bcb Cafe

Great bagels and super friendly staff. The All Star is the bomb ! Highly recommend .

Great bagels and very accessible location. Only gripe is that the wait was a bit long considering all I ordered was a few bagels with cream cheese, which is a bummer when I am rushing to get to work. Otherwise, a good bagel and good service. I would definitely come again

I’ve been coming to BCB Cafe for the last couple of years since moving into the neighborhood. The staff is always friendly and engaging, and the food is consistently good. It gets very busy on weekends, so I usually order ahead and pick up. When I’ve dined in during slower times, the experience has always been positive. If you’re planning to go in and order on a weekend, just be ready for at least a 45-minute wait. My favorite items are the tuna melt, the veggie bagel sandwich, and the ham, egg, and cheese bagel. The bagels are fresh and always hit the spot. I also like to grab one of their iced teas from the fountain — they make it fresh and it’s great. Their coffee and lattes are solid as well. If you join their loyalty program, you get a free bagel on your birthday, which is a nice perk.

Love BC Bagels. Been here 3 times and the quality and customer service is consistently good. Love this place. Always order a plain bagel with cream cheese and a sausage egg and cheese on an everything.

BCB Bagels is one of those rare places that instantly becomes a non-negotiable stop once you’ve had it. From the moment you walk in, you can tell this spot is dialed. There’s a perfect balance of local energy, efficiency, and straight-up pride in what they’re serving. Let’s start with the bagels themselves, because that’s where BCB separates from 99% of the competition. These bagels are legitimately elite — crispy, golden, and slightly blistered on the outside, with that chewy, dense, New York–style interior that most places try to replicate and completely miss. Every bite has structure, flavor, and texture. They’re not fluffy bread circles pretending to be bagels — these are the real deal. Now the sandwiches. Absolute weapons. Perfect ratios every time. Nothing sloppy, nothing dry, nothing overdone. Whether you’re going classic breakfast, loading up on bacon/egg/cheese, or going full deli-style, everything tastes intentional. The eggs are cooked right, the meats are high quality, the spreads are generous without being overpowering, and the bagel never gets soggy — which is honestly impressive. The cream cheese game deserves its own paragraph. Smooth, rich, and flavorful, with options that actually taste fresh and well-balanced. Not overly whipped, not bland, not clumpy. You can tell they care. Service-wise, BCB absolutely crushes it. The staff is friendly, fast, and locked in, even when the line’s out the door. Orders come out quick, accurate, and with zero attitude — which matters way more than people admit. It feels like a place run by people who genuinely want you to have a good experience, not just get you in and out. Atmosphere? Classic local gem vibes. Clean, welcoming, and buzzing with regulars — which is always the best sign. You’ve got surfers, locals, families, and people who clearly know food all in the same space. That alone tells you everything you need to know. Bottom line: BCB Bagels isn’t just good — it’s top tier.

So good!! Visiting from Vegas with my husband and we came across this place and we loved it! Will be back 😋😋

Yuuuummy! Ok, I have to say, my experience is buying 1 day old bagels for really cheap. Yes, a mama has to find ways to stretch that dollar. And yes, it was amazing. I bought a bag of 6 (variety) and bought the Veggie cream cheese spread. So good. Made an omelet and had the bagel, omelet with cheese here at home!!Delish!!😋😋😋

Stopped by the other morning with my husband, ordered an everything bagel with onion and chive cream cheese and it was sooo yummy. You can’t beat the prices , super affordable (my bagel was like $3) and they pack the bagels full (which I love lol.) my husband ordered a pastry for his coffee and he said it yummy too. Great place to Stop by and grab a bagel try out the spreads or one of their delicious sandwiches they offer. Definitely will make this a stop on most morning 😊.

I remember stopping to get bagels here before grade school with my family. It’s been here for decades and used to be called Big City Bagels. Now it’s BCB cafe and they have more locations. This one’s small and busy in the morning. Order ahead or be okay with waiting. There is parking since it’s in a shopping complex but you may have to hunt a little bit on a weekend morning. Weekday should be fine. They have everything on the menu now. There’s smoothies and sandwiches and açaí bowls. It’s proper Californian. The core however is still the bagels, and they go hard. The bread is huge and doughy. You can add all kinds of stuff on there any which way you want. I don’t know if they scoop the bagel but if you scoop bagels just stay away and re-evaluate your breakfast priorities. My only notes is the everything bagel isn’t super everything. There could be more seasoning. And again, there will be a wait - order ahead online via grubhub

Alec Ramirez

Great bagels and very accessible location. Only gripe is that the wait was a bit long considering all I ordered was a few bagels with cream cheese, which is a bummer when I am rushing to get to work. Otherwise, a good bagel and good service. I would definitely come again

Megan Malave

I’ve been coming to BCB Cafe for the last couple of years since moving into the neighborhood. The staff is always friendly and engaging, and the food is consistently good. It gets very busy on weekends, so I usually order ahead and pick up. When I’ve dined in during slower times, the experience has always been positive. If you’re planning to go in and order on a weekend, just be ready for at least a 45-minute wait. My favorite items are the tuna melt, the veggie bagel sandwich, and the ham, egg, and cheese bagel. The bagels are fresh and always hit the spot. I also like to grab one of their iced teas from the fountain — they make it fresh and it’s great. Their coffee and lattes are solid as well. If you join their loyalty program, you get a free bagel on your birthday, which is a nice perk.

Ryan King

Love BC Bagels. Been here 3 times and the quality and customer service is consistently good. Love this place. Always order a plain bagel with cream cheese and a sausage egg and cheese on an everything.

Juan GUEVADRA

BCB Bagels is one of those rare places that instantly becomes a non-negotiable stop once you’ve had it. From the moment you walk in, you can tell this spot is dialed. There’s a perfect balance of local energy, efficiency, and straight-up pride in what they’re serving. Let’s start with the bagels themselves, because that’s where BCB separates from 99% of the competition. These bagels are legitimately elite — crispy, golden, and slightly blistered on the outside, with that chewy, dense, New York–style interior that most places try to replicate and completely miss. Every bite has structure, flavor, and texture. They’re not fluffy bread circles pretending to be bagels — these are the real deal. Now the sandwiches. Absolute weapons. Perfect ratios every time. Nothing sloppy, nothing dry, nothing overdone. Whether you’re going classic breakfast, loading up on bacon/egg/cheese, or going full deli-style, everything tastes intentional. The eggs are cooked right, the meats are high quality, the spreads are generous without being overpowering, and the bagel never gets soggy — which is honestly impressive. The cream cheese game deserves its own paragraph. Smooth, rich, and flavorful, with options that actually taste fresh and well-balanced. Not overly whipped, not bland, not clumpy. You can tell they care. Service-wise, BCB absolutely crushes it. The staff is friendly, fast, and locked in, even when the line’s out the door. Orders come out quick, accurate, and with zero attitude — which matters way more than people admit. It feels like a place run by people who genuinely want you to have a good experience, not just get you in and out. Atmosphere? Classic local gem vibes. Clean, welcoming, and buzzing with regulars — which is always the best sign. You’ve got surfers, locals, families, and people who clearly know food all in the same space. That alone tells you everything you need to know. Bottom line: BCB Bagels isn’t just good — it’s top tier.

Jessica Lopez

So good!! Visiting from Vegas with my husband and we came across this place and we loved it! Will be back 😋😋

Ruth P

Yuuuummy! Ok, I have to say, my experience is buying 1 day old bagels for really cheap. Yes, a mama has to find ways to stretch that dollar. And yes, it was amazing. I bought a bag of 6 (variety) and bought the Veggie cream cheese spread. So good. Made an omelet and had the bagel, omelet with cheese here at home!!Delish!!😋😋😋

My husband and I are from the East Coast. Finding a good bagel shop has been a challenge. However, not any more! BCB has the best bagels in SD! The location is spotlessly clean, the service is wonderful, and everything on the menu is fantastic. This is our go to spot, for sure! Highly recommend!

Coming from the East coast & loving NY style bagels, (boiled & baked) I had high expectations. BCB never disappoints!! The BEST bagels in SD!! Favorites are the 5th Ave & the TPR breakfast sandwich. Love this place!

I used the Too Good To Go app (food waste prevention - highly recommend for discounted GOOD food) and received a bunch of bagels as well as glazed donuts. The food was warm, well-packed, and likely worth full price for the quality! Support small businesses & reduce food waste.

Big City Bagel in San Diego is an absolute gem! Their bagels are everything you want—fresh, warm, perfectly chewy, and packed with flavor. The selection is fantastic also. Their cream cheeses and lunch sandwiches are amazing too; you can’t go wrong with anything on the menu. They even have donuts now! The staff is friendly, fast, and always welcoming. The shop is clean, bright, and has that great local neighborhood feel. Highly recommend—this is easily one of San Diego’s best bagel spots!

Inez Gonzalez

I love this neighborhood place. Great bagels, good coffee, variety of cream cheese. Taking some for the team again, and they love it too.

Jane Kennedy

My husband and I are from the East Coast. Finding a good bagel shop has been a challenge. However, not any more! BCB has the best bagels in SD! The location is spotlessly clean, the service is wonderful, and everything on the menu is fantastic. This is our go to spot, for sure! Highly recommend!

Jen Cunningham

Coming from the East coast & loving NY style bagels, (boiled & baked) I had high expectations. BCB never disappoints!! The BEST bagels in SD!! Favorites are the 5th Ave & the TPR breakfast sandwich. Love this place!

Annette Schwab

Big City Bagel in San Diego is an absolute gem! Their bagels are everything you want—fresh, warm, perfectly chewy, and packed with flavor. The selection is fantastic also. Their cream cheeses and lunch sandwiches are amazing too; you can’t go wrong with anything on the menu. They even have donuts now! The staff is friendly, fast, and always welcoming. The shop is clean, bright, and has that great local neighborhood feel. Highly recommend—this is easily one of San Diego’s best bagel spots!

Elias G

I used the Too Good To Go app (food waste prevention - highly recommend for discounted GOOD food) and received a bunch of bagels as well as glazed donuts. The food was warm, well-packed, and likely worth full price for the quality! Support small businesses & reduce food waste.

D West

Stopped in this morning for a sandwich for the first time since living here for 20 years. The food was great met an employee named Bridget. She was amazing super friendly and outgoing. If anybody understands restaurant Business, they understand that that’s the secret sauce to success hire well and have a good product

It’s hit and miss but we love the bagels. Yes the price is high (everywhere is now), yes during busy times the wait to get your food can be 20 min plus, but the food quality has been good in my experience. Saw a lot of the recent reviews about quality and service and I get it. I’ve had my orders mixed up so I always check before I leave. If you want a great bagel, this is the place, just go in knowing it is not a fast food shop.

Great little sandwich and bagel spot! I regularly come here before work to grab some Java and a sandwich, or after my workouts to grab a power smoothie. I love the variety and the ability to customize anything on the menu. You can get any sandwich on any bread or bagel, plus they have a wide array of cream cheese flavors and bagel options. They don't skimp out on the cream cheese either- they make sure to smother that with a heavy hand on both bagel slices. My only gripe was during the height of Covid, there were some employees assembling food without masks. Also, the price is a little on the steep side, but well worth it for the flavors! The wait can be a little long if you come around breakfast time, but you have the option to call your order ahead of time. Not much seating inside, but there are plenty of tables outside.

It's a really good bagel place. I gave this 4 stars because they had my favorite tea which was weird that its served cold cause I prefer it hot. The bagel I got was great and the cinnamon toast muffin was also a favorite of mine. I would go back for that muffin. Cute little place, full of framed sayings on the walls. Pretty decent service they were nice and polite.

Waited on quite quickly here. There are spots to sit inside and outside here. Lots of options to choose from. Meat lovers was good. Co-op (lox) was good, but if you are used to lox bagel, it’s a little different than average lox. Still worth it and very good though.

Shelby Smith

It's a really good bagel place. I gave this 4 stars because they had my favorite tea which was weird that its served cold cause I prefer it hot. The bagel I got was great and the cinnamon toast muffin was also a favorite of mine. I would go back for that muffin. Cute little place, full of framed sayings on the walls. Pretty decent service they were nice and polite.

I'm from NYC so have a high standard for bagels, and this is the only place I've found (so far) with bagel quality that can measure up. That being said though, the last five times I've been, they can never seem to get my order right: either unscooped when I asked for it scooped out; toasted when I ask for it untoasted; not enough cream cheese; takes too long when it's not busy and there are about 5 prep folks. I really want to love this place.

This location is very small and gets crowded quickly. We ordered and they were pretty friendly but seemed distracted. Our order was skipped and not noticed until we asked after the 3 people behind us in line received their food. Seating is very limited, we ate outside. Overall food was decent. The bagels are very large.

Love them in my neighborhood and the food is fine, but for the price and the number of people working, I’m amazed at how slow they are… eight people working this morning, no line, very few people seem to be coming in for pickup orders … and 15 minutes / $11.50 for a bacon, egg and cheese bagel.

The gluten free bagels are very small (1/2 the size of the regular bagels, smaller than my palm) AND more expensive the regular bagels, just say you hate celiac people already 😭. I’m giving this place 3 stars because the girl who helped me was really nice, and the bagel did taste good!! But both charging more and giving less food to a minority of people with an already inconvenient disease is just discriminatory. (Joking but also not joking?? Make it make sense y’all 😫). Idea: If the ingredients for the gluten free bagels cost more then can’t you just do one of the two (charge more or give less food?) OR even better, can’t you cost average the expenses with the other bagels so that people with celiac can pay the same as everyone else?

I'm routing for this place for in the past it has been very good, but I think they're going through a bit of a lack of quality control. Went in this morning, virtually no one was there so no rush and back orders. My egg sandwich was very bland, no salt or pepper. The cheese was halfway melted at best. And the bagel despite being toasted was cold. On the flip side. My coffee was so hot I couldn't drink it until after I ate my bagel and got back home. I hope they can turn things around. I've heard similar stories from other customers.

A Hillcrest staple. I usually order the 5th Avenue bagel sandwich which is delicious. Today, I got the All Star which is basically a loaded brekkie sandwich. The bagel was kind of dry. Costco bagels are way better and chewy. Based on reviews sounds like quality has been going down which is disappointing.

Andrew Duszak

I'm routing for this place for in the past it has been very good, but I think they're going through a bit of a lack of quality control. Went in this morning, virtually no one was there so no rush and back orders. My egg sandwich was very bland, no salt or pepper. The cheese was halfway melted at best. And the bagel despite being toasted was cold. On the flip side. My coffee was so hot I couldn't drink it until after I ate my bagel and got back home. I hope they can turn things around. I've heard similar stories from other customers.

Cory

A Hillcrest staple. I usually order the 5th Avenue bagel sandwich which is delicious. Today, I got the All Star which is basically a loaded brekkie sandwich. The bagel was kind of dry. Costco bagels are way better and chewy. Based on reviews sounds like quality has been going down which is disappointing.

The bagel was fine enough. I asked the cashier if it could be cut in half. She looked at me like I had two heads. I explained it is easier to handle that way. She finally consented to my little request. Actually it seems like it should be the norm. ***Heavy Sigh***😞

A bagel itself was really good, however, what’s the point of being able to customize your choices if they don’t get them correct? I changed the type of cheese and added a few things… But the cheese that was on my bagel was the default, not the one that I picked, and the extra items I added to the bagel were missing, along with avocado, which was an extra $2 wasted. They don’t really have any way to contact them via email or phone number to talk about issues and I wasn’t going to drive back down that way to walk in and complain. So it was good, but I’m disappointed that I spent extra money on an item that I didn’t receive. The worker should pay more attention to the receipt and be sure that customers are getting what they pay for.

Angelina Ashley

A bagel itself was really good, however, what’s the point of being able to customize your choices if they don’t get them correct? I changed the type of cheese and added a few things… But the cheese that was on my bagel was the default, not the one that I picked, and the extra items I added to the bagel were missing, along with avocado, which was an extra $2 wasted. They don’t really have any way to contact them via email or phone number to talk about issues and I wasn’t going to drive back down that way to walk in and complain. So it was good, but I’m disappointed that I spent extra money on an item that I didn’t receive. The worker should pay more attention to the receipt and be sure that customers are getting what they pay for.

This bagel was not great. It was dry, almost stale, and the texture was odd. I got an everything bagel with plain cream cheese. Maybe the drinks and donuts are good, which is why I give two stars and not one. The shop looks cute but service was a bit slow. You'd literally be better off with a Vons bagel.

So I go in to get vegetable cream cheese smear on an onion bagel because they were out of everything bagels. That was the first strike you don’t run out of everything bagels! Second, The amount of vegetable cream cheese spread is barely there and that’s on a bagel cut in half as you can see by the pic. You can barely see the cream cheese. That’s really cutting back too much because the last time I was there has been quite a while ago, and it was good then but now I probably won’t go in there anymore except just to buy the bagels if that because that’s ridiculous to charge that much for that very sad.

The food is delicious. I’ve been ordering from here through door dash for years now and I finally had the chance to come in and order food to go and I was disappointed in the service. :( the person taking my order yawned in my face as I was ordering and the girl in the black hair with two clips and piercings that took my payment was talking about me to another employee. Not nice. I can hear everything you were saying and for that reason, I didn’t tip. Advice for owners or management, employees need a training session on customer service. I really enjoy the food here. I don’t expect the employees to be overjoyed to see a customer but a simple goes a long way.

Katherine Zwingli

This bagel was not great. It was dry, almost stale, and the texture was odd. I got an everything bagel with plain cream cheese. Maybe the drinks and donuts are good, which is why I give two stars and not one. The shop looks cute but service was a bit slow. You'd literally be better off with a Vons bagel.

Placed an online order and was very disappointed. Maybe they treat their patrons better and have better presentation at their location but as for online orders not so much. I ordered a sausage, bacon, ham sandwich with egg and what I got was far less than that. Just enough sausage to look like it was on along with bacon but the rest of the sandwich it was non existent. The tea that was ordered as well was only milk and sugar and no tea. I understand that there can be mistakes however this is low and insulting.

Absolutely disgusted by this joke of an establishment. How do you let workers work without a hairnet so that their very long & thick hairs can end up in my acai bowl? How pathetic can people be nowadays towards serving & treating their customers. I'll never step foot at this ****hole again. I suggest not coming to this spot if you don't want to find a very long hair in your food. If I could I'd give this review a -5

What a terrible and awful experience today!! :( Both mine and my partners bagel sandwiches were completely burnt black and we didn’t find out until we got home. The sandwiches were made super sloppy. And for the prices that are charged I just expect better. I would skip on BCB Cafe and do NOT recommend!!! Such a bummer!

Really bad customer service and overpriced. I ordered two large smoothies and received a large and a smaller sized one. I let one of the employees know and she just took the smoothie and walked away as if she was bothered. Then when we asked for the straws she tossed them at our table. Will not be coming back and I’m not surprised at the bad reviews. Almost 30 dollars for two smoothies with tip and still received bad service no thank you and not in this economy! If you’re looking for a good smoothie/ sandwich place go to liv juice bar right down the street.

Second time here and that was my mistake. They advertise they close at 3pm and at 245 pm we try to order a bagel and they say they are out I look over and they had all the bagels put away early. When asked she said we are about to close at 3:00pm. I hope the owners read this and pay a little more attention to their non caring employees. I also asked for soup and they said we already cleaned up. Very disappointed.

Please be more careful in food preparation. New review. Has this place changed hands? The reason being they raised the sandwich that I bought weekly $2.05 I mean $1. I could understand but this I can’t. You lost a dedicated customer.

I ordered two coffee lattes this afternoon, and unfortunately, my experience was quite disappointing. Both lattes tasted extremely mild, almost as if they had less than a full shot of espresso. But the most frustrating part was the lid on my cup—it wasn’t secured properly. When I took a sip, the lid came off, and the coffee spilled all over me. My hoodie, pants, and shoes were completely stained. I really hope the café improves both their drink quality and attention to detail so that this doesn’t happen to anyone else in the future.

Over priced for subpar quality. $11.50 Avocado toast barely had avocado and my Ham and Swiss melt had brown paper in between the ham layers. I ate more than half of it before I noticed. Voted #1 in 2017, 2025 not so much.

Counter service comes with a side of attitude. When ordering be sure to have your full order ready to go or be met with annoyance. Mid-order I was asking my 5 yr old daughter if she wanted a croissant and I was interrupted by a very obnoxious FOR HERE OR TO GO?! There wasn’t even anyone behind me. To make matters worse in her rush to take down my order she got the entire thing wrong. When my order came out 15 minutes later it didn’t have cheese and my coffee drink was never written down despite being charged for it at the register.

I didn't have a great experience for my first time trying this place. I ordered a bacon, egg and cheese bagel on toasted onion with cream cheese. First they brought out a toasted onion bagel with cream cheese. I explained we were missing the bacon, egg and cheese. They took that bagel and brought it back with bacon and egg added. I took the sandwich back and asked the cheese was still missing. I was then handed the original bagel for the third time with a cold slice of cheese added on. In the end I ate a now cold toasted bagel with so much cream cheese it was annoying. I was quite surprised and disappointed that after it coming out a second time still wrong that a fresh sandwich wasn't made.

This place is not good. I ordered a bacon egg and cheese on a sesame bagel. The bagel was dry with weird texture. The eggs and bacon were clearly made in the microwave. The bacon was chewy, the eggs were not good, and overall it was extremely bland with no flavor. I asked for a small side of cream cheese with the hopes it would improve the meal but they charge over $2 for a small 2 oz side of cream cheese. You are better off going across the street to Vons and getting some bagels there. Don’t waste your money.

Jacob Anderson

This place is not good. I ordered a bacon egg and cheese on a sesame bagel. The bagel was dry with weird texture. The eggs and bacon were clearly made in the microwave. The bacon was chewy, the eggs were not good, and overall it was extremely bland with no flavor. I asked for a small side of cream cheese with the hopes it would improve the meal but they charge over $2 for a small 2 oz side of cream cheese. You are better off going across the street to Vons and getting some bagels there. Don’t waste your money.

Sally King

Please be more careful in food preparation. New review. Has this place changed hands? The reason being they raised the sandwich that I bought weekly $2.05 I mean $1. I could understand but this I can’t. You lost a dedicated customer.

They lost a loyal daily customer today when a young service level employee (male) verbally got in between a discussion I had with another customer, who brought her dog (not a service dog in any way) - He interrupted “We allow all dogs in here” which has to be a liability if employees are spouting untrue policies while in the service of their sandwich making duties. If indeed true and they allow dogs at this restaurant (inside as it was) they should explicitly state it as I’m sure the health department would appreciate knowledge of your “exceptional” business

HillcrestHostel San Diego (HillcrestHostel)

They lost a loyal daily customer today when a young service level employee (male) verbally got in between a discussion I had with another customer, who brought her dog (not a service dog in any way) - He interrupted “We allow all dogs in here” which has to be a liability if employees are spouting untrue policies while in the service of their sandwich making duties. If indeed true and they allow dogs at this restaurant (inside as it was) they should explicitly state it as I’m sure the health department would appreciate knowledge of your “exceptional” business