March 2, 2026 by Olivia Clemmensen (‘26)
Upon its grand opening the week of December 19th, the original 1883 Saratoga Firehouse had a brand-new look, and was transformed into a fresh, busy, and vibrant bakehouse. With one other location in Bolton Landing, and a Wilton spot under construction currently, Bear’s Cup Bakehouse was the talk of the town and quickly captured a very large crowd.
For the first two months after its opening, there would be cars filling the parking lot and swarms of people lined up outside in the cold every morning to step inside and see the new bakehouse themselves. After a while, I wanted to see what the hype was all about. I went mid-February on a Sunday with my sister and surprisingly enough, the wait to order and even just get into the building wasn’t that long. We arrived at around 11:35am and we were at the register ordering at 11:50; in those fifteen minutes, I could smell the aroma of bagels from outside as people opened and closed the door and heard the bustle and lively chatter of locals as we stepped inside. There was a very comforting sense of community, with the tables to the left where families sat or friend groups gathered, but also a certain vibe where everyone wanted to slow down to enjoy a moment for themselves amidst their own busy lives. The demographic was mostly young families and college students, many students coming from Skidmore College with their friends or teammates. While it was very young-adult dominated, there were plenty of people of all ages.
In comparison to the very loved and extremely popular Uncommon Grounds down Broadway, a coffee and bagels staple in the city of Saratoga and a common place to see everyone you’ve ever met in this town, Bear’s Cup was similar in busyness but a completely different vibe. Where Uncommon is warm and more dimly lit, with Fleetwood Mac, Paul Simon, and the Cranberries playing throughout the place, this new addition to the town brought a more contemporary and fresher look, with a combination of mainstream soulful pop like newer artists Olivia Dean and Teddy Swims to 2000s pop-rock. The decorating was so tasteful and thought out, from the blue and white awning over the bread and the exposed brick to the Saratoga-themed wallpaper and black and white wicker-patterned tables and chairs; it looked straight out of a Pinterest mood board.
My sister and I got quite a few things to try, as the menu was very hard to choose from: slightly daunting, but very organized. There were many ways to customize your own bagel, with numerous options for cream cheese and bagel types, however there were plenty of permanent menu options and classic drinks like bacon egg and cheese sandwiches and cold brew coffee. They had every coffee and drink imaginable; espresso, americano, cappuccino, latte, cortado, chai latte, matcha, iced tea, and hot tea- all with almond milk, whole milk, or oat milk options. I appreciated these options and thought they were very accommodating to customer preferences. There were also special more seasonally themed drinks too; for their “February Features,” they offered a Neapolitan latte, matcha with strawberry cold foam, and a cinnamon roll chai. While these seemed interesting, they looked a little too sweet for my taste.
First, we tried the matcha latte with vanilla cold foam. It was not as sweet as say a Starbucks “Matcha,” with tons of sugar and added syrups, but rather had a more natural and refreshing flavor. My only wish for this was that it had a bit more vanilla, as the cold foam was a good touch, I was hoping for a vanilla bean addition. A solid 8/10.
The next drink we got was the classic chai latte with almond milk. I have had many chai lattes in Saratoga and otherwise, but when I say this was one of my favorites, I mean it. It was most definitely one of the best Chais downtown and I would absolutely get it again. It was not watery, had a great tea to milk ratio which I deeply appreciated, and a warm spice that wasn’t too overbearing. A lovely 9.5/10.
For food, we got the bacon egg and cheese on gluten free bread. It was great to hear they offered the option for gluten free bread, so it was a must try. As someone who lives in a household with someone gluten free, I have seen many gluten-free failures come out of our shopping bags. Bear’s cup’s was good, but standard as far as gluten free goes. However, the bacon was crispy and flavorful, and the scrambled egg balanced the bite out perfectly. Another 8/10.
For the second bite, we got the cucumber and dill on a sesame bagel. This was my favorite. The sesame bagel had a bakery style taste and texture like the famous Uncommon bagels. There was a lot of cream cheese though, slightly too much even for a cream cheese lover like me, and I wanted a bit more dill flavor, possibly through a dill cream cheese instead of a garnish. I loved the addition of the olive oil to bring all the flavor profiles together but there was a lot of it which made it a bit hard to eat, especially as an open-faced bagel. A great and very memorable 9/10.
They also had many pastries and baked goods there, so we ordered a slice of their chocolate banana bread to try and take home. It was very dense, indulgent, and more chocolatey than banana, which was slightly disappointing, as there were not much of the classic banana bread spices present. Overall, the portions here were fairly large, so when we asked for a slice, we were not expecting to get one 3-inches. We had banana bread left for a few days afterward. This was ok, but a bit of a disappointing 6/10.
There was also a specialty flavored drink that was being offered for a short period of time, and my sister and me, being the food lovers we are, got it to try. Not only because it looked pretty, with its pink foam and rose petal garnish, but because it came with a small flower bouquet and raised money for the American Cancer Society. Just in three days, Bear’s Cup gathered over $16000 in donations through the “Love Duo” drink, a white chocolate rose cold brew exclusive. While this was a very interesting combo, it was definitely very sweet and flowery, but still good for a great cause.
Bear’s Cup is, in my opinion, a great elevated café and bakehouse option for Saratoga. It reflects a newer and fresher version of Saratoga catered to a younger generation, and it executes it stylistically and thoughtfully. While a little pricey, the food is good and the vibes are simply immaculate.
