H&S Bagels — Restaurant in Nashville-Davidson

I never feel strongly encouraged to do a google review over anywhere, but after I’ve been to this place over a dozen times as a now regular, let me stress to you how much of a staple this place truly is to Nashville.

I’ve always been a big bagel connoisseur in my more recent years. I still consider opening a shop up myself one day. It took me going to NYC over 5 years ago to realize I’ve been living my life all wrong. Growing up in Nashville, all the local bagel options are average and over priced. Bruegger’s as a chain would be better, but that would consist of driving 15-20 minutes to get something to get the job done hoping they didn’t run out of certain options.

My girlfriend told me about this place while we were still living in midtown, I didn’t have high expectations for the place honestly. She brought the bagel back to the apartment one day as a surprise, I was instantly hooked after that once I saw the quality & quantity of the bagel, especially at the price point, which is incredible for a local business in Nashville.

Bagels are phenomenal. They’re HUGE as I tried to compare in the photo with my hand. Easily the best in the city hands down. Their muffins at the counter have always been moist and sweet. Exceptional front staff, I don’t know their name and they don’t know mine, but we both know we see each other often lol! Makes me feel like I’m getting that NYC quality every time I go.

During the weekdays, I never experience a wait time, but maybe one or two people ahead of me. Weekends there is a wait, they make everything fresh, so expect waiting every time you go. It’s Nashville, everyone is moving here, and it’s downtown. If anything to help out with the wait, I see another shop possibly in the future for them. I’ve never had a bad experience going here. My order has been messed up maybe once or twice, but we’re human. I look forward to a morning whenever I’ve got time to stop by, grab a bagel, and start my day, especially from these guys here at the shop. Thank you for being here.

I always order the bacon/egg/cheese or Taylor ham/egg/cheese on everything toasted with butter. They don’t microwave the eggs on the sandwich like you would find at some chain/local shops. I don’t know if they do scramble eggs at all, but I’m sure that would be a game changer. I always get the chocolate or blueberry muffin. Can’t go wrong with any of...

Great bagel, horrible ordering process. If you have to tell every customer who enters your bagel joint where to go, you’re probably doing it wrong. Overanalyzing restaurant operations isn’t something I usually do but this was just stupid design.

Here’s a play by play: Walk in, see the person right in front of you. This is not the person you order from, but he/she has a cash register in front of them. This person points you to the other side of the store where a line is forming, heading toward the bathroom. At the front of the line, and old guy writes your order down on a duplicate paper. He doesn’t say anything after taking your order, but leaves the counter, so you assume you should stumble along but have no record of what you ordered. Point of confusion part two: you haven’t paid for your order but you’re waiting for your food. In what other restaurant does this happen? A sit down restaurant. But this isn’t that. It’s a bagel joint. Wanting to pay for my food, I ask the cash register human what the ** is happening. He/she responds that when my order ticket makes it’s way to her, she will call my name and I can pay. This happens soon after, so I go pay for my order. Finally, I wait for a second time until my name is called again when my order is ready.

Folks, this is just too complicated. The closest comparison of customer experience I can think of is a doctor’s office. But nobody is curing cancer here. There are millions of examples in the world of small businesses doing this well....

FINALLY!

Last night I caught a 30 second spot on News 5 featuring H&S Bagel.

I don't consider myself a maven on much, however, when the subject approaches NY bagels, I'm your guy :-) Having been born and raised in NYC (Bklyn/Manhattan) and having consumed 100s of dozens of these chewy pucks (btw pizza, too) from all the great bagel institutions such as Ess-A-Bagel, Brooklyn Bagel, Bagel Boss, Zabar's, etc. Heck, my daughter, gnawed on bagels as a teething ring.

So, it was with a good pinch of skepticism, that I vowed to give H&S a shot. This morning I visited H&S.

Over the past decade I've tried Nashville's Star Bagel (the only game in town 10 years ago), Proper Bagel, Jersey Oven, Naked Bagel (86'd), Nick’s Bagels (in the Nations), Crieve Hall Bagel, most all of them. Never went into an Einstein Bros or Bruegger's Bagels (a roll with a hole) shop.

These new entries, so-called bagel joints, are more like restaurants that happen to sell bagels. H&S, on the other hand, IS first a bagel shop that also sells sandwiches ON those bagels. The focus is 100% on the bagels, that's the difference.

But I digress- H&S IS the REAL deal. All you've read and heard about Hector's high-quality creations is accurate. (The initial knock was longer wait times. Hey, they’re new (June 2021) and will work out the kinks.

More challenging is instilling a NY sense of “service urgency" in their staff.)

Do yourself a favor, pick up a dozen (13) and experience what all the buzz is about at H&S. You'll be glad you did; I...