Bagel Talk

Solid bagel spot, but the atmosphere is in need of major TLC with duct tape holding up most of the ceiling. My nova sandwich was very tasty and so much lox it was like they were giving it away.

Price is reasonable and famous cream cheese and salmon sandwich is absolutely delicious! I wish this place was just a little cleaner and tables were swept otherwise it would’ve been a perfect bagel place. Definitely would stop there again!

We were here 3 or 4 times and they have Very nice and friendly staff and the food is very good and the price is fair (:

I ordered a pastrami sandwich for takeout and there was only one slice of pastrami; rest was lettuce and tomato. For $15, it was not enough pastrami. However, the bagel tasted pretty good.

I thought I would give it a post-closure try. Ordered a bagel with whitefish. The bagel was good, but the whitefish was merely a think spread layer ... not a sandwich quantity. I thought it was lame. Counter guys were grumpy, not sure if this is new management but I don't remember them being so dour.

I ordered their goat cheese and cucumber sandwich. Was told they were out of goat cheese and they suggested I substitute chive cream cheese—I said ok. I get home to find that there was no cucumber on the “sandwich” at all, and so I ended up paying $8.50 for a plain bagel with chive cream cheese. Bagel itself was very good, but clearly there’s some issues with staff communication.

Loved it! Great experience, everything was delicious.

Good bagels with plenty of different options for cream cheese and bagel type. Ordered a lox and they gave a great amount of salmon.

At its best, Bagel Talk can hold its own in the crowded field of great NYC bagels. It can have a perfectly bubbly, crusty, shiny crust, with chewy innards and just enough rise by proper NYC bagel standards. Everything bagels are usually well seasoned on top and on the bottom. And when you get them fresh (they have always been fresh on weekday mornings, when we typically frequent the establishment), they come close to Tal's, which in our book are consistently the best bagels on the UWS. The problem is that the bagels here are so variable. We've had bagels from Bagel Talk a few times this week alone, and have periodically purchased them for the past 10 years. While we've had some excellent specimens, bagels are not always at their best, sometimes with dingers riding alongside the good ones in the same order. About 1/3 of the time, they come underboiled and/or underbaked and/or baked at too low of a temperature, with a wan, pale crust. (Is this to allow for toasting?) And oddly, some bagels seem to be undersalted while others are perfectly seasoned. Based on the (sometimes) blistered crust, their processes seem to be traditional, with a boil followed by a bake. But I suspect that process control, staffing, and/or training and/or a temperamental oven may be a problem, resulting in these inconsistencies in quality. We happened to do a side by side comparison with Orwasher's given their proximity. Orwasher's has a lot of things going for it (the focaccias are a favorite) but Bagel Talk was clearly the winner in the bagel category. Even the weakest BT contender had a better developed crust and a chewier texture than those bready Orwasher's specimens. ** Just a side note on GF bagels: They taste like concrete powder and I would avoid them if at all possible. They are wrapped in plastic, clearly not fresh, and twice the price of a regular bagel. Even a good toasting couldn't save these Frankensteinian rings. If you need a GF bagel, try Modern Bread and Bagel on the UWS instead. The owner and employees have been perfectly cordial and courteous in our experience. I'd be glad to add this place to our bagel rotation, but I might try to ask for the darker, fully baked specimens in the bin next time -- if the folks there will humor me.

Garbage bagel spot, go literally anywhere else. Tasteless and dry every time. Staff isn't kind and it's always a mess too.

I think this place should have a higher rating. Great place to get a breakfast sandwich. Bagels are freshly made and my ham egg and cheese sandwich was really good and super hot when given to me. The service was pretty quick. The store itself is nothing special but it doesn't need to be :)

Nothing but a good experience here! The Ultimate Nova is a must for all my lox lovers! My husband loved the bacon, egg and cheese sandwich with a smear of cream cheese. Decent pricing for what you get, including quick service. A few tables with window seating to enjoy your food too. Great place to watch all the dogs walk by!

No, no, no. Place is gross. We got bacon egg cheese, a New York staple, on a roll. Was more like a hamburger bun. Got an orange juice, just a thick residue of pulp, some watermelon that had absolutely no flavor. Oh, and it was pricey as hell. Do yourself a favor and cross the street to Daily Provisions, still pricey but you get what ya pay for. This place ain't it

I went in to buy a bagel at 9:20 AM, Sunday morning. The bagel I received (a sesame) was AT LEAST a day old. I mean, if you can't get a fresh bagel from a bagel shop at mid-morning on a Sunday, what good are you?

Pros Unpretentious aesthetics Unpretentious environment Variety of bagels Fast service Good bagels $$ Variety of meals Variety of combos Outside seating Inside seating Variety of juices and smoothies Cons Zero

This was a really good bagel that hit the spot! I got the Ultimate Nova bagel. It was expensive but I would say worth it! The place did not have any AC and had a few tables indoors and outdoors.

All these years I knew I was right! Voted #4 in Eaters Most Iconic Bagels in NYC 2022. Located on 78th & Amsterdam, there's plenty of competition in the neighborhood, but Bagel talk has always been my favorite. It's totally no frills, and it's really a take-out place, only 2 tables inside and a bench outside. The bagels are IMO the best in the area. Every time I've been in, my bagel is fresh and warm. Nice selection of cream cheese, good breakfast sandwiches, and decent hot coffee. They also offer deli sandwiches. There's usually a small line but it moves fast, just be prepared to order when it's your turn.

I came here on a Saturday morning. It was hard to find a deli that was open, and the ones that were had long lines. Bagel Talk is no exception to the latter. I ordered a sesame bagel with scallion cream cheese. The bagel was stale; the scallion cream cheese was good. My boyfriend had one of the nova sandwiches, which made the staleness of the bagels a lot less noticeable. There was limited indoor seating and the interior of the deli isn't that nice. I'd recommend taking your food to go.

Scallion cream cheese was great! Gets pretty busy but line goes quickly. I got the sesame bagel and it was pretty plain but still very good worth checking out!!

Delicious!! I have the Honey Turkey BLT on a Garlic Bagel and it was amazing. We also had a Hot Pastrami BLT on an Everything and it was the best bagel I've tasted. The workers service are extremely friendly and kind. The ambiance is nice and super close to the museum of history if you stop by before or after. I definitely recommend

I had an everything bagel with cream cheese, which tasted pretty average. The price was about what I would have expected, and service was relatively fast. There isn't a ton of seating, so it's probably better to just take out.

Great foods, gluten free options. And very good service. Will definitely be coming back here.

I would give this place 3.5 stars. Just ordered an everything bagel with lox spread cream cheese. The bagel tasted good as did the cream cheese. The amount of lox in the cream cheese was hard to tell bc it was puréed but tasted kinda slim. It looked like there was a reasonable amount of cream cheese but only in the middle. Once you got towards the outside ends,?there was limited cream cheese. Where they really lost points is the size of the bagel. If you can't tell from the pictures, the bagel is unusually small! I don't mind paying $6-7 for a bagel as long as I get a reasonable portion. This bagel was the smallest I've ever seen! Probably would try a different shop next time I'm in the UWS!

Made a quick stop for a breakfast bagel. This is a no frills place for a quick coffee and bagel. Ordered at the counter and sat at a small table to watch the sidewalk traffic. Service was good.

Wow, how disappointing. I decided to splurge today and get one of their nova specials. When I got my bagel sandwich, they toasted it (which I didn't ask for) and the bagel was so hard that I couldn't eat it. I asked them for a new bagel, and the bagel I got was just as hard. Now I know why they toasted it. I took 2 bites and put the bagel in my bag. As I left, I questioned if the bagel was fresh from today, and was told it's hard to keep them soft in the cold weather with the door opening and closing. At least the guys there were nice, but I certainly won't be back.

Everything with Lox spread. Unfortunately, the least of my Favorites in the neighborhood. Bagel we hard a rock and had a consistency of a rather cheap old bread than anything,and the spread was below mediocre. Unfortunately, I won't be back.

Wish I liked it, but my bagel was wrong, cold, and hard :( the service was good though! Very kind people. Definitely recommend a different bagel!

Small little place with good and quick service. Got a bagel and coffee and able to sit outside. Good overall and recommend

Convenient spot to grab a bagel in the Upper West Side. This place is more of a grab and go but they have a few seats inside. A variety of selection on their menu, something for everyone. Easy to customize. They have all kinds of bagel. A good spot to grab an easy breakfast. Service was quick and friendly. The nova special was a popular choice, filled with salmon lox, tomatoes and cream cheese. Very filling and simple.

I spent about a year coming to this place just because it's located around the corner from the school my daughter goes to. She likes bagels and this is the closest bagel place, but we can't take it anymore. Place is rundown, roofs, walls, sits, tables, are in poor state and the whole place needs a renovation ASAP. Workers are rude, and I've noticed a few times they despise each other and get in arguments between them and with clients, specially when the owner is not around. All employees speaks spanish and I heard them making comments about the clients without knowing I also speak spanish. Lastly, bagels aren't even good, they are dull and sandwiches are quite expensive. You are better off going to any deli than coming to this place.

Love this place , very reasonable price , A bagel with chicken ,Avocado, egg ,and cream cheese is ONLY 18 DOLLARS , very nice place !

Your typical local bagel place where you gotta know what you want to order. The line moves fast and you get served quick, and because there's not much room inside you quickly have to leave. This wasn't the worst bagel I've hard, nor the best. I ordered a scrambled egg with cheese on a plain bagel. Slightly disappointed because the cheese only made it to half of the sandwich. It was given to me nice and piping hot which I liked. There are a few tables right outside the shop to enjoy but otherwise eat it on your commute.

Very poor customer service. I ordered a bagel with butter and got a bagel with cream cheese and they made a big stink about giving me a new bagel. A lot of other better bagel places in the area.

Not a lot of curb appeal, but i like this middle Blue collar Bagel and Coffee shop in UWS. I get egg on a roll Here. They have tables. They make sándwiches too

The hubby and I stopped by to pick up half a dozen bagels to take home before our flight out as well as an onion with scallion cream cheese. This is a no nonsense shop where the line moves quickly, not about the frills and just about quality, chewy bagels, delicious cream cheese and affordable prices. The onion bagel was warm when I got it and loaded with cream cheese. The chewy texture of the bagel topped with a generous potion of cream cheese was exactly how I wanted to end the trip. When I got back to CA, I individually wrapped each bagel and froze it. I just had the sesame bagel thawed, toasted and with a homemade chive cream cheese and it was still as good as if I got it fresh, so they definitely hold up!

Bagel Talk is a small, unassuming bagel shop with fantastic bagel sandwiches! The Ultimate Lox blew me away - the lox wasn't stringy or chewy, just super savory. The creaminess of the cream cheese, salt from the capers, and crunch from the tomato and red onion made this sandwich perfect. HIGHLY RECOMMEND.

Ate here on our last morning in NYC because we really wanted the NY bagel experience. I was not impressed by my everything bagel with egg & bacon. I've had better back in Raleigh. Blueberry bagel with strawberry cream cheese was better.

I seldom leave reviews. But this was an uncomfortable and ridiculous situation. Jelly. This is about a single portion of jelly. I ordered two bagels. With low-fat cream cheese. She asked for jelly on hers. Went outside. My wife was missing the jelly on her bagel & went back inside and asked for it. Cashier/boss told "he didn't pay for the jelly and said you didn't want it. We don't give things for free." Obviously both can't be true. So, I went in and asked to pay. He said "no no...never mind...she should have asked for it when she ordered." Now...I was standing there, with her, when she ordered. He lied to my face. I told him he lied. And he lied again when he said "she didn't ask for jelly." Here's the thing... my wife has this bizarre thing of ALWAYS taking jelly. Always. And I was standing there. He lied again. If you're the owner, you'll notice the $1.09 charge around 8:20 AM. I was wearing a Marines sweatshirt. I'm not anonymous. Your cashier is rude and a liar. Do something about it.

Bagel Talk is a decent spot for a bagel on the UWS. We stopped in for a Monday lunch. I ordered a poppy bagel with scallion cream cheese, tomato, onion, and capers, and she got a sesame bagel with plain. Although the bagels seemed a bit stale, they hit the spot and made for a nice picnic lunch in the park.

Super yummy bagel spot in the upper west side- there's always a crowd which shows you how good it is! Fluffy and somewhat doughy bagels that are executed well and seasoned to perfection. One of the best aspects of this place is the speed and the fair prices- it's 4.75 for a bacon egg and cheese or a lox spread bagel- good quality for a good price- a lot of other bagel shops charge 6+ for these. Solid bagel spot that I've gone back to a few times. Not the greatest in the city but good overall

I give bagel talk ZERO stars because every time I go there, which is almost everyday, the workers are extremely rude. I always am very polite and thank them for all that they do. One example: I will ask for a little more coffee because they added too much milk and they become angry and say that, "I should have asked for it how I like it and now I have to pour out some of the coffee." I feel like it's normal to ask for an adjustment to your coffee, especially if it's not busy. The prices aren't justified either in my opinion, but if the service was better, or at least they didn't make you feel like you did something wrong just for ordering food, maybe it would be okay. Not worth it at all, so skip this place!

Update: when the bagels are fresh they are amazing. Apparently not fresh all the time. It's Sunday 10am. Tons of people in line. My two bagels are both cold and hard. The lady in front of me complained her plain bagels was cold and hard. Is this not a place which makes bagels for a business? It was some thing when they were rude, some would say that's just service in NYC, but bad bagels when that's part of your business name is sad. Bagels are good, service is subpar, they just don't care and their attitude . So many times I go in and somehow they always get the order wrong. Example, picture of my sesame bagel today. Did they run out of sesame seeds?

I asked for a cream cheese jelly bagel toasted i HAVENT ordered from bagel talk in the longest because of work due to COVID i finally order this and they burn my bagel tremendously with my last 5 dollars

Bagel Talk is the truth! This is a REAL NY bagel spot on the upper west side which really has top notch bagels. On my one and only visit I went simple and got an errthang bagel with scallion cream cheese. The bagel itself had a decent crust which was a mix between chewy and soft and the inside had that perfect bagel interior. The seed game is on point and they're not cheap with their schmears either. I also ordered their black and white cookie which was actually fresh! Many times bagel stores have their black and whites shipped in but I believe they might actually make theirs on premises which is cool if that's true. It was fresh and flavorful. Their coffee is pretty decent as well and it gave me my fix that I needed before work. I'd suggest this place to anyone who wants a real deal bagel in the area and look forward to trying this place out again.

Salmon spread was delish and they have a turkey bacon option for sandwiches! Plain bagels weren't the best in the city, but their croissants were tasty! Quick and easy!

This place was somehow on Eater's list of best bagels in New York and I can't possibly figure out why. I got an everything bagel with cream cheese and the bagel barely had anything on it (see photo). It was incredibly disappointing. I've had better bagels at chain shops in the city like Pick-A-Bagel. With Zabar's and Absolute Bagels both on the UWS, I don't know why anyone would ever go here.

Once upon a time there was a really good bagel deli here. Then the mysteries of New York City led to its demise. The bagels are no longer what they used to be, but the staff are friendly and the bagel sandwiches made to order are generous. My lox with sliced tomatoes and cream cheese on an everything bagel could have happily fed a small family. I'm a bagel purist and these lack that New York taste profile that's difficult to quantify but lies somewhere between pure heathenism and needing additional salt. I don't know. But they fall flat in the taste and chew departments in my opinion. You won't walk out of here feeling like it's the best experience of your life but you won't be hungry either. Three stars.

Pretty good bagels. Go early, the good ones sell out fast! Definitely fresh and tasty. Besides that, they're pretty much the usual. No specialty bagels or anything like that. But in don't mind. The usual suspects do it for me. Friendly service.

Ever since H and H left . . . there seems to be NO place to go! But, I thought with a name like "Bagel Talk" that, at least the bagels would be acceptable!. . . . not the case. I got a cinnamon raisin. It was NOT fresh (dry, probably baked the day before) and I counted (tops!) THREE raisins and barely any cinnamon. Was this just a bad day for them? I'll never know because I will not be going back.

Ordered (and paid for) an Ultimate Nova. They gave me whatever this is - a BEC I think. It wasn't busy at all so I'm not sure of the source of the confusion. Disappointing.

Order efficiently, the pressure is on! It's a solid no-nonsense neighborhood fresh bagel joint. They must be using that legendary New York City tap water. Or, you know, decades of boiling and baking authentic NYC-style bagels in a cutthroat market. And by no-nonsense I mean they kind of ignore the concept of courteous service. Oh well, fine by me. Average prices, carries the complete gamut of bagel and spread varieties. Coffee was meh.

Super fast service, but there will still be a wait when you arrive (especially on the weekends). So, make sure that you know what you want before you approach the counter to be assisted by one of the employees. Overall, a decent bagel shop with tasty sandwiches.

Food was amazing. The bagels are fresh and warm, cream cheese is flavorful, everything was delicious. Lots of options for any kind of breakfast sandwich you like. Very reasonable and very friendly service

Tons of bagel options and not skimpy on the filling! The 1:1 lox to bagel ratio was perfect!

Variety of bagels, cream cheese and breakfast sandwiches. Fast and good service. I would recommend this place.

Good neighborhood spot for a bagel or sandwich. The whitefish salad is great, but a bit messy so grab extra napkins.

The bagels are pretty small and expensive for what is it. I got an everything bagel with tofu scallion cream cheese, turkey bacon, and tomato. It totaled almost $9! They definitely had ran out of tofu scallion cream cheese, but instead of telling me, they just put plain tofu cc and topped that with a bunch of scallions. I really would have preferred the scallions to be incorporated into the cc instead of just lying on top of it. Typically with fresh bagels, you don't need it to be toasted. However, I wish I requested mine toasted, it tasted a little stale tbh. Overall, it really was just a very mediocre bagel that left me still hungry. They also had a card minimum of $10, so I got another bagel to snack on later. Not a big deal, but I wish it were stated somewhere before getting to the cash register.