This bagel spot was delicious. For our last breakfast in Chicago we looked at spots highly rated on yelp, and this was top of the list. Needless to say it did not disappoint. The eternal sunshine was huge, more than enough for two of us but phenomenal. We cannot wait to visit Chicago and get this again!
Arti Ishak
We got take out from here for the first time in years because it was convenient to the errands we were running and immediately got food poisoning. My partner got a vegetarian sandwich and I got one with meat on it, which was very confusing that both different sandwiches made us violently sick, we think it was the egg as they were both breakfast sandwiches. It was the only thing we ate so we know it was the bagels. Don’t go here!EDIT: it was absolutely the CBA bagels that gave us food poisoning as it was the first thing we had eaten all day and ended up being the only thing we ate as we got ill 6 hours later, and still haven’t been able to eat anything but bread since. They were both breakfast sandwiches, it was probably the egg.Run as far away as you can from a business that will deny giving you food poisoning with absolutely 0 factual information at hand. It was definitely the bagels. And now the gaslighting? Don’t go here.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Eric L.
I tried their plain bagel and it did not disappoint. It was dense and surprisingly flavorful. I appreciated that they also steamed it so it was nice and warm. I would definitely come back to try another one of their breakfast items.
John Papke
Absolutely atrocious. Cashier could care less about her job. The Reuben looked like puke on a wet bagel instead of an actual sandwich. And for 11 bucks. GARBAGE. Do NOT waste your money on this overpriced, extremely slow business.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 1
Sarah C
Always seem to be late when I order ahead. That said- food is delicious.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Dolores Lopez
Been coming here over 20 years. You can smell the deliciousness down the street.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Maribeth McElveen
CBA is one in a million. My cravings for their steamed bagel sandwiches are over the top. Best staff too!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Jonathan Schepper
Came for a bagel sandwich and all I got was a wet steamed bread thing. Not great! Atmosphere inside fun tho, get a toaster and then I'll revisit.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 1
Service: 2
Alex Geisenhoff
Literally the best bagel shop in all of Chicago. Been coming here for 10 years and never disappoints. Highly recommend the Messy Katie - you won’t regret it!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Jasper Baur
As a New Jerseyan, I have high expectations for my bagel sandwiches. While this is not quite how I used to enjoy bagels, these sandwiches are excellent!! My favorite is the Hangover Helper!! By the way, the staff here is great too, especially Kerry, she gave me wonderful recommendations. Please please please give her a raise!!
Good but not worth the wait or hassle. I have ordered on the Toast app for pickup multiple times and half the time I don't get a notification (app or text) when my food is ready. This is really irritating because the food takes so long (25-30 minutes) and I don't want to get there too early and have to wait or get there too late and have cold food. Another time after waiting forever, I got home only to see that they gave me someone else's sandwich that was totally different from what I ordered.Most recently I placed a pickup order on Toast. I went in the restaurant to get it at the estimated time the app gave me, without getting a notification, because multiple times in the past my food has been ready and sitting on the shelf even though I received no text/notification that my food was ready. A smug employee interrupted me while I was looking for my food and said it wouldn't be ready until I got a text. So I foolishly listened to him and stood in the crowded restaurant and waited 5-10 minutes.Another employee saw me waiting and went to check on the order for me. Surprise, my food was already sitting on the shelf getting cold even though I still hadn't gotten a text/notification. If only the smug, know-it-all employee wouldn't have nagged me out of looking for my food, I could have gotten it when it was still hot and not cold. I'm done with this place. If you're going to nag people about looking for their food before they get a notification, how about you actually send the notifications when the food is ready?
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 3
Service: 1
Kamryn K.
Bagels are decent. Would give them a better score but they were blasting Future's DS2 and I don't prefer listening to "freak hoe bounce that ass make your knees touch your elbows" while I'm trying to enjoy my bagel.
Sean G.
This is a great bagel spot in Chicago (multiple locations). Takes a little, but worth the freshness and delicious flavors. We got 3 things and split them all - really solid smear to bagel ratio and the bagel was hot which was also very enjoyable!! Def check this spot out, but allow time for the treat to be crafted!! Instagram: Sausage Fest The Dude Bagel w/ Cream Cheese @EatCBA Chicago's Best Sandwiches Since 1998 Let CBA change your life with one of our hot sandwiches. Chose from our 100+ tried and true Steamwiches comprised of an extensive list of fresh meats, cheeses, spreads, veggies, fruits, sauces, jams, jellies, bagels, bialys, pretzel rolls, and ciabatta sub rolls. Each mouthwatering bite will warm your soul... Chicago, IL
Bohao Z.
I can see why this would be a local favorite with the huge menu, local decor, and generous portions. The bagels are steamed instead of toasted so pros and cons: Pros: softer bread that doesn't cut the roof of your mouth and easier to bite into for sandwiches so fillings don't squeeze out. Cons: no texture contrast and that bagel crunch. People at the register were nice and gave great suggestions for first-time visitors.
ivy skenderi
Would be much better if bagels were toasted… never had a steamed bagel before.. too
This bagel spot was delicious. For our last breakfast in Chicago we looked at spots highly rated on yelp, and this was top of the list. Needless to say it did not disappoint. The eternal sunshine was huge, more than enough for two of us but phenomenal. We cannot wait to visit Chicago and get this again!
We got take out from here for the first time in years because it was convenient to the errands we were running and immediately got food poisoning. My partner got a vegetarian sandwich and I got one with meat on it, which was very confusing that both different sandwiches made us violently sick, we think it was the egg as they were both breakfast sandwiches. It was the only thing we ate so we know it was the bagels. Don’t go here!EDIT: it was absolutely the CBA bagels that gave us food poisoning as it was the first thing we had eaten all day and ended up being the only thing we ate as we got ill 6 hours later, and still haven’t been able to eat anything but bread since. They were both breakfast sandwiches, it was probably the egg.Run as far away as you can from a business that will deny giving you food poisoning with absolutely 0 factual information at hand. It was definitely the bagels. And now the gaslighting? Don’t go here.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
I tried their plain bagel and it did not disappoint. It was dense and surprisingly flavorful. I appreciated that they also steamed it so it was nice and warm. I would definitely come back to try another one of their breakfast items.
Absolutely atrocious. Cashier could care less about her job. The Reuben looked like puke on a wet bagel instead of an actual sandwich. And for 11 bucks. GARBAGE. Do NOT waste your money on this overpriced, extremely slow business.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 1
Always seem to be late when I order ahead. That said- food is delicious.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Been coming here over 20 years. You can smell the deliciousness down the street.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
CBA is one in a million. My cravings for their steamed bagel sandwiches are over the top. Best staff too!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Came for a bagel sandwich and all I got was a wet steamed bread thing. Not great! Atmosphere inside fun tho, get a toaster and then I'll revisit.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 1
Service: 2
Literally the best bagel shop in all of Chicago. Been coming here for 10 years and never disappoints. Highly recommend the Messy Katie - you won’t regret it!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
As a New Jerseyan, I have high expectations for my bagel sandwiches. While this is not quite how I used to enjoy bagels, these sandwiches are excellent!! My favorite is the Hangover Helper!! By the way, the staff here is great too, especially Kerry, she gave me wonderful recommendations. Please please please give her a raise!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
Good but not worth the wait or hassle. I have ordered on the Toast app for pickup multiple times and half the time I don't get a notification (app or text) when my food is ready. This is really irritating because the food takes so long (25-30 minutes) and I don't want to get there too early and have to wait or get there too late and have cold food. Another time after waiting forever, I got home only to see that they gave me someone else's sandwich that was totally different from what I ordered.Most recently I placed a pickup order on Toast. I went in the restaurant to get it at the estimated time the app gave me, without getting a notification, because multiple times in the past my food has been ready and sitting on the shelf even though I received no text/notification that my food was ready. A smug employee interrupted me while I was looking for my food and said it wouldn't be ready until I got a text. So I foolishly listened to him and stood in the crowded restaurant and waited 5-10 minutes.Another employee saw me waiting and went to check on the order for me. Surprise, my food was already sitting on the shelf getting cold even though I still hadn't gotten a text/notification. If only the smug, know-it-all employee wouldn't have nagged me out of looking for my food, I could have gotten it when it was still hot and not cold. I'm done with this place. If you're going to nag people about looking for their food before they get a notification, how about you actually send the notifications when the food is ready?
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 3
Service: 1
Bagels are decent. Would give them a better score but they were blasting Future's DS2 and I don't prefer listening to "freak hoe bounce that ass make your knees touch your elbows" while I'm trying to enjoy my bagel.
This is a great bagel spot in Chicago (multiple locations). Takes a little, but worth the freshness and delicious flavors. We got 3 things and split them all - really solid smear to bagel ratio and the bagel was hot which was also very enjoyable!! Def check this spot out, but allow time for the treat to be crafted!! Instagram: Sausage Fest The Dude Bagel w/ Cream Cheese @EatCBA Chicago's Best Sandwiches Since 1998 Let CBA change your life with one of our hot sandwiches. Chose from our 100+ tried and true Steamwiches comprised of an extensive list of fresh meats, cheeses, spreads, veggies, fruits, sauces, jams, jellies, bagels, bialys, pretzel rolls, and ciabatta sub rolls. Each mouthwatering bite will warm your soul... Chicago, IL
I can see why this would be a local favorite with the huge menu, local decor, and generous portions. The bagels are steamed instead of toasted so pros and cons: Pros: softer bread that doesn't cut the roof of your mouth and easier to bite into for sandwiches so fillings don't squeeze out. Cons: no texture contrast and that bagel crunch. People at the register were nice and gave great suggestions for first-time visitors.
Would be much better if bagels were toasted… never had a steamed bagel before.. too
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 2