. They are also open just about every holiday and during snow storms, hurricanes and will probably remain during a Zombie Apocalypse which, as we all know, is coming soon. I have eaten there literally dozens of times and have yet to have a bad experience. The staff, while young, is helpful, polite and efficient. They also move pretty damn fast. They're a great addition to Fair Lawn and an awesome place to grab a quick bite or a cup of coffee. read more

Always the best stop for a great bagel with taylor ham, egg and cheese. The staff is super professional and friendly including Kelly who I think is the manager. Always says "hi" whether she serves me or not. Other great choices for breakfast and lunch. Line can get long but it moves very fast. Best stop when you are passing through town or live here! read more

I don't understand negative reviews of this place. They have the best bagels anywhere, hands down. And they are always fresh, usually still warm when we get them. Only issue we have ever had is occasionally a kid who works there puts cheese on something when we don't want it. Otherwise the food is great and the people have always been super nice to us. read more

They have some great & fresh food. Today I had a Grilled Chicken Bagel that was just perfect, it was fresh & delicious! The tables were amazing, available inside & outside and the service for everything was awesome! I'd recommend them to everyone!!!! read more

I have been going here for years. I live in FL now so I always get multiple bagels when I'm home for the holidays. The place is often crowded and sometimes takes a few minutes, but it's worth the wait to me (and anyone who has just an ounce of patience). Toasted everything with veggie cream cheese is my go-to read more

Surly staff, long lines, stiff bagels. $3.25 for a plain bagel with plain cream cheese.

So this morning I needed coffee, so I stopped by here thinking I can get one. I saw the sign if you use your card for anything less than $5 they charge you and extra .50 cents. Sure no problem so I added a whole wheat toast with light cream cheese. Here's a picture. So disappointed. I was able to only eat the bread. I could have done that at home. $4 I could have gone to Dunkin' instead. ‍ read more

Modern Bagel Cafe - Bagels Near Me - Fair Lawn, New Jersey

See all

2 1/2 Get A Damn Toaster And Get 3 Stars Decent variety of bagels however they are a bit on the tough side for me. Flagel is a nice treat and well seeded when available and not stale. Decent BEC sandwich and good coffee, but the take out area is poorly designed and this place is easily overwhelmed. Panini are nice but not a fan of the idea that they are made in advance and sit in a chiller. Service often sucks and the staff look lost so I just don't go there much anymore. read more

Modern Bagel Cafe - Storefront - Bagels Near Me - Fair Lawn, New Jersey

The best bagel in NJ everything is fresh and delicious people are very friendly Thank you for the great service ! Highly recommended ! read more

Bagels are good but the service is painfully slow and disorganized. Grilled items are ok, but stay away from salads and veg bc theyre not fresh. Also the place is not clean and cold case has old in the edges of it which is pretty gross(they cover it with paper) read more

Tried this place for the first time today. Ordered the same sandwich that I get at every bagel store I try-egg whites and ham on a plain bagel. It was by far the worst I've ever had and that's being generous. The bagel was hard, dry and on the small side. It honestly looked and tasted like the kind you get in the frozen food section at the grocery store. The ham was slightly thicker than normal deli ham but there was only one slice and what looked like only one egg white. I paid $6.10 for it with a small bottle of water so guess the sandwich alone was around 5 bucks. Not worth it. read more

Panini's are good, service was nice. This place is too trendy. Hot bagels has much better bagels, rename this place Modern Panini cafe and I'll add a half a star. 2.75 read more

Good bagels and sandwiches. Problem is their service. You never know what you get. Sometimes you get a mountain of cream cheese, sometimes you got almost none. Main problem is incorrect orders. So many times I had to come back because they put cheese on my order . Unfortunately, I live 20 mins away. Sometimes I go back, sometimes I don't. It sucks to drive back and forth for 40 mins, and sometimes they don't even let me keep the wrong sandwich. read more

Not sure why this place has such a low review. Almost deterred me from visiting. It's a short walk from my place which is a plus. Also the staff is very friendly and efficient and the bagels taste amazing. Tried other places around town and this is far better. Their breakfast sandwiches are great as well. read more

Panainis awesome! Bagels are fresh! Their macaroni salad is the best i have ever had! Pickles with any bagel sandwich or panini. Definitely Fair Lawn's finest for bagels. It is also a great place to hang out with a group of friends or to pick up from before a trip to the beach. Note - They are cash only read more

Do the owners just not care about this place anymore? We've been coming here for years and even though it's getting worse every week we come back, but today was the last time. There is no reason a toasted bagel with lox and cream cheese should have shredded lettuce when it was never ask for and this is the 2nd time it's been done. There is no reason a taylor ham egg and cheese on a roll should be on a bagel and missing half the ingredients. It's frustrating that every time we unwrap our breakfast, there is a new horrible tasting surprise. I'm so disappointed with this place and I plan on trying every other bagel place in fair lawn and even going into other town just to not go to this place again. read more

Modern Bagel Cafe - Bagels Near Me - Fair Lawn, New Jersey

Not the greatest bagel spot in Fair Lawn. Consistently bad service. I came in around 1PM and waited patiently behind an older woman being helped by the workers. I was waiting for 10 minutes and no one even acknowledged my presence, it took until the woman in front of me left with her food, for anyone to ask me if I was being helped. Meanwhile there were about 5 workers and the owners were stocking up the fridge with juice and slicing meat for the next day. Like how about you pay attention to the patrons in the store instead of prepping for the following day? This is why I go to Hot Bagels because their bagels are actually fresh and doughy, bacon is never burnt and I don't get ignored. read more

Modern Bagel Cafe - Veggie Breakfast Wrap - Bagels Near Me - Fair Lawn, New Jersey

The service here is real bad. It is a real crap shoot if you get the food you actually ordered. I get it there are local high school kids working. But write the order down so you get it right and people don't have to repeat themselves over and over. Super annoying. The seem nice, but they really need to be supervised better. BTW get a toaster....they aren't expensive. read more

Beat bagel's in the area. If you like multigrain bagels theirs are the best. The staff is alway friendly and happy!

It's unfortunate to give such a mediocre review for a place that is a favorite of ours, but the cleanliness and care of this place needs some attention. The bagels and sandwiches are GREAT but earlier this week I found a long hair baked into my sesame seed bagel!!! read more

What has happen to Modern Bagel? They use to be the best in town. Now the bagels are smaller they skimp on the cream cheese, and there just not the same anymore. Beyond disappointed read more

don't know what happened over the years but the quality of food has definitely dropped. Just ordered the egg platter, the eggs have no flavor at all , not even any salt or pepper and they are so mushy; the hashbrown is soggy and is not even cooked all the way and the bacon is very chewy. the staff obviously changed and are not as polite as they used to be. Instead they are worried about their breaks and eat food while cooking by the grill. Won't be coming back again. read more

The bagels and sandwiches are very good. The place needs a deep cleaning and a dehumidifier. It's like a sauna in there. Has great potential inside, but the walls and floor need a scrub down because the humidity in there is sticking everything to the walls. read more