Babba’s Bagel — Restaurant in Plainfield

We used to love this place when they first opened because they were cheaper than other local bagel places, and the bagels are great. However, there are several things that have really gone downhill: The wait time is much too long. They are very slow and don’t try very hard to move quickly when the place is busy. They regularly get orders wrong. There was a period of time when they got our order wrong 3 trips in a row. Like, not even close (missing cheese, wrong bagel altogether, etc.). Some bagel types are significantly smaller than others, and even bagels of the same kind are smaller sometimes. They don’t toast properly. I always have to ask for my bagel “extra toasted,” and even then, it’s like they breathed on it to warm it up. They charge extra to use a credit card and don’t have it posted anywhere. When we brought this to their attention, one of the guys said that extra credit charges “happen everywhere,” even though they definitely don’t, and the places that DO have extra charges clearly have it posted. The sign in their door is not correct. It says that they open at 5am, and I was there at 6:30 one day, and the place was dark.

Unfortunately, I think we are officially done with this place. We’d rather pay a little more at other places for consistency and much better and friendlier...

I walked in this place thinking it was just another bagel place. What brought me in were the beautiful paintings and eye-catching outside of the building. But that’s not where it ends. The warm, cozy inner atmosphere, along with the even warmer smiles of the workers when I came in, really made me feel at home before I even ordered. I got a nice, toasted jalapeño cheddar bagel, one of their unique and delicious specialties, with cream cheese on one side and a light spread of smooth, melty butter on the other. I took one bite and I was in heaven. The warm, crispy, melt in your mouth feeling melted all my stresses away. You know the scene in ratatouille when Anton Ego takes a bite and the flavor sends him back to when he was a kid? I tell you, this is exactly how I felt when I took that bite. I was in a rush, so I ordered the bagel to go, which they gladly took care of. But, this wasn’t a bagel you could eat sitting down, as one bite had my knees buckling. I just had to go back to the bagel cafe and sit in one of their comfortable chairs and get myself a cup of coffee while I settle on a nice, clean table. I will certainly go...

If you get ice coffee, the ice cubes they provide in the cup are also coffee ice cube - +1 for effort. They bagels are larger than your standard bagel, they are pretty good, a little more bready than chewy but we got a bag of warm bagels and that was also +1.

They have a whole wheat everything bagel and also a French toast bagel which I have not seen often. The bagels look very inviting in the glass case. We received a baker's dozen when we ordered so another+1

They had what looked like an Oreo cookie cream cheese, I'll +1 that but don't think that's something I would venture to try.

They also have available a Halal menu but I did not try this.

Outside of the +1's this is probably in the realm a typical NJ bagel shop.

Quite consistent foot traffic when we visited, I wouldn't hesitate to stop again for a warm bagel but also would not drive out of my way from a more local bagel shop to my area.

I think if Babba could make these +1's more visible, make the environment a bit more organized, streamlined and under some more compelling branding they might have something really unique.

Staff was pleasant...