Tal Bagels

genuinely a waste of space in my stomach... ordered a bacon egg n cheese on an everything bagel and waited way too long for it. comes out and it's 2 eggs that weren't mixed (so it was SUPER dry and yolky and way too much egg) with ONE slice of undercooked "bacon" (the ham that they try to convince you is bacon) on the driest bagel ive ever had. asked for ketchup and double toasted and they did neither. also it was 10 dollars when i can get the most delectable BECs in a deli for $6-7 this is genuinely laughable and i think upper east side businesses like this have gotten way too comfortable with their insane prices and horrible quality. i would be ashamed of this sandwich if i were the business who offered it. (for TEN US DOLLARS! i want my money back!) WHERE IS YOUR INTEGRITY?

I used to wonder why this place got a low rating but now I get it. They’re so quick to rush you but don’t get your order right and also love to charge extra for stuff you’re not even getting. I paid for extra cream cheese and I get light. then when you ask to make sure, you catch an attitude. Just so rude!! Also, the bagel is definitely an old stale one. Guess I’m ever going here again.

Best Bagel Experience at Tal Bagel – 86th Street! I had the absolute best customer service experience at Tal Bagel on 86th Street thanks to Ashek! From the moment I walked in, his warm energy and attention to detail made the whole visit memorable. He crafted my sable on an everything bagel with capers and onion with such care and love—it was perfection in every bite. The balance of flavors was incredible, and the way he put it all together made it feel like a gourmet experience. Ashek is truly a gem! His positive vibe and dedication to making customers feel appreciated made my morning. Thank you, Ashek—you’ve got a loyal customer for life. Highly recommend this location—especially if Ashek is behind the counter!

My sister and I went to TAL BAGELS for breakfast and had a wonderful experience. We ordered a bagel with salmon and a croissant with cheese and egg — everything was fresh, tasty, and perfectly prepared. Special thanks to Hossan, who was very kind and attentive, and to Evea, the cashier, who was friendly, polite, and made the ordering process easy and pleasant. The service made our breakfast even more enjoyable. The atmosphere was comfortable, the food quality was excellent, and we truly enjoyed our morning there. Highly recommend this place for a delicious breakfast and great service. We will definitely come back! 💯💯💯🤲🤲🤲🤲👍👍👍👍👍

Nice area in back to sit, read and enjoy your coffee and bagels. A little chaotic at the ordering area and seems they need better signage and someone in charge. Appears no one is in charge. On next visit, I got WW bagel with egg and bacon. Yummy

One of the poorest operational establishments I have been to. The line was so long, not because they were busy, but because no one had assigned stations or knew what they were doing. It was also INSANELY expensive - a smoked salmon bagel costs $24?!!!! You go in line and they take a detailed order but do nothing with it, you then go to the next cashier to pay and you have to repeat the entire order again. It's at this point they are shouting the order, not writing anything down. We waited for over 20 minutes and had to repeat our order numerous times. People were working on it, then going to do something else, cutting different mozzerella's and onions, etc. then go back to making our bagels. Then people walked in the door and started placing their orders at the end of the counter, completely ignoring the line. The food was good, but I must say it was not worth the inefficiency I witnessed.

Always anxious to enjoy my favorite NYC food staples when making it back to Gotham, and as such I surprised myself after nearly two weeks realizing that I hadn’t had a good bagel, which I usually enjoy with lox or whitefish salad. When I had the realization I somehow also reflected on how long it had been since a had a proper knish. *Light bulb moment!* What if I had a lox knish sandwich? I was sure that this sandwich had to already be a “thing” but found little evidence of this idea on the internet besides a recipe for a more hors d'oeuvre version of bite-sized mini knish topped with smoked salmon. So at 5:30am this morning I headed over to nearby and highly revered Tal Bagels and deli counterman Sobuj, who admitted never making one before himself, expertly put together fresh, hand-sliced smoked salmon on a warm potato knish, adding cream cheese, mustard, and red onion. Though a potato knish may not have as near the structural integrity as a bagel (and rightfully so) it still made for a very manageable—and very delicious—handful of a meal. The smooth, silky salmon aromatized with pleasant smokiness, with its streaks of tasty fat rendered easily from the warm of my grateful tongue. piquant mustard and crisp red onion rings helped balance the fish’s rich oiliness, and the cream cheese and soft potato of the knish were amply supportive in both texture and subtler flavors. Sobuj exclaimed he couldn’t wait to try one himself, and I assured him he might enjoy very much, and as I plan to revisit Tal Bagels during my present stay, often for this same sandwich, I look forward to hearing his thoughts on this fulling and totally satisfying sandwich.

Absolutely the most expensive and most disgusting bacon egg and cheese I’ve ever put in my mouth. 11 dollars for a BEC and I couldn’t have more than one bite. No flavor, absolutely most bland sandwich that’s ever walked across the streets of nyc. Never ever coming here again.

I haven't had a bagel in awhile, and was excited to try this place out. Not sure what's the difference between this location versus the other ones but there was the word "appetizing" after the name on the store's signage. Ordering was a bit confusing as I felt like the waiters didn't particularly understand what I was saying and I didn't particularly understand what they were saying either. I ordered an Everything Bagel Toasted with Smoked Salmon Bagel Salad which I've never had before and it was delicious! They were nice enough to let me try the Smoked Salmon Salad before I ordered it and the "salad" itself was very full of fish (I even found a bone). I really appreciate the crust that sometimes form on smoked salmon that was also in the mixture. The bagel was toasted to perfection. I do think that it was a bit expensive ($14) for a bagel, but I guess that's New York to you. Overall, great bagel place that I will come back for. It was a bit confusing because at some point they gave me an Apple Croissant for free even though I didn't order an Apple Croissant. It was only when I opened it up did I realize why - the inside is not 100% baked so it's not sell-able. But I guess if you give it to a guest for free they will appreciate it.

Eliminate the infestation of DISGUSTING American Cockroaches. AKA WATER-BUGS. I have gone to Tal Bagels on the Upper Westside for years and always been at least satisfied. The store on Lexington and East 83rd St infested! They were on the wall mounted menu and then on the wall behind my guest. This one I killed and brought to the attention of the two workers who were freaked out! "It's not my job to deal with them!" So in short Food: probably a decent bagel left untouched because who knows what bacteria was left by these bugS! Service: Didn't care and in fairness they were freaked out too. Ambiance: "Hello 311...?"

We got a bunch of bagels from here for a brunch. They're perfectly fine, tasty bagels. The line for them on weekends is kind of crazy, but I guess that is most bagel places in the area. I think most people will be happy with the bagels here.

Quality bagel, great taste but on the thinner side so good for sandwiches. There's a lot of seating indoors and they have an extensive menu with some packaged bakery items as well!

Classic bagel shop in UES. Lots of bagel and filling options. Ingredients are fresh. Good service, even on busy weekends.

Quick and easy to grab a bagel here! The line was fast-moving and they have a yummy scallion cream cheese. I've had a lot of NY bagels, this isn't my favorite one, but it's gets the job done! Plus, it'll keep you full! There are spots to sit along the wall and in the back.

Lots of chewy, well cooked bagels and flagels. Good cream cheese. Salads in the case looked good. Added a side of tuna to my order for a friend and thought it not as just made as I would have liked. Overall it was an upbeat, busy place to grab a quick bite for breakfast or lunch. Lots of extra lox in the lox spread stood out here and was a win. Excellent scallion cream cheese on my friends poppy seed flagel also a win.

Hate to whack any business but to be out of everything bagels at 10 am on a Sunday morning....Mission critical, show stopper is what comes to mind. Service was fast and efficient. Place has an A rating from the DOH. Bright clean. Busy Now for the goods...Since they were out of regular everything bagels I went with an everything flagel. Usually don't like to go with flats cause they always get over cooked. This case was no different. Overcooked making it hard and crunchy. Saving grace it was well seasoned. They other crime on this stop, the self service coffee(a good thing) had a problem with the creamers. Coming from metal decanters, they are marked by 1 letter at the bottom. S for skim R for regular etc.. I grabbed the R thinking regular milk. Took my coffee and food outside and the regular milk I put in turned out to be French Vanilla. Ugh, Que pouvez-vous faire ? So Tal on 86..need to try harder. Catch my video reviews on instagram @bagelmavennyc

The bagels at Tal are very good, however on my recent visit I tried their potato pancakes and veggie tuna fish salad. The potato pancake was oily but I was pleasantly surprised by the taste. It was chuck full of potatoes and didn't seem to have filler. The veggie tuna is also very good with celery, carrot, scallion, and peppers inside. The bagels here are consistently good too! I find they are a little more expensive than some other places so I deducted a star for this reason.

This is one of the best, if not the best, bagel breakfast sandwiches I've had on the Upper East Side. I ordered a bacon, egg, and cheddar cheese on an everything bagel. At $10.62, it was pricier than some of the other bagel places I've been to, but it was worth it. The everything bagel had a lot of flavor, and this place is a deli, so the cheddar cheese was freshly sliced. They have lots of topping options. The service was also pretty good. I'll be back!

The sign in the window said something like "Best Bagels on the Upper East Side!" Well, I don't know much about the bagel stores in that part of town, but OMG, that was one amazing bagel! Toasted multigrain scooped out, with olive cream cheese. Outstanding! I will be back!

I've been coming here since I moved to the UES about a year ago. Other than the bagels themselves, this place is absolutely atrocious. Every single employee is rude and unhelpful. Time after time, I am disappointed by the service. I have found hair in my bagel, been given the wrong order, and every single time the staff is wholly unapologetic. The icing on the cake is the fact that no matter what you order, they will never give you more than a single flimsy napkin that can't wipe up more than a drop of water. I've asked for more napkins and they specifically give you one more. It seems like they are bothered by customers. All that being said, the bagels are very good. I hope this reaches the right person to make sure the service improves.

The tall guy goes out of his way to be unpleasant and rude. My girlfriend and I went to the East 86 location today and walked up to the counter where a pleasant enough worker took her order. I stood there while another guy filled a phone-in order and the one who took my GF's order just hung around the toaster instead of asking me what I wanted. Then, the tall guy shows up, puts on his gloves and ignores me while he starts to make a sandwich. I finally ask, "how long do I have to wait here for someone to take my order?" They guy sort of scoffs and points all the way down to the far side end of the counter, beyond the cashier and the drink cooler, and says "the line starts there." I said, "you're not going to take my order?" and he again smirks and points 20 feet away. As many other 1 star reviewers have asked, why put up with that kind of attitude? Fortunately, in the meantime, my GF got my order to her guy and we were able to get out of there without any more ugliness, other then telling the dude to "smile for the camera" as we left. Avoid him if you decide to go there. He's head and shoulders the worst.

Came here for a quick bite with my friend. I got a lox bagel and my friend got a regular bagel with cream cheese. The bagel was very well seasoned and very garlicky which I love! Perfectly toasted, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside! They were also very generous with the smoked salmon and cream cheese! The smoked salmon was also very flavorful yet not too salty. Definitely on a more expensive side--my lox bagel was around $17 after tax but I guess it's the upper east side after all. Just like how a lot of other reviews said, the service was not terrific but tbh, I won't expect too much from a busy place like this.

I've always enjoyed the food here even though it's prices is not the best but it's something I can live with. I've been coming here for the past half a year, once in awhile I'll come and treat myself to a bagel and an orange juice but today really just left a bad taste in my mouth. I understand employees can have conversations within each other and I have no problem with it, but when you have customers just standing in front of you, wouldn't you think we're going to order something? After a few minutes of just standing waiting for them to take my order I told them what I wanted. The person who took my order was absolutely rude and didn't seem like he liked working there, sorry bud. If you hate your job, customers then maybe you shouldn't be working there. I don't need you to be nice, but giving people attitudes ain't it bro. I might be back, might not. Just tell me if they care, based on the way they cut my bagel. (I wash sharing this with someone too).

The bagel was just alright-- this location is probably the worst of the Tal Bagel locations on the UES. I haven't been to this one in a hot second because some of the others are closer to me, but I happened to be here and craving a bagel. I ordered my usual (cinnamon raisin bagel toasted with scallion cream cheese) and found the bagel to be oddly bland. I don't even mean 'bland' in the way that plain bagels are bland. I mean 'bland' as in tasted like nothingness, with an occasional raisin dropped in there. The scallion cream cheese was decent, but I also found the same to be true; it was bland (and not in the way plain cream cheese is bland- but like nothing, with the occasional scallion). The bagel itself also kinda collapsed on itself when you took a bite and did not remain fluffy. I already find Tal Bagel's bagels to be on the flatter side, so it really didn't help the situation. Also, they seem to be extremely disorganized. Multiple people attempted to take my order and then no one was there to take my money when I wanted to pay. I know this location has been open for awhile, so it truly boggles the mind how they don't have this all ironed out by now.

the kind man who made this bagel said he made it special for mother's day. it was really sweet and my mom really enjoyed all the extra love!

Unfortunately, they have the best bagels in the neighborhood. They're not amazing, but all the other bagel spots in the neighborhood are too dense or doughy. Their issue is they have some of the worst customer service imaginable. And this is every time I've been there. Everything here is overpriced, but so are all the other stores in this area.

Solid egg and cheese bagel! A little pricey but so filling. The employees are also really friendly, more so if the place is emptier and it's not busy.

We used to go here weekly, but I'm sick of this place and the employees' rude attitudes. The actual bagels are good, but the lack of cream cheese + price + bad attitude = no business from us. It's a terrible way to start a Sunday.

5 stars for light, crispy perfect bagels....would be 5 stars if they could serve more efficiently at peak times, it's often madness. Chicken liver is excellent, added unions will give you gas, hot sliced pastrami also a big hit as is the white fish salad. Top quality with prices to match.

Busy but fast and good - kinda wish they had hot foods too (egg, cheese etc) to go w the bagels. Had a whole wheat everything w scallion cream cheese, tomatoe and cucumber.

Great bagel stop. Lots of options for spreads and toppings. Good coffee and great location

Displeased with my experience at Tal Bagels. Staff was rude and food was not good. Not sure my bacon was even safe for human consumption. Won't be back.

Lox was inedible. It was dried out with large bones. Bagels were burnt and some were missing that we were charged for. Grubhub made it right and refunded us for the lox and missing bagels. Lately every time we order in from Tal it is an issue. They used to be the best but definitely no longer.

Great bagel and coffee selection. Place was incredibly clean. Got a toasted everything bagel with jalapeño cream cheese, cucumber and tomato. Wayyyy too much cream cheese, but was able to take some off to my preference. Baked breads looked incredible, wished I had more of an appetite to try! Liked black coffee options including vanilla, hazelnut and plain. Staff is a little hard to understand as they are soft spoken and wearing masks.

Tal Bagels on East 86th Street is my least favorite of this chain. Every now and then I have to add my review and photos for this location. It's another place that my review and photos keep being removed periodically unbeknownst to me. This location is 1/2 mile from my apartment. It's a nice walk before breakfast. The bagels and cream cheese are great it's the dining set up and customer service that is lacking. I tried sitting in to dine years ago. I felt like I was in a traffic zone of customers as they pass by the counter. Now I just order and go. There's a public space nearby convenient for dining complete with tables and chairs. As for the bagels here, they are delicious. I like the multi grain and the pumpernickel the best. Sometimes you're given a good amount of cream cheese and some times you aren't. I'm pretty satisfied most of the time. I'm recommending you try Tal Bagels. Any negatives I've mentioned are outweighed by the taste and texture.

Ive gone three separate times, and every single time, they get my order wrong (simply no cheese). Bagels are subpar, but open beyond morning hours so it's the only reason I went that many times. Do not waste your time or money here.

Bagels have a nice chew and the cream cheese is not over-whipped or airy. Would stop in again when in the mood for an authentic NYC bagel.

Horrible service. Slow. Chaos everytime, even when there's 3 people in the store- they all do not know who got what. Overpriced for stale-Starbucks like bagels as well.

BUYER BEWARE!!!!! Everybody who works in the Tal Bagel at 88th and Lexington should be fired and the place should either close or they should start again from scratch. The insolence and resentment from the counter help can be felt from the front door throughout the place. They will make your order wrong just to spite you. The more they can hold you up the happier they are. zero stars. There are many better places to get a bagel and you don't have to wait 20 minutes with no one in front of you in line. trust me on this. I live across the street from the place and I'm giving up on it after today's experience. Its always like this and getting worse. It must be a totally miserable company to work for.

Loved the Garlic Bagel with Scallion Cream Cheese at Tal! The bagel was definitely soft and flavorful and they were generous with the cream cheese. Definitely worth a try!

I have no idea what the people are talking about on here. The bagels are great, the coffee is awesome, the babka is S tier, and they respect the shmear. Everything I've had here is good and the people are very kind. Vibes are also good :).

$20 for lox and cream cheese on a bagel is just criminal! Everything here is ridiculously overpriced; bagels are good but nowhere near worth the price tag.

Incredible hardworking people and family owned business. The location is clean, beautiful and nice to be in. You can sit and eat or take it to go. So many options. Everything tastes so fresh and it's beautifully bright inside on a rainy day. The family works hard and deserve more credit. I'm so glad I came in. We had a really nice conversation and put smiles on their faces, well deserved!

Disgusting service! DO NOT GO! These staff shouted at all the customers. Everyone was politely ordering but the staff went, " no soup! Cant you see?!" "NO APPLE PAY!!" They screwed up the oder of the customer in front of me, and when he asked them, the guy staff went "WHAT?! YOU COME HERE! WHAT DO YOU WANT?!" I have never wrote a negative review before this is just appalling.

Great bagels!! Great service as well. Highly recommend. Bagel was amazing & made to perfection

Atmosphere was nice. Bagels were delicious. Everything was good but the customer service was awful.

Perfectly fresh, chewy bagels with perfectly fine, NYC-friendly service! OK coffee. Was expecting to hate this place based on all the negative reviews here, so only got a (garlic) bagel and (dark roast) coffee, which felt like mud. (I get this is not a coffee shop!) Watched all the orders being prepared for a half hour- they seemed perfectly pleasant, and the line kept coming! Bagel tasty but seemed burned or overdone (didn't have it toasted). Don't mind trying again, as this chain had been one of my faves when I first got to NY. I feel I should note that the cashier was completely fine and patient when I asked to use Google Pay. They all just have to yell through their masks to be understood, presumably. And across the counter with all the partitions.

They're so rude. Bagels are good, manager is rude. Staff is rude. Service is sloppy and tense. I thought that maybe everyone was having a bad day, but this is the fourth time I've been in a row where everyone was the worst.

When I first walked into Tal Bagels, I didn't have high expectations. I thought it would be like any typical breakfast restaurant, but I was wrong. I ordered an everything bagel with smoked salmon, cream cheese with chives, and tomatoes. This was easily the best bagel I've ever had! The portion was huge thanks to all the add ons. I was so full after finishing the bagel. I loved it so much that I came back the next day to order the same thing! The service is pretty fast. The people working behind the counter are super efficient, especially when the line is long. Even though they were fast, it seemed really chaotic and disorganized behind the counter. I was approached by multiple workers who each asked me what I ordered. I can't complain too much since I got my bagel just the way I ordered it, but the other Yelpers seem to have different experiences. I would suggest they revamp their ordering system to run smoother. Overall, I loved the bagel I ordered at this place! I would recommend anyone and everyoje come try it! I can't wait to try other bagel spots in New York in the future, since I now understand the hype about New York bagels!

This place has always had great bagels and grouchy service. Today I got a very mediocre flat bagel without the crunch they used to have. Just like soft white bread. They were grouchy as always and the lox was a whopping $63 a pound. Truly downhill. Kossar's is opening on York soon and they are going to crush these guys.

I've ordered from here on two separate occasions, two years apart. And in both occasions, placing an order inside the store has been a trial. Ordering anything more complicated than a bagel with cream cheese is an extraordinary request. The order-taker looks at me completely mind blown that I asked for cream cheese and chicken salad on the same sandwich. The layout of the restaurant is completely backwards. The checkout should be by the door and the deli counter should be in the center. This backwards layout makes the ordering and paying an exercise in frustration. There is no signage that says "pay here" or "order here". People are constantly talking over each other, but more often than not, they're yelling over each other because of the frustration. There seems to be no intuitive order of operations. The coffee stall is in a okay location in the back. I feel bad for any new hires because they seem set up for failure. The food that I have ordered from here came out OK.

This bagel spot is unfortunately way too crowded on the weekends, seems like everyone on the UES is in there getting a bagel. Because of this, there is always a long line inside the place and it takes a while to put your order in. The workers are efficient and nice, but not as attentive as they could be given the volume of customers. Additionally, the customers themselves can be confrontational and rude while waiting in line. Recently, my bacon, egg, and cheese, was lackluster and had a very poor ratio of bacon and cheese to egg, not to mention it was very overpriced. Unfortunately, tal bagels has lost my business for now after my most recent experience. Will have to find another bagel spot to go to on the UES.

I purchased a everything bagel with lox, cream cheese, capers, tomato, onions with water. It was quite pricey and cost a little north of 18 dollars. I would have been okay since the lox were quite tasty but the onion had the bottom hard bit which was inedible. I would expect nothing but perfection from something this pricey was heavily disappointed. As I ate inside and was taking sometime to read through something the manager started dimming the lights, saying they were going to close soon as they needed to clean up. I understood he was trying to get me to leave but this was also 45 minutes before the closing time, and I found it quite rude for him to start dimming the lights early on.

This place used to be my go to but sadly I won't be returning. Came here one quiet Thursday morning the staff were beyond rude and talking to me and other customers horribly. Instant confusing as to we're to order from as they have a small sign towards the back that you can't see when you arrive. I could get passed rude staff but the bagel was also horrible. I got a turkey egg cheese toasted on a everything bagel. Cheese wasn't melted a drop of hot sauce on one part. I was charged for 3 eggs it felt like one and a half AT MOST. Eggs were dry, turkey was maybe two slices ($3.95) and ofc the cheese wasn't melted. I will say the place is every clean! Farewell Tal bagels

I went over to Tal Bagels on Christmas morning to grab some bagels (since it was pretty much the only thing open early in the morning that day). Normally I try to avoid this location because of the terrible service, but I decided to go for convenience. One of the regular employees (the tallest one who always looks pretty angry) did not have his mask on and looked like he was sick. To make matters worse, he sneezed directly into his gloves, maskless, and then proceeded to touch the freshly baked bagels with the same gloves. I looked at him and said that is completely unacceptable and walked right out. I have given this place so many chances over the years with their rude customer service and random price fluctuation week to week, but that was the very last straw. I have no idea how they manage to stay on business. They bagels aren't even good anymore.

I didn't realize a restaurant could screw up an order this much. The bagel is decent at best. I'd think twice before ordering from here, especially if you have a food allergy or restrictions. The "latte" is just bad iced coffee with loads of cream and 75% ice. They managed to get 16% of my order correct.

Been coming in for a while sometimes with my tiny dog for the past 6 months and today im kicked out because of the dog when I came in the day before with with her no problem. It's the same tall guy every one else is talking about here. Bad energy but if it's the closest bagel shop u do what u gotta do I guess

Normally I don't like to write reviews, but when I came in to place first thing was sooo hot. They don't turn on their ac. The tall guy was so rude when we ordered and gave us a nasty look. He even told me you go back and sit when we done ordering. He stand there making our bagel while he using his phone.. not sanitary at all! While waiting to pay the lady in front just walk away.. like she didn't want to talk to me, but they were talking about a product that look like have mold, the other guy told her just put it in the front. Definitely won't come back here.. bagel was too toasted that doesn't taste like everything bagel, tasted more like burnt bagel