Simply Nova

Really enjoyed our visit today, shared a bagel and lox, Scottish Salmon was delicious. Three guys behind the counter worked hard to get our order out. Everything in the glass display looked delicious. Last but not least was the package of Cinnamon Baka that I just devoured, oh my that was good.

I had high expectations with the top reviews and name — nova. The interior of the shop is cute, and filled with specialty products. My bagel was the densest, hardest and smallest bagel I’ve had in years. It was barely edible — I think the bagel may have been a day old. The salmon was very rich and flavorful, however the quantity received for the price (small bagel) it was a ripoff. I’d recommend skipping this spot for bagels, however I would absolutely purchase smoked salmon there! My jaw still hurts from biting the bagel as I type this.

I recently visited this place for the first time and I was blown away by the quality of the food. I ordered a toasted everything bagel with scallion cream cheese, nova salmon, tomato, onion, and capers, and it was absolutely delicious. The nova salmon was incredibly fresh and flavorful, and I was told that it was sourced locally. The menu had so many options to choose from, and I can't wait to come back and try some of the smoked fish options. The service was friendly and efficient, and the atmosphere was cozy and inviting. I highly recommend this place to anyone looking for a delicious and satisfying meal. I will definitely be returning next time I am in town.

This place gets busy and on weekends and rightfully so!!! All the ingredients are fresh and they know how to make an excellent bagel sandwich. Make sure to get an order of latkes!

Beautiful deli, that I'm sure is something that would be a joy to explore. I ordered a toasted sesame bagel with butter, which seemed generic and bland and over-toasted. Really nothing yummy about it. But as I ate it, next to me, there were two tech-bro looking dudes who were moaning in ecstasy over their 20$ sandwiches. So I realised that there is clearly something to this place, and I must give them more chances to redeem themselves. I couldn't give such a beautiful deli an overall lower than 4 star rating based on my single purchase of a basic bagel. It was just so amazing to see their well appointed counters. I hope to give a follow-up review after trying one of their 20$ sandwiches.

Solid spot in the E. Wburg just off the L Grand Street station. I’ve been living in the neighborhood some 3 years, and in the last 2 Simply Nova quickly became my regular for the weekend. The lox (everything, of course) bagel is my favorite. A friend tried the pastrami salmon egg sandwich and said it was really good, gotta give it a try. The guys working there are super chill, and I mentioned that their place is going to blow up with how many people I see there each time I visit. I haven’t tried all the cured meats yet, they look good. They also have a cool selection of fish tins (I think that’s what they’re called?) from Spain, etc. Next time, I plan to try the matzo ball soup. I hope this spot stays as great as it is now.

I really want to love this place as it’s a local small business but after giving it a chance multiple times it fails to deliver on the positive reviews given. It’s honestly overpriced and really not very good. Maybe the bagels are made daily, but the $1.50 everything bagels we bought were no better than day old, grocery store ones. On other occasions we’ve grimaced over paying $20 for a bagel with lox and cream cheese only to be disappointed by its diminutive size and taste. Only redeeming quality is they apparently make the bagels for the bacon egg and cheese sandwiches from Three Legged Cat in the neighborhood which are 👨‍🍳👨‍🍳👨‍🍳. Maybe they save their best bagels for wholesale buyers.

I saw this gourmet & Deli store opened in my neighborhood. The store has small seat outside and look packed sometimes. They sell many kinds of smoke salmon and all looks delicious. I tried Nova Scottia & Egg on plain bagel. It was good and coffee was also good too.

Simply Nova is a reminder of all things wonderful in a Jewish Deli. That being a bold statement, I want to say that as a transplant. But I take my boyfriend here and he's a native New Yorker. He really fell in love with the egg and pastrami bagel. So he his vote really counts. We like doing anniversary bagels monthly, a tradition my bf started without my knowledge and one we have come to really enjoy. This place was a treat when we celebrated. A little tight to sit so we did take it home. The other morning he had to repark his car and since we were in the car, we said let's do bagels. I love the variety of lox. I was the first person in. And I was in luck. People must set alarms in the neighborhood. A lot of men lined up after me. I love getting the salmon roe. It's a pricey $6 but also generous. When I want to splurge I want to feel it's worth it. And here I do. I also got us a small batch of the mini, black and white cookies. Talk about perfection. I now truly understand how it's NY's cookie. It has the high quality dark chocolate and the perfectly sweet cookie and the white icing on the other half. It's a perfect dessert. We have had the babka here too. I wish there was a veg matzo ball soup. Also if you are here early the egg salad and the tuna salad are so well designed that they are reminiscent of gelato. I want all the things. I even got their adorable mini tote in a greenish, brown tone. It makes me feel like I stepped into the Hampton's version of a Jewish Deli. And you can hate on me for that but I will be too busy stuffing my face to notice. Can't wait to try out more dishes. And I already told allllll my friends about it so these lines aren't getting any shorter.

Small shop with Eastern European products. They have a solid selection, but the items are pricey. I had a small container of pickled herring in cream sauce with onions. We shared a plain bagel with scallion cream cheese and Irish nova as well as a small slice of their server layer halva. Everything was good. Service was quick and knowledgeable.

Updating my review since I wrote it a wee bit tipsy and didn't provide any real context that's beneficial to improving the customer experience moving forward. Admittedly, I can do better - Okay - so, the nova deluxe sandwich was incredible but prob best to eat there as it transports a bit messy. The bagel itself was underwhelming; small and hard. The matzoh ball soup was quite sad and had no vegetables of any sort listed on the label. It was also cold and hard as a rock. My biggest gripe was with the $17 latkes. These were hard as a rock, dried out and old. I read the prior reviews of mold being on them and shouldn't have turned a blind eye. Remove both the soup and latkas from the menu and it's golden!

This is a gem of the neighborhood. A wonderful homage to the Jewish delis of the past with eyes set on the future. Everything is fresh! Bagels, cream cheeses, meats, fish (I assume - I don't eat fish but still!). Plus, I only buy my full sour pickles from Simply Nova. There is always a container in my fridge. The staff is legit the kindest humans. This spot is cute and full of amazing treats!

I've been here several times and this place has become my favorite smoked salmon spot! Their customer service is excellent. They let me taste each piece of fish and educate me about the fish. I could tell that they love their job and they care about what they do. Their interior was clean and organized. They even sell chocolate, pickles, cheeses, meats, dried fruits, crackers, and I saw a variety of sea salt flakes! The price is actually better than Russ & Daughters. I hope they stay open forever and keep the same price because I would love to keep shopping here!

Cute shop, has lots to offer - one side of the shop has all kinds of fish for made to order bagel, other side has cured meat by the pound and the back wall has on the go food along with small sweets section. Ordered Norwegian smoked salmon with horseradish cream cheese on everything bagel- delicious but quite small for a $14 bagel. All the other posts make their bagels seem substantial, which is why I stopped by. I would stopped by for other things or maybe give the bagel a try again and see if it's better next time.

Do not recommend :( I really try to support small businesses in the neighborhood and I hate having to leave negative reviews but unfortunately when we received our order there was mold all over the food. When we called to try and find out an explanation (I.e how long was this sitting there to be able to grow mold like this?) there was unfortunately no explanation and the business didn't seem to care. Generally didn't care for the bagel either. They're small, rock hard (as in stale and not like a chewy textured NY bagel type of way) and had little to no cream cheese.

Mimic of russ and daughters from manhattan. Quality and execution wasn't there though. Lox was pretty sinewy and the bagels were kind of stale. They do have a wide variety of items like imported french butter etc. The salmon salad was good as well as the latkes. Price point was quite high for the area.

DO NOT ORDER FROM HERE! They sell old food with mold on it. Clearly do not follow food safety guidelines. The health department should make a visit here as I suspect there are more violations.

HIGHLY RECOMMEND! Everything is just so good! Bagel, salmon tartare... even the coleslaw!! Will return asap and already share with many friends!

I saw this gourmet & Deli store opened in my neighborhood. The store has small seat outside and look packed sometimes. They sell many kinds of smoke salmon and all looks delicious. I tried Nova Scottia & Egg on plain bagel. It was good and coffee was also good too.

Lox, lox, lox! I was looking for a bagel spot, and should have paid more attention to the name of the place! I couldn't leave without grabbing some smoked fish and opted for smoked white fish spread which was tasty. There must be a Greek theme going on here as they had some of my favorite Greek items. I left with some Kalamata olives, would have bought Moroccan olives if they had them, and was hard core eyeing the Taramosalato by Krinos. The staff is very helpful and willing to help. Can't wait to come back and try more lox.

one sunday each month, my bf and i get bagels, scratch-offs and pedicures. we're trying a new bagel place every month (but may automatically resort back to "best bagels & coffee" in midtown bc it is legit has the best bagels) and we selected simply nova for march. i'd say this place is definitely more of a well-curated fish shop with some dairy groceries than a bagel spot (also i was really surprised at the lack of highly rated bagel spots in williamsburg). i think the most important takeaway from this review is that i paid $17 for a tiny salmon bagel and my wallet hurts. i was shook when i unwrapped my bagel bc it was so small. i don't think i've ever had a bagel that size in nyc! other than its size, the bagel was fine and good but without the smoked salmon, which was the star of the show, it didn't feel like something i couldn't get somewhere else. it would be epic if simply nova used best bagels' bagels with their fish - that would rock my world. the shop sells other things in a small refrigerator, like artisanal cheeses, as well as babka, rugalach and other sweets. if i'm in the area and in need of some great smoke salmon, i'd def order it here but other than that, i don't see myself coming back here.

Went here with my brother the other day and the lox bagels we got were fantastic. Lots of different lox to choose from. Very clean and nice spot that also has sandwiches, coffee, lots of sauerkraut and pickles. Definitely check this spot out. FYI it cost $36 for two lox bagels with the works, which I think might've been more than it should've been looking at the menu prices, so check your receipt. Also we asked for one bagel and he made us 2 anyway. Tasty nonetheless.

Lox is great and lots of variety/options but this spot is absurdly overpriced for a 2" bagel. The only reason why the ratio of lox is ok to the bagel is because the bagel is teeny. Not worth spending almost $20 including tip here. Update: In response to the business's reply, the $20 I spoke of is including the .50 tomato, .50 capers, and .50 onion which all fell out of my tiny bagel. The gripe is also the amount of cream cheese. The ratios are off for what you pay. This review by no means reflects the staff who work at the shop. They're all excellent and totally deserve your tips!

Each time I head to New York, I always keep an eye out for a good lox bagel - and this place did not disappoint. It's pricey, but oh so worth it, especially if you love lox like I do. They have a selection of at least ten different kinds of salmon, from belly lox to Icelandic. I went with the beet gravlax, tomatoes, onions, capers, and scallion cream cheese on an everything bagel. Watching the guy behind the counter expertly prepare my order was a treat in itself! They didn't skimp on the lox, there wasn't excess cream cheese, everything was amazingly delicious and I wolfed down my bagel in record time. I also had the orange juice which had a nice sweetness to it! They also sell capers, jams, latkes, etc. - all in all a really nice place, and I'd definitely drop by again if I'm visiting the area.

Delicious! The bagels are great and fresh, the merchants bery helpful and knowledgeable. We were given samples of different lox so we can understand the smokiness and fattiness of their selection. Also a surpise was a large jewish baked goods selections. We got babkas, black & white cookies, rugelahs and halva! Haven't tried the cheese we bought but looking forward to it. You can tell each and every item was given time and attention when being made. Love it!

Place is pretty good for sure, the selection of lox and smoked fish is huge. The bagels are okay to me nothing to write home about, bagel wise there's other places who do it better but the lox sandwiches are unbeatable. The prices are high but any lox eating human will know that. The real reason I'm writing this is to give credit to the employees. They take their time with every customer and will help with anything. Definitely noticeable how good the employees are. They definitely deserve more credit

I got a bagel here that was absolutely rock hard and a latke that was not heated up and flavorless. So disappointing because I thought the prices were reasonable but after that, I won't be coming back. Maybe it was just a really bad day for them because I'm seeing so many good reviews?? Lol

cute eastern european bagel shop full of pleasant little snack surprises! I got the norwegian salmon cream cheese bagel and the cinnamon babka. they were both delicious!! salmon tasted very fresh and paired smoothly with the scallion cream cheese. the babka bread reminded me of cinnamon rolls, soft and packed with fragrant spices and just the right amount of sweetness. so glad I discovered this shop today - will be back :-)

Genuinely this was one of the best bagels and lox I've had in a long time. I am a huge bagel snob and I could not stop saying how great the lox were. It did take a long time to get the bagel, we waited almost 15 mins which felt a little too long for me. True Jewish deli with a smaller feel and great food.

Been a snob for good nova, this was a gamechanger for me living in east williamsburg. The prices definitely reflect the quality. ALSO do yourself a favor and try the rugelach. I've been a Zabar's only girl for years and I can confidently say this rugelach is better - which is crazy.

Amazing spot for breakfast. This is a high quality eatery. It can be pricey but you get quality and portion to merit the price. I got a bagel and lox. They have different types of lox which was overwhelming (in a good way). I got The beet gravlox which were very yummy. They used large capers. I also bought a lot of challa bread. The challa was sweeter than what I'm used to but the texture was perfect. The guys behind the counter are super friendly and if I lived in the neighborhood would quickly learn their names since I would be a regular.

Everything was fresh & delicious. Packed perfectly so that all I needed to do was heat up As I am unable to prepare for the holidays, I ordered. My daughter lives in bklyn and suggested I try them. Shawn was so helpful when I ordered the dishes. I greatly appreciate his guidance and help When my daughter came to pick up the food everything was ready on time Thank you for helping to make our holiday very special.

This place is absolutely fantastic. The people running it are wonderful, the fish is GORGEOUS, and the bagels are the best in the neighborhood by far. You can tell that this has opened by a Russ & Daughters alum, but they also offer many things that R&D doesn't (the bagels are MUCH better, for example). Yes, it's pricier than your average bagel shop - that's what it costs to make food of this quality and consistency. So happy to have them in the neighborhood!

Tried for the first time today and is already my favorite bagel shop in the area! Got a sesame bagel with horseradish cream cheese and Nova Scotia lox. Everything was super tasty and the lox was the best I've had in years. The bagels are on the smaller side, but they have a great chew and nice crust. Still perfectly filling as a sandwich and excellent quality! The store also has an excellent selection of other tasty goods like chopped liver, pickled herring, matzoh balls (both in soup and on their own), and much more.

This is only for the desserts. The babka here is the best babka I've had in NYC. All of the other desserts are all aces. I've yet to try a bagel or the matzo ball soup but that's next on the list. Having just put in a hotel for a few months in Williamsburg, this has been my go to. The food looks delicious too. And the helpers are nice.

Let me start by saying I am extremely happy this place is here as its the type of shop that's getting more and more difficult to find - jewish appetizing and deli isn't exactly modern food in high demand. Quality is good, service is friendly. Only thing keeping it from 5 is the price. Not the type of place I can go often, and i need to order wisely when I go. For example, price of the smoked fish is $45-50 a pound, and while that may actually be a fair price for that type of thing, its difficult to justify when the source of the fish (acme), is about 1.5 miles away, easy to get to, and less than half the price. Would suggest to management perhaps offering a weekly sale on smoked fish that perhaps they have a little too much of, or want to showcase ($35 a pound would probably be my limit), or perhaps spend a certain amount on other items and get a discount on the smoked fish. Same goes for the really expensive pastrami and roast beef (which isn't remotely competitive with the far superior and cheaper roast beef at the meat hook). Just spitballing, but basically I always go to get the same 6 items when I go, with no real intention of changing that. Still, I'm very happy this place is here and I'll go frequently, shopping within my budget.

Been here a couple time and always impress with quality and service ! Beside my fav classic lox cream cheese beagle .. Coffee and Chocolate Babka is a must !! Definitely going to visit this store again whenever i hang in Williamsburg

Bagels are best in the area. With just cream cheese or with fish! Classic style deli, perfect staple for the neighborhood.

Fantastic bagels, whether you're getting them "just" with cream cheese or with lox as well.

This is a new place in the neighborhood and is already popular with the locals. The nova and other items are super fresh and they care about quality. My only complaint is that they ran out of sesame bagels by 10:45 on a Saturday.

Easily the best bagel in the area. Friendly, quick service. This has quickly become the go-to.

Quite possibly the worst whitefish salad I ever had. It is dry and sandy with a strange aftertaste. It was $6 for a tiny cup. You can do better buying it in a specialty store in an 8oz container for $8.99. more flavor, better texture. This one is just weird. The bialy was very good though. The prices in this shop are insane. They are not Russ & Daughters but I think they are trying to be.

So happy this bagel shop opened in the area! Beautiful, clean, well-stocked with a great selection of goods (latkes, chicken noodle soup, babkas, chocolate covered graham crackers) and with lovely service. Staff are polite and friendly and make amazing bagel sandwiches. I've tried their egg salad which was amazing, all their lox is fresh, and their egg and cheese bagels are phenomenal. Must go!

Really nice and efficient staff. The fish is phenomenal and the bagels are a great size. Gotta try the babka. Just don't forget to take a number when you walk in.

Took my mom here once while she was visiting and she requested Simply Nova every single morning. Super fresh ingredients and great service (smoked salmon samples!) Best lox sandwich in the neighborhood by far, and a cute deli too.

Tiny, underwhelming bagels, dry, dense and under-seasoned. And the worst whitefish salad I've ever had. Dry, sandy, overly fishy--and I typically love whitefish. A total bummer as it is a cute place with great staff and service. Would be happy to come back if the food quality improves.

This place has great bagels and great smoked fish. My son and I ate a bunch of smoked sturgeon and nova, and it was great. We also picked up matzoh ball soup to go, and the my daughter was thrilled. This is a welcome addition to the neighborhood.

We need a 6th star for Simply Nova! Went in last week to get some eats for Mother's Day and had the pleasure of meeting Felix and Sean (shoutout to Jose, as well, magnificent pastrami and corn beef slicing by you!). Here's the run down: scallion cream cheese and horseradish cream cheese...excellent! Chopped liver...REALLY EXCELLENT! Potato pancakes and apple sauce...excellent! Babka...REALLY EXCELLENT! Notice a pattern here...excellent and REALLY EXCELLENT! You can't go wrong at Simply Nova! Welcome to the neighborhood, guys! All the best!

RACIST customer service! Apparently , the guy who was literally got in the store at the same time as me was greeted and treated with so much courtesy by the store clerk while didn't even bother to recognize me lol. He asked him if he wants to taste anything etc. the best thing I did was leaving without buying and it was a good choice. In my 7 years life in USA/NYC, this is the first time to feel discriminated to be quite frank. I've been living a couple of blocks from this place for the last 6 years and never noticed it. Glad I didn't. Don't COME here if you're a minor/a person of color or against racism. I believe one shouldn't be a minor to fight racism!

This place is an authentic Jewish Appetizing deli where everything is fresh and of the best quality. Their prices are not inexpensive. I'm reading some of the reviews here and see their bagels and their small size as a common complaint. To be honest I've not had their bagels but did try a Bialy and it was excellent. If I were looking for just bagels and cream cheese I might go to other Bagel Places in Williamsburg/Greenpoint for just those. Those places feature larger Bagels of good quality, cream cheese of avg quality ad prices a bit lower. But my experiences here at Simply, prove the place to be top notch with things such as Sable, Nova, Corned Beef, Pastrami, Half Sour Pickles, their house made Horse Radish and more. Sable is a smoked white fleshed fish that is so sublime in moisture, texture and flavor that it commands a price that's about 1/3 more than Nova Salmon. Yet I have had it from a well known and expensive appetizing place on the Upper East Side and was appalled to find it too salty and just sub par. Here at Simply it was buttery and actually tasted very similar to Golden Osetra Caviar. It's become my new infatuation. A frugal buddy of mine gets the Norwegian here at Simply and loves it. (I know he gets the Norwegian cause it's cheaper than the eastern Nova Scotia by a couple of $'s! lol) Yesterday I ordered Corned Beef and also Pastrami which I had for dinner with mashed potatoes. Corned Beef was off the charts great. Pastrami was almost equal to Katz's on the Lower East Side which makes it really great too. Half Sour pickles were fresh and truly just at the beginning of the pickling process which is the way they should be. Their Scallion Cream cheese is truly a cut above the rest and even their Chocolate Covered Raspberry Jelly Rings were great. Lastly, maybe their bagels are smaller here (again I have not had them) but I have heard that when they took over the space it had been a bagel shop before and they left all the bagel making equipment. Simply makes their own bagels and I don't know of any Jewish Appetizing place that makes their own. 40-50 years ago there were many Jewish App Deli's throughout the 5 boros, now just a handful and their quality is hit and miss. I have to rate Simply Nova as one of the very best these days. Sorry for the long review but I just want to paint as accurate a picture of my experience as I can.