New York Bagel Cafe — Restaurant in Denver

Consistently yummy. (

I was hoping this bagel shop would've been as friendly, delectable, and quaint as I remembered it from my childhood. Especially since I was taking my partner (an east coaster bagel lover) here for the first time. I was indeed mistaken. First, the manager never stopped yelling at her staff - as if the company had never trained them but expected them to know more than they clearly did regarding workflows, order modifications (some people have food allergies and sensitivities), and recipes.The cashier was friendly enough, but the whole staff seemed to be under 18 and confused about everything, especially with the manager barking insults and discouraging remarks. [There is a difference between disciplined and orderly operations and an overbearing presence coupled with unrealistic expectations]. Second, they charged us extra to add avocado to our sandwiches - but never put it on the sandwich and also never added mustard or mayonnaise in lieu of cream cheese (dairy allergy and a simple substitute...). The bagel was undercooked and the egg was cold and overcooked. They add too much salmon (which tasted questionable) and skimped on the veggies. With a large portion of my family coming from New York, I guess I was expecting more. I would recommend avoiding this spot when busy out on the weekends in general as the rush seems to overwhelm the staff and management beyond their capacity to deal. I don't want to tear this shop up too much and am giving them the benefit of the doubt that this was just a bad day for everyone at the shop. I have been a professional chef, sauté cook, and counter cook in the past and this display was most unfortunate. I understand COVID has taken a savage toll on the food service industry and all those working it - but if people can't work together and support each other in a proactive and positive way, established franchise and chain companies are going to diminish or disappear entirely, your company being no exception. I am hoping that this review prompts the owners and PR/HR staff to reevaluate their training techniques and the quality of their working environment, at least at this location. Please remember that this is the 21st century you can't expect a baby boomer work ethic from a gen z employee, those days are gone - like seriously... Anyhow, I doubt I will ever return to this shop as the experience negated all my warm and fond memories with my father from a now apparently very distant past. Take care of yourselves, get your heads right and work with your staff not over...

Alright. Let's get it straight, this bagel shop is delicious. This low rating has nothing to do with the bagels or the employees. Read on to find out what my beef is and why the low rated feedback had to be provided.

I enjoy the salt bagels, the sandwhiches, and the coffee. My wife and I have been to this bagel shop a handful of times and there is always one thing that is consistent with the delicious food.....The manager/owner is an absolutely unpleasant woman. Customer service is lost on her and she is condescending to her employees. What makes it worse is that most of her employees appear to be young, high school kids. It would be better for business if she stayed in the back area where she can remain unseen, running the shop and baking bagels. She is better served doing that than interacting with her customers or allowing people to wintness how she treats the employees.

This week I was at the bagel shop and there was a woman that ordered some sort of coffee drink from a very nice kid with glasses. The kid is always nice and is always friendly with me when I go in. The shop was busy and loud when I was there, because who doesn't love a good bagel? The owner handed the woman her coffee and the woman said she ordered sugar free vanilla syrup with her coffee. The employee must have misheard the order, so the owner turned to her employee at the register and shouted at him three times to "listen, listen listen" in a rude manner while also refusing to achknowledge the woman when she thanked the owner for adding the sugar free syrup.

My opinion, she embarrassed the employee in front of a shop full of customers and other employees. I get it, your shop is popular and it can probably be overwhelming. Maybe instead of spending all of your time at work and taking your bad attitude out on your high school kid employees and customers, you could take some time away from the hustle and bustle of baking bagels and go on a hike, go fly a kite, get into beekeeping, learn martial arts, or even get into Irish dancing. But what do I know? At the very least, just be nice to your employees.

Don't worry though. You'll still be getting my business, I'll be back to keep...