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Finagle-A-Bagel
Category: Restaurants Sandwiches Sandwiches [Edit]
11 1st StCambridge, MA 02141
Neighborhood: East Cambridge
(617) 871-1125
- Nearest Transit:
-
Lechmere - Green Line Inbound (Green Line)
Lechmere Station - Inbound Side (69, 80, 87, 88, Green Line Shuttle)
Lechmere - Green Line (Green Line)
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Price Range:
-
$
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- No
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- Free
- Alcohol:
- No
- Noise Level:
- Quiet
- Has TV:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
11 reviews for Finagle-A-Bagel
11 reviews in English
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Review from Courtney N.
Gloucester, MA
1/30/2012
This is my favorite Finagle-A-Bagel location. It is so convenient! I like to take the day and hang out in Cambridge and I always make sure I stop here for either breakfast or lunch. I adore their turkey melt. And their hazelnut coffee (especially iced) is the most delicious hazelnut that I have found anywhere. Always prompt service, always somewhere to sit and great prices. It's right up the street from the Cambridgeside Galleria so be sure to check it out!
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Review from Alison Z.
Las Vegas, NV
1/11/2011
Can't get the hang of making fancy Starbucks drinks? Too slow for Dunkin Donuts' fast pace? Then this is the place for you to work! They seem to specialize in rude, poorly trained people who can bumble even the simplest of orders. Which makes grabbing breakfast here kinda like a guessing game. "What will be in my bag today?'
Their toaster doesn't work right, so you have regular toasted, which is barely warm, or double toasted, which is scorched. Take your pick. But even if you ask for double toasted, they'll probably decide you didn't really mean it and single "toast" it for you. And if you say you want peanut butter, you'll probably get butter. (They're the same, right?) Try for lunch and after explaining you're a vegetarian, they'll suggest a ham and cheese sandwich.
There aren't a lot of options around here, especially so close to the T, so I don't expect any change. Bottom line, it's convenient in location only. -
Review from Ian S.
New York, NY
9/30/2008
Dammit. I was really hoping to be first review on this, especially since the place opened literally across the street from my office. I guess I'll just have to settle for the silver medal.
Come to Finagle-A-Bagel while you still can, ladies and gentlemen, because it's not going to last long. I give it 6 months.
Why? It's not because of the food. The clam chowder is better than ABP's across the way at the Cambridgeside Galleria (according to me, anyway; FAB seems to use more clams...and more salt). It's not because of ambience or because, the space is pleasant and sunny and convenient for those commuters who are catching a ride as Susan does from the Lechmere T stop.
However, it does face some imposing obstacles, especially considering its proximity to a much larger and diverse food court just steps away. The food selection is modest compared to ABP, and the prices aren't anything to write home about. A small soup and a bagelwich cost $12; they threw in a free cookie, but that doesn't help me. FAB seems to be angling for some of the East Cambridge office lunch crowd, but it doesn't have any kind of reasonable soup-and-half-sandwich deal. Going up against a number of established lunchtime incumbents, I just don't see it hanging on very long without any kind of compelling and distinct advantage. Like soup flavors that I can't make at home. Or bagel flavors that don't duplicate ABP.
I'll probably eat lunch there 2 days a week because of how close it is to my office and because FAB is, after all, a Boston-area company. Let's hope I'm wrong about the 6-month thing. -
Review from Andrew D.
Warwick, RI
8/14/2009
I've been waiting for years to see what they'd stick in this location once the building construction was complete, and while I'm not a fan of Finagle itself, the service here has been so far above what I'm used to that I can't give any less than 4 stars.
I come in here at least once a week now for an afternoon coffee break, and I'm always greeted with a smile as soon as I walk in the door. The person at the front counter has always been extremely helpful and never screws up my order (it's only coffee and pastries, but you'd be amazed how hard that is for some people). As soon as I hand over my credit card, they make my coffee and bag my danish before the payment is even processed, and helpfully point out that the cream and sugar is located in the far back.
Last but not least, the $1 medium coffee (this includes iced coffee!!) with any purchase is pretty much the best deal anywhere. A chocolate croissant and medium iced coffee for $3.14 blows ABP and DDs out of the water. -
Review from Susan N.
9/28/2008
The location is perfect. For months, I've been saying a convenience store or some deli type of place needs to open up across the street from the Lechmere station. There's really no place to just jot across to grab a coffee or a quick snack before you head on your never ending ride (it is the green line, after all) on the T.
I've never been a fan of Finagle-A-Bagel but was still happy one was opening up (it also helps when I feel super ultra lazy and don't even want to cross the street). And the stuff here is just the same kind of average as every other location. They're still suffering opening growing pains and don't have everything the menu says.
But there are a couple of things that will never be solved after it's been around a few weeks. First off, the layout is really weird. When you get a coffee, you should be able to visibly see where they keep the milk and sugar. You can't here. It's around the corner from the coffee stand TOTALLY hidden by the beam. There's no way to even know that's where the coffee condiments lay. Second off, the food quality is just so-so. But that's just due more to it being a Finagle-A-Bagel. -
Review from Gerald S.
Winchester, MA
3/2/2011
Great Bagels, Great Service, and a great Addition to to the area!!!
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Review from Dap P.
Lexington, MA
9/20/2010
Sorry, guys, but these are not bagels. They are dough-balls. They are WAY too soft for real bagels. They are supposedly boiled and baked, which is the way to make bagels. But somewhere along the line, they messed something up.
I grew up eating bagels. I know a good bagel--you know, the ones that taste like 'da ones from da Bronx'. These are NOT good bagels. If you think of them as simply round bread with a hole in the middle, and if you're willing to toast them, then they're passable. (Toasting cures many ills).
But don't go here expecting a real bagel if you know what that means. -
Review from emily rose H.
Boston, MA
10/8/2008
Because I am originally from New York I've always had issues with finagle. There's one down the street from my school and now there's one down the street from my office. I find this location to be extremely convenient as there is not other coffee shop type place that I want to go to in the area besides the dunkin that's a bit out of the way for me.
The food is acceptable in my opinion. As much as I take issue with the idea of a chain bagel store and the impersonal approach of placing your order with one person who then transmits it to another person who will likely ignore your special requests, I will still go to this place because there is simply no other option that I have found for a bagel lover in Boston.
Now there are definitely some issues with the layout of this store. When it's empty it's no big deal but I've been when there's a crowd and the mass confusion looms over both the customers and the employees. I think once they're open a little longer they'll get the hang of it. Like another poster said I would like to see some half sandwich/soup combos but for now i just stick to my non-toasted everything bagel with veggie cream cheese. Oh yeah and the medium coffee is only a dollar! -
Review from Maria A.
Somerville, MA
1/18/2011
The egg sandwiches are a million times better than other fast food restaurants. Dunkin' Donuts' egg sandwiches are so vile. The eggs are cooked ahead of time off premises and then frozen, then when you order them they are zapped in the microwave. It's pretty nasty. Not the case with FAB. All eggs are cooked right in front of you, on a grill, as it would be in any usual restaurant. I always get an egg sandwich w/two eggs, bacon and extra cheese on a toasted croissant and it's really delicious! I look forward to going back there as the location is convenient. I take the bus to Lechmere, stop in FAB for my egg sandwich and then go to work at the Galleria -- which doesn't have any good egg sandwiches at the restaurants.
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Review from Derek B.
Cambridge, MA
2/5/2010
Great place. I love the atmosphere, the staff is super friendly and ready to do your bidding. Free WiFi, free samples, tons of space. My food (tuna melt) was great, I love that they put avocado in it as well. I'm also a big fan of their lox and cream cheese, and I grew up on the stuff. Their chicken salad is also quite good.
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Review from Theresa J.
Malden, MA
5/8/2010
Let me start by saying i am not a finagle a bagel fan by far. Honestly i think that have the most inedible bagels i have ever eaten. Okay now that i got that out of the way.... Little old me started a new job so my first day i decided i would leave the house early to make a good impression. No traffic=1 hr early.....lol. I decided i would stop here and have a cup of coffee or something to kill some time. This location has loads of seating and it is very nice and clean...well minus the two napkins on the floor i am looking at. They have some easy listening music i would never in my right mind admit i even liked playing in the background. Before you start getting ideas no i did not have a bagel....i had a croissant. It was nice and buttery and just enough to fill my belly. I washed it down with a medium iced coffee...1 splenda and just a splash of cream please..and i am all set and ready for my day.
