New York Bagel Company — Restaurant in Chesapeake

New York Bagel Company – Mixed Feelings After Our First Visit

We recently stopped by New York Bagel Company in Chesapeake, VA, excited to try their bagels and sandwiches. While some parts of our experience were great—especially the bagels themselves—other aspects left us feeling a little disappointed.

Let’s start with the positives: the bagels were delicious. They had that perfect crisp exterior and chewy interior, exactly what you hope for in a quality bagel. I had The Don bagel sandwich, and it was solid—flavorful, well-balanced, and satisfying. The blueberry bagel we took home for the next morning was also a hit, full of flavor and just the right texture.

But unfortunately, the experience wasn’t all smooth sailing. We arrived just after the lunch rush on a Saturday, and the menu was already pretty picked over. I get that it was later in the day, but it was disappointing to see such a limited selection. My wife ordered the Hawaiian Bagel Sandwich, only to find out they were out of Hawaiian bagels, so she agreed to have it on a plain one instead. Then, a couple of minutes later, they told us they were also out of pineapple, meaning they couldn’t actually make the sandwich as advertised.

Instead of letting her choose another option freely, they asked her to pick something of the same value, which seemed more about keeping the order simple for them rather than making sure she got something she actually wanted. Since there wasn’t another item at that price point that interested her, she just went ahead with the sandwich minus the pineapple, which at that point wasn’t really the special sandwich anymore. Even more frustrating? The Hawaiian Bagel Sandwich was still up on the menu board, with no indication that they were out of key ingredients.

The customer service didn’t wow us at all. No one was outright rude, but they also weren’t particularly helpful or accommodating. It was almost as if they were just ready to be done for the day, and that attitude came across in how the situation was handled.

So, where does that leave us? Well, the bagels themselves were great, and I wouldn’t hesitate to say they know how to make a good one. But when it comes to service and menu reliability, our experience left a lot to be desired. This was our first time visiting, and honestly, it might be our last. If we’re in the area and craving a bagel, maybe we’ll give them another shot—but only if we’re in the mood to roll with...

I had been so looking forward to this new bagel place but, was sorely disappointed. We tried it twice just to be sure it wasn’t a fluke the first time. And after we went again (tried 3 different breakfast sandwich bagels, bagel with cream cheese and a muffin) between everyone in our group- I won’t be returning. The bagels for the breakfast sandwiches were cold and stuff. I guess we expected them to be toasted like most other places we’ve had similar items from but, they were not. It really was a miss on the sandwiches for this reason as it just didn’t all come together. In addition to the less than mediocre breakfast bagel sandwiches, the young man working in the window where you walk over and pick up your order was incredibly rude. I also gave him two chances as I walked back over once we were finished to ask for a to-go bag and once again he acted like we were interrupting or bothering him.

The last comment I have was about who I can only assume was the owner. Our group was sitting in the restaurant eating our order for maybe 20-30 minutes when another group came in and sat beside us. The owner who had been there the entire time came over and spoke to these people- whom he did not previously know based on their conversation we heard sitting right beside them. He asked about their meal and learned they were from “Jersey” and he proceeded to say how they just had to try their pastrami. Now, this may be silly but, he offered the other family to try their self-proclaimed amazing pastrami and our party sitting right beside them- he didn’t offer any. Nor did he ever speak or so much as ask how our food was. There were no other tables in the entire place, except for ours in the southern family right beside us, so it just stuck us as a little offputting...

I was skeptical, as most places that have "New York" in the name and arent located in NYC, rarely live up to the name. The New York Bagel Company is no exception. This place is far from a NYC deli & bagel bakery as you can get. If you know what a NYC bagel/deli should be, do not go here.

First off, I have to say the employees were great. Very nice and helpful. Absolutely no complaints there. The place looked nice. Everything was new and clean.

The food... Well, thats a different story. I ordered a pastrami sandwich. Clearly this is not a NYC deli or they would have known to use thicker bread and/or spread a fat on the bottom slice. The bread was so thin and had nothing on it. I grabbed it the moment it came out of the kitchen the bottom slice of bread was already wet mush from the pastrami juice. The pastrami itself was nothing special and nothing like you would get from a real deli. At least they didnt skimp on it. However, they did not give you a "fist" like a real NYC deli. I think it was $17 before tax and it was definitely not worth it.

I also bought an assortment of bagels, as well. They were not cheap. They were definitely big, which I hoped was a sign that were more NY-like than the sandwich. They were not. They were dry and overly chewy. Honestly, we took a few bites out of all of them, none had the proper outside crust and soft, fluffy insides of a NYC bagel. These were no different than mass-produced bagels you get in the bread aisle at the grocery store.

I dont like giving negative reviews, but the food here was a complete disappointment, made worse by the high cost. If you want bagels, go to Einstein Bros in Chesapeake. They arent NY style, but at least they taste good and dont take an...