Gotham Bagels - Madison, Wisconsin

Brian Ross

I know there’s some shade on here about the owner and wait times, I’m here to clear some of that up. The New York style bagels are amazing and made fresh, with that it’s going to take longer than a fast food place, you get what you pay for. Go in or order ahead, have some coffee and relax. The owner, he’s passionate about his business and the food he puts out. He’s east coast so yeah, he might be a little louder than your typical midwesterner, you’ll be fine. Highly recommend

Paul Herford

Took me a little over a year of living here to finally try it. This place is legit ? delicious and they do not skimp on the toppings. I got the Original V, a vegan option, which was loaded with poblanos, avocado, tomato, and scallion cream cheese. Expect a wait because this place was packed to the brim barely 15 minutes after opening. With reason 🙂 My only take is it’s a LITTLE on the pricey end despite the amount of toppings you get, but delicious and also an easy endorsement for a place. I’ll visit frequently when I’m wanting to indulge a little more at breakfast time.

Hridyesh Tewani

We visited Gotham Bagels in Madison and ordered two bagels with cream cheese and butter (both toasted) and three bagels to go. When placing the order, we specifically asked about the wait time and were told it would be 7-10 minutes. However, we ended up waiting a total of ~50 minutes before finally receiving our order—this was at 11:15-11:20 AM, and we didn’t get our food until 12:05-12:08 PM.
To make matters worse, when we finally received the bagels, they were not toasted as we had requested, and they were dry and cold! When I went back to address the issue, the owner was not only unapologetic but also dismissive, making excuses and claiming he couldn’t toast them now. After waiting 50 minutes, we were left with cold, hard bagels. Here is an image of a “freshly-toasted” bagel with butter!
The service was pathetic, and the food was abysmal. Even worse, the owner displayed an alarming lack of customer service—every time a customer approached him with an issue, they would loudly make a comment and tell them not to be mad. Maybe if they focused on delivering the correct food in a reasonable time, customers wouldn’t be upset in the first place.
We won’t be returning, and I wouldn't recommend this place to anyone.

Joshua McAuliffe

Went on New Year’s Day; first mistake (my mistake, even though their app said it would only take 15 minutes). Waited nearly an hour for our food (online order placed at 11:24). All the bagels for the four sandwiches were the incorrect ones (there was no mention in the app about how they would substitute if they ran out of a particular bagel; or I missed it). The in progress board is a bit deceiving as it doesn’t seem to be in order. Also, when asking the status, they always said “it’ll be a few more minutes” which had a Money Pit vibe to it (c.f., whenever Tom Hanks asked the contractors when the home would be finished: “two weeks”). Besides this Kafkaesque nightmare, the food was great.

Kristina Kimmel

These bagels were honestly so disappointing. Sooo chewy asked for them toasted and the minimal amount of cream cheese on them was melted. Equivalent to getting a bagel at the airport

Eloise

Good bagels in Madison. The bagel sandwiches are a bit pricey for the amount of toppings, but they are pretty good quality and fresh. They have lots of cream cheese flavor options. They recently reopened the dining room so you can eat in the restaurant again.

Nathan Lutterman

Regular customer, but today was a wild experience. Received my text that my order was ready and went inside to pick it up. I usually order a can of Coke with my order and it's pretty common to be forgotten, it happens. I double checked right away as I turned away and noticed it wasn't in there. I checked the bag to see if I had a receipt that I could show, usually there is one on the outside of the bag but this time I didn't get one. So, I pulled out my phone to check my receipt and confirm I did actually order it. I then turned back to towards the counter and while I was looking to get the attention of the worker the owner (or at least who I believe to be the owner) steps out and is within a couple of feet of me and pauses seemingly like he was going to help and I try to tell him they forgot my Coke and I'll just step to the (customer accessible fridge) and grab it so they know I'm not stealing something. While I'm doing this, I turn my phone towards him so that he could look at the only receipt I have, and he flips out on me for shoving a phone in his face. I know it's been a stressful week man, but I shouldn't be leaving your business feeling like crap because of your attitude. You were so dismissive of me trying to apologize too.

Bagel was outstanding, as always.

Aaron Suiter

These are the best bagels in Madison. I’ve had numerous experiences waiting 1-2 hours for a bagel and cream cheese, when told the wait would be substantially less. It doesn’t feel like they have any respect for their customers.