its not possible I have not written a review for Benchwarmers before. They are a staple for the family. Do they delete them!? I see the pizza pictures below are from 2019!! SO I guess i started it and forgot to finish? Ok. Way overdue for sure. Before we get to pizza lets talk about where they are then bagels then the pizza. Benchwarmers is a fixture in downtown Raleigh's transfer hall. The empanada place there is also outstanding but thats a different review. Transfer hall is actually on the southern edge of downtown Raleigh. Coming from North Raleigh its a bit of a trek for sure but well worth it. So when you get there, especially on the weekend in the morning say, parking is a challenge. there is an L shaped parking lot so you loop around that and hopefully find something. Failing that you look at street parking on the other two sides of the L. Failing that, and I typically don't, go up to Chavis way and park on the street there. You can then cut thru to Transfer hall. Transfer hall is a lively echoing hall. You can sit inside our out. they have staff at the hall to keep things clean and organized. Benchwarmers is a nationally ranked bagel place so even if you are not into bagels you should give it a try. Their wood-fired ovens give bagels a distinctive flavor. I am on the edge when it comes to bagel passion. But the family is all in, especially when my eldest was living in Brooklyn. Great debates about which city had the best bagels between Philly, Brooklyn and Atlanta, etc. Benchwarmers has largely settled that for us. They are the best for us. For this review I am choosing our visit on April 17th which is a pretty standard order for us. I got the Za'atar, Egg and Cheddar cheese bagel. As an out of town nephew put it when visiting "that is the best breakfast sandwitch in the world, period". I could not agree more. We also got an egg, everything bagel. Then we each got a cardamom bun. I hear this pastry is a swedish thing. So great. They run out of these pretty quick. Then we got a dozen everything bagels to go and thats the key to the logistics issue. They freeze wonderfully so whomever goes gets a dozen then shares with family members who freeze them. That and coffee came to $45+tip and taxes. So what about the pizza in the pic. I can't believe I can't find a pic of the zaatar bagel but anyway. So I am a fairly basic pizza guy. There is pepperoni then everything else. Thursdays/Fridays/Saturday evenings they offer pepperoni or cheese standard. The wood baked crust is amazing and they are generous with the pepperoni. Quality pizza is all about the crust. We typically order it online before they open and then swing by when they open at 5pm for pizza and pick it up. Works really well. Staff is outstanding for both pizza and bagel operations. When lines are long for bagels (not usually for pizza) the staff works thru it really well. Btw, the coffee is not an afterthought. In collaboration with their buddies over at Jubala they have outstanding coffee as well. And speaking of local connections, same team started Boulted Bread which is ALSO downtown and ALSO nationally ranked. And finally Bright Spot donuts is also from the same team. A great asset to the community. These guys really helped us get thru covid with their outstanding online operation and counter staff. A real credit to the operational focus. Thats why I am so surprised I have not written a review before now.
Caroline R.
Literally a MUST for anyone visiting Raleigh. My favorite is the duck rillette bagel, just trust me! If going on the weekend, be warned that you either need to order ahead before they open, or you need to get there very early and expect a long line. They are busy for a reason !! (;
Kim J.
So this is only for the pizza here - not the bagels. We will come here every so often for the bagel breakfast sandwiches and thought we should give the pizza a try. Now we read about how you shoulder order ahead and time and they sell out. I placed an order and arrived for pickup and sure enough several signs were out saying sold out. Pizza was still cooking which was fine that means it will be hot. Not sure what we were expecting but it was a big let down. The pizza is basically dough and cheese that is so burnt that a hard layer has formed. I love sauce, the more the better and I couldn't even taste it. Husband even mentioned that and he was the least amt of sauce. We also don't know how big the slices weee so we got the big pizza which was pretty expensive end we ended up tossing it because we just couldn't eat anymore. We both have had Sicilian style pizza before or even Detroit style but this was not it. We will stick to the breakfast.
Inez G.
Hands down the best bagels in the area! We love the variety of flavors and unique toppings. Cannot recommend this place enough.
David Negron
Bagels aren’t normally my thing but the pimento cream cheese on plain was delicious.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Bagels
Matthew M.
Really good bagel place in Raleigh. The bagel and cream cheese were very fresh and good service. Definitely stopping here whenever I pass through!
Maira Alava
The butterscotch latte was delicious and just what I needed. My son had the everything bagel, egg, bacon and cheese bagel - he said it was very good! Above all Beth’s service and kindness towards us was unexpected and greatly appreciated. Next time we’re in Raleigh, we will surely visit Benchwarmers Bagels and Coffee!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Bagels
Kevin Burrows
The staff wasn’t welcoming nor friendly. Food selection was slim. The iced lattes were decent.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 1
Lacey Hollowell
Fair warning: these bagels will ruin all other bagels for you. Nothing else comes close to the flavor and texture. But if you’re a “New York style” snob, these are not for you.My go-to order is an everything bagel with plain cream cheese, a cardamom bun for later, and a brown sugar cinnamon latte. The bagel is coated (both sides) in seasoning. Seriously, watch when it’s sliced and you’ll see seeds go flying. You will make a mess when eating it. The extended fermentation of the dough gives it such a rich flavor, and the wood fired oven gives it an excellent chewy crust.The cardamom buns are exquisite. Lightly sweet, aromatic, and lovely. They go great with coffee or an afternoon tea.Also, the pizza is incredible. It’s square/rectangle pan pizza, and they do a special flavor each week that is always a winner. Bonus points for the ranch dressing I could literally drink from the bottle.On top of it all, the service is excellent. Everyone there is so friendly and willing to answer questions or offer suggestions.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Bagels
Robert Dixey
Overall Rating: 4.1/10Located in a pleasant food hall and opening at 5PM, this establishment fails to impress with its pizza, which is their primary menu options.Service: 5.1/10The service staff, particularly one lady, was very friendly. The menu presented limited options, and there was no system in place for notifying when orders were ready, aside from calling out names.Cheese Pizza: 4.1/10The pizza corner slice featured a very thick and doughy base. The overall taste was dominated by the dough, with the sauce and cheese not contributing much to the flavor profile.Value: 5.2/10Priced at $4 for a corner slice, the size of the slice might seem reasonable, but the overall quality and taste of the pizza don't justify the cost, making it less appealing from a value standpoint.
The bagels were very tough and overcooked in my opinion. My child definitely could not eat it. It's very expensive.
Selin B.
Favorite!! Chewy flavorful bagels and they are generous with the cream cheese or sandwich fixings. The zaatar bagel is my favorite. And if they're out, the herby cream cheese on sesame/poppy bagel is fiyaaaa. Friendly service, and great vibe at Transfer Company Food hall. Lots of natural light, places to sit, and other dining options if others want a dif meal.
R T
Customer service was fantastic. Received everything quickly and everyone enjoyed their orders. The pecan spread on plain bagel paired with the oat milk butterscotch latte was delicious!
its not possible I have not written a review for Benchwarmers before. They are a staple for the family. Do they delete them!? I see the pizza pictures below are from 2019!! SO I guess i started it and forgot to finish? Ok. Way overdue for sure. Before we get to pizza lets talk about where they are then bagels then the pizza. Benchwarmers is a fixture in downtown Raleigh's transfer hall. The empanada place there is also outstanding but thats a different review. Transfer hall is actually on the southern edge of downtown Raleigh. Coming from North Raleigh its a bit of a trek for sure but well worth it. So when you get there, especially on the weekend in the morning say, parking is a challenge. there is an L shaped parking lot so you loop around that and hopefully find something. Failing that you look at street parking on the other two sides of the L. Failing that, and I typically don't, go up to Chavis way and park on the street there. You can then cut thru to Transfer hall. Transfer hall is a lively echoing hall. You can sit inside our out. they have staff at the hall to keep things clean and organized. Benchwarmers is a nationally ranked bagel place so even if you are not into bagels you should give it a try. Their wood-fired ovens give bagels a distinctive flavor. I am on the edge when it comes to bagel passion. But the family is all in, especially when my eldest was living in Brooklyn. Great debates about which city had the best bagels between Philly, Brooklyn and Atlanta, etc. Benchwarmers has largely settled that for us. They are the best for us. For this review I am choosing our visit on April 17th which is a pretty standard order for us. I got the Za'atar, Egg and Cheddar cheese bagel. As an out of town nephew put it when visiting "that is the best breakfast sandwitch in the world, period". I could not agree more. We also got an egg, everything bagel. Then we each got a cardamom bun. I hear this pastry is a swedish thing. So great. They run out of these pretty quick. Then we got a dozen everything bagels to go and thats the key to the logistics issue. They freeze wonderfully so whomever goes gets a dozen then shares with family members who freeze them. That and coffee came to $45+tip and taxes. So what about the pizza in the pic. I can't believe I can't find a pic of the zaatar bagel but anyway. So I am a fairly basic pizza guy. There is pepperoni then everything else. Thursdays/Fridays/Saturday evenings they offer pepperoni or cheese standard. The wood baked crust is amazing and they are generous with the pepperoni. Quality pizza is all about the crust. We typically order it online before they open and then swing by when they open at 5pm for pizza and pick it up. Works really well. Staff is outstanding for both pizza and bagel operations. When lines are long for bagels (not usually for pizza) the staff works thru it really well. Btw, the coffee is not an afterthought. In collaboration with their buddies over at Jubala they have outstanding coffee as well. And speaking of local connections, same team started Boulted Bread which is ALSO downtown and ALSO nationally ranked. And finally Bright Spot donuts is also from the same team. A great asset to the community. These guys really helped us get thru covid with their outstanding online operation and counter staff. A real credit to the operational focus. Thats why I am so surprised I have not written a review before now.
Literally a MUST for anyone visiting Raleigh. My favorite is the duck rillette bagel, just trust me! If going on the weekend, be warned that you either need to order ahead before they open, or you need to get there very early and expect a long line. They are busy for a reason !! (;
So this is only for the pizza here - not the bagels. We will come here every so often for the bagel breakfast sandwiches and thought we should give the pizza a try. Now we read about how you shoulder order ahead and time and they sell out. I placed an order and arrived for pickup and sure enough several signs were out saying sold out. Pizza was still cooking which was fine that means it will be hot. Not sure what we were expecting but it was a big let down. The pizza is basically dough and cheese that is so burnt that a hard layer has formed. I love sauce, the more the better and I couldn't even taste it. Husband even mentioned that and he was the least amt of sauce. We also don't know how big the slices weee so we got the big pizza which was pretty expensive end we ended up tossing it because we just couldn't eat anymore. We both have had Sicilian style pizza before or even Detroit style but this was not it. We will stick to the breakfast.
Hands down the best bagels in the area! We love the variety of flavors and unique toppings. Cannot recommend this place enough.
Bagels aren’t normally my thing but the pimento cream cheese on plain was delicious.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Bagels
Really good bagel place in Raleigh. The bagel and cream cheese were very fresh and good service. Definitely stopping here whenever I pass through!
The butterscotch latte was delicious and just what I needed. My son had the everything bagel, egg, bacon and cheese bagel - he said it was very good! Above all Beth’s service and kindness towards us was unexpected and greatly appreciated. Next time we’re in Raleigh, we will surely visit Benchwarmers Bagels and Coffee!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Bagels
The staff wasn’t welcoming nor friendly. Food selection was slim. The iced lattes were decent.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 1
Fair warning: these bagels will ruin all other bagels for you. Nothing else comes close to the flavor and texture. But if you’re a “New York style” snob, these are not for you.My go-to order is an everything bagel with plain cream cheese, a cardamom bun for later, and a brown sugar cinnamon latte. The bagel is coated (both sides) in seasoning. Seriously, watch when it’s sliced and you’ll see seeds go flying. You will make a mess when eating it. The extended fermentation of the dough gives it such a rich flavor, and the wood fired oven gives it an excellent chewy crust.The cardamom buns are exquisite. Lightly sweet, aromatic, and lovely. They go great with coffee or an afternoon tea.Also, the pizza is incredible. It’s square/rectangle pan pizza, and they do a special flavor each week that is always a winner. Bonus points for the ranch dressing I could literally drink from the bottle.On top of it all, the service is excellent. Everyone there is so friendly and willing to answer questions or offer suggestions.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Bagels
Overall Rating: 4.1/10Located in a pleasant food hall and opening at 5PM, this establishment fails to impress with its pizza, which is their primary menu options.Service: 5.1/10The service staff, particularly one lady, was very friendly. The menu presented limited options, and there was no system in place for notifying when orders were ready, aside from calling out names.Cheese Pizza: 4.1/10The pizza corner slice featured a very thick and doughy base. The overall taste was dominated by the dough, with the sauce and cheese not contributing much to the flavor profile.Value: 5.2/10Priced at $4 for a corner slice, the size of the slice might seem reasonable, but the overall quality and taste of the pizza don't justify the cost, making it less appealing from a value standpoint.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
Legitimately the best bagels I've ever had! They are so fresh and flavorful. Also the spiced honey cream cheese is to die for.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Love this place! Very tasty!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Bacon Egg Cheese Bagel Sandwich, Pepper Jelly
The bagels were very tough and overcooked in my opinion. My child definitely could not eat it. It's very expensive.
Favorite!! Chewy flavorful bagels and they are generous with the cream cheese or sandwich fixings. The zaatar bagel is my favorite. And if they're out, the herby cream cheese on sesame/poppy bagel is fiyaaaa. Friendly service, and great vibe at Transfer Company Food hall. Lots of natural light, places to sit, and other dining options if others want a dif meal.
Customer service was fantastic. Received everything quickly and everyone enjoyed their orders. The pecan spread on plain bagel paired with the oat milk butterscotch latte was delicious!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Bacon Egg Cheese Bagel Sandwich