Shelsky's Brooklyn Bagels — Restaurant in New York

Edited reply to owner's response, and lowering service to 1 star: I want you to make money. But your practices are not in line with the vast majority of other restaurants, and I wonder how much business you've lost by being greedy. Do you know what else is simple (and would enhance your customer's experience, but you don't care about that)? You could have your own platform for ordering online, avoiding the fees (like many establishments). You could accept phone orders, which I've tried in the past and been told they weren't accepted. Ordering in person is slow and poorly managed, when I've been in the employees don't process customers or orders efficiently and it gets backed up and busy in the small space. You don't make ordering in person an appealing prospect, and if everyone who placed online orders came in, you wouldn't be able to handle the traffic anyway. But nice try, I guess.

Original review: I’m tired and sad when it comes to Shelsky’s now. The food is generally very good, if small, but the price-gouging has become insane. Even compared to other Brooklyn establishments. I’m attaching a screenshot, to get a $13 chopped cheese sandwich I would have to pay four dollars in taxes and fees (almost all of which is a fee, they won’t tell you the specific number though). 30% in taxes and fees, before a tip? Then I thought about trying to place a pick up order on DoorDash, but they have that option disabled so that you have to place it through their preferred portal and pay the service fee. I’m happy to pay for good food, I’m happy to pay for good service and I understand we’re in Brooklyn, but this is just taking advantage of people and I can’t justify coming here anymore. When I’m shelling out $20 for a $13 sandwich, including a $2 tip, things have become ridiculous. It’s sad that every time I’d like to patronize this place I get reminded of the high fees on top of the high prices, and I go...

I love bagels. So much, when I am having a bad day, the first thing I want is a bagel. After extensive train delays, I had to walk to the next train stop and on my way to the F&G train, I saw this bagel shop. My heart soared and I greedily made my way into the store.

There was a longish queue where the line while long was moving quickly. While waiting, the person before me was ordering his bagel and he asked the guy to give him and everything bagel that was well covered because his last bagel had nothing on it. That should have been the first clue that I was in for a disappointment. However, I plowed ahead and ordered an everything whole wheat bagel with plain cream cheese and gave my name. I arrived at the cashier and paid. I thought my eyes must have been deceiving me as I paid $4.90 for a single bagel. Nope, ladies and gentlemen, this joint is charging airport bagel prices.

Hungrily, I waited for what I assumed the world's best bagel. I retrieved my goodie bag and made my way to work. I ran to my desk with my morning glass of water to devour my bagel. I opened the paper bag and unwrap the waxed paper wrap to...well...disappointment.

The bagel was tiny. Even a crappy Dunkin Donut bagel was bigger in size. The bagel barely had any seasoning which made me a bit sad and regrets not mentioning to the order taker like the guy before me. However, the worst part of this bagel was that it was not toasted per my order and there was barely any cream cheese. And the meager amount they did put was super uneven. I saw them scraping the cream cheese metal tin but, I thought they were doing that to add it to the next container and not to be stingy with my bagel. The flavor profile of the bagel was also very lacking, it didn't really taste very fresh either.

If you are going to charge almost $5 for a plain bagel, the product should be on point. I am very disappointed I...

The best bagel in Brooklyn. Period.

This is a classic Brooklyn bagel which has been an endangered species for the past 25 years or so. This is the type of bagel I grew up on.

The bagels are perfection. Crusty on the outside while soft and airy on the inside with a pop when you bite into them. Get in early and get them while they are hot for a glimpse at what I imagine heaven to be.

The sandwiches are first rate as are the schmears. These bagels are clearly crafted with love, and a respect for traditional bagel making which is a lost art and sadly tough to find in a city once renowned for her bagels. Peter Shelsky did a mitzvah and brought bagels back to Brooklyn!

Some of these reviewers, with all due respect might not be familiar with traditional Brooklyn bagels. While giant soft bagels, 97 flavors of cream cheese, and Fruity Pebble / French toast flavored bagels seem to have invaded New York driving out traditional bagels, Shelsky's has opted for old school. They don't try to be everything to everybody. Don't expect a large selection of deli heroes or egg platters from this pure bagel spot.

Shelsky's Brooklyn Bagels does exactly what they advertise, and they do it well. Any Brooklynite who remembers our dear long lost bagel will be thrilled at its...