Garden State Bagels — Restaurant in Carlsbad

There is a trend happening in the restaurant/food industry that turns my stomach and it happened here at Garden State bagel. I bought a ham, egg and cheese bagel yesterday and the total was $8.91. I used my debit card to pay. The sandwich was just ok, pretty bland but it was fine. Over night I received an email from my bank stating my purchase at GS Bagel was settled at $11.58. This means that an employee at the store added a $2.50 tip which I DID NOT authorize. This happened to me about a month ago at a restaurant where my bill was about $20 and I wrote $5 tip. It settled over night for $70 meaning the waitress changed the $5 to $50. Since then, because the bank doesn’t consider it fraud, I was out an additional $45, I ALWAYS sign the bill now and if there’s an option for a tip I write CASH and the total is just for the cost of the food. I give cash tips now because this theft is happening to people everywhere !!! Here at GS I didn’t sign anything and my receipt says $8.91. I don’t mind spending money but I HATE BEING RIPPED OFF AND/OR STOLEN FROM. I hope the $2.50 was worth it because I know hundreds of ppl in this small town and I’m telling everyone I know that an employee here stole from me. I’ll NEVER go back so don’t spend it all...

As someone who’s grown up in New Jersey, I can safely say that these bagels aren’t anywhere near representative of their pricing or what they’re trying to emulate. Essentially what you get when you come here are a rude and snappy staff that aren’t in the least bit welcoming. Overpriced bagels, sandwiches, 10 dollars for a McDonald’s quality egg and cheese, and an additional fee to have your bagel cut? Oh, and never mind the fact that they close ridiculously early and the hours you find on google are inaccurate as to when the store is actually open/closed. Back in the day when we were kids and got out of school at 3pm, we would go to our local bagel pantry where it was stocked with fresh food, friendly staff, and prices that reflected what you actually got, with no additional fees to cut a bagel. This place really needs to get off it’s high horse. I assure you it’s nothing like bagel pantries you’ll find on the east...

Came here with hopes of having a good taylor ham egg and cheese sandwich. Instead what I got was old taylor ham that had little to no taste. And what little taste it did have, was horrendous. It's almost as though they let the pork roll sit out for 3 weeks and then hide it inside my sandwich with hopes I wouldn't notice. Not only was it discolored, the texture was that of a piece of rubber. I'm not sure how that's possible. I brought my friends here to show them a taste of New Jersey but I walked out embarrassed having to give them the abomination that this place calls good food. I wish there was an option for 0 stars because that's what garden state bagels deserves. They also don't deserve to claim the title garden state bagels as this is a gross misrepresentation of the state...