The Place
The third stop on my Findlay Market rounds is OTR Bagel Bar. As we know bagels make the perfect grab and go for breakfast, brunch, and/or lunch. One of my favorite memories growing up was going to the local Marx Bagels, helping my mom select a dozen bagels, and hopefully running into the bagel man (he was the owner and wore glasses that had bagels glued onto the lenses). I did my prep work by viewing website menu prior to departure. Website was basic and the menu only featured their "Must Try Sandwiches". I had no idea what to expect as far as the different flavors of bagels because this information was not provided on their website. With this being a casual in and out, type of an establishment, I decided to fly solo. No reservations taken, needed, or required.
Location & Parking
The OTR Bagel Bar is located in one of the storefronts on the southside of Findlay. As far as parking goes it's where else...the Findlay Garage.
Atmosphere
The outside of the restaurant is fun, colorful, and inviting. In contrast, I found the inside to be dark and dim. A small amount of seating is available as to be expected. There is a a subtle game room theme with tables that are made out of vintage board and arcade games. Staff behind the counter were nice, but unenthusiastic. I was off off to a late start that Saturday, which resulted in not arriving to the bagel bar until around 1PM. Most of the bagel selection was picked over by the time I got there. I attributed the lack of bagels to me being later than usual to try a new restaurant and saw this as an indication of a busy morning for them. I was pleased to see that there was still a couple Flamin Hot Cheetos bagels in the case, which is what I was mostly looking forward to.
Order Up 1
I ordered the Breakfast Sammy. This sandwich consisted of eggs, goetta, tater tots, and cheese on the Flamin Hot Cheetos bagel. I expected my bagel to have more heat being that it was coated in Flamin Hot Cheetos dust, unfortunately it was kind of bland. As I was sitting there finishing my bagel, I surveyed all of the empty slots in the bagel case. The restaurant offers a variety of fun bagel flavors such as Pretzel, Graham Cracker, Fruity Pebbles, and Cool Ranch Doritos to name a few. After looking over all the potential bagel flavors I missed, I decided that I needed to come back a second time
before I could make a fair review of OTR Bagel Bar.
Order Up 2
I decided to stop by the OTR Bagel Bar again the following Sunday, this time I arrived at
10:30AM with hopes of getting a Cool Ranch Doritos bagel with cream cheese. As I
approached the counter I noticed the bagel case was empty and was informed that the only option that morning was the Gluten Free Everything Bagel. This was a stout disappointment to say the least. I went ahead and ordered the only option available with cream cheese. The bagel was dense and like the last bagel I had there, it lacked the featured flavor. After having a few bites, I wrapped the bagel up, stuck it in my purse and headed over to the Arepa Place (which I will be reviewing next week).
Overall Experience
I would describe my two experiences at the OTR Bagel Bar as average to disappointing. I am not claiming to know everything or anything about running a restaurant, but it seems like they key to having a successful bagel bar is to have bagels.
Recommend: Yes or No
No, I would not go out of my way to eat here again. If there was one positive take away/life lesson I gained from visiting the OTR Bagel Bar, it's now I know how individuals with gluten intolerance feel when they go to a restaurant and only have one menu item to chose from.
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