Bagel House — Restaurant in Pohatcong Township

I've been coming here whenever I'm in the Phillipsburg area. They are pricey for bagels but they were good. But I made the mistake of coming in on a Saturday and had a horrible experience. I waited for over 30 minutes for bagels, because they took orders and then didn't fill them in the order they sold them. I saw people that came in after me, ordered the same thing, get their order filled and leave while I was still waiting for my order which was just bagels, not sandwiches or something. So they ran out of the bagels I ordered and they left me waiting a very long time while they were making a new batch. When I finally got my order it was wrong. I ordered a bagel with cream cheese and lox, and a Bagel woth cream cheese and gravlox. There was no cream cheese, and what looked like regular lox without the seasoning. I went back in and asked for the cream cheese and the correct lox. They argued with me that it was the correct lox, (that it was gravlax) but there was no herbs on it. The whole point of ordering the different one is because it's got different seasoning on it. They kept were arguing with me saying it was the right one but I looked at it and it was not, and it was also missing cream cheese, and they were aggravated for me even coming back pointing it out to them. They then proceeded to charge me extra for the cream cheese that should have been on it in the first place. Fine whatever, I just want my food already, then the kicker is then she lets me know that next time if I order it with the loxand the cream cheese together it's cheaper!!! I did order it together!!!! So now you admit you're charging me extra instead of just getting my order right the first time!!!! I spent almost $50 for the 2 bagels with lox and three plain bagels with nothing on them! And left completely aggravated, and overcharged.

Also even if you did think the bagels were worth the headache, I definitely wouldn't bother going on a weekend. There are so many people in there you can't even move, they're ringing up orders so fast that they're running out of bagels and not able to fill the orders and then leaving people standing there for 30 minutes while they cook. Absolutely a chaotic mess. They need some stanchions with a rope to make a formal line and flow of people. And they need to have a system where when you order first your order gets filled for first, or at least the bagels for your order are pulled first. It should be first come first served! And when there's a mistake with the ordering you shouldn't be charging people more money when you know it would be less for the same product had it been run up correctly!!!

When we finally got out of there to eat I also noticed that there was a lot less lox on the sandwich then they're normally was and it is definitely not worth what they're charging for it!!!

Extremely disappointed because I've been coming here whenever I am in the area, and I'm never coming back now. I can overlook the mistakes on a busy Saturday but the attitude when I pointed out the mistakes was completely uncalled for and unprofessional.

Update: they also have started charging a service fee for credit cards which was not always the case and that is not posted or disclosed at the very least it should be disclosed on the credit card machine as you're paying!!?

(I will wait until I can get back to a Bagels 4 You instead, their better bagels have a better texture, The Bagel house ones are too...

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Bagel House

Bagels, Coffee & Tea Phillipsburg, NJ

Jun 3, 2025 1 photo First the good: The food is good quality. The bagels are fresh and New York style. They have many speciality cream cheeses. The lox are good quality. Just about anything you order here you are going to enjoy the taste.

Now the bad:

Because of the above they are very busy and their infrastructure is horrible.

First off they share a very small parking lot with three other businesses. A total of about six spots. Good luck with that. Someone is always parking outside the spaces because of this and you can't get out, if you ever got in to begin with. until they come out and move their car. Its nuts.

Now add it is a small place and so when it is busy it is very cramped.

Now add you can't fix that well if you are ordering to pick up unless you want to limit your order to what they have on their website. You HAVE to order online. They will not answer their phone. It goes into a taped message that says, "We do not answer our phone." (Why publish a number if you don't answer it?)

Now add that they don't have all their items on that website menu. One Example of many: I like both Flagals and Beagules. They have them both, but you can't order them, or a sandwich made with one, from the website.

Because of all the above it means a person like myself with severe mobility issues can't get in and out to stay on my feet a shorter period. There is the parking hassle, the long line too order, the long wait after the order. On a busy period it can take you 25-30 minutes on your feet to get in and out of this place. They have three chairs that are usually fully occupied. Though when they see the old half crippled guy with the cane standing someone offers a seat. (always appreciated when it happens)

Now add the biggie. All of this comes at a premium. It is Manhattan pricing in the New Jersey burgs at the Bagel House. [check the receipt I posted]

The bagels are decently priced but their speciality items... wow. The lox there is $48/lb. Now lox can be damn pricey but where I get mine usually it goes for just over $36/lb. That is $12 less a pound then the Bagel House and the place I get it at is just as good as here. The cream cheeses, also very pricey.

If you are going to go here limit yourself to the website, order a sandwich - there is still a premium but no where near what they tack on for by-the-pound and be prepared to deal with the parking shuffle and the wait.

For me, the food is good but I can't deal with the rest. I admit my bum pins make me a special case but I am not fond of places that make no consideration for their handicapped customers. And this place's infrastructure is badly thought through.

I get it as a start up but this place is doing well and been around for awhile.

For these prices they need a bigger place, with more parking, and someone to...

Let me first start by saying that all of the food is excellent here, some of the best bagels I’ve ever had. You can tell the staff takes pride in the food they prepare and with that the quality of service is very good. I highly recommend the cranberry bagel, it’s delicious.

With that being said, it’s obvious the four stars isn’t for the food or service. It’s for the logistics of the establishment.This place is very popular and sometimes on the weekends the wait time can be up to 45 minutes. It’s no fault of their own but almost as soon as they opened they outgrew their tiny little shop that can hold maybe 10 customers inside and only has a handful of parking spots, you can tell too that the staff they have working seem cramped behind the counter. The second problem they have which can be attributed to the lack of counter space is the limited amount of customers they can serve at once with only having one cash register. Even when you call an order in ahead of time you still end up waiting in line with people ordering at the counter. It would be very helpful if they had a specific area just for pick up which unfortunately in their circumstance is tough because of a tight space.

One more thing to add is that the music they have playing is very loud, it’s a random playlist of pop and sometimes rap music that is so loud you have a hard time ordering. If staff wants to listen to music, put a small speaker in the back but for customers maybe turn it down a bit and play something that plays more to the ambiance.

I have been here several times and will continue to patronize this establishment because their food is just that good but unfortunately you have to pick and choose when to go or else you will be waiting forever just for a quick bagel or hunting for a parking spot and sometimes just giving up and...