Brendel's Bagels-Catering Long Island — Restaurant in Town of Islip

I’ve been a loyal customer of this bagel shop for a long time, even after multiple mistakes with my orders — including one on my wedding day — which I chose not to make a big deal about. However, what happened during my recent visit was extremely serious and unacceptable.

I placed a to-go order for the beach and was very specific: one sandwich with mustard, and the other with mayo — no mustard at all — because my sister has a mustard allergy. I clearly informed the staff of her allergy and stressed the importance of keeping her sandwich mustard-free.

When we got to the beach, she ate her sandwich and immediately had an allergic reaction because there was mustard on it. I called right away, and someone told me a manager would get back to me. It’s been days and I’ve received no follow-up, no apology, nothing.

This goes beyond a simple mistake — this was a serious health risk that could have been life-threatening if we did not have Benadryl and her EPI pen on hand. The lack of urgency, accountability, and communication afterward has been incredibly disappointing.

I sincerely hope the business takes this seriously going forward. Allergies are not something to take lightly. Please train your staff better and put safety first. I will not be returning to this business.

EDIT: IN RESPONSE TO THE OWNERS COMMENT.

Thank you for responding, but I find your reply extremely disappointing and blame shifting. I emphasized the allergy to the staff when placing the order. This was not a matter of confusion — I was very specific. It was your responsibility to listen and handle it with care.

To suggest that I should not have even used the word “mustard” when giving clear, necessary instructions is not only dismissive, it’s irresponsible. It’s standard practice to name allergens when placing an order — especially to avoid cross-contact or mistakes like this.

Minimizing the seriousness of this situation by saying “mistakes happen” — while blaming the customer for not checking the food — is not acceptable when someone’s health and safety is at risk. It should have been prepared correctly in the first place, especially when the staff was clearly warned.

Mistakes in a food service business do happen, yes, but how they’re handled afterward is what truly matters. In this case, no manager ever followed up despite being told one would. The only communication that I received is your reply comment after being publicly held responsible from my Google review. I have received NO personal communication after calling in to your shop the same day of the incident.

Also to reiterate, this is not the first mistake this shop has made. I have quietly tolerated multiple order errors, including one on the morning of my wedding day, when you got our entire order wrong. Despite how frustrating that was, I let it go without complaint. But this was not a minor inconvenience — this was a serious breach of trust and a clear risk to someone’s health.

This was a chance for accountability, empathy, and learning — and instead, the response was defensive and dismissive. I hope you take this as an opportunity to better train your staff, update your allergy procedures, and treat future situations like this with the seriousness they deserve.

I gave your business the benefit of the doubt time and time again, but this pattern of carelessness and now the lack of accountability has become impossible to ignore. As I said, I will not...

Absolutely terrible. I got an egg sandwich on an everything bagel. So, I get the sandwich and bring it back up to the counter because I said everything bagel, and it looked plain. So get this. The women behind the counter grabs the bagel and flips it over. This is the best part. The bottom looked like an everything bagel, while the top looked like a plain bagel. And the employee just touched my sandwich with their gloves on that they have been touching everything else with. I brought it back the table in complete shock. I had half of the sandwich and threw out the other half. Bagel was doey and had no texture whatsoever. This wasn't even the worst part. I ordered a side of potato salad. DO NOT GET THE RED POTATO SALAD. OMG it was straight under cooked potatoes with mayonnaise. No seasoning at all. After adding salt and pepper it was still horrible. I will never go there again. BEC on a everything bagel, Small potato salad, Small bottle of water. 11.00$. If its not bad enough that the food was terrible, you get ripped off to. The deli I go to in my town, I get the same thing for 7.50 $.(5.00 for the sandwich, 1 dollar for the water and 1.50 for the side salad). 3 Sons Deli In kings park is where i'm referring to. 1 other thing. Their pretty quick with this, but after you order your sandwich, when you go to pay, they say it comes with a small juice or coffee. The moment you tell them which one you are getting, they charge you an additional 75 cents....

Regarding Brendel's Bagels and Eatery of Hauppauge, I feel so very fortunate to have, within walking distance from my home, a place as wonderful as this to purchase at least two delicious meals a day if I so choose. Although, retired but not from the food business, both my father and grandfather were proprietors of retail food establishments and I do have some idea how difficult it is to run a successful eatery such as Brendel's. Upon entering one encounters a bright, sparkling cleanliness and the various foods and salads are most pleasing to the eye as they are, more importantly, pleasing to the tongue. One could wonder how this level of excellence can be maintained day after day until one encounters the staff who make it all happen. They are talented, attentive and efficient at what they do. They are a diverse group, each with their own style and charm but with the common goal to serve the customers pleasantly and without hesitation. Richie, the store manager, is like a captain of a well practiced team, the training and coordination of which is most likely his doing. Over time I've come to appreciate how well and with precision they move along getting the food ready to be served and waiting on customers with as little difficulty as possible. Kudos also to Craig the owner for creating the whole operation which is something to behold and to be proud of....