H & H Midtown Bagels East

Delicious bagels!
I got my usual an everything bagel with scallion cream cheese and lox. Definitely one of the best I’ve had.
Be prepared to wait on the weekend, the line was out the door on Sunday around 11am. I was in and out in about 30 minutes, but it was worth it!
Will be coming back

Despite the long line, it moves quickly and you’re wise to know EXACTLY what you want when it’s your turn. The bagel with lox spread is to die for! Worth the stop for a great NYC bagel.

Best bagels in New York and have been for as long as I can remember.
There are newer places, places with some philosophy, some special bagel dance, they have a grain only available one time a year in a magical forest which you can only enter by playing a secret tune on a shofar… but H&H is bagel.
In a city famous for it’s bagels tourists often assume that all the bagels will be good (same with pizza) because of its reputation. This is like just assuming that any wine in france is good… it’s not.
The reputation that NYC enjoys for good bagels is not because we have streets lined with bagels, but because H&H has been putting out consistently excellent product forever.

The NYC bagel experience. Perfectly chewy and toasted bagel with tons of flavorful cream cheese options and perfect coffee all at an affordable price. There are only a few tables inside. Most of the people I saw there were getting food to go. When you go up to the counter you give your food and drink order. While your order is being prepared you go to the cashier and tell them what you had and pay. They do take cards. So good y’all!

The flavor was all there. Thanks HH for the NYC bagel experience. The food was served hot and fast. I was amazed that the servers memorized all their orders, and the orders were complicated!

Wow, 2 great NYC bagel places in a row. Looks like I am finally out of my NYC bagel funk.
I moved out of NY from Long Island permanently when I was 24 or so and have only been back for visits. Since moving, most of my trips were back to LI, so I just went back the the great bagel stores I grew up with. However, for the past 6 years, my lady and I have been making trips to NYC once or twice a year, and for the first 3 or 4 years, we couldn’t believe how disappointing the bagels were. We went with articles reviews for various bagel place (I think one was Ess-​A and maybe another was David’s) where we saw all of these debates over who had the best NYC bagel, and neither were that good. Then finally, a couple of years ago, we discovered Brooklyn Bagels, or something like that and had finally found great bagels again.
This trip, we were closer to H&H, and we decided to listen to the reviews and give it a shot. At first, I was calling it better than Brooklyn, but I think Melissa was right and on further reflection, I don’t know if they were THAT good, but it was really close. You cannot go wrong at H&H, which you might be able to figure out by the line stretching out the door. Their bagels are no-​nonsense big and crispy on the outside, soft and doughy on the inside, with seeds covering the bagel — yes, on both sides the way it is supposed to be.
People who work there are no-​nonsense, too. If you don’t know what you want by the time you get to order, expect an attitude. They are there to get you your food and get you the heck out. But they are quick and efficient and got us our food quickly.
We split a whole wheat everything with egg and cheese and a regular everything with lite plain cream cheese. Eggs were cooked fresh — none of this microwave nonsense — and the cream cheese was PILED on. You’d think I’d remember that’s how NYers do it, considering I worked in a bagel shop throughout high school, but I guess I forgot. Didn’t matter though –both sandwiches were great. However, I think I need to stop trying to go with a healthier bagel option. No matter where I go, the whole wheat everything just isn’t as good as a regular everything or poppy or even a plain bagel, and I like whole wheat bread. It just detracts from the whole bagel experience.
Anyway. In NY? Need a bagel fix — and lets face it, who doesn’t? Can’t go wrong here.

H & H bagels are the best in NY! I would trade all the new trendy, fancy bagel sandwich places for a simple H & H bagel with scallion crème cheese ANY day. They are open 24/​7, their bagels are ALWAYS fresh and their spreads are all great. I have never had them be out of any kind of bagel, no matter the day of the week or the time of the day. They are extremely accommodating if you need to place a large order in advance and I have even called the day before for a next day order of 50 bagels! I do wish they had a little bit nicer of a seating area… there’s a lot of dead space towards the front that could go towards a few more tables or at least some more chairs!
Don’t be phased by the long lines that sometimes go all the way out the door and down the street! It moves very quickly!

Bagel quality is a solid A, but the most recent time I was there, some kind of register error made the process of paying for my bagel take close to 15 minutes. I understand, technical difficulties happen, but no one tried to tell us what was wrong, how long it would take, or try to offer any other kind of solution. Luckily I wasn’t in any kind of a hurry that Saturday afternoon, but if I had been, I would have been furious.
Technical difficulties aside, H&H is one of the classic New York City bagels. The perfect blend of firm on the outside and chewy goodness on the inside. Their lox spread is divine, and a good alternative to the full bagel and lox if you’re on a budget, or just not interested in the whole shebang. They have a small seating area inside — definitely not enough for the amount of customers they get, but I doubt that most people stay and eat. Lines are long but manageable (whenever the register is working), and prices are fair, if a bit on the steeper side (but the quality makes it worth it!).

I had the Whole Wheat Everything bagel with Lite Sun-​dried Tomato CC. It was pretty delicious and fast– but the bagel wasn’t the freshest, maybe because of the time of day I went.
The coffee was okay too.
About 16 seats.

I was always in awe of H&H back when it was in the midtown west side area. I think it might have been my first NYC bagel. Now with only two locations left, I am so thankful that I have one right near me. I came in on a Sunday right at lunch time and not surprised, there was a long line. Luckily for me because I was starving, the line went relatively fast.
Overall, I found their prices to be within range of what I would expect from a NYC bagel place. I got the everything bagel with belly lox and cream cheese, plain and simple. (In all honesty, I found this place to be really reasonable in pricing with its existing reputation. All the popular lox — bagel places are definitely a few dollars more and much smaller in size). I love love love lox and cream cheese on a bagel and this place definitely satisfied my craving. They provide a layer of cream cheese on each side and right in the middle is a butt load of that delicious salmon. The salmon was super fresh and soft to the bite. It was cut to the perfect size for stuffing your face.
Overall, a great bagel place. I can’t wait to try their egg specialties next time.

H & H has got the New York bagel and I need to continue my quest for the best NYC bagel. Located on the UES, I found myself on the way to the Met and was ready for a good ol’ breakfast bagel. Turning around the corner, I saw a long line poke out of the place. Although nervous for the long wait, I trekked over to find the line moved quite quickly. I waited about 5 – 10 minutes until I reached the front, so do not let the line deter you.
BAGEL: I got the lox bagel with cream cheese on an everything bagel. I was fortunate enough to get a freshly made everything bagel since I saw the gentleman toss several dozen bagels into the bin. The New York bagel has something magical in it. Got a good amount of volume of dough in it, warm, but nice exterior filled with delicious salmon and cream cheese inside. I only wish it was larger, but I mean, the size is probably for the best to avoid the intense calories. By far one of the best bagels I have ever had (the only thing that comes close are the bagels in Montréal) and I would be back in a heartbeat.
The bagel can set you back a little bit as my lox+cream cheese+everything bagel was almost $ 11. So good and worth experiencing! I must now continue my quest for the best NY bagel, or have I already found it?!

This place is crazy busy and bustling on a Saturday morning, as any self-​respecting NYC bagel spot should be. Bagels are great, good strong coffee, and the lox is on point. Prices are pretty normal for a quality bagel place in the neighborhood.

I usually get a bagel with cream cheese and a small oatmeal and I am happy. Today, I decided to split a bagel sandwich #3 with a friend. It was huge and comes with egg, italian sausage, pepper-​jack cheese and jalapeño cream cheese! I had it without the egg, but it was still heavenly. The line was out the door because it was a Sunday morning, but moves quick. Everything is fresh and soooo good. If you decide to have the #3 sandwich, you will not be disappointed, just have plenty of napkins on hand as it can get messy. I also like their hot chocolate. Perfect crisp sunny Sunday for grabbing a bagel and taking it to the park nearby. Places like this make me love the Upper East Side.

Can’t go wrong with a classic New York bagel! They offer standard bagels (wheat, everything, onion, egg) so don’t go looking for any exotic flavors. Bagels are nice and soft on the inside with perfect golden casing on the outside.
They offer a variety of cream cheese flavors (olive, jalapeño, walnut raisin, cucumber dill, BACON!) If you’re craving a hot breakfast you can also get your bagel topped with eggs/​bacon/​sausage.

2 medium coffees and 2 bagels rang up to about $ 25, but even though I am a bitter coffee-​hater, H&H worked quite a miracle by dumping enough cream and sugar into the cup to make me actually like the concoction. Plus, nothing pairs as well with a turkey egg and cheese on a toasted cinnamon raisin bagel as something hot and sweet to drink.
Bagel was a hardier, less puffy, chewier version of the Ess-​a-​bagel behemoth. I liked how instead of plain scrambled eggs, the eggs were cooked over easy and the runny yolk seeped into the sausage and cheese. Got egg all over my face and went through a stack of napkins, but totally worth it.
There were surprisingly quite a few empty seats during the Saturday morning rush hour. The people behind the counter were very friendly, double-​checking to see whether or not I wanted tomato or onion on the lox and cream cheese bagel.
NEXT TIME: egg bagel, scallion cream cheese, cranberry muffin

This is literally the first place I ate at when I landed into NYC. A little bit on the pricier side but it was crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside, as a bagel should be!
They give generous portions when it comes to the cream cheese and everything was hot and fresh– only thing I wish was that there was more flavor on the everything bagel.

Expensive, but WOW! Probably the best bagels in NYC. The smoked salmon with lox spread on an everything toasted bagel is beyond words. The service is fast but courteous which is great since they always have a huge line on Sundays.
Also they have fresh squeezed OJ on a freezer barrel near the fridges. Do yourself a favor and go ahead and grab one. The salmon sandwich + the OJ will set you back close to $ 16… But my taste buds couldn’t care less!

I’m not a NY bagel expert, but I do know that this is definitely the best lox bagel I have had in the city so far. I have tried Ess-​a-​Bagel and Brooklyn Bagel and this definitely takes the cake!
+ EVERYTHING BAGEL/​/​SCALLION CREAM CHEESE/​/​LOX/​/​TOMATO: The bagel was perfectly toasted with 3 – 4 slices of lox. The lox was so fresh and oily I felt like it just got caught and cut from the fish. The tomato really balances out the oiliness from the fish and the savoriness from the cream cheese. If you’re in UES, definitely get your bagels here but expect a line out the door!
There are about 7 – 8 tables for seating, but if you wait a table will open up sooner than you think.

H&H has been my bagel of choice for years. I have many fond memories growing up in NYC eating H&H bagels. Open 24 hours a day, I could get a freakin fresh H&H bagel anytime I wanted. I used to live at 81^st & Amsterdam Ave. 2 blocks away from the (now closed) original location. Best freakin bagel on the planet. The everything bagel?! forgetaboutit! The best! :)‘
Long B4 Mr. H was indicted for tax evasion & the two original stores closed, they were the largest bagel manufacturer in New York City, and one of the largest bagel manufacturers in the world, producing about 80,000 bagels a day.
H&H was started in 1972 when Helmer Toro aka Mr. H & his brother-​in-​law Hector Hernandez «H&H» bought Midtown Bagels at Broadway & 80^th St.
Later on, Mr. H became the sole owner.
In 2009, Manhattans DA, Robert Morganthau announced the indictment and arrest of Mr. H for stealing taxes & evading unemployment insurance taxes from H&H employees. In 2010 he pleaded guilty to grand larceny & was ordered to pay restitution of more than half a million dollars. He was also sentenced to 50 weekends on Rikers Island! Yikes! :(
Tanked his business to say the least & he ended up filling bankruptcy & eventually lost the bagel factory in Hell’s Kitchen.
Now there is just H&H midtown bagels at 1551 2^nd Ave. between East 80^th & East 81^st streets on the UES. Same great bagels, different owners of course ;)
When I moved down to Dallas I couldn’t find a freakin decent boiled NY bagel anywhere! They don’t boil the bagels down here they just bake them. If I wanted a piece of bread I would just buy a baguette! Uuuugggghhhh :(
Real NY bagels are boiled & they are real chewy. So chewy you got to get your teeth in there & Arrrrr! It’s not a pretty site with cream cheese all over your face but it’s freakin yummy! FORGETABOUTIT! The best! Nothing beats a real H&H bagel.
So, I order my bagels online from H&H. They ship overnight. You can purchase them by the doz. I can’t eat a dozen bagels all at once so I freeze most of them & they freeze nicely till your ready to sink you teeth into them! Arrrrr! Just thaw, toast & chomp!
Anyway, since the original stores closing & all the company changes they have announced that a new website is coming soon!
For now, if you would like to place an overnight shipping order to anywhere in the U.S. please call 212−717−7312 during their office hours.
Highly highly recommend :)’

I have been here a couple of times and have never experienced the bad service that other Unilocalers seem to report. Sure, I do feel rushed with my order, but there are literally so many people in line that also want bagels. H&H is also pretty much a grab and go place, so don’t walk in expecting for some kind of lavish brunch experience!
The everything bagel with lox and plain cream cheese is HEAVENLY. They aren’t stingy with the portions. H&H isn’t the cheapest, but the lox has always been fresh and delicious.