Woodgrain Bagel & Deli — Restaurant in Denver

As a lifelong bagel aficionado, I had to give this place a try when I noticed it just across the parking lot from one of my favorite local coffeehouses. I also noticed the high average review rating on Google, but after taking some bagels to go, all I can say is that the majority of the reviewers have either been smoking too much Colorado weed or they have never tasted a real bagel before.

Woodgrain calls itself a "Montreal" bagel. In spite of spending my college years back East, I've never heard of such a thing before. These bagels need to be loaded onto a truck and deposited back on the northern side of the nation's border. They are small, dense, and not very soft.

I'll grant that finding a good bagel west of the Mississippi River is quite a challenge, but if you want a good bagel in Denver, go to Rosenberg's. Woodgrain's bagels are a fraction of the size of those you get from Rosenberg's, cost 40% more, and are nowhere near as good.

*Amendment to review: I contacted a friend in Montreal and confirmed that the Montreal bagel is, in fact, a thing (as is the bagel rivalry between NY and Montreal). Perhaps ordering my bagels in the afternoon meant that I wasn't getting them fresh, and if that is the case, then I'm certainly willing to try again. But it may be that they are simply not my style, and being in one bagel camp versus another is akin to favoring thin crust or...

Lukewarm skillet breakfast served in a to go box. Took myself out to breakfast, first in a year and it was a disappointment. ** UPDATED .... The owner sent me a gift card to make up for this experience and I greatly appreciate that. The food is good here, but the employees are lacking. The first time I ordered that skillet for dine in and it was served in a to go box and lukewarm. My second visit, I had lunch on the patio. The sandwich was excellent, the server was a cute guy, but absent minded. I recently went (December 24th) to get bagels to go and wanted to get gluten free for a friend and was told the only bagels sold to go out the door are the everything bagel. She would not sell me anything else to go. Their menu shows that all varieties of the bagel can be purchased individually, half dozen or dozen to go. My advice to the owner is to stop hiring pretty faces with air between their ears, they are ruining your business. This girl could not even answer a simple question about how do you keep the gluten free bagels from cross contamination? When the gift card is zero I won't be back, half your business is quality food, the other is customer service. Airheads don't understand the concept of...

I have been here numerous times since their opening and my favorite has always been their Mile High Ruben sandwich. It was always a generous and delicious sandwich, great pastrami!! So great that I have raved about it to friends. But today it was seriously meager.

For $11.50, I was a bit shocked to see ONE thin slice of pastrami on board. I had gotten it "to go" and was home before I happened to notice, else I would have taken it back.

I am not sure if this is a cost cutting thing and their new norm, as they have always served generous portions in the past, maybe food costs have taken a toll and they are struggling?

I hope not, Lowry needs quality places, and before today, I had counted this as one.

-EDIT on 07/08/19 I want to update this that the response from Woodgrain has been outstanding from a customer service standpoint. Their communication, explanation, and assurance of this being in error will ensure I remain a customer. This type of customer service is more and more rare these days, and sorely missed. It definitely warrants me changing my rating to a 5-star review. Thank you David (from Woodgrain)! I will indeed return...