Help me relax and enjoy a bagel again in NYC

February 8, 2013 12:40 PM

After an extended illness that involved a severely limited diet, I'm finally on the mend and able to eat my old favorite foods. With that in mind, I want to treat myself and a friend to a fantastic bagel in New York City. However, I'm still recuperating and am pretty low on energy, so the standard "go to Murray's and then walk to the High Line/sit on a bench/walk around" type advice doesn't work for me. I'm looking for a restaurant that combines extremely good bagel with a comfortable seating area, with a strong preference for table service. If I have to compromise, I'll compromise on quality of bagel and accept suggestions for places with a nice environment that serve acceptable bagels. I'm happy to travel to anywhere in the city to do this.
posted by telegraph to Food & Drink (13 answers total)

I was pretty fond of the bagel at Nussbaum and Wu's at 113th and Broadway. They're good if not fabulous, and the atmosphere is cute but somewhat bare bones, though notch or two above your usual neighborhood deli. I believe they're counter service, not table service, though.
posted by psycheslamp at 12:52 PM on February 8, 2013

Can you get to Zabar's?
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 12:52 PM on February 8, 2013

Best answer: So glad you're on your way to health. I just found out that I'm severely gluten intolerant and the tears run down my face at the loss of my beloved Bagels.

I was thinking the Carnegie Deli might be a good place. They have table service, and they sell a nice bagel.

Most of the excellent bagel places are storefronts with no, or crappy seating.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 12:52 PM on February 8, 2013

I used to live off the bagels at Nussbaum. I think they're delicious (and oh, now on the West Coast, how I miss them...). It's counter service, but there's seating.
posted by Lutoslawski at 1:06 PM on February 8, 2013

I would not describe the Zabar's seating area as "comfortable." There are better bagels too.

Ess-a-Bagel at 359 1st Ave has nice bagels and seating, albeit with counter service.
posted by grouse at 1:09 PM on February 8, 2013

Best answer: You want one of Eli Zabar's fancy restarurnts on the east side, I think you really want E.A.T.
posted by shothotbot at 1:13 PM on February 8, 2013

The smoked sable bagel with wasabi tobiko on the brunch menu at Jeffrey's Grocery, at Waverly and Christopher, is pretty great.
posted by nicwolff at 3:23 PM on February 8, 2013

Best answer: Barney Greengrass has table service.
posted by brujita at 4:14 PM on February 8, 2013

Murray's isn't always busy and does have seating. If you go at an off-hour I'm sure you can get through the ordering process quickly and get seated. That may still be too much for you, but it's worth considering if you don't care about having your bagel exactly at rush hour on a Saturday morning.
posted by ch1x0r at 4:15 PM on February 8, 2013

Also, I know that Murray's has pickup service on Seamless.com, so you could order it in advance and just pick it up.
posted by ch1x0r at 4:18 PM on February 8, 2013 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Thanks for all of the suggestions! I'm leaning towards Barney Greengrass but I will come back with a trip report.

RuthBun - It's OK, there is life after gluten intolerance, I promise! I myself am not allowed to have raw veggies anymore, so you can have my salad and I'll eat your bread. And we shall all enjoy bacon.
posted by telegraph at 6:57 AM on February 9, 2013

Barney Greengrass is awesome - just note that they are closed on Mondays.
posted by kathryn at 8:11 AM on February 11, 2013

Response by poster: We ended up at Barney Greengrass, which was delicious, and the service was wayyyy nicer than I had been prepared to expect. Still not exactly a comfortable dining experience, but it was eminently manageable for me. Thanks for the recommendations!
posted by telegraph at 7:40 PM on March 10, 2013