The Blue House Bagel Co. & Cafe — Restaurant in Canton

The Blue House Bagel Co. & Cafe An illustrative Review

Tucked away on the side of a busy main road in Canton, Connecticut, is a quaint blue house. A white and blue sign with a charming illustration of the business greets you as you drive in. Parking is tight, but luckily there’s room on the Friday afternoon I visit.

Customers come and go as my partner and I make our way inside. It’s a small entry area that guides you to each subsequent step in the ordering process. All the current options are displayed on a large menu, also showing which varieties are sold out. My heart sinks to see that the first few of my choices, including the French Toast bagel, had already sold out by the time of my arrival.

My partner and I debate the choices and eventually decide on a Blue House Bagel Sandwich, The Buongiorno, a maple oat milk latte, and a coffee with cream.

The total comes to around $30 with a tip, and although a bit steep, I’m willing to pay for quality local goods. After our order is taken, we are ushered further down the narrow passageway to allow for more patrons to place their orders.

I watch as the barista and cook work diligently to complete what appears to be a deluge of tickets. The workers are quiet and focused and I take the waiting period to snap a few pictures of the inside of the building.

It has a rustic charm that blends old barn wood with modern amenities. The harmony of the opposing styles works surprisingly well and offers a comforting vibe. As we wait, the friendly individual who had taken our order invites us to select a 5-pack of bagels from the freezer as a reward for purchasing sandwiches. Not being one to refuse free goods, I oblige and fish out a bag of frozen everything bagels.

The wait is longer than I’m accustomed to, but I remind myself that the food is not pre-frozen or pre-prepared. It’s fresh, and quality takes time. This isn’t a Starbucks.

Once our food is ready, we make our way to the eating area, which is reminiscent of a colonial tavern. Thick wood slabs compose the flooring, and a decorative old brick fireplace sits near one of the corners. The tables and chairs are small, but adequate for a few individuals with small meals.

I unwrap the sandwiches and I’m pleasantly surprised by the heftiness of the food. There’s no skimping on ingredients. Between chatting, my partner and I enjoy the food and drinks.

The poppyseed bagel is chewy and dense, flavorful and toasted to perfection. The egg is fluffy and the vegetables are crisp and juicy. Overall, a delicious meal. My partner enjoys his food as well, commenting on its tastiness while he busies himself with scarfing it down. I wrap half of my sandwich to take home and enjoy later. While I wait for him to finish his meal, I sip the maple oat milk latte. It’s smooth, sweet, and creamy; a balance that I look for in prepared coffee beverages.

Once we finish our meal, we weave our way back to the entrance through incoming customers and say farewell to the staff.

The Conclusion:

The Blue House Bagel Co. & cafe is worth the trip if you are in the Canton area. It might even be worth a little day trip to explore all the wonderful businesses in the area as well if you live far away.

The prices are as expected for a local business making a quality product, especially in this day and age. Expect to pay about $10-12 per person if having a small meal and drink.

One note: If you want the popular or limited edition flavors, it seems it might be best to call ahead or perhaps arrive early before other customers beat you it!

Regrettably, I don’t live very close to Canton, but if I’m ever in the area again, I’ll stop in for a bite and maybe snag one of those French...

I tried this place twice before writing my review. My first experience wasn't great, but I hoped the second would be better.

First visit: I walked in hoping to get a chance to see what they had before ordering but felt rushed. The sandwiches looked good but for $12-$15, they better be amazing. I decided to stick with a bagel, but they were out of strawberry cream cheese. I ordered a plain bagel with regular cream cheese and a coffee. He had already given me my total for the bagel before I could ask for the coffee. I got my order and got out of there quickly. When I got home I put my own cream and sugar in my coffee and noticed there was no cream cheese on my bagel. The plain, plain bagel was nothing special but I decided I should try again when I was less anxious and knew what to expect.

Second visit: I had my teenage son with me, who wanted an everything bagel. There weren't any, but they had poppyseed bagels that were completely drowning in poppyseeds. They did not look appetizing at all. He settled on rosemary & olive oil and wanted to try a za'atar also. I ordered a rosemary & olive oil for myself also, a plain bagel for my other son, and a jalapeno white cheddar. We also ordered raspberry iced tea and iced coffee. Again, we were rushed from start to finish, being given the total before I finished ordering. Twice. I asked for cream and sugar for my coffee this time and was told it was self-serve. When I received the coffee it was filled to the brim, so there wasn't room.

Both the coffee and iced tea were mediocre. For $4 each, they were definitely not worth it. The bagels were tough and chewy. The jalapeno just tasted like a plain bagel with jalapenos on top. And once again, I didn't get what I ordered, missing one of the bagels. In comparison to Dunkin donuts, the bagels were fresher and tasted better. But otherwise not worth what they're charging and very very overrated.

Sidenote...I noticed Facebook posts looking to hire cashiers at "base pay plus tips". Tipping should be optional, especially in this establishment where no services are provided above any other coffee shop or fast food restaurant. The replies from whoever handles their social media confirms my decision not to return, and to discourage friends from wasting their money here. What a...

Before I start this review, let me start out by saying that regardless of what I say, the owner will most likely reply by defaming me by saying that I am harassing them or working for another bagel store or just don’t understand sour dough bagels just like she does for all her poor reviews because she can’t handle criticism.

I have been here 5-10 since they opened a few years back and I have never been the biggest fan of the bagels. The bagels are usually overly chewy and beyond that of a normal sourdough bagel and most of the flavors are disappointing.

The bagels really aren’t the main issue when it comes to how I feel about this restaurant though. As you can see, they have accumulated a 5-star rating with over 1000 reviews in the short 2-3 years that they have been open. If you compare that to any restaurant in the area, even restaurants that have been open in the area for decades like Little City, Dish n Dat, and E&D Pizza all have far less than Blue House. This is for one simple reason, the owner pays people (or paid as I haven’t been there for a few months) to write a five star review. In exchange for a five-star review you would receive a free half dozen bagels and this wasn’t being done under raps, this was marketed right by the checkout/pick up area for all to see. Same applies to the 2024 Best Bagel in CT, a competition that is completed by votes not actual tests, you could receive free bagels in exchange for a vote for them!

For the first time I called them out for this on their most recent post regarding winning 2025 best in CT, for which she replied on facebook then deleted my comment so no one could see that I had spoken the truth.

I do, however, wish this shop continued success, at the same time the owner really needs to change their attitude. I am very excited for the reply to this post threatening legal action, if people don’t like your...