Bagels & Brew

It’s okay, bro.

Best bagels in town. Love the onion bagels. Almost makes you forget New York, almost but not quite!

I came here for a free bagel on ²⁄₉ on the way to work. I got a lot of attitude from the guy who helped me at the register… which I did not appreciate. My company gets bagels from here and they always give us a good selection, but they aren’t the freshest bagels I’ve had. I much prefer Krazy Eddie’s on Lake Forest.

Yesterday was National Bagel’s Day so they were offering free bagels all day. Sounds awesome right? Wrong. When they say free bagel they LITERALLY mean bagel. I don’t think I’m upset about the deal, but just more upset with how their employee interacted with us. She was cryptic about the deal and didn’t seem eager to explain the details to us. Not sure why she was so upset… we came for the bagel, but we were also purchasing a couple coffees and cream cheese. Cream cheese costs an extra $ 3. The container is big enough for two bagels so no need to buy more than one. At the end of our interaction, we asked to have our bagels toasted. She gave us a dirty look and said free bagels come as is… ridiculous.
Aside from my experience, their bagels are pretty delicious. I ordered their orange cranberry and my friend ordered their spinach herb. Even without it being toasted, the texture of their bagels were spot on. If it wasn’t for their employee with attitude, I would have given this place 4 stars.

Hands down, THE best bagels in all of Orange County!!! Friendly staff, fair prices, top quality bagels… Bagel Me!, Bruegger’s Bagel, Einstein Bros, and any donut shop in the general vicinity don’t even come close to the way B&B’s fresh bagels are made. If you go in the afternoon (after 3pm, I think) you can get a dozen bagels VERY cheap.
Onion bagel, double toasted, with [extra] plain cream cheese is my top choice.
+1 for their order-​by-​text option. Many times have I sent in my text on the way up the hill to Lake Forest after getting off the freeway. By the time I arrive, my bagel is bagged and ready to go… no wait!
PLEEEEEAAASE open a location farther north!!! How about Tustin or Orange???

Bagels and cream cheese here are always good in quality… The quantity of cream cheese is a little hit or miss (and I love cream cheese).

Bagels are great but the service I horrible. I’ve been there twice for a very simple ToGo, one bagel order on my way to work, watch them set my order, up on a shelf for 15 minutes until they realized I was still waiting for it. Not good when you have to be to work and this simple task makes you late. They need to get the staff into a better system… this is NOT good and an extremely bad way to start your day.

B&B is really strong on coffee and bagels. Hey it’s in the name! The coffee is from Kean, and THAT is reason enough to come here. Guatemalan is always exquisite and has been served each time I am there. B&B has a nice La Marzocco espresso machine, but I’ve not seen it used. Funny doesn’t seem like an espresso-​barista kind of place.
Very friendly, great customer service, and seems popular with the locals.

Always super crowded but usually worth the wait.

Continue to love both the bagels and the coffee here. The French Roast Kean coffee is exceptional. I was disappointed to learn that they do not offer ceramic mugs. I was there with my very environmentally-​minded daughter who is extremely reluctant to use disposable items, but was advised that they have only the heavy duty paper cups. They were, however, very happy to let us use our own coffee mugs the next time, so now that we know, we’re good.

I really want to love bagels & brew. They are the only neighborhood mom-​and-​pop breakfast place. but I can’t help look past how dirty the restaurant inside and even the kitchen and back has started to become grimy. I think it reflects the food, they’ve been turning out sloppy portions. The last two times I have come the food was off. messed up my order the previous time, then I last week one of my country potatoes had a big old spud growing out of it. it says a lot when you don’t even have the wherewithal to clean your potatoes. I wouldn’t mind if it was a one off. so with this honest review comes love, you can do it bagels and brew. put your back into it, clean up your restaurant and churn out some great food!

Stepping foot in here instantly makes you feel like you’re back home, at a grandparent’s house somehow, but with a counter.
Any type of bagel sandwich is easily yours.
Any type of spread you can imagine, for yours to enjoy then, and later (in tubs to go).
There are various warm drinks to cozy up with too.
I had a lox sandwich with a veggie cream cheese spread, on an onion bagel.
It just hit the spot perfectly.
It felt so comforting, so simple, yet so flavorful, that I was set.

When I think about my favorite local Lake Forest establishment it is definitely bagels & brew — or as my friends and I like to call it: B&B!
I’ve been going to b&b for 15 years. There are of course bagels and fresh coffee but what really is special is the homegrown feel inside and the patio outside is so nice to catch up with friends on!
Over the years I’ve gotten sooooo many things here but my usual is the sunrise sandwich with sausage on an everything bagel. That everything bagel can do NO wrong!
In the summer when I’m a little more mindful of my carb intake the Spinach salad is my jam. It’s so fresh and best with chicken added on — the portion is generous and yet I eat it all cuz it’s so yum!
You can get smoothies here or proper sandwiches and even burgers! All are available for eat-​in or take out although I highly recommend eat-​in! They didn’t expand to the suite next door for nothing!
Flavored cream cheese, delicious combos named after the local cities, all you can drink tea — what’s not to love?!
If only they had mimosas…
And we’re open for dinner…
Or not — you do you, B&B!
You’re amazing just the way you are!

Can’t go wrong here from the bagels to the sandwiches to the side dishes to the coffee. Always good size portions, fresh ingredients and good tastes. Sometimes can be hard to find a table, but that’s only because the place is so popular.

This is the local hangout for coffee so it is always busy.
The coffee is airways strong and hot and the bagels fresh. The sandwiches here are delicious, I recommend the Sunrise.
Nom.

Our breakfast spot for weekend. I like trying new things every time. Never disappoint us. Fast service. Friendly.

LONG TIME CLOSE TO HOME FAVORITE!
Although it seems the bagel prices keep escalating beyond normal inflation.
I believe they are now $ 1.19 each,

I’ve been here a few times and it’s always mediocre at best but this last time took the cake. There’s always a long line, which I’ll happily stand in if the wait is worth it, but here it’s always more of a fustercluck crowd of people shoved into a small space. Which makes for a pretty unpleasant wait.
A lot of the cashiers here seem pretty incompetent. I’ve worked in food service, I know it can get hectic when things are busy but at the end of the day, you have one job dude. I ordered a well-​done bagel with cream cheese, a regular coffee and a regular iced latte. I got a pale sad bagel, and two ginormous coffees that would take me days to finish. Ok, so when your business is called bagels and brew, I expect you to do 2 things right — bagels and brew. Otherwise, call yourself something else. The fact that I asked for a regular iced latte and they served me an ungodly amount of coffee in a paper cup with a couple of ice cubes in it is beyond me. I know they have plastic cups. Did they run out? I guess I’ll never know. The coffee itself was meh.
Bagels and Brew, step up your coffee game. Like, a lot. And maybe let your employees know that serving iced coffee in a big plastic trough is not cool. Seriously, when I can get a better cup of coffee at the grocery store next door, you’re doing something wrong.

Use to love this place when my kids were little, now, not so much.
For starters, the service is subpar, the tables & floors are always dirty, food is just meh and the coke is watered down. WHAT HAPPENED TO THIS PLACE?
Unfortunately, I think this is a simple case of getting too big (2 other locations) for their britches. The owner isn’t around to manage like she use to & the manager they have, belongs in a cartoon. He is not friendly at all. Probably a cousin or something. So sad to see B & B go downhill.

Came here for lunch on a Sunday afternoon. The place was about 80% full. Our group of eight was able to find seats immediately.
Why it is three stars? The bagels were good. Place not too crowded. Staff was friendly. Saw a couple complaining about an incorrectly order. Staff was apologetic and promptly exchanged the food. I wouldn’t mind going there to try the bagel if I am in the area. But with so many good bagel places in Orange County… Just not my first choice.
Why is it only three stars? The seating area was kinda dirty. I know it is ‘bus your own table, your mom doesn’t live here’ kinda place. But the seats have left over food on it. The table has spilled coffee and bread crumb from the previous diners. I would love to see someone wipe the table, just once in a while. A staff actually was mopping the floor as we were eating… Don’t really need to see how dirty the floor was when I was eating…