Chicago Bagel & Deli

Best bagel East of NYC and South of Chicago. I know. I come from a three generation Russian family of bagel bakers.

Great place to drop in and grab some fresh bagels of any variety. They have some great sandwiches they can make on any bagel as well. Friendly staff and perfect for a weekend morning.

I got up early this Sunday morning for a shopping trip to Trader Joe’s, but needed somewhere to fuel up with some food first. The store is in a nondescript strip mall, located near a Mexican restaurant and a Little Cesar’s. Even before entering I could tell it was plainly and sparsely decorated. With just four tables for eating the rest of the interior was filled wit the counter, refrigerated cases for drinks and coffee area. There was a tv on top of one of the refrigerated cases for entertainment.
There was a respectable menu with a number of different bagel flavors to choose from. After a short amount of time for some thought (since I had already checked it out online), I decided to try out the fully loaded «everything» (tomato, onion, capers) bagel with cream cheese and lox and a coffee. I was eating in so I received a traditional brown coffee cup. They have three choices (flavored, decaf and regular) for coffee (in dispensers) on their coffee area. This is a very minimal area, so don’t expect a caffeine wonderland. But the coffee was good. And being able to go up and refill is great!
The sandwich itself was quite good. They roster the bagel just right. It had a nice crunch on the outside with a soft inside. It was generously slathered with cream cheese. It was not overly fishy and the onions were thinly sliced so it was not overwhelming. Just enough capers were put on for that unique, salty flavor. Maybe I’m just not used to ordering this type of product, so $ 10 seemed a little high for bagel sandwich and coffee. But I don’t live in the area and as a once in a while treat it’s worth it.

Decent bagels made in the traditional fashion. The texture is very good, but the taste and aroma of the bagels is somewhat bland (at least to a New Yorker). The cream cheese is very good, and the smoked salmon, although pre-​cut, was very good as well.
These are the best we’ve had in SA so far.

Best bagels I’ve had in Texas. Bialys are great too. After too many Einstein bagels, I had almost forgotten what a bagel was supposed to be. Thanks Chicago Bagels for reminding me.

Thankful to Unilocal for this quick find. We were going somewhere else but the wait was ridiculous so we found this gem instead. Bagels were good. I just wish they had offered me choices in my cheese omelette as I didn’t think to ask. Service was good and delivered our food quickly. I wasn’t too keen on the flavored coffee though. The place is small (four tables). I was glad to support local business though.

This place is world class! Been going here for 7 – 8 years now. Can’t have better bagels… And I’m a real bagel snob.

Absolutely delicious Lox and Bagel sandwich. Wonderful smiling staff. Even the other customers were as pleasant. THANK YOU! Delighted to have found the small and homey kitchen that made me feel right at home and fed me. After being away from NY for 15 years, lox is one of the things I dearly miss. The sandwich was well proportioned with tons of flavor. I am stuffed!

I was passing thru San Antonio and saw that this place was right off the 10 East so I stopped in for lunch. Got a North Side Turkey sandwich (add bacon!) on a plain bagel. Super good, everything fresh, no mystery meat. Friendly staff and quick service. Looks like most people come in to grab a bagel to-​go, they have a big selection. I’d highly recommend this place for breakfast/​lunch.

This is exactly what it sounds like, and so so good.
The outside leaves a lot to be wanting, small run down strip mall. But once inside the atmosphere is transformed into a warm mom and pop feel. Older patrons frequent this spot so you know it’s a warm place to come back to time and again. There isn’t much seating, only 4 tables in this small deli space, and one outside, showing that most people come in and take out.
Easy on your pocket book, the menu consists of all the breakfast favorites you can expect from a bagel shop. Along with yummy sand which options for lunch, a few salad options, veggie burger, and of course a Chicago hot dog.
I opted for the bagel and lox sandwich on an everything bagel and I was not disappointed. Healing cream cheese with lox, capers, tomato and onion this hits the spot. The bagel is toasted just right and soft so you can tell freshly made. They run out of bagel options so you might want to get here early to get your favorite. With over 18 bagel options everyone can find what they want.
I highly recommend this place for a breakfast or lunch fix. Next time I’m in San Antonio I’ll be sure to stop in!
Tip: there is no restroom just a public one in the strip

I’m very impressed with this place. The bagels are some of the best I’ve ever had. Although the exterior looks a little sketchy, the food is delicious!
They have a large variety of bagels. You want to go early to get your pick. I came in the afternoon so the seasonal ones like pumpkin were already gone. Their lunch menu is decent, with sandwiches and hotdogs to tide anyone over. I was tempted by the hotdogs but opted for a whole wheat bagel with lox spread. They toasted the bagel and put on a thick smear of lox cream cheese. The spread was what I expect of cream cheese and lox but the bagel flavor was perfect. It wasn’t dry, wasn’t hard but also not super soft like bread. It was a really good bagel.
I also got a garlic bagel plain just to try since I like garlic. The flavor was totally on point. I loved it. The bagels are not overly large so it may seem insubstantial to some but let it settle, the carb bomb will fill you up. I like that these bagels are pretty inexpensive ($ 2-​$ 3 with spreads). You can also buy a bag of day old bagels for $ 5.
I like that you can see people making the bagels in the back. It’s a pretty neat operation. Service was pretty good. The guy making bagels in the back saw the line was backing up and walked out to help. Although the place is not super nice looking, the food is really spectacular. If you are planning a large order, order ahead to pick up. I’ll definitely be back to try the other things on the menu.

I know bagels, I know lox and whitefish. This place knows how to make them and the sandwiches are not good but fantastic. Friendly service and the right price. Why are you still reading? Go! Enjoy! Bön apetit!

As a native New Yorker and after having worked in an excellent DC bagel shop, I have very high standards of bagels. But I’ve also lived in a lot of different places, so I like to think I’m pretty fair about reviews. This place wasn’t anything special. Bagels were small and dry, and there was barely enough bacon, egg, or cheese for a suitable breakfast sandwich. Also, there were only two couples in front of me ordering 1 bagel each, and it took 20 minutes before they even asked me what I wanted — staff seems nice but sluggish. I plan on looking around for another bagel place to make my go-​to.

Meh.
Also as an east coaster I set the bar high when it comes to bagels. This place was a let down, even after all the great reviews.
I ordered a turkey bagel sandwich. Hubs ordered s bagel with cream cheese. Since there was no public bathroom we took it to go. There was more lettuce than turkey which normally I wouldn’t have an issue with except the bagel was dry and the turkey was dry so it tasted like a lettuce sandwich. They forgot the chips which was annoying because I didn’t find out until after we left. Hubs bagel had barely any cream cheese.
It was quite expensive too. $ 11.56 for the sandwich a bagel with cream cheese and a bottled soda. And that was with a military discount (thank you for offering that!)
The two ladies who were working were extremely friendly and hospitable!
I loved the service, but the food was just meh.

We LOVE this place! They have amazing, fresh bagels and spreads. They also have breakfast bagels, and bagels with lox & fixings. If you get there early enough, you can get a bag of a dozen day old bagels for like $ 5. The workers here are super friendly and attentive. Great place to go!

The best place for bagels in the Alamo City! I’ve been coming here for years and you should to!

If you’re near here, get here! Best bagels I’ve ever tasted!
Stopping in was a great idea. Service was great. The attendant was very helpful, she explained the different ways they can serve a bagel.

To be fair, getting great bagels in the Southwest is a challenge. After living in New York six years, my bar is high. That said, here’s my take on this place…
I’ve had about half of the different kinds of bagels here. I find them not dense enough and in many cases lacking in flavor.
Worst of the lot is their bialy. I ordered one blind and was surprised at what I saw and how it tastes. It looks much like an onion bagel and is bland. When I pointed that out and even showed them several pics from the web of a proper one, instead of at least taking an interest, they decided to argue and tell me how others liked them. Frankly, I didn’t care as I did not.
For me San Antonio Bagel or even Einstein Bros are a better option.

I just moved to San Antonio having lived in some of the best bagel cities of the world and somehow, by the grace of sweet baby jesus, I moved 5 minutes from this bagel shop.
The couple that owns and runs this place is wonderfully accommodating and they run it like my favorite bagel spot on the upper west side.

So this place sneaks up out of nowhere. I’d drive by it every time if I wasn’t looking for it, specifically. And it’s perfect. No frills, slightly hole in the wall, reminds me of the corner delis in New York. Don’t ask me about Chicago because I’ve never been. I’m a New England girl, I came for the Lox, folks!
The bagels are scrumptious. Toasted to perfection. Soft. Moist… ew, hate that word. All kinds of bagels. Whitefish salad? Check. Lox? Check! Capers with that? No problem. Oh, wait, this is Chicago, we’ve got Vienna beef! Holler. Seattle’s Best coffee on tap (does that work with coffee?). Delicious cream cheese, all flavors. Sandwiches, too.
Quick, friendly service. Super helpful, I feel at home. Enough said.