The Bagel Bar

I grew up on Long Island. The Bagel Bar is the real deal.
How do I know? I step up to the counter and look to my right. There is the huge vat. The right way to make bagels!
I first enjoyed Bagel Bar bagels before I saw that vat: they are for sale at Durham Co-​Op. I was impressed and made my way to the very nondescript strip mall Bagel Bar calls home.
The different kinds are all good with Super Seed being the best.
My one qualm is the lack of vegan milk for the coffee. It’s a bagel joint, not a coffee shop but still.
Overall, this ex-​pat New Yorker is thrilled to live so close to The Bagel Bar.

If you want any cream cheese on your bagel go somewhere else. After being miserably disappointed with the lack of cream cheese, this last time I specifically asked for extra cream cheese, charge me extra, whatever. I got home, opened my bagel and there was practically none. It was crazy, alarming, made me question my entire existence. So annoying in fact that I drove all the way back, politely presented the bagel and mentioned how I had wanted extra c.c. The guy at the counter informed me that «when the bagel is toasted sometimes the cream cheese slides off» Then shouldn’t it be all over the wrapper? Anyways, he re-​made my bagel with c. c on the side, the amount on the side was not satisfactory. They did give me a larger side after I offered to pay even more for it, for free. Way too much hassle to get a so-​so bagel. Also, pretty sure that the bagel they gave me the second time was a wheat bagel instead of jalepeno. At least I got to drown it in cream cheese, which is all I really wanted in the first place.

…Real good overall BAGEL experience, on I-​95, 85, 40 corridors, south of Washington DC and north of Charleston SC. As good as one can get in «la provence» of the SE USA.
Bagels with all the fixings.
Very Good Bagels and their complements, good comfort, service & company.
A local hang-​out. Good coffee. Assortment of drinks.
Not a chain nor «fast food» in the slightest.
They even will do special baking and catering for holidays.

Popped in on a whim one day when I realized I was starving to death on my way to work. I ordered a Green Eggs and Ham (ham, spinach, and cream cheese with herbs). It was made to order and came out piping hot. It was a bit messy to eat, but well worth it.

Had an order today for a melt that their website said is $ 4.50 and was charged $ 6.50 because the menu that I had downloaded off their website earlier that day was «out of date.» When I called, I was pretty much told me that there was nothing they planned on doing about it. It’s a shame because my company and I really enjoy ordering from them, but I don’t think we’ll be doing that anymore. I don’t like being taken advantage of and then given crappy customer service after. It’s extremely bad for business. The only reason I’m giving the 2^nd star is because the food isn’t too shabby. Too bad their so shady.

I stopped in this morning to get some bagels for my family while my son was playing soccer down the street.
I was maybe the third or fourth person in line when I got there, and ordered a bagel sandwich, bagel with cream cheese, and cinnamon stick. It took more than twenty minutes to fill the order despite the fact that there were at least five people working.
When I got back to the soccer field I discovered they hadn’t included the cinnamon stick. And the bagel with cream cheese had the most pitiful amount of cream cheese on it. My husband’s bagel sandwich (egg, cheese, and Canadian bacon) was good, as was the quality of the bagels. But the lack of cream cheese, missing item, and slowness of order fulfillment means that we won’t be going back.

Stopped in again for breakfast. This time I had an everything bagel with bacon scallion cream cheese and I added cheddar and an egg. I also picked up a plain bagel with bacon scallion cream cheese for a friend. She literally said «this is the best bagel I’ve ever had.» The addition of egg and cheese to my bagel I was a little leery of, but I decided to give it a try based on a review I saw. It was fantastic. All the tangy goodness of the cream cheese but with the added fluffiness and protein of an egg. The cheese was very melty which surprised me (considering its adjacent to cold cream cheese), but was very appreciated. It was earlier this time when I went in – around 730. I was worried it might be busy, but I’m starting to learn this is one of those great places that has steady business to keep everything fresh and hot, but not so slammed that there is a huge wait time.
I will definitely be back, again and again.

Really good! I had the veggie and egg white bagel sandwich and it was super tasty. The BELT was great too. I think the cream cheese on the sandwiches is what makes it so good.

This used to be my go-​to, but lately the service has really taken a dive. It’s unfortunate since I live up the road and stopped in very frequently, however when I have to stand at the counter for 4 minutes before I’m noticed while the Sunday staff talks about resumes and not wanting to be there, then that begins to irk me.
Compounding this problem was that I was waiting for an additional half hour to get a bacon and egg sandwich, which to my dismay had been thrown onto the counter by some young girl who actually announced the wrong type of sandwich to begin with — maybe because she was in mid-​sentence about how she couldn’t wait to «get out of here once the bread’s done.»
I asked for my money back, refused the item and left never to return again. They’ve lost a good customer.

Bagel bar in chapel hill is the closest thing to a NY bagel I’ve found down here! Great everything bagel. Crisp on the outside, chewy on the inside. Delicious!

Staff is always friendly and bagels always fresh. Havent had bagels that good since i was back home in NY. They are warm soft and delicious. Coffee is excellent too. Prices are good and they have lunch items too! Probably the best bagels in the south and maybe the best breakfast in town.

Bagel sandwich was nothing special. I was very disappointed. No sides and no fountain drinks. Breakfast menu looked much more tasty.

I have to say growing up in New York has given me a taste for bagels and the bagel bar has good bagels. I’m never disappointed after getting a blt bagel with copious amounts of bacon on it; I don’t even have to order extra like at brueggers! The bagel bar is definitely my go to.

One of my favorite bagel places that I’ve been to so far. I used to order bagels by the dozen for my tennis team and even ask for donations for blood drives. Bagel Bar is probably the closest restaurant to East Chapel Hill High School, so during school days, high school students frequent here, especially during lunch hours. If you’re trying to avoid the crowd, definitely come earlier or later to miss the prime lunch crowd.
The bagels themselves are super high quality. All bagels that are sold are super fresh and made on the day of sale. I know this because the bagels that they have leftover at the end of the day are the ones that they happily donate for charity events like Red Cross blood drives. (Just as a side note, employees are usually super generous about donations every time I’ve asked.) I love the chocolate chip bagel (large pieces of chocolate chips melted within the bagel — so good!) and the cinnamon sugar bagel (with a decadent, ooey-​gooey layer of cinnamon sugar atop each bagel — delish!).
I’m usually not a huge cream cheese fan, but the strawberry cream cheese here is super amazing. I really urge you to try it if you enjoy sweet and creamy bagels. Chocolate chip bagel with peanut butter is my go-​to if I’m not feeling adventurous — a classic. I recently had the pizza bagel, which had the perfect balance of tomato sauce, cheese, and basil. It definitely reminded me of a real pizza!
Employees are efficient and friendly. Prices are extremely reasonable. As other Unilocalers have mentioned, there’s some really cool bagel art all along the store.
I’ve enjoyed all of my experiences at Bagel Bar since it satisfies my cravings for both sweet and savory bagels. I’ve found Bagel Bar to be a great spot for a quick breakfast or lunch.

I have to say that usually their lunch bagels are good. But today, I used a coupon to buy two guac bagels, and when I got back home I found that the green lettuce was terribly not fresh, there were a lot of black and rotten spots… the avocado was blackish green, too. the chicken was good though… If they don’t like to sell good stuff to people with coupons, why do they sell coupons?!

Definitely a regular here because it’s convenient and quick in the mornings. Of all the bagels I’ve had in my life, probably too many, I have to say that this place has not been life-​changing (I blame this on one bagel I had once in Montréal that was baked in a stone hearth– it ruined me). However, the bagels here are consistent, they have a good selection, and I really like the staff. They are always friendly and smiling and seem happy to be at work, which can make a big difference. If you’re looking for reliable and good local option, this is the best one I’ve found.

We had lunch there. Ok interior, pleasant counter man. I ordered the Philly, which is the reason for the low score. My wife got the Ham Apple Cheddar.
They were out of onion bagels so I got the Everything bagel, which I see from reviews is salty. Certainly the Philly was way salty tasting and just not good. I like a decent Philly sandwich but this was not close, was too salty to be healthy and was just not enjoyable. The Ham Apple Cheddar was much better. Certainly it had a lot of ham and did taste good. If I’d ordered that the review would be a three or four but if they put a Philly bagel sandwich on the menu it should be a good Philly bagel sandwich, and this was not.

The Bagel Bar is legit. Everything bagels that don’t skimp on. well… «everything.» A hardy selection of home-​made cream cheese. Inventive bagel sandwiches.
And, the jewel in the crown: bagel figures adorning the counter. (I’m sure you can see the examples of this in other reviewers’ pictures)
Solid!

Stopped in for lunch and couldn’t pass up one of their breakfast bagels, the Canadian Comeback on an Everything bagel. It’s locally made Canadian bacon, scrambled eggs and topped with cream cheese of choice. I choose the scallion bacon cos one kind of bacon just isn’t enough! It was good, but I forgot how salty their Everything bagel is! I need to choose another kind next time around!
I was disappointed to see that all the bagel art is gone! Boo-​hoo!

I came here a lot senior year with my friends for lunch, and the Bagel Bar’s bagels are spot on. I absolutely love their bagel sandwiches (the Cobb is delicious, you have to try it), which are incredibly messy because they pile them with so many things. Get lots of napkins.
If you just get cream cheese on their bagels, they give you a ton so it’s a great deal. I love their veggie cream cheese — it’s chock-​full of pieces of fresh veggies. There’s never really a wait and there are a few tables outside for days with nice weather. Definitely my favorite place to get bagels in Chapel Hill.