I just felt very appreciated as a customer here. I placed an online order, and I asked for a sandwich without mustard. It was accidentally made with mustard, but when I brought it up with the staff, they immediately remade my sandwich. They were quick with the preparation, and I was on my way in no time. They also gave me a free item as an apology for the mistake. I appreciate that they didn’t hesitate to make the situation right and didn’t show any annoyance at having to remake it. There was a great team on shift today! Thanks, CBA!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Phuong Thai My
First time I tried steamed bagels and absolutely love them. The prices are friendly. Love the window seats 🥰
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
Iced coffee 503
This whole experience made my stomach hurt. Bagel was warm, meet was very cold. Did not taste good.
Did not take order correctly. Missed my partners bagel completely. Missed the process of reading back someone’s order. Sat there and ate my whole sandwich before we realized her bagel was never coming. Won’t be back or bring people from out of town her.
I’m sure my experience was an anomaly. Seems like an otherwise cool place with a lot of options.
Josh Ocean Thomas
BEST BAGELS!!! And the staff…don’t even get me started. Georgia made my day. She made my family feel so welcomed, she made us crack up at the register then proceeded to make us some delicious breakfast bagels. We will be back. Thank you CBA & thank you GEORGIA
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Chris Crackaveli (Chris Crack)
menu is crazy and always flavorful. staff is always polite. Love the seating area on the other side of the restaurant. only reason I couldn’t give it five stars is because everytime I go, the potions (even the bags of chips) have gotten smaller & smaller. Shrinkflation wins again. Still super bomb food and definitely go here
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Justin Passer
Soggy bagel sandwich, why do they brag about not toasting it?
Janet
Ordered the Egg McMahon and Five-O bagels. The Egg McMahon was mushy and tasted plain. The egg and sausage patty didn't have a good flavor and wasn’t seasoned. I thought the Five-O was going to be bacon bits mixed into the cream cheese, but it was just thrown on top of it with way more bacon than cheese instead of a decent balance. The cream cheese wasn’t good and the bacon is overly salty. The bagels are soft which was fine, but overall I was quite disappointed in the poor quality, especially since each item was $9.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 1
Service: 4
Hagz
CBA has Fantastic bagel sandwiches with a huge selection. The bagels are fresh and steamed not toasted super nice chew to it and all the ingredients are fresh...This is one of my favorite places in Chicago for a bagel The staff is helpful and knowledgeable. Your biggest problem will be selecting out of the over 100 options! 100% recommend!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Dan M
As a New Yorker, I have spent way too much time searching Chicago to find a bagel that actually feels like a real bagel. I have probably tried over two dozen different bagel spots across the city. Most were fine, some were pretty good, but Chicago Bagel Authority is by far the closest thing to what I grew up with and easily the best bagel I have had in Chicago. My go to order is the Eternal Sunshine, but I substitute Tabasco for chipotle mayo. They always get my special instructions right, which seems simple, but I appreciate it every single time. The service is consistently great, friendly, and fast, and the vibe of the place just makes it feel like a neighborhood staple rather than another trendy spot. If you are a fellow New Yorker or just someone who cares about real bagel texture and flavor, this is the place. 10/10. Absolutely my top pick in the city!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Jordan Lawhead
No toasted, no lox, super expensive, not great service when asking questions
Quick stop in here for the marathon, sandwiches were great, took a little long but it’s expected. Staff was cool, I’ll be coming back.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Katie Muson
Bagel wasn’t toasted so sandwich was super mushy, and they used so much sauce that the sandwich was completely soaked on the outside and slippery
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 1
Service: 4
Adam Hatch
Cool and funky bagel spot right next to the Belmont Red Line. They have an extensive menu so it shouldn’t be hard to find what you’re in the mood for.
I got the Kool Jules which is turkey, provolone, veggie cream cheese, sprouts, and mustard on a bialy bagel. It was fire! So good. I also got a carmel iced coffee. If you like your iced coffees creamy like I do, you may not like it. It’s just dark coffee over ice. I added a few creamers to it and it was good to go.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Omar Jean-Baptiste
Great bagels honestly! A bit more on the softer side of the bagels, usually like the crispy BECs from NYC, but hey man this is Chicago not New York.
I just felt very appreciated as a customer here. I placed an online order, and I asked for a sandwich without mustard. It was accidentally made with mustard, but when I brought it up with the staff, they immediately remade my sandwich. They were quick with the preparation, and I was on my way in no time. They also gave me a free item as an apology for the mistake. I appreciate that they didn’t hesitate to make the situation right and didn’t show any annoyance at having to remake it. There was a great team on shift today! Thanks, CBA!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
First time I tried steamed bagels and absolutely love them. The prices are friendly. Love the window seats 🥰
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
This whole experience made my stomach hurt. Bagel was warm, meet was very cold. Did not taste good.
Did not take order correctly. Missed my partners bagel completely. Missed the process of reading back someone’s order. Sat there and ate my whole sandwich before we realized her bagel was never coming. Won’t be back or bring people from out of town her.
I’m sure my experience was an anomaly. Seems like an otherwise cool place with a lot of options.
BEST BAGELS!!! And the staff…don’t even get me started. Georgia made my day. She made my family feel so welcomed, she made us crack up at the register then proceeded to make us some delicious breakfast bagels. We will be back. Thank you CBA & thank you GEORGIA
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
menu is crazy and always flavorful. staff is always polite. Love the seating area on the other side of the restaurant. only reason I couldn’t give it five stars is because everytime I go, the potions (even the bags of chips) have gotten smaller & smaller. Shrinkflation wins again. Still super bomb food and definitely go here
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Soggy bagel sandwich, why do they brag about not toasting it?
Ordered the Egg McMahon and Five-O bagels. The Egg McMahon was mushy and tasted plain. The egg and sausage patty didn't have a good flavor and wasn’t seasoned. I thought the Five-O was going to be bacon bits mixed into the cream cheese, but it was just thrown on top of it with way more bacon than cheese instead of a decent balance. The cream cheese wasn’t good and the bacon is overly salty. The bagels are soft which was fine, but overall I was quite disappointed in the poor quality, especially since each item was $9.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 1
Service: 4
CBA has Fantastic bagel sandwiches with a huge selection. The bagels are fresh and steamed not toasted super nice chew to it and all the ingredients are fresh...This is one of my favorite places in Chicago for a bagel
The staff is helpful and knowledgeable. Your biggest problem will be selecting out of the over 100 options! 100% recommend!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
As a New Yorker, I have spent way too much time searching Chicago to find a bagel that actually feels like a real bagel. I have probably tried over two dozen different bagel spots across the city. Most were fine, some were pretty good, but Chicago Bagel Authority is by far the closest thing to what I grew up with and easily the best bagel I have had in Chicago.
My go to order is the Eternal Sunshine, but I substitute Tabasco for chipotle mayo. They always get my special instructions right, which seems simple, but I appreciate it every single time. The service is consistently great, friendly, and fast, and the vibe of the place just makes it feel like a neighborhood staple rather than another trendy spot.
If you are a fellow New Yorker or just someone who cares about real bagel texture and flavor, this is the place. 10/10. Absolutely my top pick in the city!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
No toasted, no lox, super expensive, not great service when asking questions
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 2
Restaurantji Recommends
Great bagels
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Quick stop in here for the marathon, sandwiches were great, took a little long but it’s expected. Staff was cool, I’ll be coming back.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Bagel wasn’t toasted so sandwich was super mushy, and they used so much sauce that the sandwich was completely soaked on the outside and slippery
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 1
Service: 4
Cool and funky bagel spot right next to the Belmont Red Line. They have an extensive menu so it shouldn’t be hard to find what you’re in the mood for.
I got the Kool Jules which is turkey, provolone, veggie cream cheese, sprouts, and mustard on a bialy bagel. It was fire! So good. I also got a carmel iced coffee. If you like your iced coffees creamy like I do, you may not like it. It’s just dark coffee over ice. I added a few creamers to it and it was good to go.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Great bagels honestly! A bit more on the softer side of the bagels, usually like the crispy BECs from NYC, but hey man this is Chicago not New York.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
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