Ess-a-Bagel
“The lox mixed with the cream cheese with the semi hard bagel was like heaven with each bite.”
“Bite into one of their outrages bagels and walk around all day long with a smile and really feeling like a New Yorker!!!”
“What I will say is that there is always a line here, obviously because this place is so good, but the line moves pretty fast!”
Ess-a-Bagel
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Caters: Yes
PokéStop Nearby: Yes
Price range.
$ Price range Under $10
8 reviews
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1 hour line on a Sunday morning is completely NOT worth it. Seriously F that. I say this as someone born, raised, and living in the area. But if you are a tourist looking for an awesome NYC bagel, for sure, worth the wait. If you do want a sandwich, come at like 3PM when there is no line. Their employees are a tad slow but they put some serious focus into your order as compared to other places that are more of a bagel assembly line.
Make sure you get the Jew York special. That's not an actual thing so please don't ask for that. But as any member of the tribe will tell you lox, capers, onions, and cream cheese on your bagel is a must. I like to add avocado as a bonus. They also have some damn good whitefish here.
On a sidenote, if you are just getting bagels, you can skip that whole line business. I also recommend their babka (Translation: Jewish Crack Cake).
Enjoy!
Be ready for a long wait for these bagels, but they are DEFINITELY worth it. After hearing about the bagels (and long lines) at Ess-a-Bagel, I decided to go when I thought it was a slightly 'off-hour' time of 10am on a weekday. When I arrived, the line was still nearly out the door, and the warm wafting aroma of fresh bagels met me as I entered the shop. It definitely was a hectic scene, and the separate line for only bagels (in a bag) and cream cheese (tubs) was clearly marked, but was confusing for me until I saw someone go and just get their bagels thrown in a bag and sent on their way. Seems like a great way to go when ordering for the office.
A bagel with cream cheese alone is slightly over $3. The line is very long but moves, and the orders are handled in an organized manner. Standing in the long line gives you PLENTY of time to pour over the variety of bagels and spreads/toppings to choose from. After you place your order and get your bagel go to any open register. Seating is very limited due to the large crowds and there isn't anywhere nearby to sit and comfortably eat (especially if it's cold outside).
These are great bagels. They are fresh bagels and taste great because of it. Perfectly chewy and moist, with a slight crisp on the outside. The everything bagel had a burst of flavors and the right amount of salt. The size of these pucks were not too large and the amount of cream cheese was plentiful. There was a lot of seasonings on the outside but was not even on all sides of the bagel. Didn't care.
BAGEL SCORE: 4/5. These are really good bagels. The bagel was perfectly chewy and moist inside with a slightly crisp outside. The blend of flavors was great and well-balanced. A large amount of cream cheese and a good-sized bagel. There is a lack of seating and long lines which does take some away from the bagel experience.
One of the Best bagels I've ever had, I'll have to admit. That's why I'm giving it a solid 5 stars.
The wait sucks though, usually takes anywhere from 30-45 minutes to wait, especially if the line is out the door. This is probably the only reason I thought I'd knock it down to four stars, but then I realized I can't do that cause it's a damn good bagel and everyone wants one so why penalize?
I personally like the everything bagel with scallion cream cheese, but I have tried the jalapeño cc as well as the olive cc and they are great too.
The best bagel I've ever had. Granted, I've probably had less than 5 bagels in my life, but this one was worth the hour-long wait. I arrived at around 11:00AM (huge mistake) on a weekday, and the line was nearly out the door. I happily left with LOX AND SCALLION CREAM CHEESE on a WHOLE WHEAT EVERYTHING BAGEL.
Pros:
-Large, large bagels. As in can probably last two meals. This bagel provided me with a filling lunch and dinner
-The flavor of the bagel was perfect. I appreciated the large, granulated pieces of salt and the toasted garlic on the whole wheat everything bagel. Delicious!
-Cream cheese spans a spectrum of flavors: regular cream cheese, oreo cream cheese, strawberry cream cheese, tofu cream cheese, tofu scallion cream cheese, tofu raisin walnut cream cheese (I sampled this one and I wish I got a second bagel with this flavor – delightful and not too sweet)
-I'm typically averse to seafood in general, but this lox was delicious. Not too fishy, just the right amount of smoky and savory. Pairs well with a scallion cream cheese!
Cons:
-Long waits after about 10:00AM, even on weekdays
-Seating is plentiful, but only if you visit solo. The crowds are usually large enough to leave a few seats scattered throughout the cafe
I must admit, I didn't even know about Ess-a bagel before today. A co-worker suggested we go because of the store's reputation so I was game for it. Located in midtown, the line extended to the door!!! Everyone must be waiting for a reason so I was eager. We were entertained by an older gentleman who had a nice sense of humor and controlled the crowd while interacting with a few along the way. The rest of the staff was nice as well.
I went with a raisin pumpernickel bagel with lite veggie cream cheese. The bagel was delicious, but if I didn't know it came from Ess-a bagel, I probably would not have known. There was nothing significantly signature of the bagel, maybe simple cream cheese doesn't do it justice and the variety of options is what has earned a 4 star rating with almost 1,800 reviews. Overall, despite being pricey the bagel was undoubtedly on point and would definitely stop in again when in the area.
Best goddamn bagel and pastrami I've ever had. That was the super-eloquent thought I had in my head when I bit into Ess-a-Bagel's food.
Let's rewind . . .
Even if my hotel hadn't been charging $35 for breakfast, I had made up my mind to walk around Midtown East until I found a good deli. I don't understand people who come to New York and opt for the hotel's breakfast. You're in one of the greatest food cities in the world and you're paying the price of a gourmet meal for sausage links? You're out of your mind.
I found Ess-a and informed my girlfriend that after coffee, we'd be heading to 3rd Avenue. Coffee was a necessary pit stop because we're ogres until we get some caffeine.
Ten minutes later, we were at Ess-a and standing in line. The line extended out the door and almost to the next shop. This gave me pause. I'm nasty enough without caffeine but I could make Idi Amin wet himself when I'm hungry. Then I walked in to take a look while wifey held our spot in the line. The second I looked at the displays and the food people were eating, any doubt I had vanished.
Like a good boy, I took my place in the line. My girlfriend decided to find us a table while I ordered. She growled at some tourists and they scattered like roaches. That's my girl. She's from New Jersey and knows how to fight for precious space in the tri-state area. She gave me a thumbs up, texted me her order, and before I knew it, it was my turn.
I ordered the pastrami on a plain bagel and got a turkey and egg white on nine-grain for her. The guys behind the counter are my heroes; they were swamped with orders but were dealing with it just fine. The guy serving me politely asked me to remind him what I wanted but that was completely understandable. The orders were coming in faster than they could assemble the food but every server was patient and cheerful. One guy was making jokes despite having to deal with two tourists who spoke such broken English, it was like trying to figure out what your drunk friend wants at 3 a.m. right before he pees on the couch.
I got my order and paid at one of three counters set up for payment. This was fantastic. Instead of sticking two cashiers at the end of the line, they had three separate counters with cashiers whose job it was just to process payment. After you get your food, just wrench yourself from the blob of people and head straight to one of these counters. The cashiers are really quick so there's no waiting at these counters, at least there wasn't at mine.
Bagels in hand, I walked to our table. My girlfriend was standing guard like a Cane Corso: Regal, majestic, and fierce as hell. We dug in immediately.
It was pure heaven. The bagel was chewy with a slightly crisp crust. The pastrami was extremely fresh and seasoned perfectly with overtones of black pepper. Whoever prepared this could teach a clinic on pastrami. And the meat was firm and just a tad chewy like any good smoked beef should be. It made the floppy, greasy crap I've had in other towns seem like a bad prank in comparison. It was gone in under ninety seconds.
My girlfriend loved her nine-grain bagel and also remarked on how fresh it was. There was so much grain and robust whole wheat flavor in her bagel, it was like tasting the countryside. The egg and turkey were indeed fresh. Considering it was a bagel for the health conscious, it was really good.
After nearly dropping my backpack on some old tourist's head while trying to squeeze out of the dining area, we walked out into the perfect 72-degree weather. With pastrami in my stomach and the greatest city in the world right in front of me, it's fair to say that I was a happy camper and back to normal after a long wait for some much needed sustenance.
Everyone who knows me knows that I am passionate about bagels. (see my daniel's bagels review). How could I not be? I am a Jewess with functioning taste buds. You guys, I lived in Massachusetts for five years. FIVE YEARS of things that they called bagels, and put cream cheese on as if they were bagels, but were not actually bagels ~~shudders~~.
I pass Ess-a everyday on my way to work every damn morning, and every damn morning they have this line out the door. I look on longingly, imagining a world in which i could just eat a bagel on a whim. That is not my life. My life is strict calorie counting and protein-only breakfasts. Except on days when work is paying. AKA the best days. Today was one of those days AND I was in charge of picking out the bagels. You can imagine how things went down. I stopped at Ess-a (around 7:30am, before the line was existent FYI). I bought bagels. I ate one. It was amazing. I died. I'm dead. I am writing this from the tomb because the sheer deliciousness of the bagel has buried me underground and I never want to get up because I am with bagel now.
I was in NYC and wanted the bagel experience. I had an everything bagel with lite vegetable cream cheese. It was delicious! Definitely one of the best bagels I've had. Service was very quick & efficient as well. I will definitely return when I'm in the area again.