Zucker’s Bagels & Smoked Fish — Restaurant in New York

EDIT: If more businesses picked up the motto of this place , they will never go out of business. I'm editing my review based on today's experience... I decided to give Zuckers "last chance" today because I was in a hurry and have a looooooong day ahead if me , so I ordered a tea online to come pick it up . Not only was it done correctly and absolutely perfectly with milk/sugar ratio but also the girl (so sorry, didn't think to ask for a name ) was apologetic for last time and explained why there was a mix up . I loved that she took the time to make this right and talk to me instead of brushing it (and me) off as a drama review. The management of this place should be so proud of the entire team and I will most definitely be recommending and frequently stopping by myself !

Honestly for something that costs this much , least you can expect is to have the order right. I work a few blocks away and was super excited for a new go to breakfast spot . I ordered on location and it was ok, the service is a bit slow but they are quiet busy in the morning, however I placed my order online ..picked it up only to discover that instead of a cream cheese /lox bagel , I had a bacon egg and cheese ... not a big deal I guess except for I found out at work and had no chance to go and return /exchange ..and since I don't eat bacon and not a huge fan of eggs , that bagel was a nice aurprise gift to my coworker and I was left without breakfast . Figured this was a one time fluke , ordered a tea with milk and sugar , and cookies online , was super excited .. got to work and saw that my tea is a raspberry tea , no milk ...this is really too bad , this would have been a fresh alternative to the Starbucks/DD all over the place .. guess I'll stick to my mediocre tea from Starbucks but...

The place itself looks nice, cool, and clean. Staff at the counter were friendly at first. While placing our order, they told us we qualified for a complimentary fruit salad. We didn’t ask for it, they simply offered, so we accepted it thinking it was part of the service.

Then, before we even received our food, we had to finalize the payment — including the tip — upfront. Honestly, tipping before experiencing any actual service always feels a little strange, but we went along with it.

A few minutes later, a lady (seemed to be a manager) approached us, saying there had been a mistake in the order calculation and that we didn’t qualify for the free fruit salad after all — and we’d need to pay for it. Luckily, we hadn’t opened it yet, so we returned it. But the whole situation felt unnecessary and unprofessional.

It turns out the fruit salad is only complimentary after a certain order amount, but that wasn’t clearly communicated. What frustrated me the most is that the tip was already paid before this awkward moment even happened. If they’re going to create confusion, maybe let the service speak for itself first — and then earn the tip.

The bagels were okay, but nothing special for NYC. Overall, it could’ve been a decent morning, but the strange communication and timing left a...

I want this to be a great bagel place but it is not. I have been maybe 10 times, not once have they got our order accurately. Sometimes the bagels are stale. Sometimes the bagels are not packed at all but just dropped in a paper bag without any wrapping to fall apart. Sometimes it takes over 15 minutes for a bagel even without anyone else there. And every single time what we get is not what we ordered. Hopefully the manager will read and improve. One, bagels arent always fresh. A day old bagel aint the same. Two, the (non) system in place for order fulfillment has each employee doing the entire process themselves without any consistency, which leads to a vast variation in speed, quality and even accuracy. This is obviously not the employees fault. Manager, just go to any other bagel shop and watch how they do it. You have more space than most bagel places and more employees, so why is your ordering slower and less accurate? Leos Bagel is an extra 10 minute walk, on Hanover Square, but it is a much tastier, quicker, and more accurate bagel experience. Please Zucker’s, this isn’t reinventing the wheel, it is just boiling it and putting poppyseeds on it. Hope to see an...