Tompkins Square Bagels | Upper East Side Bagels — Restaurant in New York

Overall, a good value bagels shop. I was skeptical of the restaurant given the review score and the long line of young folks, suggesting trending vs genuine popularity. Fortunately, the value of what we got for the price was very good. My wife got a roast beef bagel and I got the lox with basil dill schmear with a cold brew coffee. The bagels themselves were good but not great (more consistent vs varied texture in inside of bagel vs outside), although the sandwich component made up for that. I liked how the salmon was actually smoked and very fresh vs other bagel shops that have better bagels but lower quality salmon. The roast beef was good too. The bagels are well sized and there is no skimping on sandwich contents. The cold brew was good/great quality for the $5 price. It was not diluted at all and they did not try to decreasing serving size by overdoing it on ice.

Atmosphere was good. We could not get a table, but eventually got a spot at a counter.

Overall, I’d be willing to come back here, which is a pretty strong compliment. I am giving 4 stars vs 5 stars due to the bagels themselves being of lower quality than other places we’ve been, though this is still a great place to visit snd not an insult at all. I have high standards. I may up it to 5 if I try another bagel and the texture issue resolves itself. The value of what you get for the price is strongly matched, maybe a bit more valuable foodie experience...

I have always wanted to try their bagel, but I’ve been lazy to go downtown. Good thing they opened one in UES. It’s a nice location with clean store front. However, for some reason, water was dripping constantly from the ceiling by the kitchen. It’s nice that they have an open kitchen, and was able to see them boiling and baking the bagels. Watching them frying eggs and putting sandwiches together.

First, you will have to wait in line, and someone comes over to take the order and put it down on a piece of paper. Then, you hold on to that paper and wait some more to pay. Lastly, wait some more for them to call your name to pick up your order. The whole process seems redundant and ridiculous, but I did manage to get my bagel in 10 minutes or so. I guess they know what they are doing. Side note, the person taking orders was rude.

I got a poppyseed bagel, toasted, with lox, plain cream cheese and capers. The bagel was great. It had good texture, and covered with poppyseed, as it should be. The lox was okay. Their lox was presliced in the fridge. I do see that they have some interesting flavors of lox, like maple bourbon. Maybe I’ll try that next time. Although the Nova was a bit fishier than usual. The caper gave it a nice salty and tangy flavor. I should have tried other flavors of cream cheese. Horseradish and dill/cucumber sounds like a good pair with lox.

Overall, it was a nice bagel. Not my favorite spot,...

I’ve been to this bagel shop about four times now, and I have to say—the bagels are really good. Fresh, flavorful, and they hold up well even a couple of days later. The cream cheeses are out of this world, especially the fig and cream cheese, which is just outstanding. Their bagel sandwiches are also delicious and definitely worth trying. My go-to has been plain and sesame bagels, and they’ve always been consistently tasty.

That being said, the price point feels hard to justify. A blueberry bagel at more than $5 is a stretch—you’ve got to stay in touch with reality, especially in a neighborhood with plenty of options. But what really struck me is the wait time. Ordering online, it once took 45 minutes just to get two plain, untoasted bagels with a quarter spread of cream cheese. That kind of wait makes it difficult to keep coming back.

This shop has a great product, but if they want to keep up with demand in Manhattan, they’ll need to find a smarter and more efficient way to handle orders. After all, if I walk just two blocks over, I can get a bagel in under five minutes. Even if the quality isn’t quite the same, my time is valuable—especially in a city that...