Utopia Bagels — Restaurant in New York

After enjoying numerous delivered bagels from the Whitestone location, I was eager to finally visit Utopia Bagel's new LIC spot. The initial buzz and controversies only fueled my curiosity, so I waited until the lines outside subsided to check it out.

I went in today at 10:30 AM hoping there would be fewer people, and while there was no line forming outside, there were a lot of people and the seating was competitive. It was the 4th of July, so I assume it would not be as crowded on a regular weekday.

The inside was cute. The tall glass windows, big round lamps hanging on top, with a sheer metal sheet on the ceiling gave it a retro mood with a hint of modern. The leather furniture and the black wooden tables worked well together, and though it was not the most beautiful interior, it worked with the whole American breakfast esque vibe. It certainly did not feel overly hip or try hard, which I appreciated. I was pleasantly surprised at how spacious it was in the order and pickup area, which was a disconnect from my assumption looking in from the outside. The details like the Pac Man game machine, NYC mural, and framed artworks on the walls all contributed to the retro brand.

For the food, I ordered the Garlic Bagel with over easy egg, cheddar cheese, sausage, lettuce, tomato, and Mike’s Hot Honey. This was a disappointment because the eggs were not seasoned at all, and the garlic bagel was burnt (see photo), which left a bad aftertaste. Because nothing was seasoned, the hot honey just made the whole sandwich sweet. I also ordered the blueberry bagel with blueberry cream cheese, which was much better. It was not overly sweet (though I thought it could be a touch sweeter), and it was clear they mixed regular cream cheese with blueberry jam or marmalade. I would order that again.

Though the first sandwich was a miss, I did really appreciate that they had a glass where they showed workers making the store’s own bagels (see video). I would like to try other bagel offerings and stick to bagels with cream cheese.

I cannot say much about the service, as it was incredibly busy and there was not much opportunity for individual interaction. I also did order with Uber Eats before I arrived, so I would recommend that if you do not want to be waiting. The food was ready when I arrived so that was a plus I guess.

The bathroom was cleaner than I had expected, though the hand washing area had water and watermarks all over the floor and mirror. It was especially busy today, so I understand.

I was pleasantly surprised to see how big it was, and to see how the bagels were being made, but will not likely return for a while. I would like to eventually try another flavor bagel and cream cheese since the garlic bagel sandwich was strongly...

TLDR: Bagels are fine, nothing extraordinary; in case informative for anyone who has had rolling bagels, we will continue to patronize them, even if they’re farther away from us on weekends…

My partner and I went the morning of Memorial Day. The line was super long but there were plenty of seats. All good until it was our turn to order. Was not impressed with the woman at the register. First, when we asked her if they use any dairy products (eg milk, butter) in their eggs (bc one of us has a dairy allergy), she sheepishly said “yessss? I think so…..”. It was apparent that she didn’t know for certain so we had her ask someone who would know. If you’re not sure, don’t guess, just ask! (But also, the restaurant needs to educate their staff, especially those tasked with taking food orders). Confirmed no diary in eggs, great. We ordered a sesame bagel w egg and bacon + a cinnamon raisin bagel (bc they were out of Asiago) with scallion cream cheese. Turnaround was pretty fast. We got our order but, BOOM. The woman screwed up our order and rang us up for a bfast platter of just bacon and eggs (vs bagel sandwich). Annoying. The bagels, as I said, were just okay.

As an aside, it’s so weird to me (and is dishonest) that there are 5-star reviews of this place from before the store even opened for business (ie the Friday before Memorial Day). Quality of the bagels aside, it doesn’t make sense to me that the owner(s) wouldn’t send their “A” / veteran team from their other locations to try and leave a good first impression in their new neighborhood. Shows lack of thought and passion from management. I used to go to their Whitestone location growing up so a part of me is sad that they’ve become just your average bagel shop…

Anyway, we aren’t...

I have been coming to Utopia my whole life starting with the original location. I’ve visited every utopia in the city so far and have only had amazing experiences in all locations. The staff do everything they can to assist and provide quality customer service in addition to keeping the line moving and running like a well oiled machine. The lic location is no less than a pleasure to be in. I came week 2 then weekly watching the store grow better and better each time. They’ve listened to all suggestions I’ve had thus far and now take cash again- thank god! My only suggestion in addition to the affordable drinks and fruits is to carry dr. Brown’s Cel-ray soda. It’s delicious and pairs perfectly. Each team member laughs at my corny jokes and it’s so much fun inside. They spell my name a millions ways and we all joke about it- laughs all around. It would also be a great job to land to find some comromdarie at a cool workplace especially in these hard times. There’ are games for kids and great artwork on the wall. In essence, this is a dream bagel shop in the world of nyc and beyond. If I could live anywhere I’d suggest utopia jump on the bandwagon and expand! It could be global- let the world try the best nyc bagel can offer! For a utopian society- this place is heaven on earth! :) Shoutouts to Daisy C, the owners, those who won’t even accept tips! Tip for everyone- tip these guys- it’s...