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

I have never posted a google review before but my single, terrible, and possibly illegal experience at Zuckers inspired me.

My dog is an ADA recognized service dog in training. more specifically a diabetic dog in training as well as a trained emotional support animal. I have never received anything less than complements from airlines, Uber’s, waiters etc for his behavior. My dog did not have his service vest on but is still a constant on-call diabetic dog. My dog Came into this restaurant with me.

To begin, I saw no sign that said no animals, neither did my friends, which indicated to me I had no need to show proof of his service dog status to the staff. It was not until I began eating the very AVERAGE bagel that I was told by a male employee that my dog was not allowed. I explained I saw no sign and that he was a diabetic dog. A female employee tried to insist to this male employee my dog was fine because he was a service animal, however, the male employee told me he was “not” a service animal because he was not wearing a vest. A “service dog” vest can be purchased by anyone off Amazon and is no form of actual proof. Dogs are color blind and any similar fitting harness (which he had on) tells them they are on duty (additionally, any service animal trained for diabetic purposes are trained to be on duty regardless of a vest, 24/7 and or any time they are around their owner). This male employee insisted I tell him what my dog was for (I believe because I showed no visible disabilities) which is not legal, and even after I explained he was my diabetic dog in training, as well as an emotional support animal, he continued to be rude and insisted I show him proof, which I just simply pulled the first document I had on hand in my phone which was the doctors note, which included his training certification ID, and a medical professionals signature and letterhead and is what I provide to all airlines. The employee even muttered after reading it “whatever, he can stay”, as if my paper-work was not official. The employee could have contacted my doctor or my dogs trained at that moment and been told it was legitimate, but chose to act as if he was doing me a favor. Regardless of status, even if my dog wasnt a “real” service dog and I was claiming him as an emotional support animal who was certified by a website they should have NEVER questioned it, allowing an even believed “illegitimate” service dog is much better than questioning a legitimate one and putting any life at risk in a freaking bagel shop. It was absolutely offensive, and certainly NOT ok. I have never been so direspected in such a short non-necessary restaurant environment.

Later I saw the “no pets allowed sign”, only after I actively searched upon leaving, this sign was disguised into the coffee logo they serve there (which may in-fact be copyright infringement) and extremely small and unseen. This was a terrible experience and made my meal, which may have deserved more stars, taste worse due to the anxiety and stress this one male employee caused. The female employee and those who took my order I completely respect- but I do not applauded them because they could not tell this male employee to “hush”...

I hardly write reviews but I had to because this place have extreme potential and I just want them to fix the issues. I came across this place a week ago and thought wow the line is long , food must be good. I had 15 mins left to head to work so I took a menu and returned today. The line today moved pretty quickly but once I placed my order , the experience soured. It seems like the workers are super overwhelmed with delivery orders, pick ups, and walk in orders. Do you know one of the reasons small businesses fail is rapid success? Anywho I ordered a lentil soup, vanilla chai and fruit salad. I kept it light for my first order. I had to wait 18 minutes for someone to make my vanilla chai, he kept taking other orders and doing other things and I never got my chai, when I finally got my Vanilla chai after tracking him down to make it, it was super cold and I have to give it back. While waiting on them to make a new chai, I had to ask for a spoon, then track someone down to ask for a fork because I needed the spoon for my soup and a fork for my fruit salad. the cashier kept asking me to move out the way to take other orders while I waited on one thing , " a vanilla chai" . he took 6 orders when he could have just made my chai and got me out of there. He finally made it, this is someone different because the person who originally took my order disappeared doing other orders. This restaurant needs more staff, or a new functional process, or to limit outside orders to focus on in person orders,... Now let's move on to the good news. The lentil soup and Vanilla Chai was soooo good. That is always a plus after an annoying customer service experience. Thankfully the food was good after all that right? Mr. Zucker , please fix these issues, I would love to be a repeat customer since this place is close to my job but If these issues aren't addressed , a lot of people won't be returning. Another suggestion is to have a staff member take orders in the line like Chic Fil A does so the staff isn't swamped with orders all at once. it can run smoother. Last note, the guy with the glasses, I don't know his name but he is the best worker you have on shift, there was no nametags so I cant be specific , but he was super nice , even though it was super hectic and he made sure he helped everyone the best way he could. Give him a raise and help make the shop better! Maybe you need to just open up another location in the same area, there are so many places closed that are looking for a new tenant.. tribeca needs more of u, split the customers in half, run the place smoother. have one for deliveries and pick up and the other...

I came here on a sunny Wednesday morning. I had to go outside of my workplace to take a personal call, but as I stepped outside, I realized I was hungry. Thus, I decided to grab a quick bite to eat. I had heard of the bagels at Zucker's before, and I had also seen many denizens of the area order at the bagel stop before. Deciding to check it out myself, I walked down Greenwich Street, making a turn onto Chambers Street and walking down half the block before I made it to the store. The inside of the store looked like an upscale delicatessen, and I was pleasantly surprised to find only a short line in front of the counter. I decided to order a garlic bagel, toasted as anyone would, with plain cream cheese and smoked salmon. The bagel and warm and inviting to the touch; I am not embarassed to say that I squealed in excitement upon unwrapping the bagel. The taste of the bagel was delectable; the affluence of the garlic combined with the salmon and cream cheese to form an amalgam of senses in my mouth, all of which were positive. My personal call never ended up panning out to my expectations, which did put a damper on the bagel. I was told that there was a high volume of callers and that they did not have staff available to speak with me. Independetly of that sad situation, however, I do have some comments on items that I noticed as I meandered back to my workplace. The ratio of cream cheese to salmon within the bagel was off; in a future experience, I would prefer to have less cream cheese and a little more smoked salmon, as the cream cheese was slightly overpowering the contents of the bagel. A 50:50 split between ingredients would be ideal and preferable. Secondly, I do not believe that the price point matched the quality of the bagel, though the bagel was very tasty. I was charged $13.95 for the bagel, not including tax. I think that this is a little too pricey for a bagel, and I would be much more satisfied with my purchase if the price was within reasonable margin of bagel stops in the surrounding boroughs. I recommend this restaurant to any customer who does not mind spending a few extra dollars for a bagel, and who likes cream cheese a lot. Thank you, Zucker's, for giving me something to do while I was on my personal call. I hope my future phone calls to organizations do not go as badly as my...