Uncle Harry's New York Bagelry — Restaurant in Fresno

THE SHORT VERSION: Good bagels, quick service, nice place. Workspace tends to be messy. Expensive. Worth it.

THE LONGER VERSION: I love a good bagel. Not the dry, flavorless ones you find at a grocery store or the so-soft-they-have-no-chew kind you find at some bagel places, but a GOOD bagel that's fresh, has flavor (and flavor options), and which has a real bagel shell. I found good bagels at Uncle Harry's!

I've been to two locations. This one very much looks like it used to be a Noah's (right down to a remade mosaic wall with the new logo).

Lots of tables and chairs to seat various sizes of parties, plus a seating area (with couches and plusher chairs) near the soda fountain and coffee prep and extras area. Nice! Also, unlike their work area, the seating and tables have been clean every time I've visited.

The bagels are big and beautiful! Lots of different flavors available, even later in the day. I think I've had a dozen kinds to choose from each time, though they do sell out of the less common types, so come early for the best selection.

I ordered three with schmears on my most recent visit (yes, I make a point of stopping when I pass by). Let me describe those first.

I got a plain bagel with a blitz schmear (a sweetened cream cheese) which was really tasty. I'd worried that it would be sugary or like an icing, but it was really just a sweeter flavor profile of cream cheese. I think it may go better with a stronger flavor of bagel, like a sourdough or maybe a salt or egg bagel, but this wasn't bad by any stretch!

Next (and this may not be for everyone), I had them do a salt bagel (a plain bagel with a top crust covered in salt crystals, not unlike a pretzel is salted, though the bagel is NOT a pretzel or pretzel-flavored pastry!) with a strawberry schmear for a savory-sweet pairing. In this case, it was exactly right. I have sometimes found their salt bagels to be light on the seasoning today was perfect (see the photo).

I also got a more grown-up flavor: the pumpernickel-rye bagel with plain cream cheese. The bagels flavor is milder than I've had at other places. I expect pumpernickel to have a bite, but at Uncle Henry's it's more of a background tang. I like it enough that this has been a part of my order every time I've stopped.

Bagels with schmear come cut and toasted with the cream cheese applied for you. You might be able to ask them not to toast, I suppose, but I'm not sure why you'd want to.

In the past I've tried some of their other bagel flavors and found them to be wonderful also.

I do have one complaint, and that's that they definitely do NOT work clean. Every order, every time, both locations I've visited, my bagels come wrapped in papers with cream cheese schmear on the outside of the wrapped. That means I'll be wearing it on both hands by the time I've got it open. Maybe not a big deal if I was eating in, but I'm more a grab-n-go customer, opening my food as I hit the highway, which makes that kind of a messy problem. Also (a bigger part of the same complaint), crumbs from other bagels are inevitably stuck to my food. I'm allergic to onions and garlic, so finding bits of those things on or in my food is a huge negative. But I've had pieces of everything bagel seasoning stuck to or stuck in every item I've ever got. I can see why: the prep areas tend to be messy and not cleaned up between orders, meaning all those bagel toppings that fall off become part of the nwxt several customers' orders. Not cool. Fortunately, the basic product is good enough to overcome a few bits of other diniers' orders being stuck to mine. Still, it seems like a simple problem to solve, doesn't it?

Bagels with schmear are expensive these days. My three bagels set me back $15 after tip. I didn't get a drink this time, but they do have Coke products (my preference).

BOTTOM LINE: I stop whenever I can. It's worth a couple extra bucks for good food, even with the ick-factor of random bagel toppings stuck to it. If you like bagels, give Uncle...

I just had to come on here to give my props to Stephanie, the General Manager at this location. She was prompt to help me with my large catering order for a large group of clients I was presenting to early in the morning. Usually when I prep for presentations, I have to be the one on top of everything to make sure everything is accounted for and there are no mistakes, but Stephanie took initiative and did that for me! She was a great communicator from the start, she took the time to pay attention to my needs, and when I came to pick up my order, she had everything perfectly organized, labeled, neatly packaged, and ready, ahead of schedule, so I didn't have to stress or worry. I was able to focus on my presentation, with the breakfast being something I could check off my list. That is so valuable. Customer service is lost on so many people these days, but Stephanie is a perfect example of why this is so important. It's not just bagels and coffee, it's making someone's day less stressful and making an impact by how you treat them. Not to mention, the bagels and coffee are always delicious at Uncle Harry's. I'm not one that posts reviews regularly, but when someone goes above and beyond to do a great job, recognition is due! THANK YOU, Stephanie and Uncle Harry's! I will definitely return to this location for my...

4/4/2024. Terrible service, Terrible morning.

Ordered a curbside pickup 20 minutes prior to pick up, got there (5 minutes after it was estimated) parked right in front of the shop and did the whole send your info to the curbside number thing. I waited outside for 20 minutes until I had to get off to get my order, turns out I was the only curbside order and my order was just there left unattended, forgotten. I think the worst part yet was that the manager was training an employee the whole time prior while I was waiting outside and they went outside to show the trainee the curbside spots and made eye contact with me and walked back inside ( reminder, I was parked right in front of the door, standing a few feet away from them without any acknowledgment) I walked to the barista to ask if my order was ready because no one else was acknowledging me once again and she handed me the only curbside pickup on the counter and mentioned the straw was in there, I get to work ready to eat my avocado toast and iced chai latte, turns out it was burnt and there was no straw. Don’t waste your time coming here and go instead to the one located in Herndon Village but if you want to get terrible service found, I found place for you:,)

-I also couldn’t scan the barcode to give feedback due to the employees stapling...