What A Bagel - Spadina Ave — Restaurant in Toronto

I have ordered catering from What A Bagel multiple times from both the York Mills and Forest Hill locations, and I have always had great experiences. However, buyer beware — DO NOT order from this location.

I placed a catering order for a baby shower, and the experience was an absolute disaster from start to finish. The order arrived late and, even worse, it was completely wrong. When I checked the platters and explained to the delivery person that this was not what I had ordered, I was met with a major communication barrier—the delivery person did not speak English and was unable to understand what I was saying. She attempted to call the owner for clarification, but there was no answer. She assured me he would call me back to resolve the issue, so I waited.

When the owner, Andrey, finally called me back, I was expecting an apology or at least a solution. Instead, I was met with rudeness, condescension, and zero accountability. Rather than acknowledging the mistake or offering any way to rectify the situation, he insisted that I was wrong and spoke to me in an incredibly offensive manner. Having worked in catering, events, and hospitality for over 20 years, I have never been spoken to so poorly by a business owner.

To make matters worse, while the food itself tasted fine, the presentation was sloppy, and the sandwiches were falling apart—completely unacceptable for a catered event.

I typically do not leave reviews, even after a bad experience, but this experience was so appalling that I feel others should be warned. I always strive to support local businesses and will continue to order from the Forest Hill location, where they are professional, courteous, and always ensure the order is correct, well-presented, and delivered on time.

If you value good service, reliability, and respect as a customer, do yourself a favor and avoid this location. There are far better alternatives that will actually treat you like a...

Rude server! Was uncomfortable the whole time and didn’t enjoy my food.

RESPONSE TO THE OWNER: My husband and I wanted to try the bagels. It was our first time to eat here, and we intended to dine in. When we entered, the big menu and cashiers staring at us were the first things we see, so naturally we went to a counter and started giving out our orders. We said it’s for dine in, then paid for it and added tip. We sat on a table/booth. Our food came, but then we noticed the servers were ignoring us. My husband had to stand up and ask for cutleries, and this lady with glasses who looked like she was in a bad mood, hesitated to give us any cutleries. She gave it anyway, but not without scolding us for giving our orders at the counter, and that we should have sat first and gave our order to a server. Well, we're sorry that we were unaware of your rules! She seemed to be the one in charge because she was telling other staff what to do. Another lady server was nice at first telling us we can pull down the blinds if the sun was too bright. But it all changed, when this bossy lady server came. She was bossy to her own staff, because they looked intimidated by her. She was pointing at us at one point while saying “this people”. I don't know what she said, but we were ignored the whole time, they wouldn't even make eye contact. We had to stand up from our table to the front of the store to get coffee creamer, napkins, etc. by ourselves. We’ve never felt so uncomfortable and so unwelcome in a restaurant! We couldn’t stand it, so we didn’t finish our food and just left. We were treated as if we didn’t pay for our food. Are dine-in prices different from take-out? If yes, had they told us politely, we don't mind paying for the price difference. If not, then we just don’t get it. Just because we didn’t follow your process, we don’t get...

Really disappointed in this location. I have tried what a bagel at other locations and it has been great, I was very taken back by the disorganized pick up line and the rude staff. When I walked up, I was already listening to the staff tell the delivery drivers to "pick a new job if they don't like waiting for food", which already made me very hesitant to ask for my order that ritual mentioned was ready. Because the staff seemed clearly stressed out I patiently waited for my order, 5-10 mins past and I still had not gotten my food. I asked the girl at the front for my order she said she would look for it, I waited another 5-10 mins. At this point I asked the second girl if my order is ready yet considering ritual said my order was "ready for pick up" 15 minutes ago. She told me the pick up times on ritual are inaccurate and she would look for my order. I waited another 5 mins before she came out with a single container, she told me they put both orders together in one box despite them being two different people. All of this wouldn't have been a problem, as we understand how chaotic pick up services can be downtown, but to wait 20 minutes after the order was ready, to have the two orders be put into one box, to have the staff being rude to people outside the second I step up.. this made for a very unenjoyable experience. My friend ordered a bagel and I ordered sweet potato fries (mentioned on the app it was separate), as you can see in the photo they were put together in one container and I paid 5$ for less than handful of fries. Although the staff was not rude to me personally, it was very uncomfortable to see them being so rude to others (I really feel for the staff and I think implementing a more organized pick up situation may take some of the stress...