Jaffa Bagels

Awesome breakfast sandwiches — we had egg bacon and cheese on an everything bagel. And bonus! They serve La Columbe coffee. Definitely the best pick in the food court of Olgilvie Transportation Center. Really convenient to stop here before boarding our train. The staff was also kind and courteous.

Love Jaffa Bagels! I had the fresh turkey sandwich and it was awesome. Have you been to Subway, Panera Bread (or virtually any big chain restaurant in most cases with shareholders to keep happy) lately? The core of what you order, let’s say the «meat» is almost non existent. Instead you’re loaded up with cheap filler stuff like bread, iceberg lettuce, rice, potatoes, etc. Not the case with Jaffa. When you order the turkey sandwich… you get A LOT of turkey and plenty of other good stuff too but in the proportions you expect. Great food and great value.
This place is awesome and we need more of them in Chicago.

They have a full turkey, just waiting for you to order it. I’ll admit, at first I was a little leery and thought «They probably will just give me the bits sitting leftover and use the full one to draw people in». I WAS SO WRONG! They ask you white or dark meat and then pull it straight off of the turkey, amazing!
I got the pita and the person who helped me was extremely patient. With so many options of what to put in there I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do! You can go traditional deli sandwich style, Mediteranian inspired, or make Thanksgiving in a sandwich with the cranberries.
I also got the mashed potatoes with gravy, the glutony was worth it.

I was presently surprised with the selection and customization of a place who’s main attraction is bagels.
I had a whole wheat bagel with cream cheese, eggs and lettuce. It was very good. Also I wanted to try one of their fresh juices, so I picked the carrot juice. Low and behold, they actually put whole carrots into a grinder and it was incredible! They must have used 5 whole carrots just for me.
Definitely coming back and trying one their sandwiches.

Was just there this afternoon! Over all I had a very positive costumer service. Their food, I personally, loved. I got their Lox Sandwich with Veggie cream cheese on an everything bagel. I was overall impressed with the freshness of the food as well. Very fresh veggies and bagels were very fresh. I recommend this place.

Food taste /​quality wise it’s pretty good. I always order the combo — Chicken Shwarma and sliced turkey with mashed potatoes and mixed veggies as my sides. I really do enjoy it, it tastes like thanksgiving. I like stuffing all the food intot he pita and eating it that way also.
The first couple of times I went there they were generous with their portions. After subsequent visits, it was definitely less.
Price was always a little steep, I felt but when I was getting good portions, I didn’t mind. about $ 8.60 with tax is about commensurate with Panda and some others.
But this last visit has me fuming. I paid $ 9.90 for my plate of food. A full 1.30 more than last time. Where do they justify these ridiculous rates? It also seems like the containers they use may be smaller. There was definitely less veggies than before.
Burrito Beach will get my business from now on. I get more food for less money. A burrito bowl there loaded with food cost only 7.17 with tax.

I went to the Jaffa Bagels in the cafeteria of the Citibank Building (Ogilvie Train Station). Their staff was very friendly and food was very good. I ordered a falafel and hummus sandwich, and the falafel was in-​house and made fresh! There are other places that sell falafel sandwiches in this building, but those either turn out bland or too salty. Jaffa’s falafels were crispy and on point. Again, staff was very friendly and kept me smiling while waiting for my sandwich to be made. Thanks Jaffa! I will return.

Their service is what kills it for me. The employees are less than friendly. Earlier this week, I stopped for a bagel (everything bagel with egg and cheese, my usual), and they didn’t put cheese on it, even though I paid for it. It was awful, and I couldn’t finish. I went in a couple days later, and mentioned that they charged me for the cheese but didn’t put it on my bagel. I was surprised when paying for my bagel, that they charged me for the cheese. I’m sorry, but the cost of the slice of cheese shouldn’t be worth losing a customer. I won’t be going back. Not the way I want to start my mornings…

I used to be a big fan of Jaffa Bagels. When you hop off the train at Ogilvie, your only real bagel options are Jaffa and Dunkin’ Donuts. The bagels at Dunkin’ are uninspired. The bagels at Jaffa are quality.
So much depends upon a bagel. You only get one shot at a morning bagel — if it’s crap, then that day’s history is etched in stone. A day that starts with a crappy bagel never seems to improve.
The last two bagels I got at Jaffa were stale. I can forgive the odd stale bagel. But two in a row? Well now I just can’t take the gamble. I can’t bus it from Ogilvie to my work salivating over a toasty bagel only to be smacked in the face with a nearly chewable dry mess of carbohydrates.
If Jaffa had any other redeeming qualities — such as friendly service — I’d be happy to keep on keepin’ on. But I don’t think their customer service is equipped to deal with frustrated commuters. In any normal restaurant, I could voice my frustration at receiving two days worth of stale bagels and probably get a smile and a free bagel for my trouble. With Jaffa, I’m sure my complaints will be met with eye rolls and tough shits.
I’m on the hunt, Chicago. I need a good bagel to start my day between Ogilvie Transportation Center and Madison and Halsted. Jaffa, there are only two strikes in bagel baseball, and you’re out.

Originally I didn’t start off with the best impression of this location. I stood in front of it for 10 straight minutes and nobody was there. But I could tell it wasn’t closed because all of the food was out. However, by this time I’d gone to Naf Naf Grill and really had a craving for Mediterranean food. The next day I came back and a guy was there. Super friendly and let me try the food. The falafel sandwich was delicious. For the price that’s paid, this is a great deal. The food is all very fresh, warm and worth scarfing down. I’ll definitely be back.

I commute via Metra into Ogilvie so I’m a frequent customer of Jaffa Bagels. The bagels are extremely fresh and the cream cheese seems to be homemade. They are also very generous with the cream cheese. I wouldn’t expect a bagel place like this to be located in a food court. The staff is friendly and the service is quick. Perfect for commuters.

As other reviewers have stated, I would expect that since they specialize in bagels, they’d be fantastic, but honestly cant tell difference in these and Thomas or Lenders.

Jaffa Bagel is my go-​to place to get myself a delicious bagel. Their cream cheese is always very fresh, and I will continue stopping in for years to come.

I have been here 4 times and I always get the turkey plate. The turkey plate with mashed potatoes is good and served hot. It is seasoned well and the turkey is moist. You can also get cranberry sauce with it. It is a good meal. It is little expensive but everything in the building is. I would recommend not going after 2pm, because I did that once and the bread was hard and the turkey was dry.

I had Jaffa Bagel for the first time today and it was pretty disappointing. I ordered a hot turkey sandwich and got turkey meat on a bun. I made it clear that I had never been there and that I didn’t understand why I wasn’t getting mashed potatoes and gravy with the sandwich, hoping they’d explain «their way» to me. I was offered mayonnaise. The sandwich ended up being ok despite having nothing to add additional flavor, but it certainly wasn’t worth $ 7+ for just the sandwich. I may go back to give it another chance. I also thought it was weird that a bagel place didn’t have any bagel sandwiches.

Sometimes, after a long work week, you want to reward yourself with a fluffy, carb-​laden bagel on a Friday morning after you get off the train. You could go to Dunkin Donuts, but are they any good at bagels? Surely a place called Jaffa Bagel should be better.
I’ve been a couple times, and sadly, the bagels have not left me craving more. None of the flavors are labeled, so you either have to guess or hold up the line during rush hour as they rattle them off to you. Same goes for the cream cheese.
Then, you get your bagel out of the toaster and it is a dark shade of brown. Not even the silky smooth cream cheese can save it. Maybe they’ll get the hint if I buy a bagel at DD next time and bring it over for them to shmear?

For the price I think they have a very good bagel. Often had bagle toasted with cream cheese for 2 bucks. Pretty good!

I walk past the location on Van Buren all the time and smell that turkey and wanted to check this out. So I decide to go (although the Ogilvy location is closer to work). I think it smells better than it tastes. Not to say it’s not good, it’s decent, but I’m quite surprised with how many people rave about this. The bread to turkey ratio is too high. I did like that you could get a mixture of white and dark meat though. They have fresh toppings as well. I have to say I was definitely put off because I had a huge bone in mine, but other than that it was decent. It was a good turkey sandwich but nothing to write home about.

Hot Turkey Sandwich with the works… do yourself a favor and try one. You won’t even be mad about it.
Very inexpensive and delicious and fresh compared to all the other crappy restaurants in the food court.

First, an unprecedented thank you goes to my favorite Berry Chill for currently being closed when I’m on my way to work.
I can’t believe I said that.
Without it, who knows when I would’ve found the inspiration to give this location a look-​see. Having tried the incredible turkey sandwich at another Jaffa location, I figured it was worth a try.
After an initial, confusing and nearly lox-​free disastrous experience hiccup, I hesitated on writing a review and gave them a second chance. And a third, and so on.
One word that keeps me coming back: lox. For less than five bucks, you get a big, chewy (in a good way) bagel filled with a hefty portion of lox, tomato, and red onion. No capers, though. They prepare the bagel with a heavy hand on the cream cheese, so if you don’t want it oozing everywhere, ask to lighten the load a bit.
A word to the inexperienced: I have yet to see a display listing the types of bagels or cream cheeses they offer, so when you get up to the counter, take a moment or ask. They run a pretty tight, albeit friendly, fast moving ship here. Be sure to keep the lollygagging to a minimum and don’t hold up the line
Not a bad way to start the morning, huh?