Tompkins Square Bagels | East Village Bagels — Restaurant in New York

Absolutely wonderful bagels, with the perfect flavor and texture of bagels, an incredible selection of cream cheeses and other toppings, and delightful service. I have to admit that I'm not from NYC, so my perspective on each of the city's myriad bagel shops is quite skewed, considering that literally every single shop here will beat out any other city's best bagel by a long shot. Even so, Tompkins Square Bagels provided one of my favorite NYC bagel experiences so far. They have a vast selection of sweet and savory bagels, including gluten-free options, as well as an equally vast selection of traditional and tofu / dairy-free cream cheeses to pair with. If cream cheese isn't your thing, they have a bunch of other toppings, including smoked fish and meats, hummus, fruit and nut butters, fresh and roasted vegetables, and eggs, which you can add on your own or, if you're super indecisive like I am, just select one of their many breakfast sandwich menu options (note that there are more options on the menu blackboards on the other side of the walkway!).

I came here with a couple of friends while visiting NYC over Labor Day weekend, including a self-proclaimed bagel aficionado. I got their whole wheat everything bagel with scallion tofu cream cheese, egg whites, and tomato, which was absolutely delicious! The scallion flavor absolutely came through, and the fresh pop of the tomato went perfectly with the rich tofu cream cheese and dense bagel. Next time, I'll probably add some lettuce or spinach to further lighten things up a little bit, but I was super satisfied with my little sandwich concoction. I asked for the bagel to be toasted, and it was the perfect texture, with a delightfully chewy center and crispy outer shell that gave the best little crackling sound as I bit into the bagel. My bagel-obsessed friend ordered essentially the same sandwich, but opted for avocado instead of tomato; she was also overjoyed with her selection, although she did mention that Tompkins doesn't provide quite as much cream cheese as most other NYC bagel shops. While the scallion flavor was quite strong, I do agree that the rich, creamy texture of the cream cheese got a bit lost in the bagel and egg whites. Another friend got the whole wheat everything bagel with just their vegetable tofu cream cheese, and I think her bagel-to-cream cheese ratio was better than for the sandwiches, but it was definitely still lackluster compared to many other NYC bagel shops. Another friend opted for one of their bagel sandwiches (that I've, unfortunately, forgotten the name of) with chicken sausage, egg whites, cheddar, and spinach on an everything bagel (are you noticing a trend with our friend group?). She also loved it, but did mention that she regretted not getting a sandwich with cream cheese on it; while the sandwich was delicious, the dense and chewy bagel definitely needs the cream cheese to balance it out.

Beyond the food itself, the service was great and super efficient. When we first walked in, we were immediately greeted by an enormous line and were a bit afraid that we'd end up waiting upwards of half an hour to get our bagel fix, but the line moved insanely quickly. A staff member goes through the line collecting customers' orders before they reach the counter, so everyone cycles through the store really quickly, and we ended up only having to wait about ten minutes to order and pay, and then another ten or so minutes to receive our orders and dig in.

All in all, an incredible bagel shop with great selections, a dense and chewy bagel with a delightfully crispy outer shell (if you opt to get it toasted), but with a bit too stingy with the...

Made an order from here on seamless. First time they delivered it they'd added bacon to a vegetarian bagel, so I called and round two was also completely wrong. Called again and they hung up on me. This place makes great bagels but it's not worth rolling the dice on actually getting your order. Their app is a disaster as well, same prices as seamless if you're out of luck when they inevitably mess something up.

Edit: In retaliation, the restaurant decided to ban me from ordering and also accused me of lying. I fished the bagels out of the trash (gross) and attached some pictures.

Image showing the order slip for the second bagel, which is missing the cheddar cheese option. I assume this is why they sent the second bagel with American cheese, which I honestly can't stand. Some people's cup of tea, not mine. Comparison images showing the difference between the first and second bagels. The first is perfect up to the bacon they added by mistake. You can see three eggs, melty delicious cheddar cheese, and unfortunately a bunch of meat. The second is clearly missing some egg, maybe one or two, and has the wrong kind of cheese. There's no melting at all, and it seems clear that it was put together cold (American has a lower melting point than cheddar), whereas the original was up to the usual standard. A seamless receipt indicating the order time and instructions, which clearly supports the story I've told here.

I would have been happy to talk this out over the phone, but as I said I was hung up on, not put on hold. You also had plenty of time to call back if you were serious about making this right, but you didn't. I really don't appreciate being called a liar for retelling my experience, and I would also like to invite the owner to either send a written apology, or to join me in person for a videotaped comparison of the two bagels, which I'll refrigerate. We can go over the obvious differences, compare what's in them to the seamless receipt, and even...

The shop was flooded with crowds in Sunday afternoon, luckily the line moved pretty fast. They took my order when I was standing in the line, so I could pay at the cashier and grab my order right away. It took me awhile to fight for a single seat, but Tompkin's was definitely worth the price and the wait.

＊The Weezer w/ Everything Bagel and Scallion Tofu CC THIS WAS FKING DELICIOUS. Guys, if you visit Tompkin's, grab The Weezer. It is the most signature combo among their various choices. It was sandwiched with thick chorizo, bacons, cheddar cheese, egg and cream cheese of your choice. The cheese pull was phenomenal! The chorizo was superb too but I prefer it to be spicier. I'd say pairing The Weezer with everything bagel was a bit too salty tho.

＊French Toast Bagel w/ Espresso CC French toast + bagel = perfection. Being a caffeine addict I go for anything with espresso, so I ordered this beyond doubt. God it tasted heavenly, more like a bagel dessert. Espresso cc was creamy, sheer satisfaction. I can have it with my americano every day.

• They offer 3.75% off if you pay in cash. Two bagels costed me $18.62 in total. Pricey af, but shut up and take my money!

My Recommendations: The Weezer (a must), French Toast Bagel w/ Espresso CC if you are a sweet tooth

Worth Returning ? Yes! They have a variety of creative sweet cream cheese flavors, like fig & honey, nutella peanut butter, cookie dough, toasted apple cinnamon and more. Will def come back...