Labyrinth BCA — Restaurant in McAllen

First of all, this place has FOUR POINT NINE stars. That's already enough to tell you how great it is, but you're here to read a review, so please, read away...

The atmosphere is charming and the art stimulating. There are many live plants, which is always a lovely touch. The staff is friendly and knows the answers to all your questions. It's not a large venue, but every seat is a good seat and there are a few very comfortable nooks and crannies.

The drink menu is fun: they offer espresso-based drinks hot or iced, with plenty of milk alternatives. Their dirty taro latte is purple and popular. It's served in a glass tiki cup. When you swirl your straw around, the taro and the espresso blend into a light gray color. It's really a lovely experience.

The food menu is strictly bagels, but offers a lot of variety within that category. I, personally, love the turkey bacon bagel, hold the mayo. The bagels are served sandwich-style with two toasted bagel halves and your choice of goodness in between. I believe they also offer some sweets, but I haven't personally tried any of them.

Lastly, let's talk about price. All of their beverages are just a bit cheaper than The-Giant-Coffee-Chain-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. The bagels are around $8-9, and if you're cheap like me, that sounds like a lot, but the bagel sandwiches are served cut in half, so it's very easy to split one with a friend. For about $15 plus tip, you and a friend can each have a drink and half a bagel. Sounds like a pretty sweet deal, IMO.

I've only been here three times, but those three times happened THREE DAYS IN A ROW. It's my new favorite spot, at least until something else comes...

I've never tried Taro before but I got it dirty which just means add a shot of espresso. Neither overpowered the other in terms of flavor so it was a very well balanced mix of the lightly sweet taro and the espresso shot. Also looks very pretty with the purple bottom half and the brown dark colored espresso. Nice morning pick me up. I also had the mushroom bagel which was perfectly cooked. Eggs perfectly scrambled with mushrooms and pepper jack cheese. A very great way to start my morning. It wasn't over or underseasoned. A well balanced breakfast bagel. I also had a black coffee since they're featuring a Columbian blend this time around notes of sugar cane and smells wonderful. Average coffee to be honest but that's just coffee in my opinion. I also had an oreo chocolate chip cookie which has a full oreo baked in the middle of it. Cookie wasn't too soft nor too crunchy either. A great dessert item for after the breakfast bagel. Staff was very nice and answered any questions I had so also knowledgeable on the menu. Will definitely return with some friends next time to share this...

Never been to a bagel shop that didn’t offer plain bagels with butter/jam. Sign says bagels/coffee, so if it was a coffee shop with bagels, I’d give it a pass. Tried to order something without eggs but they wanted to still charge me for eggs. In this economy. Had the hummus and veggies. Didn’t include lettuce as described but didn’t miss it. Generous amount of avocado. Hummus tasted like red pepper Sabra, which I like. Bagel was soft and good. Coffee was good. Menu items popular with folks was out that day. Not a cozy place. Was planning on hunkering down for a couple hours, but none of the seating was inviting. Stayed just for the meal. Music was on point: 80s and 90s mix. Odd set up with huge kitchen area but food comes from behind the building. Staff not rude. Not friendly. Just collecting a paycheck I suppose. Outdoor seating I guess for those who want privacy because seating area isn’t much bigger than behind the counter/kitchen? area and sound carries. Not opposed to coming back if a friend wants to meet there, but not...