Ess-A-Bagel

Doesn't Recommend

kat-nyc

Joined 10 years ago

NASTY bagels, NASTIER service. The worst bagels from a supposed-NYC bagel shop! Rude service from both counter staff and cashier doesn't make matters better. For a better bagel and friendly service, Bagel Works on First Ave. between 66th/67th wins big time. Nearer runner up is Tal Bagels on First Ave. between 53rd/54th. If these options don't work, you're better off frequenting the friendly bagel street cart guy on the NE corner of 52nd/Third. Maybe not the best bagels, but better than Ess-a-Bagel and far friendlier.

Doesn't Recommend

CharlieBeee

Joined 2 years ago

good bagels - HORRIBLE SERVICE!!!. The only reason why we place orders with Ess-a-Bagel is because they are located right across the street from our office and their bagels are pretty decent. Even with a days order notice and being 30 feet away, they can manage to screw up an order of, yea - you guessed it, BAGELS! On top of that, they managed to arrive 45 minutes LATE! If you're catering meetings and other events with these guys, don't expect it to arrive on time because it NEVER does! The people who answer the phone are horribly rude! Clearly because they don't own the place and could care less how it's run. We called to inquire about our order 30 minutes after it should have arrived and the response was, "The guy left, what do you want me to say?!" Are you kidding me? What kind of service is this? Further more, YOU'RE ACROSS THE STREET!!! You were suppose to be here 30 minutes ago. No apology. The food arrived 15 minutes later reaking of fish. When I asked the delivery person why the food arrived so late, he said, "We ran out of bagels." Eh???

Recommends

Jessica Lynn

Joined 3 years ago

Hands Down Best Bagels in NYC. I used to work about 10 blocks from here and I would walk there for lunch all the time. They are without a doubt the best bagels in the city. I try to avoid coming here on the weekens because its always super crowded. But, if you can't go any other time its definitely worth the wait!

Recommends

dancendrink

Joined 8 years ago

Best Bagels Anywhere. I just love Ess-a-Bagel. I've been coming here for 8 years and I have never sampled a better bagel. Fresh baked, they're hot a crispy on the outside and steamy soft on the inside. I love the veggie cream cheese and white fish salad. They give so much cream cheese, I like to buy an extra bagel and make a second sandwich for later. Just be prepared for a wait at peak times, watch out for tourists with lots of shopping bags, and bring your appetite. They also have reliable delivery.

Recommends

nishnish2000

Joined 7 years ago

Great cream cheese, reasonable.. I had the whole wheat bagel - was trying to be healthy. I guess next time I would try something flavored. The creamcheese here was great, I tried the LITE veggie cream cheese and sundried tomato CC... they were both excellent.

Next time i'd wanna try the jalapeno CC.

$3.35 for a bagel with cream cheese.

coffee here was pretty good too.

Recommends

jblonde

Joined 6 years ago

BEST BAGEL BY FAR. Randomly, at 3 in the afternoon i googled Best Bagel. This placed popped up and its right by work. I figure it's meant to be. I got a hot right out of the oven steaming yummy best bagel ever at 3 in the afternoon. Enough said.

Recommends

pleasureseeker

Joined 6 years ago

Ess-a-Bagel? It sure is!. When I first moved to New York around 2 years ago, I was told that the ONLY acceptable places to get an authentic, NYC bagel were H&H and Essa-a. I haven't tried out H&H, but the toasted pumpernickel with whitefish spread and fresh tomato from Ess-a sure convinced me! I've been eating bagels all my life, but nothing like this. So soft and fluffly with the right amount of crisp. Perfect texture, warm, and not to mention huge! The portions at Ess-a sure are large. In fact, I only ate half the bagel because they were so big and they heaped on a more than a generous amount of whitefish, which much of, unfortunately went to waste. But if you like large portions or have a killer appetite, the look of your bagel creation can be really enticing. I also tried one of their rasberry Linzter cookies. Fresh, homemade, soft, moist, and crumbly, The filling was sweet and tangy and scrumptious. The coffee was fresh and hot and complimented the bagel and pastry quite nicely. A great way to start, spend, or end any day!

Recommends

princessnat38

Joined 7 years ago

Best bagels in NY. This place has amazing bagels and amazing lox. the people that work there are very eccentic and amusing. They are also very helpful. This is a must in NY!

Recommends

strandedinmiddleofnowhere

Joined 7 years ago

Not so good bagel. Got the everything bagel with scallion cream cheese. The bagel wasn't very good. It was hard and dry. And they piled on way too much cream cheese. I scraped off about 3/4 of it. Why not spread less and charge less?

Recommends

foodie474

Joined 6 years ago

Less-a-Bagel. I call this place "Less-a-Bagel" because they are so stingy with the toppings. I have come here about five times but have never left this place happy. The prices are ridiculously high for bagels and while there are side dishes that look comforting, e.g. noodle pudding, the sides I've tried have no taste.

A $7.95 bagel with cream cheese and Nova comes with two thin slices of salmon on it and not enough cream cheese to satisfy a m0use. By contrast, plain old Pinnacle deli down the street (3rd Avenue at 45th St) gives you a tremendous amount of salmon and cream cheese for just $5.95.

I recommend buying just the bagel at Ess-a-Bagel (since the bagel is excellent), and then taking it down to Pinnacle to have it filled by people who care about giving you generous, satisfying portions.

Trying to save money by getting lox spread instead of Nova? It's radioactively red at Ess-a-Bagel. I do not like that color at all. It looks unnatural. I know it's just food coloring but why. why???