Our first time visiting New York together we tried this place and stood outside in line for about an hour and half. It was worth it! Naturally, we had to stop again. This time we got there at the perfect time, as there was no line. However, after we ordered the line had already formed out the door! I would advise ordering online if you're planning to be there at any rush times. They have a huge variety of sandwiches and cream cheese options, but I love the bacon egg and cheese breakfast bagel sandwich. I had asked for mustard this time, but didn't realize it was deli mustard and I hate horseradish. However, it was very mild and actually a really great addition to my sandwich!!! (Note: be sure to ask that your bagel be toasted) There is almost no seating and it was about $18 just for two bagel breakfast sandwiches, but so worth it! I love this place and will continue to make it a usual stop whenever I'm in NYC!

Best and I mean the BEST bagel shop in NYC. Their variety of cheese is amazing. it feels like you are in a candy shop. We tried everything and everything was delicious. I can't wait to come back to this shop in a month and try their delicious sesame bagel with cream cheese and tomato. yummm

Back in Manhattan. I enjoyed a great onion bagel with butter with some turkey on the side. Years ago someone who owned a bagel shop over on Broadway told me that is the best way to eat a bagel. I don't know if it's true, but the most experienced bagel eaters know this. The guy behind the counter knew exactly what I wanted when I asked. Bagel was great as expected. Service was great. the orange juice was delicious. Great experience, I hope I will be back.

Some of the largest bagels I’ve had in a long time. The Egg & Cheese Sandwich, Plain bagel, and Cinnamon Raisin bagel were all delicious, but I do wish all three had been toasted more as they got to be a little too chewy. The Signature Bagel (Everything bagel) was great, but definitely a mouthful. The only other real disappointing part of the meal was the Oreo cream cheese, which just came off as a slightly sweeter regular cream cheese.

I tried three bagel shops in NYC so far. We ordered a signature, and it was not my favourite, unfortunately. Everything bagel's bottom was either overcooked or over-toasted: it was hard. Not chewy. HARD. I eventually decided not to eat the bottom half. Salmon had a good smoked flavour, cream cheese was a bit dry. Considering the long lineup and less satisfactory bagel, not sure if I will revisit.

I went to try this bagel place after hearing that they are one of the major bagel places in NYC. While the lineup was very long, there were quite a number of seats inside. The selection of cream cheese and toppings were impressive. The bagels were pretty good, but not as good as expected. Unfortunately, the cashier was extremely rude, borderline hostile, hence the rating. Was it worth the wait? Not really, if you ask me.

This place is one of the go to places in New York for a bagel. There was a long lineup outside when I visited on Christmas Day and I think I waited half an hour to get one bagel, although the line does move quickly. I ordered the cinnamon raisin bagel with chocolate cream cheese. The bagels are quite big and the chocolate cream cheese was so delicious. They really pile on the cream cheese on the bagels which is enough to spread on one or two more bagels.

5/5! Absolutely delicious! I've been looking for a good bagel spot, and I can say this is one of my top 5's so far. When I got here, there was quite a long line going out the door. But I had to wait after the many positive reviews. And I'm glad I did! The Food: I went with the Signature Favorite on a everything wheat bagel. The bagel was stuffed with cream cheese and the portion of salmon they give you is very generous. I opted out for the extra lettuce and tomato since I just wanted cream cheese and salmon. The bagels are huge though, so you'll be left full after one bagel The Service: The service was great. The staff move quick since the demand is there. I'd look over the menu and know what you want before it's your turn to order to keep the lines moving. Overall, 5/5. The bagel was delicious and the service was great.

Ok so I will start with Yes the Bagels are good, but they are good like any other decent bagel shop in town. They do have a vast collection of spreads, meats, bagels kind. They also have fresh squeezed orange juice. The place is pick-up place, expect huge line-ups as the owners have outdone marketing his bagel shop amongst tourists and its amazing and he deserves this line-up. If you want to learn those tricks and how, respond me with “bagels” and will connect. So back to bagels - yes it’s good. Are they worth 45 mins plus wait in this winter, no I won’t. Even the locals passerby were surprised on line ups as they shared few other similarly decent tasting bagel within 1 mile. Will I visit here again ? May be, May be not. If there is no wait n I feel like bagel I will. If there is line up, no way. Make your own wise choice depending upon how much time you have to spare in this city.

The bagel shop, unfortunately, the staff seemed inexperienced but we got our order sorted so was happy. We queued here for over an hour as the shop is famous in some films. I would say you would get a good bagel in other places. It was good but probably could get a good bagel with out all the waiting and standing around for them to shout out your order somewhere else and quicker. Anyway we tried it as it was a famous shop in NY. Next time I would just take photos and go get a bagel somewhere else. It was expensive too. $40 for 3 bagels

Arrived mid-morning to a line that reached to the corner of the block. The wait took an hour, it looks mostly due to the high volume of online orders on a Saturday. You have plenty of time to look at the menu. There are some indoor seating, if the weather is nice, walk around the corner to Greenacre Park. The Signature Favorite is a really filling sandwich. The bagel is perfectly toasted and the cream cheese complemented it well. The amount of the toppings was generous and I think it's worth the cost. The food is great, but I honestly would not wait an hour for it.

My two favorite bagels; morning special (egg, chedar and bacon) and nova (salmon, cream cheese and capers). I always choose everything bagel, because it tastes like garlic and crispy. I had both toasted done. It was quite delicious... but the bagel dough was like soft dough. I've had better ones, but it's okay.

Ordered the garlic bagel with scallion cream cheese. I don't think you can mess up something as simple as a bagel. It was good. I'm not sure if it's this specific location, but the line was full of tourists. If you plan to go in the morning, maybe wait til after the early morning madness (unless you want to wait in line for 30+ min).

We dined at this eatery every day during our stay in NYC. Friendly and fast service with delicious bagels and multiple options. During the workweek, this place was packed, but plenty of workers to move through the line quickly. They call you up asap, so know what you want in advance and be specific about your order. Don’t want the bagel toasted, make sure to say so, don’t assume. Plain bagels and cream cheese are purchased at the smaller counter, not the large one. There are tables and counter seating if you want to dine in and eat, but we grabbed ours to go.

We decided to try out this bagel specialty store nearby Empire State Building and I would say it’s definitely a great design idea to have all these options for bagel. Love that they let you choose everything, from the bagel type, to cream cheese filling and toppings. Two things I do not like as much would be the ice latte and the bagel not being hot enough even though they did heat it up…

The bagels were very good. I had the NYC BLTA and it was very tasty but a bit dry. The others had the Mr. NovaLova which was very good. The salmon tasted good and it was overall a great mix of everything. The prices were pretty high though (mine $13 and the other $17). But since the taste was so good, I would go back and treat myself so a delicious bagel again:)

Went before 7am, short line, yet LOTS of pre-orders waiting for pick up, so cool! Good variety of options to choose from for Bagel Lovers and even their coffee menu. BEST BAGEL in my life! Eat right away for best freshness.

I heard a lot about this place and hell yeah! The signature and the BLT bagels were delicious. The place is busy and there was a bit of line. We got the signature on a plain white, wow the cream cheese and cappers were so good along with the smoked salmon. We also shared the BLT on the garlic bagel, very flavorful and the bagel texture is incredible. Their iced coffee is huge and just what we needed on this hot weather. Ess-a-Bagel lived up to the hype! Also, amazing service, these folks work hard , so tip them nicely. Keep up the great work guys!!!

We went specifically for Lox and cream cheese on bagels. The sandwiches were average. The service could have been better, the lady at the counter seemed to not know what things were. Then on an already 15$ sandwich she charged us for the tomato’s, capers and onions separate. I’m surprised she didn’t charge us for the cream cheese and lox separate too. This made no sense to me.

During certain times of day, the line is long, but it is worth the wait. The staff are quick with whipping up ones order. I like to get the tuna turner and a slice of strawberry cheese cake for lunch. The tuna turner has a nice taste to it. The cheese cake is absolutely delicious! Ess-a-bagel doesn't disappoint.

Do yourself a favor and order ahead! Why wait in line? I placed an order from the tol of the Empire State Building, and we were eating hot fresh bagels in 10 minutes. Love!

Best bagel place in NYC I’ve been to yet! Ordering is easy and toast of bagel is to perfection. Get there early because line gets long. Worth the wait

Solid bagels. Great selection. Hand rolled and fresh every day. Bit overpriced but what do you expect in NYC. I personally tried the plain and the everything bagel— both were toasted well. The cream cheese (scallion) was great too. The best part is that this place is a factory— many registers and many handlers, so that no matter the line, you don’t have to wait long. Bathroom on premises. Minimal seating.

This was the first bagel place we tried whilst staying in NYC, and after trying a few others I definitely think this was the best! Very generous with the fillings. Hot tip to AVOID THE LONG QUEUE - you can order online and select a pick up time! So glad we did this, as we got there the line was out the door for people waiting to order, but we just walked in and picked up our order in under a minute.

The wait is long especially on a weekend be prepared!!! We waited one hour to get our bagels the line out the door and they go as fast as they can!! A damn good bagel though! Coffee wasn’t as good as I hoped but that’s okay cause the bagels were excellent! VERY LARGE BAGELS!! I got everything bagel toasted with butter & I also got an everything bagel sandwich with bacon egg and cheese amazing!!

By far the best bagel in NYC, IMO! Been coming here for years, never a disappointment. Line can be long at times and lots of tourists since this is a known gem. Everything bagel is the favorite but you can’t go wrong with any of them. The croissants are large in size and delicious as well…

We had read about this bagel shop before going to NYC for the holidays and decided to try it out. The line just to get inside wrapped around the building and into another line when you got inside. It was extremely chaotic and disorganized in terms of knowing where to go. We waited in one line to be told we needed to be in another. All that aside, they were some GOOD bagels. I'm from NJ so fresh bagels here are nothing like New York-the Oreo cream cheese was to die for 😍🥯

My experience was unfortunately ruined by other patrons/tourists who I felt were being greedy and disrespectful. The line is super long, an hour+ wait and there’s very minimal seating. We got our bagels, then went to wait for a table to sit and eat at, only to find groups/big families reserving 1-2 tables for themselves when there’s only like 6 tables. They left just one member of their group in the line to order (despite them still being 40+ minutes back in the line), while the rest hog entire tables. I understand that it’s first in best dressed, but cmon by the time it takes for you to even have your food we could’ve been completely done and finished our food and the table could’ve been yours. I feel like there should be some rules/signage maybe to say only sit down once you have food. I felt it was very rude that people with hot fresh food weren’t able to take a quick seat because of others greed. And then, after waiting 15+ minutes beside the seating area for someone to leave so we could sit, a table freed up and we walked over, then someone from a party of 2 in the line just quickly stepped out and took it? They hadn’t even ordered yet. Even though we were clearly already waiting there with food. I felt it was selfish We ended up sitting outside in the cold on the curb. Overall bagels were pretty good, filling. Good for NYC bagel experience I guess. Not worth hour+ wait though. Also expensive and asked for no lettuce on bagel but they gave me lettuce anyway. 4/10

Prepare to wait in line for 45+ mins on a weekend morning. Or order pickup an hour+ ahead. Ordered the signature on an everything bagel toasted. If you’re smarter than us, you’ll order a bagel with lox and capers and onions instead. Much better than the tourist trap we fell for. $16 for the bagel. Lots of bagels and cream cheese options to choose from.

I used to love this place, I thought the bagels were the greatest but I fear it’s gone downhill . Did the bagels get smaller? They definitely got more expensive ($14.94 for a breakfast bagel) It was not worth it to wait in that line. The bagel itself was chewy and soft… it’s still a good bagel BUT the price /quality and customer service experience and ambiance didn’t cut it.

Huge variety of bagel choices, particularly when it comes to cream cheese. The portion sizes are generous, and the bagels fresh. Would highly recommend their signature lox bagel in particular! However, worth noting that the staff working there are very unfriendly and sometimes rude. Over the course of a week, I came here 5 times and each time the staff rushed me and responded rudely to any questions I asked. Had the experience with the staff been better, I would have happily rated this place with 5 stars.

Came by at 9:30am. Must be bagel rush hour. I know this is "the" bagel place but didn't expect the line to be this long. There was a line outside and another line inside. Everyone's waiting patiently. So after waiting outside for 15 mins and another 20 mins inside, I finally got to order. And let me say this...if you are hungry, order ahead or skip but if you can wait....the bagels are totally worth it. We had ours lightly toasted and it has a nice crunch on the outside and soft and pillow-y inside. Delish. I had Everything bagel with lox spread. They were generous with the spread and it was flavorful (not salty). All the Ess employees were very nice (once you get to them)

When paying $30 for two bagels and a bottle of Coke, having queued for 40 minutes, I expected to at least be able to eat my food. Unfortunately this is a wish too far. The bagels are dry, cold and flavourless. The choices that are presented and pre-suggested for you on the TVs above were you order sounded delicious and tasted disgusting. What’s more I could tell as soon as I opened my bagel that it was going to be be dry and horrible - I was correct. My girlfriend had a good giggle, because this was the place that I chose for us to visit, so she definitely got one up on me. Her suggestion (and I would agree with her) would be to visit Tompkins Square bagels or any of the cheap corner deli’s for a bacon, egg and cheese instead. Save your money, save time and go somewhere better. The one exciting part is how much the cashier shouts at you if you take too long to press your tip, good fun.

My first bagel experience in NYC when I first visited back almost a decade ago! They are classic and if you're looking for a good first NYC bagel this one has been around to have a reputation. They can get pretty busy and there is usually a wait so highly recommend pre-ordering and just picking up at the store to beat the line. The Signature Bagel is great since it has fresh nova lox, scallion spread, lettuce, tomatoes, and red onions. Great mix and solid to share with another person since they are pretty big! A bit on the expensive side, but nice to indulge in every now and then.

Simply amazing. Best bagel I have ever had in my life. Cannot get better than this! We got a sesame bagel with plain cream cheese and an everything bagel with veggie cream cheese and both were incredible. There was a long line, be prepared for a 30-40 minute wait, but so worth it!

I’ve had bagels throughout NYC and this one wins on crunchy outside but loses on flavor (almost non-existent) and chewy almost undercooked tasting insides. I went to eat there three times but only ate once. First time, line out the door (hard pass for a bagel). Second time, absolutely no line but no one was helping anyone even though you could see the staff (working on to go orders I guess?). I just got a canned drink and left. Next time I went very early in the morning before the heavy lines. For a busy NYC bagel shop, they have no sense of urgency which is both nice and irritating. The cashier acted like it was her first day with the checkout system and was the only one working the front. Overall an odd experience you don’t need. Any local deli will be faster and likely better.

This place was well worth the 45-minute wait in line. The Nova Lova was outstanding (although I got it with plain cream cheese and not the avocado garlic spread). Very generous on the spread. There were no less than 12 people on the line creating their art so the service was incredible to see how they worked together. GO!