Gotham Bagels - South loop — Restaurant in Chicago

Don't get me wrong, these bagels are AMAZING. I'm from Long Island and it really brings me back; this is the only place I know of outside of LI/NYC that makes a real NY bagel.

Unfortunately, this company has the WORST ordering system on the entire planet. If a single bagel in your cart goes out of stock, it quietly removes EVERY item in your cart with that bagel. But then it won't grey out the bagels that were out of stock. It may say everything bagels are out of stock, but really its the egg everything out of stock, so when you try to order a dozen bagels again it will instantly delete the whole dozen you selected again and again until you figure out which bagel is actually out of stock (by the way, the bagels I wanted went out of stock 1hr after they opened). On top of that, it tried to automatically tip the driver $15 to deliver the bagels half a mile away (w/$8 delivery fee on top of that). It was very confusing to find where to change the tip. Then, it mysteriously won't let you place an order if the "delivery time" becomes too close to the actual time; you have to figure this out yourself and adjust the delivery time. When the conditions are JUST right, you can finally place your order. But believe me, when you click "place your order" and suddenly everything from your cart gets deleted and you have to go through the entire song and dance of selecting bagels then putting in your CC and address info, you'll want to cry. It makes it feel almost impossible to order a bagel. I must have selected 13 bagels 5 times before it was finally satisfied and let me place an order.

If there were any other place like this with a better ordering system I would never buy from here again until they improve their ordering system. But their bagels are too damn good so I just put up with it.

In my heart I want to give this place 5 stars for the amazing bagels. But the ordering system is so bad I just can't. If they improve the ordering system one day I'll change...

These are the best bagels in the area, hands-down. The staff is also friendly, which is a plus. Yes, you must order ahead online, but it actually works very well. To avoid unpredictable wait times, I just schedule pick up for later and then the exchange is quick. I do have two small complaints that don't change my 5-star rating: In general, my favorite bagel is everything, but I cannot eat the ones here. They are seasoned with something that just tastes so burnt (I believe roasted garlic), so I stick with the other bagels. I'm not sure why, but the bagels are not really consistent. They come in different sizes and textures. Sometimes, my partner gets aj everything bagel that is chewy all the way through and looks symmetrical, while I get a lopsided egg bagel with a crust that is so tough I have trouble slicing it. Sometimes I wonder if I'm getting a day-old bagel.

Either way, still better than the other options in Chicago.

So happy Gotham is back open after a brief hiatus! It’s very exciting you can eat your bagels in house now, they were even tastier fresh. I think they still have some kinks to work out for seating because we were asked to get up from our table and sit at a crowded counter that didn’t have enough seats. Also PLEASE add American Cheese to the menu. It may be an unpopular opinion in the Midwest but it’s the only way I like my egg...

I’ve ordered from here twice. It’s online order only. They do not toast nor cut their bagels. You can’t add notes on the online orders.

update* This place is literally so ridiculous. They do NOT automatically toast your bagels if you order a bagel with cream cheese. Why would I want a cold bagel?? I used to live in New York so I was excited to try to this place. In NY you don’t need to toast if it’s a fresh bagel. But the bagels here are literally cold to the touch when you pick it up. And they don’t even cut your bagels in half like in New York so I’m not sure how they expect you to eat it. Please rename your establish it’s an embarrassment to NYC. So my update is that I tried to give this place a few more chances because it’s near my work. And I put “toast bagel” in the notes each time as recommended. And the past 3 times they just ignored my notes. I’m eating cold bagels each time. It’s so bad I can’t even recommend this place to anyone even though it’s the only place near my office. I won’t be going back because they don’t even read the notes so please don’t tell your customers to write it in there when your employees...