Brooklyn Bagel Factory — Restaurant in Cambridge

A decent bagel shop is always a welcome addition to any neighborhood, but my experience with this place was a bit of a letdown.

On my first attempt to dine here during their opening week, I had to turn back due to an outrageously long line. Taking that as a good sign, I returned a few months later, opting for the online ordering to avoid another lengthy wait. Surprisingly, when I arrived 20 minutes later, I found the store far less crowded but learned my order wasn't even in the prep stage. A heads-up or an apology from the staff would have gone a long way, but none was offered. I was instead informed that it would be another 15 minutes.

When I finally got my order, I was a bit disappointed. The Belgian Waffles were soggy and dense. Even the Waffle Steak Egg & Cheese sandwich, while better than the standalone waffles, failed to impress. The dry steak combined with the heavy waffles made for a cumbersome eating experience. Simplicity usually shines in a well-executed bagel and cream cheese, but even this staple faltered. The strawberry cream cheese lacked texture, making it less than appetizing to look at, let alone eat.

The only thing I liked was the Weymouth Back River Pastrami Smoked Salmon bagel sandwich. Though it didn't come piled high with toppings, it somewhat made up for in flavor, delivering a pleasant, subtle smokiness.

While their name sets an expectation of matching or exceeding the standard set by New York's iconic bagel scene, the reality fell notably short. Would probably not come back for...

Brooklyn Bagel Factory is dependable and reasonably priced, but its sandwich quality could be better.

The menu is extensive and can satisfy most people's dietary preferences, especially with its build-your-own-sandwich offering ("the Inman"). The portions are quite large. Go hungry! The price is average for the area ($9-13 depending on the sandwich complexity). Staff is friendly, but a little slow on the output. Their speed has improved since their initial opening but I recommend still building that time buffer into your day. The bagels are average and I would not recommend this place if your plan to only order a bagel (and not a bagel sandwich). The bagel sandwiches are fine. I've had a few different ones and none have been mindblowing. Sometimes the cheese isn't fully melted or the turkey bacon not all the way crispy. This is probably a byproduct of the business being really busy, but these factors can really take the quality of a bagel sandwich to the next level in my opinion.

Ultimately, it's not a place I would go out of my way for, but it's a convenient local shop for when you want a breakfast/brunch out...

Got a bacon egg and cheese sandwich, and was shocked it was $9. Instead of having a cheap egg sandwich on the menu and adding meat/cheese, I feel like I got a worse deal because the only "build your own" sandwich is priced to have veggies and sauce (WHO puts veggies and sauce on a breakfast bagel sandwich? Blasphemy). All of the sandwiches are priced at $8+, and even a bagel and cream cheese is over $4. The bagel itself was okay, but I ordered an everything bagel it which looked like a plain bagel that was sitting next to an everything bagel (aka: nearly no seasoning on top); the egg was steam overcooked (green ring around the yolk) and really gross; the bacon was fine, but was that super thin pre-cooked stuff; american cheese was....american cheese, can't go wrong there. To top it off, the sandwich wasn't cut in half, which maybe this is a personal thing but I shouldn't have to ask for my sandwich to be cut in half (a standard NJ/NY bagel sandwich practice!). Overall, not the experience I was looking for at all coming from a place with "Brooklyn"...