Kossar's Bagels & Bialys — Restaurant in New York

This is a great addition to an already crowded field of bagel options on the UWS. But $2 bagels are a bit more expensive than other places, and after going several times I have not had the luck of getting a hot one. The bagels taste pretty good. However, I’m not a big fan of the interior of their bagels, which tends to be airy and fluffy but they do have the chew that I desire in a traditional New York bagel. The bialies are terrific and being able to get a fresh onion or garlic bialy is not so easy, even in this neighborhood. Also, I very much appreciate that they offer an everything whole wheat, which is rare, as well as several flavors of nondairy cream cheese. Again, as far as prices, $5.25 for a bagel and cream cheese is up there, but you get what you pay for and this place is a premium brand. I found most people waiting are getting sandwiches and things made, rather than a bag of bagels and bialies like me, and for this reason, the line tends to move a bit slowly. But the quality is good enough that people are willing to wait. That said, 3 guys fielding orders and having to make each one really does slow things down. They could probably use another person or two to speed up the line when it gets busy, which seems to be often in the morning and midday. Overall, glad this place finally made it to the neighborhood, despite...

Kossar's Bagels is the spot. I just moved to the neighborhood a few months back and I’m already what you might call… a loyalist. Some weeks I’m there once. Other weeks, it’s daily. And honestly? It’s never not worth it.

Yes, the bagels are great. Yes, the wraps are solid. Yes, even the shakes hit. But let’s be real — I come for the babka. Chocolate babka. The kind that makes you forget what day it is. I was on what can only be described as an “all-Kossar babka diet” for a bit there. I’ve since dialed it back (summer weight check-in), but the love remains.

The biggest reason I keep coming back though? The service. So many bagel shops in NYC move fast, but lose all warmth. Not here. At Kossar's, they remember faces and stories. They learn your name. They chat, while somehow keeping the line moving like a well-oiled machine. It’s personal without being performative. And that’s rare.

Most spots in this city treat you like a number unless you’re a regular. At Kossar's, they treat everyone like a regular. It’s like Cheers, but instead of a bar, you walk out with a bagel and a smile.

Go for the food. Stay for the people. Come back for both. Five stars. If I had to nitpick it gets too darn busy sometimes, but that's a...

I love Kossar’s bagels, but I wish I could say the same thing about their prices. I stopped in last week to get a bagel with tunafish and was charged $13 and change. That’s $1.90 for the bagel and over $11 for a leveled ice cream scoop of tuna fish. Thinking that the cashier may have charged me for a tuna melt by accident, I stopped in later in the afternoon to check on the price of a scoop of tuna fish and another cashier acknowledged I should’ve been charged only $11 and change instead of $13. So about $9 for the tuna. And by the way, their tuna salad is nothing special—simply mayonnaise and celery. This is all that I want however, it does not merit such a high price. Getting a scoop of tunafish on a bagel should not be cost me the same thing as buying one of their more elaborate sandwiches with multiple items on them. Either their prices for simple items are out of control or they need to better train their cashiers so they have a better handle on what they should be charging for one add-on to a bagel. Definitely not worth it—next time I will buy a bagel and add...