Big Apple Bagels — Restaurant in Florida

TL;DR: Big Apple Bagels in Lutz, FL failed to deliver on its promise of authentic NY style bagels. Our order was incomplete, with missing cream cheese, and the bagels themselves lacked the texture, size, and flavor characteristic of true NY bagels. Save yourself the disappointment and opt for Einstein's bagels from Publix instead. I had high hopes for Big Apple Bagels, finally anticipating a taste of genuine NY style bagels right here in Lutz, FL. Unfortunately, my experience was nothing short of a letdown. From the moment we received our order, it was clear that Big Apple Bagels had no idea what they were doing.

To begin with, we had ordered a bagel with cream cheese, a simple request that should have been easy to fulfill. However, upon arriving home, we discovered that the bagel was devoid of any trace of cream cheese, despite having paid for it. It's astonishing how a supposedly professional bagel shop can't even manage to include a basic ingredient in an order.

But the disappointment didn't stop there. The bagels themselves were a far cry from the iconic NY bagels I had been craving. First and foremost, their size was pitifully small compared to the generously sized bagels you would find in New York. It was as if they were serving miniature replicas instead of the real deal.

Even worse, the texture of these so-called bagels was completely off. NY bagels are known for their chewy, dense interior with a perfectly crisp crust. However, the bagels from Big Apple Bagels were disappointingly soft and lacked any substantial bite. It was like biting into a bland, doughy mass that lacked the satisfying chewiness I was expecting.

To add insult to injury, the flavor of the bagels was equally underwhelming. NY bagels are renowned for their distinctively delicious taste, but these bagels tasted stale and flavorless. It's truly a shame that a shop claiming to specialize in NY style bagels couldn't even get the most fundamental aspect right—flavor.

Save yourself the disappointment and find a better bagel shop that actually understands what it takes to make a genuine NY style bagel. Big Apple Bagels in Lutz, FL is simply not up to par, and there are far better options available for bagel enthusiasts seeking...

I wanted to go to this place because there is one in my hometown that I would always go to. This one has a lot of younger people working at it and a woman, who is probably the manager, was the only one ringing people up. This slowed the line down a lot. I guess my husband ordered a mini chocolate chip muffin for our son and when we were given our order one of the younger guys filling the orders accidentally gave us a regular blueberry muffin. I didn’t realize it until I pulled the muffin apart to give a piece to our son because he was being fussy. Anyway, I told the woman ringing people up, I think they gave us a blueberry muffin when we asked for a chocolate chip. She looked upset and told the younger guy filling orders that he gave us the wrong muffin. I said “no worries it’s totally fine”. But the guy said “oh sorry” and handed me a mini chocolate chip muffins anyway. Without missing a beat the woman snatched the mini muffin out of my hand and said “no I rang them up for ONE MINI MUFFIN”. And gave me this look like I was robbing the store or something. I was shocked that she did that in the moment, but now looking back I find it kind of funny. I’m leaving a review because that’s not really how you should treat customers. If your staff messes up just say sorry, make it right...

I've only given 3 stars for atmosphere because Big Apple bagels is a functional restaurant, in that it is clean and has tables and the ubiquitous soda dispenser. There is nothing pretentious and it's nothing special to look at. There are thousands of restaurants that feel exactly the same. Until you take a bite of a bagel. Then you understand what a gem this place is.

To my knowledge Big Apple is the best (only) fresh bagel bakery in Pasco county. The bagels there are, in a word, fantastic. Speaking as someone who grew up in New York and visited Jewish delis both there and in South Florida, I can tell you that these bagels are the real deal. Nothing you can get in Costco or Publix can match what the bakers in Big Apple have managed. Chewy soft interiors, perfect exteriors, exactly what a bagel should be. They have all the classic flavors and some very modern ones. The place has my HIGHEST recommendation. As a side note the muffins and coffee are excellent too, but as you can tell from this review, the bagels are the reason I've been going here for years. I almost hate to write this review because I don't want this hidden gem to become busier, but the hard working folks who are churning out the absolute best bagels in Pasco deserve...