bagels by jarrett — Restaurant in West Orange

I have been dying to try Bagels By Jarrett! Following BXJ on social since they opened and gosh the pictures and menu always have me wishing I lived closer than 2 and 1/2 hours away!!

Finally I had the chance to try the food. I pre-ordered on Friday for Saturday pickup. Super easy process. A smiling and friendly young man brought out the food, very pleasant and great service. I was getting back on the road but I could not help myself and had to try one of the items on the way home.

I opened the BURRATA sandwich on an everything bagel and OMG literally the BEST sandwich I have ever had. (And my family is very very into food, dining, etc). This was the most flavorful sandwich with amazing textures and just outstanding. The bagel was perfectly seasoned. Just a fantastic combination of everything!

When I got home I tried the LAWSUIT! Wow!! Another homerun!! Seriously delicious. The food is seasoned so perfectly which I personally feel is hard to find. The chicken was outstanding and the lettuce really is the finest shredded lettuce. So so delicious.

I got my parents the CHICKEN SALAD but I tried a quick bite before handing it off. Amazing! I wish I had gotten more. I also got the GARLIC AND SHALLOT cream cheese. I am a garlic LOVER and this does not disappoint. The cc is literally bursting with flavor!!!

BXJ is absolutely worth every penny and a long drive! Super excited to go back and try a bunch more of the items on the menu! And the bonus was having such a friendly and efficient curbside experience!!

If you haven't tried BXJ yet, definitely GO asap!! It's even more delicious that you could imagine!! Thanks Jarrett for the excellent food and obviously such attention to detail in your recipes and presentation. You can absolutely tell that there is significant passion in the making...

In the New York/New Jersey area, bagel shops are on every corner. Some are good, some are not so good, but Jarrett’s bagels are many many steps above all the rest and in one word: INCREDIBLE. You will never ever find a bagel quite like his. Jarrett’s bagels are the perfect shape and consistency. They have a nice bite on the outside and a wonderful softness and chewiness on the inside. Jarrett’s real star is the everything bagel, which is coated (ON BOTH SIDES!) with seeds. No skimping on the seeds here. He puts extra love into his spreads, and the roasted garlic and cream cheese is a real standout. The chicken salad is also a five star product and a perfect compliment to an everything bagel. It’s the right balance of mayo and crunch; and while I HATE raw celery with a passion, it’s purpose is primarily texture (which gets two big thumbs up from me). The Chicken Up in Da Club is incredible - the amazing chicken salad with a schmear of bacon chive CC and tomato on your choice of bagel (I usually go to the SOG bagel). Newest item of intrigue: the BEC bun. It’s bacon egg and cheese INSIDE of a Jarrett everything bagel - no mess, all the flavor, mind blown.

The shop is like no other bagel shop you’ll ever see. It’s an industrial chic, clean, modern vibe with an everything seed WALL on the outdoor windows. Marquee lighting of “BXJ” illuminates the interior.

Bagels by Jarrett has Irving Farm coffee, a specialty Manhattan roaster, in multiple varieties: hot drip coffee, cold brew ON TAP, and nitro ON TAP. People: this coffee is freakin incredible and how fun is it to hit the tap, first thing in the AM? Almond milk is freely offered as a dairy-free alternative for your coffee.

Be sure to buy extra, because there is no possible way you can eat just one.. plus, they freeze and come back to...

There definitely has been a lot of hype about this place before it even opened, and I was very excited to try the bagels.. unfortunately I feel like I bought into the hype a little too much.. and wound up a bit disappointed. The bagels are good.. but I've had better.. especially considering the price point and size of them.

They are $1.50 per bagel with nothing on them, and they actually seem pretty small. With different spreads, they can range from 3.50-5.50, even more for the different salads and other sandwich offerings. Just seems pretty pricey for a small portion. I wanted to get a container of the everything butter but it was sold out, so I ordered one to go with the spread on it instead.. it was good, but again wasn't really worth the money that I spent on it. I suggest maybe ordering the butter on the side if you plan on waiting to eat the bagel, it was pretty saturated through and a little greasy to eat when I got home.

Another negative I must add is that some of the bagels that I bought seemed a little stale by the time we ate them later in the afternoon. I know bagels obviously are the best when they're fresh out of the oven, but I was a little surprised how hard they were after only a couple hours after buying. There was also a bunch of flour crusted onto a plain bagel that I received.. not the most appealing thing to look at.

Despite a couple of negatives, I still would go back when they expand the menu...