This place is sitting at 3 stars after coming here again. Last time I was here I ordered a semi complicated sandwich. This time I figured I'd make it simple to it wouldn't be messed up or missing anything. Ordered a everything bagel toasted with scallion cream cheese. Opened my order later the bagel wasn't toasted. Shouldn't be a big deal, but I told the man taking my order very clearly I wanted it toasted. The bagel tasted okay but it would've been a lot better toasted. The sandwich felt kind of sad and disappointing because I simplified my order and it was still incorrect. Also ordered garlic bagels since I was trying to get that last time. Got it but one bagel was so badly burnt I couldn't eat it. The toppings and the bottom of the bagel was black. read more

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I LOVE KOSSARS! They renovated and reopened not too long ago so there are all these new food possibilities. Before leaving back to Miami, I purchased some bagels and two days later, they were still soft and great to eat. Their bagels are everything a bagel should be and should taste like. They have a variety of bagels that they bake in-house as well as plenty of spreads. They also have bialys and other treats. I love their blueberry cream cheese and poppy seed bagel. I usually get that or egg and cheddar on a poppy seed bagel. The bialys are 90 cents! There can be quite a line on weekends so prepare yourself to wait but you won't be disappointed. read more

Kossar's Bagels & Bialys - Turkey bacon, egg, and cheddar cheese on a plain bagel - Bakeries Near Me - New York, New York

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Never on time, never gotten an order right once. Foods not good enough to put up with the awful service. Was assured multiple times my bagel order for the next day would be ready by 10am. Definitely wasn't, had to wait two hours when I went to pick up. My three worst service experiences have all been here. There are soo many much much better places like this to go in nyc. read more

Kossar's Bagels & Bialys - Two wrong sandwiches that took 2 hours - Bakeries Near Me - New York, New York

Terrified been going here for decades old world bagels large crispy many flavors & styles even bialys which are so fresh xoxoxo large pizza style bialys $4.75 great value always sells out Open 7 days usually 6am-3pm ish love is a Kossar bagel Ty read more

Kossars has been in the lower east side for decades. Nothing outstanding since there are much better bagels elsewhere, even on the LES. Not enough variety, stale rugelach, bland bialys. But if you want an overpriced bagel, this is your place. Having said that, my review is more about the SERVICE. Today, I ordered a whole wheat bagel with nothing on it. Tapped my card and said thank you. I waited and waited and waited. There were perhaps 3-4 orders ahead of me and their food was from the grill i.e egg sandwiches, bagels with the works. Please note that there were 3-4 guys behind the counter at this point. After waiting several minutes, one of them placed a whole wheat in a bag and left it there along with 2 onion bialys from another order that no one claimed. The cashier who was also working the coffee station came over and looked at the receipt and threw it away instead of passing over the order. I finally went up to him and asked about it. Why didn't he call out the order? He was free to take more orders but to fulfill them was something else. This isn't the first time either. So maybe this is their new business model - to make everyone wait their turn despite the simplicity of an order. Kossars, you've lost a customer and that can't be good in this economic climate. read more

Does Kossar's even need a review?! Kossar's has been around for like 200 years! Actually maybe not 200 but I hear that it's like 100 years. The lines here are always long especially in the morning. But hey, that's a good thing in terms of getting delicious food. Bagels, bialys, sandwiches, lox, list goes on. Love it! read more

On a Saturday morning, I ordered A cinnamon bagel with cream cheese and it is the hardest bagel I've ever had in my life when I took my first bite into it and tried to chew with my jaws popped. I paid $7 to just throw it away. This place is overrated. read more

In NYC, it was ok but certainly not the best for bagels. My go to is usually Liberty bagel, but was not close to it on this trip.

This place was really built up to me and I was slightly disappointed. The bialys were very good but the bagels were average at best. Perhaps expected too much but I believed this would be some type of a life altering experience and it was not. Still pretty good just not the best I've ever had. In fact I've had bagels better in Florida. The bialy's were excellent though if you were to come here I would stick with the bialy. read more

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Great fast service, staff was very friendly. I love the l variety of bagels and cream cheese spreads. I got the everything cream cheese so delicious. read more

After the remodel, it looks like a spiffed up place with little resemblance to the original dark and dingy looking bakery storefront. They now offer all of the full service you would expect of a place closer to functioning like a Russ & Daughters, with lox and other fillings in a sandwich you can enjoy in-house. A bialy is the lowly wallflower cousin on the dance floor to the bagel. Alas, she sits alone until someone in the know comes along to light up the wood planks and spin her under the mirror ball. The bialy is what you come in for. They have both onion or garlic versions. I must admit, I cannot eat one that is not warm and toasted with a spread of melted butter. Kossar's is where you get the best. The bagels are fine, too. My wife had the number 1 sandwich toasted with cream cheese and lox, and it was salty. Very salty. We had the chocolate babka, but found the chocolate-to-cake ratio a bit tilted too much to the darkside. Too sweet. If the chocolate content were dialed back, I would try it again. read more

Kossar's Bagels & Bialys - Very chocolatey babka. - Bakeries Near Me - New York, New York

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Bagels are fantastic. Tried a turkey, egg, and scallion cream cheese on a everything bagel, so fresh and crispy and delicious. On the pricier side but super close if you live in the LES. read more

Kossar's Bagels & Bialys - Bakeries Near Me - New York, New York

Ordered a heavily advertised over baked fresh biyali. After taking a tiny first bite it was headed for the trash. Stale, hard, flavorless... one and done read more

I have wanted to visit Kossar's ever since I read The Bialy Eaters: The Story of a Bread and a Lost World. Kossar's is one of the few bakeries left in the United States to make bialys. It's like a bagel but there's no hole and it isn't boiled before it's baked. I got there just after 9 on a Friday morning. I ordered 1 onion bialy and 1 Essex Street Sandwich (Pastrami Salmon, Avocado, Double Onion Cream Cheese) on a Salt Bagel. They told me they were out of avocado but I said go ahead and make it anyway. They offered me cucumber instead and I said no thank you. All components of the sandwich were very good I just should have known better than to order it on the salt bagel. It was too salty between the bagel and the fish. The Pastrami salmon was excellent though. The bialy I took a couple of bites of and it was good but not amazing. I'm very glad I got to try Kossar's but there's lots of examples of bagels in New York City that are just as good or better. Their other baked goods (Rugelach, babka, black & white cookies, etc.) looked delicious but I didn't even eat 1/2 of what I ordered. read more

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First time I had a bialy here 30 years ago it was the best I've ever had. Fast forward to present day, some of the worst bagels I've ever had! They were probably a day old and ROCK HARD! Maybe if you go later in the day after they sell out of the old bagels you might get something decent, MAYBE. They were also slightly more expensive in person than if I were to order from Seamless for pickup. In person a baker's dozen is $21 on Seamless $18. There also bagel packages on Seamless but not in the store. Lastly there was a guy that worked there who did not wear a mask. When he sneezed, he didn't cover his mouth just turned away near all the bagels...... Never again will I come here, just not the same with the new store. read more

Way overhyped. The biayls are tiny and the extra ridiculous amount of money you pay for the smear is not worth it as they little give you a tiny itty bitty scoop of cream cheese. It's about a nickel size amount of cream cheese. Not worth it. read more

Kossar's Bagels & Bialys - Tiny biayl. Not worth it. - Bakeries Near Me - New York, New York

It's Thursday 11/30/23 at 6:55am and the guy who's been here for a few years had the new guy make my sandwich. But this comes after complaining that he (Angel) got it wrong the last time. But every time I have and a sandwich made by him, he has got it wrong or given me old bacon or the tiniest amount of cheese. He even once used the old bowl and didn't wash it and mixed my eggs in It. He may be named Angel but he's not one at all. His smile - whew. Run. This review is three years in the making. read more

Came in to try the Bialy and got lox cream cheese with it. Didn't need to toast it since they were already fresh out of the oven. Overall I'd rather just get a normal bagel sandwich. The bialy seemed a bit like a smashed down bagel and not as bready. read more

Kossar's Bagels & Bialys - Bakeries Near Me - New York, New York

Good but not amazing. 3 stars are mostly because they didn't get a super easy order right and the place was empty. I ordered a lox bagel with scallion cream cheese toasted and scooped out with capers. My bagel was only scooped out. No toasted and no capers-super easy order and they couldn't do it right. disappointed read more

Kossar's Bagels & Bialys - Bakeries Near Me - New York, New York

Best bagel in the LES and always has reasonable lines and quick prep. Soft and big bagel that always comes jam packed with toppings. read more

Kossar's Bagels & Bialys - Bacon, Egg and Cheese Sandwich - Bakeries Near Me - New York, New York

summary - came here because my mom was raving about it to me and so i decided to stop by. fast and friendly place. however, i kept emphasizing that i wanted cream cheese in my bagel and asked twice to make sure it was there because i got a turkey egg sandwich (no cheese). checked out and went outside to see, no cream cheese for a bagel that was $8.50 :/ yes. it was fresh, toasted and warm, but super sad to not have any cream cheese in it. food & price: ~ $13.50 for two bagels everything bagel with garlic thyme cream cheese: good ratio of cream cheese and bagel. for $5 you get a decent meal and it keeps you full for a while. warm, delicious New York styled bagel... can't beat it. plain bagel w/ egg and turkey - so disappointed that they left out the cream cheese. would've made it so much better. for $8.50 i would only give it a 2/5 because it was SO dry!! it wasn't crowded and i kept emphasizing i wanted cream cheese in it and paid for it too!! :( overall - if you're on the go, im sure any bagel spot will hit a home run. nothing beats the freshness of a baked bagel in the city. much softer than anything ive ever had! they also wrap it in foil and paper to keep it warm which is nice. read more

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Do not pass by this shop without stopping here for an amazing breakfast sandwich! I had the New Yorkers (egg, turkey bacon, & cheese) on top of a Bialy... duh! I also added the Garlic Thyme schmear to the sandwich and it was absolutely phenomenal. The smear melted from the fresh cooked eggies and it was an absolute mess to eat from the schmear oozing out of all ends of the bialy, but worth every damn bite. read more

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Best bagels I've had in the area! The shmear is incredible. From the moment you walk in, you can tell the bagels are going to be bomb. It's an old fashioned place and you can't help but love it. You know you're going to get a delicious bagel from a spot like this read more

Poor customer service on an internet order, a dozen bialy to be sent as a gift to a relative. Ordered Monday night, received an email on Wednesday with the tracking number saying orders received Mon-Wed would ship on the next day. Checked tracking number on Friday and the bialy were never shipped. I called and spoke to the manager. The manager told me "Good thing you called I almost left for the day, I should have called you, I did not like the product that day so I did not ship it." That was on Wednesday and when I called I barely caught her on Friday. If you order via their website make sure they actually ship your order. read more

Came here on Saturday afternoon for iced coffee. The staff are super friendly and chilled. The AC was not super strong tho. Boo.... Was going to buy some bagels for breakfast but the some flavors sold out so come early if u want some popular flavors. read more

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Wow. First time here in a year and what a disappointment. What happened to this place? This used to be a classic now it's a wannabe version of itself. Why? They have a menu up now in marker with prices constantly going up. They have a sandwich up for 13.75?!? They used to have a classic breakfast I'd get constantly for less than $7. Now the price and the taste and the overall feel is just lost. It might as well go away instead just getting mad that they forgot me ingredients like my avocado. read more

I've been here several times, I always give a place at least a couple tries. Being one of the only early morning bagel places in LES, I had higher hopes. The Everything bagels are over salted. The bagels sometimes have the texture of being day-olds. Apparently there's no option to buy 1/4 pound of cream cheeses or butter to go though, which basically every other bagel place offers. The staff generally tries hard but the service is slow. The only saving grace is that they have a decent variety of cream cheese selections. Give it a shot. Maybe it'll be an "on" day for them. read more

Is it me or are their everything bagels over the top crazy salty? Almost inedible salty. Tried them two different times. Crazy salty both times. read more

All in all not close to a bialy from 40+ years ago. Then Kossar's was the go-to place. Alas Kossar's has not been the same for that length of time. It has produced tasteless bialys for all those years. They've been bought/sold once or twice and the taste got lost. Bo's Bagels on 116st tries better than most. At least there is some flavor and onions. It's not the same as Kossar's was back in the day, but better than what is around today if you desire a bialy. If you want a good read I enjoyed Mimi Sheraton's: "The Bialy Eaters: The Story of a Bread and a Lost World" read more

Kossar is a local gem that has been around longer than I have been alive. It is often featured in food blogs and television shows. They make great bagels, bialy and baked goods. My girlfriend bought 13 bagels to bring back to her friends in Virginia because they LOVE New York City bagels so much. Bagels from NYC are so good that people from out of town are asking for them! We wanted to make sure bagels they got were top notch NYC bagels. 13 bagels for $13. They have sesame, everything, pumpernickel, wheat, cinnamon, egg as well others. This is a great value and is hugely popular amongst locals and tourists. Warning: You might leave smelling like garlic. read more

The bialys are not like they use to be years ago, but they're okay. This is my "go to" place when I want a bagel with tofu cream cheese. Get it, if you have a sensitivity to lactose. You can't taste the difference. read more

I wish I could use a multitude of fire emojis to describe how good this place is. The bagels are the best I've had in the city. I always go for the everything bagel toasted with the jalapeno and caper cream cheese OR the salmon salad + onion. The everything bagel is perfectly seasoned with everything. The jalapeno and caper cream cheese is salty with just a bit of spice and the salmon salad is simple but delicious. The food is *inserts another fire emoji*. The service is quick and efficient. I've never been disappointed. Their interior was recently upgraded not to long ago and they've added additional seating, which is great. They've managed to keep their classic old-time charm throughout the remodel. I always feel like I'm in Old New York when I come in. I have no complaints and will continue to enjoy this LES treasure. 5/5 read more

Great bialys and solid bagels and lox in the LES. If you haven't tried this NY institution, you should definitely check it out. My favorite sandwich is The Ludlow. Pastrami lox, horseradish and pickle cream cheese, cucumbers. It's delicious! read more

Stale bagels and coffee order was incorrect as well. Everything bagel was basically a poppyseed bagel.

I ended up at Kossar's for a food tour experience. While I was there, I purchased my very first chocolate babka. #Seinfeldfangirl Service was friendly.. and the employee actually expressed her shock I'd never had babka! She suggested some other good food places to try, which was appreciated. So obviously I have NO basis of comparison with other babkas, but this babka is delicious! Moist, chocolatey with a bit of crust. It took allll of my restraint to limit myself to one slice tonight! Highly recommended! read more

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These are hands down the best bialy's in the city. They are truly authentic and delicious. I usually don't get any spreads on mine, as I like to enjoy the flavor of the bialy itself. Definitely worth going out of your way to try these bialys. read more

On its own, it's probably 3 stars, but it's so overhyped that I had to take away another star. Their bialy is what they're supposed to be famous for. It wasn't any better than any other bialy I'd get in midtown. I got it with everything bagel cream cheese - underwhelming, mostly poppy seeds. I also got a chocolate chip muffin which hilariously only had chocolate chips on top. It was certainly fresh but just weird to have a whole... plain? muffin without the chips on the inside. read more

Good spot for a bagel if you're in the area, the salmon cream cheese is great. The line gets long on the weekends but it's worth the wait

I've never heard of bialys prior to my most recent NYC visit. TBH, I didn't mean to come here...was passing it on my way to Doughnut Plant. The large crowds inside and outside piqued my curiosity to see what I was missing out on! It just so happens that I had my very first bialy the day before at Russ and Daughters, and then I find Kossar's - famously known for their bialys! The New Yorker love of dousing cream cheese isn't really my thing, so breakfast sandwich it was! Love a great breakfast sandwich. As I stood there deciding what to get, the loudest New York grandparent aged couple cut me off, demanding a dozen garlic bialys, which they were out of. The demand was followed w a "COMMEEE ONNN MANNN" when he was informed it'd be another 20mins for more. I took a step back to give them more space, before the Grandpa turned and said to me in the most gentle way, "oh I'm sorry sweetie, did I cut you off??". The whole thing cracked me up. And he meant zero harm. Felt like a typical Thursday morning interaction that they get around here. For the history, culture, food, and service, Kossar's gets 5 stars in my books! read more

Kossar's Bagels & Bialys - Breakfast sandwich with smoked salmon and eggs. - Bakeries Near Me - New York, New York

Made a trip here on my last day of visit to take some home. Got a bagel with tuna for breakfast, took home a few bialys and bagels. They are all solid, can't go wrong. Workers were accommodating when I asked for some extra bags to wrap for flight. Also, they threw in a couple of extra bagels. Also, next to Doughnut Plant, so make it a double stop! read more