Westman’s Bagel & Coffee - Capitol Hill — Restaurant in Seattle

I will start by saying that the bagels are ok, even leaning towards good.

And that is where the positives end.

I got to Westman's at 8 am this morning, I left with my food at 9:15, there were 23 people in front of me when I got there... I counted. I could not for the life of me figure out how it took so long to prepare bagels for this many people. Until it was my turn in line. The pace at which the food was being prepared was glacial, there was apparently no effort made to optimize how the food was prepared. Which honestly can't be much considering the bulk of the work is cutting the bagel in half, putting cream cheese on it, and cutting it again.

I don't think this would be a problem if they weren't a counter service establishment aimed at serving quick high volume food. Maybe when the hype dies down and they aren't flooded with eager customers they'll be able to work on being more efficient with their own, and their customers time.

Now back to the food. The bagels were good, but 2 hours after opening they had run out of two types of bagels. When I suggested they inform the still growing and crawling line of this, they smirked and sneered at me. I also ordered the salt and fennel challah bread, which is quite tasty albeit dry, unfortunately dry.

I will wait until their full menu is available before returning. Until then I recommend going during off hours or right as they open. If there is any semblance of a line I say move on, there are plenty of amazing places in the vicinity as it is right...

About as New York as standing in Times Square with an I

Walk up counter bagel shop on Madison St in the Capitol Hill neighborhood serving east coast inspired bagels, pastries, and coffees. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The bagel was great, but not nearly as good when compared to traditional east coast bagels. Slap on the fat price tag for a smaller sized bagel, and you finish thinking you could sure use another bagel. Sure, I got the whitefish deluxe special ($12), but breakfast amounts to $18+tip when you add on a large coffee and a ruggelach.

The bagels are smaller, making for a more manageable bite, but you definitely want more when you finish. The whitefish salad was good, but a little different than the east coast. Less creamy for sure, maybe that’s why they serve it with cream cheese. The bagels are seasoned well, but don’t have the typical doughyness that New York bagels do. Also, they toasted my bagel without asking (not sure if that’s something they do for everyone). With regards to the ruggelach, a bit too over cooked and dry.

With all that being said, I definitely liked the bagel, just different from the east coast. Good for Seattle, but still West coast. Will probably be back to try a bagel with just schmear, instead of the deluxe, and definitely want to try their...