Collegetown Bagels

This place is AMAZING. A true gem in Ithaca. Their chain has a large selection of delicious bagel concoctions. During my stay in Ithaca I visited this location as well as the location on college street. I had the California Sunrise one (scrambled eggs, avocado, red onion) on a sesame bagel and the Round (scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon, hashbrown on a rosemary salt bagel). Both of them were delicious! Although I liked the California Sunrise one better, I like my sesame bagels. The rosemary salt one was a different twist — I would’ve preferred a less seasoned bagel, but it was still great to try nonetheless. This location at Pine Tree Rd is less crowded, which I prefer as well. Their Cheddar Chive Biscuits are to die for — I highly recommend it. DELICIOUS!

We’ve lived in this neighborhood since 2009 and have been obsessed with the East Hill Plaza CTB ever since. It was always the best location — no crazy crowds, super friendly service, highest quality food. We’d stop in 3x a week. BUT… Ever since the expansion (this CTB recently took over the hair salon next door and doubled in size) there is something very much amiss about this place. The people who work there used to be so friendly. Now they often come across as rude and/​or stressed. Barely a smile or «how are you.» Used to be the polar opposite — used to be a very friendly neighborhood joint.
On at least three separate occasions we have ordered sandwiches to go, waited 20 – 25 minutes for the sandwich to get called, and then go up to the counter, only to find out that our sandwich was never made. That’s no fun, especially when you’re on your lunch hour, in a rush.
Lastly, the open-​faced bagel and lox (a staple sandwich for any bagel joint) is expensive, as it should be, when a normal serving of lox is included, which used to be the case. Now, you just get a few small flakes of lox, barely a serving, and they’re still charging about $ 10 for this sandwich. Not sure if this was a single sandwich makers mistake, or if this directive came down from high, but either way it’s definitely not worth the money anymore.
To sum it up, ever since this branch of CTB expanded, it really feels like the friendliness and efficiency of the staff has gone down, the attention to detail has gone down, and… they’re serving a lot less lox for the same price. I hope a manager reads this and makes the necessary improvements. If so, I’ll definitely change this review, and my family will start coming in more frequently. We used to practically live at this place! Now things have changed. Here’s to hoping…

I guess it’s my own fault for anticipating this to be a great bagel experience. It was a so-​so bagel experience. I got a garlic bagel and it was sadly underwhelming; still edible, just not great. I asked for it toasted and got it back badly burnt. Also the coffee wasn’t that great. It tasted mostly like the cup it was in.
Their cream cheese was delicious at least, but ultimately I have no clue where they source it from. Maybe their bagels are better when not toasted? Too bad, this could be a great shop if they fine tuned it a bit better.

Great concept, well executed… and if you love bagels, then give it a go!
Daughter and I split a couple of sandwiches… the open-​faced tuna melt on an everything bagel (yum!) and the West End (consisting of roast beef, a spicy honey mustard dressing and tomato) which was a grilled Panini style. Both sandwiches were full of flavor and quite filling. Along with chips and a drink the meals were priced reasonably, especially for the quality of what you get.
Fun place, could see hanging out here with a coffee and getting your work done.

Had a breakfast burrito with steak, it was great. Whole family got served and were happy with their food. We used to live in Ithaca 17 years ago, and were back for a visit — it was nice to know Collegetown Bagels has stayed high in quality for a reasonable price.

Same great menu as the other branches, but since it’s not actually in Collegetown it’s much more spacious and quiet if you actually feel like doing work in there. If you live on that side of Ithaca and don’t feel like going to campus this would be a great alternative.
It’s also much cleaner since they don’t have nearly as many students going in and out of here.
For sandwiches, I recommend the Autumn Sky, CTBLT, or the Mediterranean. For bagels, Big Sur and California Sunrise are my staples. Same goes for every other branch.

My husband and I LOVE CTB. They always have great soups on the menu, and they have an enormous assortment of sandwiches — there’s something for everyone. I’ve tried the Javi, Flat Rock, Maggie’s Farm, West End Melt, and Reuben, and all have been delicious. The breads here are wonderful — each is done well, and compliments the sandwiches perfectly. My husband sticks with the Big Sur, but nearly died when he tried some of my Maggie’s Farm sandwich last weekend.
The East Hill Plaza location is great, because it is not nearly as crowded and insane as the Collegetown location, even during the weekend’s lunch hour. It also tends to have a slightly older crowd — more grad students, professors, and professionals.
CTB is one of the very few Ithaca eateries we’ll miss when we leave next year.

As a bagel shop, this place is awesome.
As a bakery: top notch.
Café: fantastic.
Yes, I do like CTB. For Ithaca, this place is a pleasant surprise, being more akin to what you would expect from a big city, little neighborhood bakery.
The food is fresh and the flavor combinations are very tasty! The rosemary salt bagel is my favorite.
Every time I go in to CTB, I end up finding something new to try. If you are in Ithaca, I very much recommend this place.