Madison Bagel Cafe — Restaurant in Madison

I'd been here multiple times with pleasant experiences and wondered how they had only a 4 star rating. Their bagels are smaller than usual but still tasty and the donuts are customizable so you can get exactly what you want on them. But now I understand. Service isn't just slow, it's terrible.

I ordered a breakfast sandwich and was told it would take 10 minutes. I showed up 15 minutes later, paid, and asked for it but was told it wasn't ready yet so I headed over to the donut station. After getting the donuts, l asked again about the sandwich and was told "it's coming." So finally another 5 minutes later, a full 30 minutes after I ordered it, I received a bag with a bagel sandwich in it for my name. Once I got home I opened it to find it was the wrong bagel. So I called to ask for a refund or delivery, but a woman who I assume was the manager argued that I could come pick it up because it was my fault. Finally after a couple minutes she agreed to a refund. No apologies though and she made sure to mention ONLY the sandwich would be refunded.

What's worse than incompetent service? Incompetent service that blames the customer. Skip Madison bagel when plenty of local establishments are happy to have your business and with better bagels...

Breakdown of Madison Bagel: -Food: Very good. The sandwiches are good -Bagels: Well made. Not too big, not too small. Hard on the outside, doughey on the inside, just like a good bagel. -Service - Horrendous. Terrible. DO NOT come here if you have less than 15 minutes. (This applies even if you're just getting an uncut bagel to go). It's really bad. This brings the review from 4/5 stars to 2. -Staff - Very nice. The issue with service is not the people, it's the lack of a good process. Everyone here is nice. -Ambiance - Leaves a bit to be desired.

I've been waiting for a few months to write this review in hopes that Madison Bagel would improve their service. Unfortunately, that has not happened yet. I love coming here when I have lots of time to kill, because the food is quite good. I just don't have 30-45 minutes every time I...

I was hesitant to stop here before an appointment of mine, after reading all the reviews about the wait time, so I scheduled a 20 minute buffer in case the service was as bad as previously reported.

Context: I came to Madison Bagel Cafe on a Wednesday morning, arrived at 8:35 am, and ordered two glazed donuts and a small hot tea. I had an appointment at 9:00 am nearby.

I walked in, ordered, and before I could pour the hot water to make my tea, the donuts were done! The person at the register was nice and friendly. I simply did not have the poor service experience so many have claimed.

The donuts, by the way, were glazed to order, and delicious. Definitely for those who enjoy thicker, cakey donuts (but not too cakey!)

Perhaps don’t come here in a rush during the most high-traffic times. But definitely give this...