Ok, let me set the stage. It's 11am on a Sunday...: and this is a bagel shop. It's semi-busy. Not abnormally busy for a Sunday. It's not like a bus filled with the graduating class from Cabrillo College just pulled in or anything. We ask for a toasted sesame seed bagel and cream cheese. No sesame seed bagels left. No cream cheese left. Weird, and I am feeling a little like the Monty Python skit "this is a cheese shop, isn't it". Second choices made, I get our coffee. No cream left either. Soy milk only. Wow. Did they know that they would be open? Simple order, though. How long could this take to fill? Five minutes? Ten minutes? Twenty minutes? Thirty minutes? How about thirty-five minutes. While I waited I saw them get restocked with both sesame bagels and cream cheese. It would have been nice for them to mention that these weren't out forever. I can see why there were some good reviews, though. If you were friends with the lady preparing the bagels, she would deliver them to your table with some nice conversation. If you weren't, though, your order got unceremoniously dropped on the counter with no indication as to who it belonged. Warning: if you see such an order dropped on the table, don't ask about it, as they will get really exasperated. Just try and identify if it is yours and roll the dice. One of my favorite aspects was that they toasted our bagels immediately, but only got around to preparing them with our second choice of cream cheese thirty minutes later. This made the bagels extra dry and stale. Thank you for that nice touch. I am seriously trying to give these people the benefit of the doubt. I don't write many bad reviews and often refrain from writing them when the average review is so high, assuming I may have caught them on a bad day. Every restaurant gets busy. Every restaurant has those moments where a crowd overwhelms them. I try not to judge them on these outliers. However, I don't often see people standing around doing nothing, taking time to chat with friends and treat people like they are being an imposition during these times. More frequently, the appropriate response is to have enough self awareness to recognize what poor service they are giving. read more

I have been a long standing customer...since before time...certainly before my server was born.... the woman who took my order was great. I knew what I wanted and she entered it into the computer without batting an eye. My one bagle came to $4.90. I gave her a $5 and dug into my purse for over $1.50 in tip...jokingly saying I won't give you the penny I also dug out....a penny would be rude....we both laughed....then another clerk got confused and tried to hand me someone else's order....I said it wasn't mine...she initially insisted it was.... then the order taking clerk straightened it all out....still no real issue....until my food finally came. Now I understand portion control and all I catered for years....however I paid extra for extra and did not get it. Didn't really complain except that I asked for more tomatoe. Today they were using unusually small tomatoes. He insisted on charging me for more tomatoes....and then argued with me. I gave him the money and insisted that the tomatoes were too small and that I shouldn't be charged. He said we only give two...and oh well that is the size today...... He ruined my bagel indulgence.....RUINED IT! read more

The Bagelry - This was the 1/2 guacwith extra red onions and toms that and 1/2 pink flamingo with extra red onions and toms was my order. - Bagels Near Me - Soquel, California

I'll admit, these are not the best bagels I've had in my life, but they are pretty darn good! They have a decent staff. They seem friendly, but I have seen them a bit unkept at times. As long as I get what I need that's what matters. I usually have to order in because I haven't had the best of luck placing a phone order. I would likely visit more often if they would pick up their phone. read more

Dont look at all the other reviews, been eating here for a long time would always go for lunch during school, 100% recommend, fair warning does get busy! (Most the locals will tell you its the place to go) read more

The only reason I go to this place (as opposed to downtown or seabright) is because it is closer to my home and early Saturday mornings if I am hung over I need one of their bagles and a cup of their "coffee". These kids, god bless 'em, can not get an order right to save their lives. They have put the wrong toppings or just generally jacked up my order at least 10 times this year! Everyone enjoys work more when they are stoned, but it takes a special kind of stoner to work stoned and still be effective. These kids have not perfected that yet. Chincy amount of toppings, when you get what you actually ordered, and the coffee is pretty nasty. Cruise over to the Ugly Mug (not much better) but at least it's drinkable. read more

I always keep coming back to our local hometown Bagelry. Obviously they have delicious bagels and spreads but it is also the people that work at this company that draws me back when I have tried somewhere else. I have given up on trying somewhere else. Chris at the Soquel location has a really great standard for customer service and I know he sets a good example for his "team" . I know the other locations also have great service and attitude as well. Keep up the good work and making those tasty bagels... Kathy read more

Not the best first experience. Bagelry employees were dragging and scuffling feet with 3 people working and a line 6 deep, which they did not even make an attempt to acknowledge. After a few minutes with only 1 transaction of progress, I walked out. The menu looked pretty appealing, but the reason I came was in hopes of finding a good, boiled bagel, NY style. The bagels may be boiled, but by the look and feel of the day olds, it wasn't enough to keep me standing in line. The staff had no appreciation for the fact I'm giving the money that ultimately goes to them having a job. My job is also at the mercy of the customer, so maybe that's why it was so painful to experience on the other side. I wonder if the owner should just staff 1 less person so maybe they actually feel the pressure and work harder. They're obviously not working fast enough to bring enough revenue in to pay for the 3 of them to putz around like they're too cool to care about their job anyways. That may have been a run on sentence, but it was worth it. Only part that was nice with the experience was seeing 1 of them give a cup of water for some guy's dog. Who knows- maybe with a different staff or a different day it would be a better experience. read more

This store sucks. It is always out of bagels. How can a store stay open when they also run out of bagels.

I have been going to this place for a few years now and used to really love it, which is why it gets 2 stars instead of just 1, but I'm now kind of over it. I used to love going here for a quick (yes, I said QUICK) week-day lunch or weekend "brunch", they had fast and yummy bagels with generous toppings, a great variety of bagel and spread flavors as well as actual bagel-sandwich items that are pretty good. Not anymore, it seems. Sure, the menu is the same, but the last few times I've been there they've either gotten the order wrong, took forever doing it, or (like today) are out of the things you ordered AND take forever to tell you about it. It's one thing to be out of something and let the customer know prior to ordering, quite another to have to wait in line for forever just to order, wait more for the order to be done, then find out 20 minutes later or so that they don't even have what you want. I went there today as a special treat to bring my boyfriend for Father's Day since he loves the garlic bagels with fandango and artichoke/jalapeno spreads... they were all out of both and called me to the counter twice to break the news. This has happened before on the weekend (same time, around noon), and I'm left wondering why they wouldn't anticipate a busy day and make more? The attitude of everyone there (not just this time, but the last few times) has been pretty sour and unwelcoming as well. All in all, my visits to the Bagelry recently have just been disappointing and not worth the 20-30 minute wait for something we didn't even want. read more

Generally I enjoy their bagels an coffee, however the service at the Bagelry on Soquel is just ridiculous. EVERY time I've gone in they have messed up my order, and acted like they were upset at having to fix it. They have helped their friends ahead of me who were in line behind me and inadvertently "forgot" about my order. I sat for 20 minutes and when I went up to ask about my bagel sandwich, they hadn't even started it yet! As I said, I enjoy their bagels and coffee, but it's almost worth it to drive to a different location even though it's around the corner from my house. I will not go to this location anymore. read more

I love this place, they have great food and their chai is amazing. But they need to consider hiring more friendly people. The past few times I've gone in, the teenage girls behind the counter have been very rude and unpleasant. Other than the employees, the Bagelry has never disappointed. read more

I know it's a bagel place. But, I really like their chai No, not chai latte. It is fresh brewed chai tea. It is served all day along side the coffee. It is warm and aromatic. The smell fills the restaurant when you walk in... My only gripe is parking. It is a little tough to get in unless you are heading North. Also, they are cash only. So, go prepared to avoid the self serve atm fees. read more

The Bagelry represents how awesome Santa Cruz is. Making excellent bagels and toppings for 30 years is no easy feat. Bagel places come and go. This one has weathered earthquakes economic down turns and held its own against the chain bagel businesses. Offering gluten free too. Always good. A bagel you can count on. I have likely eaten here over 100 times in the last 30 years and have never had a bad experience. read more

Love this place. I go all the time. Am addicted to the deviled eggs at the downtown location only. They are perfect. Bagels are delicious and the spreads are flavorful and creamy. Not a fan of the way they fold the bagel in the paper.... w paper between the two halves bc it wastes delicious cream cheese that sticks to paper. So my workaround is to add tomatoes, first bc they have delicious tomatoes, especially that time of the year when they serve the dry harvested. Secondly it prevents the cream cheese fiasco as described above. My fav breakfast spot on the run. Good choices for vegans too read more

You know this place is ridiculous I might get sh## for this but I would hope not ..! For one it's Annoying wen buying a bagel that they always ask out loud do u wanna leave a tip like for one ' I like to think most people if not dining in a restaurant don't leave a tip.. if your ordering one bagel I think a tip prolly ain't necessary but if your ordering a ton of bagels yes leave a tip . I mean do u leave a tip at Burger King I think not . Also How do they not know if that's my last 2.50 on my debit card and only I know that ? Think about it ...and I half to say no not today and I get the look like okay wtver. Wen they don't even know my situation. They don't know if it's my last two bucks and change so I half to say sorry no I can't i literally have no money to cover it ? I really hope the owner or manager fixes that. The tip jar is already on display. If someone want to leave a tip they will in cash. And if someone wants to leave a tip on debit card. Then give us access. To the machine to put tip amount ourselves cause your workers Weatheru leave a $1 or 5 tip. Seems to never be satisfied .. bottom line please fix this u don't see any other business in Santa Cruz county asking every time if u wanna leave a tip it's not professional I hope owner fixe this this has been on my mind for weeks now FYI I don't care for this place but my daughter loves it so I'm forced to come here but every time I do it's dreadful read more

4.5 stars! This place is simple! Everything from cost of food to product served! Got the vegan guacamole on a plain bagel and a mocha... DIALED! read more

They've always been good but the past couple months i've been getting wet bagels and it's really gross , i know it's not just because of what i get on the bagel cuz i've been getting it for around 15 years now and they just recently became gross. hopefully you guys see this because i'm definitely going to main st bagels for now on read more

I had a whole wheat onion begal with "the moxie" (cream cheese, green onions and olives) not toasted. It was good as usual. However, when I went into the restroom I was disapointed to see that the sink was grimey. read more

I'm going to give this place a solid three stars because I actually really like the Bagelry but prefer the one in Santa Cruz. This one was fine. Except the bathroom is loaded in graffiti an absolutely filthy. I know there's not much you can do when people are defacing your public property, but how about try and put some effort into painting over it or putting a lock on the door - So mothers with children don't have to look at swearwords and disgusting phrases while using the bathroom? As for the food, again I like the one in Santa Cruz a lot better. The sun-dried tomato cream cheese literally tasted like the sharp acidic tomatoes you get in a can is if they had been blended with cream cheese? I actually told the person I was with that it reminded me of the pizza sauce you would get in a lunchable as a child :/ Really a bummer because we drove about 45 minutes to get here because we love the Bagelry so much & this one just happened to be closer.. To be honest though I don't really see much incentive to go back read more

Where else would you go for bagles in Santa Cruz? Pink Flamingo is pretty awesome. It's my staple. If you really want to splurge you can get Lox on your bagle. With all the extras you're paying close to $10 for that bagel. But let me tell you, it makes your bagels SUPER AWESOME. Why only 4 stars? I suppose it's because there is a bagelry type place in every town. If someone comes to Santa Cruz and misses this place I would not say it's the end of the world. Odds are you can get a good bagel in every town, and the Bagelry doesn't disappoint. read more

The staff is always so welcoming and I love that I'm able to call ahead for a pickup. Seriously the best bagels ever.

The Bagelry never disappoints when you're looking for a quick & cheap breakfast/lunch option. I love how many options there are - you can pretty much customize your bagels any way you want. Try their Tomato Herb spread - you won't regret it! read more

The Bagelry is a freaking Santa Cruz County classic. The Soquel location is my most frequented spot and it really stole my heart. I'm only taking one star away because of accessibility at this location, the parking lot is small and often packed from all the other local business. Another reason for my removal of one star is for the fact alone that their counter and ordering system is inefficient. I've been a few times where they had my bagel ready but I didn't hear them call my name or whatever. Their bagels are the bomb-digging and I really enjoy the strawberry bagel with cinnamon and sugar or a breakfast sandwich with the sun-dried tomato cream cheese! read more

This review goes out to the tall white lanky guy taking my order this morning at this joint. Get a personality and stop being so damn blah and rude to people. So I come in this morning with my child and was half a s s greeted by this guy who looked like it hurt to even say hello. WTH? He was rude through the whole transaction. I gave The Bagelry a second chance having had tried their Cedar store before. Now this Soquel store blows too! I ordered 2 bagels and totally they are whatever. Even more bogus was the guy at the forefront of this store this morning. I really didn't need his BS on a Mon morning. If you hate your job dude go somewhere else your costing people business. I won't be back. read more

My go to when I'm in town. It's so good. I've even bought a container of the tomato basil spread to take home. All the bagels taste fresh. My only complaint is it's awkward and maybe a little gross seeing one of the employees from behind the counter walk to the garbage can in the dining area, stick his foot in to smash it down and walk back to the register/food area read more

3.5 stars- they don't skimp in cream cheese which is a huge plus. Bagels are smaller than average. Lots of vegan options.

Food is good but the girl working today with the blonde hair and short bangs has NOOOOOOO Personality and was extremely rude!

I don't know why everyone raves about the bagels at this place. They're not that good. They're dense like a brick and not chewy like proper bagels are supposed to be. If I wanted unleavened bread, I could just stack a bunch of Matzoh crackers together and call 'em "bagels". read more

Bagels are kinda weird. They are very light in color and thick. Service was good and no line.

I grew up a short walk from this place. Have always loved the bagels and the toppings. Where can you get better whipped cream cheese and bagels? nowhere. But as I get older and continue to go to the Bagelry when I come back home for a visit, i have noticed something. These people behind the counter are visibly upset by having to take and make my order. They are always upset for some reason and would just rather not deal with customers. So we have learned to always double check our order before leaving because there will ALWAYS be a mistake. Santa Cruz in general has bad service, but this place is especially lame. oh and PS, we found hair in our bag of day-olds we bought yesterday. Thanks! read more

The best bagels I've ever had in my life! OMG the salmon cream cheese was so amazing! The prices were cheap too. Oh man, I wanna drive down there just for those lol. read more

Bagels were not cooked right. They were tough and chewy. They messed up one of our orders; gave us real cream cheese instead of the hummus spread that we ordered. They could've been more generous with the amount of spread they put on our bagels. I was not offered my receipt before it was thrown away. Overall, it was good, but my mind was not blown. read more

I've been eating their bagels for over 30 years. Sinply the BEST! Ilove their hummus and Del Fuego spreads. Luna is great, too. **At the end of this review is a positive UPDATE: Lately, however, I've had a beef with the Bagelry in Soquel. They've started a new system where one guy (or gal) takes your order and then someone else makes it. Well, in theory that should work just fine, right? Just like Togo's and Erick's Deli. NOT!!! It is NOT working at the Bagelry! When I've mentioned how inefficient it is, they always talk about "the learning curve". Well, it's been long enough! They should have LEARNED! In the meantime, not only is the wait longer, but the WORST part for me has been: They don't get my order right! I ask for NOT toasted. They toast it. I ask for half order of green onions. They forget 'em. And, my biggest pet peeve is asking to eat IN or a take out tray. I do NOT want it wrapped! Well, guess what? They wrap it. Arrrrgggghhh! Just yesterday I joked with the guy taking my order wondering if the guy in back would get it right. He said to watch him carefully. My family made fun of me for hovering. So I sat down and waited instead. When I went up to check, the guy was WRAPPING our orders to eat in. Sigh. We did have one to-go order, though. Okay, so I go up to pick up the order. First of all, he hadn't wrapped the to-go order. Figures. But, then I didn't even SEE mine! Instead, I saw some random order with RED onion on one side. I think I might have seen part of my order---not sure. Either way, I think the guy in back needs to take LESSONS on how to prepare bagels!! OR the guy in front needs to communicate better! I am not the only one who is frustrated with this new way of preparing bagels at the Bagelry. They claim it's to save time so the person who takes the order doesn't always have to wash their hands in between orders. HA! It was a LOT faster back then. And, more importantly, they got it RIGHT!!! Other than that, the actual bagels and spreads are good! **UPDATE: They've perfected things now, so all is good! And a few of the previous employees have since left. Yay, Bagelry! Love those spreads and bagels. read more

When you order a scramble bagel they pour liquid egg product directly into a little plastic Tupperware and nuke it right before your eyes. Magical! Also the staff are stoned out of their minds which is fine with me if they could EVER get your order right. Not cool if you drive ten minutes to pick up a big to go order and when you get home nothing is labeled and you have guests with extreme food allegries, Get it together stoners! It's that hard to make a bagel? Sad. read more

Unfortunately I was looking for a spicy cream cheese such as a jalapeño cream cheese, but the only one they have was said to have a strong garlic taste. I opted for one of the only other "spicy" cream cheeses that was offered which turned out to not be spicy at all and tasted like straight RAW onion. One pro is the fact they had capers, another con is I couldn't taste them due to the raw onion taste of the cream cheese. Really wish I wasn't told this was spicy and warned that my mouth would be tasting of raw onion until I got home. Ps please add lettuce, sprouts are not the same. read more

What's the deal with The Bagelry? They've fucked up my order four times in a row. I keep going and giving them my money, and someone at the register listens to what I order, and then there's a guy or gal who listens intently, and puts my order together, and they fuck it up every time, and I pay extra for things that are forgotten. Everyone is really nice. The location is nice. The place looks nice. The bagels look nice. They've fucked up my orders a total of six times. Is everyone too high to pay attention? Or are they too stoned? The second to last time I went in, the kid at the register couldn't figure out that I was ordering two bagels, and punched in a ridiculous combination of both into one monster bagel order that I fortunately corrected him on in time. The last time I kept it simple and just ordered a Scrambagel with turkey added and they forgot the turkey. I'm expecting next time I'll just order a bagel and they'll forget the fucking bagel and I'll open the bag and get a nice waft of back-kitchen bagel-flavored steam. But lets look at the menu, anyway. You call yourself the Bagelry. You should have the standards of a breakfast bagel. Instead you've got all this weird shit involving green onions that really seems carved out for a niche that doesn't exist. What's with the green onions? And why turkey and not ham? Who made these bagel concoctions? Was somebody drunk? Is this some government-sponsored civilian experiment? or a reality show? I feel like I want to throw on an apron and get behind the counter and whip these very nice people into shape. PAY ATTENTION. FOCUS. . If I'm paying $4.50 for a fucking bagel, I want my shit done right. Have a team meeting, put your hands in, make some goals, make a training SOP manual, keep a log of when orders are fucked up. You've got the Ugly Mug across the street, and their breakfast sandwiches are no good, either. You've got an opportunity. Own your corner of Soquel Village. ****The truth is, Santa Cruz area just doesn't understand food. You have a bagel chain but no proper Jewish deli. You have some of the worst Chinese food I've ever tried to eat in my life. You have disgusting sushi that looks like cartoon vomit. You have pathetic attempts at BBQ that is dry, flavorless, gray-colored. You wouldn't know a rare steak if it bit you in the flank. The only interesting spots to eat are your local taquerias, and half of them are so lackluster you can tell they just gave up in the face of an unappreciative, ignorant audience who despises flavor. And what's the problem? White people, probably. Particularly stupid, philistine white people. I hate em. Fucking green onions on a breakfast bagel. read more

Best bagels on the planet!!! This place has any topping you could conjure. I recommend a toasted pesto bagel with half light cream cheese and other with veggie cream cheese and add avocado. Outstanding!!! I wish there was a Bagelry in my new home town, but I can always come back to my old home town and get my bagel fix!! read more

Very tasty chewy bagels, like bagels should be. There are about 10-15 different kinds of bagels and about 10 different flavors of cream cheese including a couple vegan tofutti kinds. The schmear of cream cheese is very generous and the sundried tomato has a bold tomato taste. They also have some vegetarian cream cheese sandwiches but haven't tried those yet. The only downside is their restroom had much graffiti/tagging and they could use some music playing in the background. read more

I was greeted by a line of 20 or so people on a Saturday afternoon at this establishment. Speaking with the regulars, this is common. Yes, the bagels are delicious and the line is very deserving. So you may be asking yourself, why am I only giving this place 2 stars? Well, if you watch what goes on behind the cash register, you'll quickly realize two things: 1) if there was some work flow management, the line would be unnecessary and 2) THIS ESTABLISHMENT VIOLATES FOOD CODE. I even wrote this place a letter outlining these issues and the response I received was "well, it's too difficult (with customizations) for us to figure out a way to serve you faster and ensure our employees do the bare minimum and wash their hands...so we're keeping things they way they are." You see, when you walk up to the cash register, the person there takes your order and then goes and makes your food. Which the benefit is, if you ordered some super customized thing, you're more likely to get it customized exactly the way you want it. That's the ONLY advantage. The disadvantageS (which there are many) are as follows: 1) the customer waits longer because there is not a division of tasks allowing the line to be moved through quicker since people are always changing tasks 2) it is dangerous for the employees because they are always bumping into each other and there are hazardous items on the line (sharp knives, toaster oven, potential for slips and spills) 3) this means that the person who just handled DIRTY MONEY is now making your food with their DIRTY HANDS. Yes, there is a hand washing sink behind the wall next to the register. Yes, *some* employees wash their hands in between using the registers and handling food. But I guarantee you, if you watch closely, not every employee does this. I witnessed several employees go straight from cash handling duties to food handling duties. Now you may say to yourself, but some of them are wearing gloves. According to the state and federal food code, one must wash his/her hands before putting on gloves. Simply wearing gloves is NOT sufficient. 4) even if every employee was washing their hands, the food code specifies how long one should wash and the technique used. The fact that this establishment thinks that this happens is just laughable...in fact, I never witnessed any employee stay behind that wall for more than 20-30 seconds, which means they are not properly washing their hands. If only they had dedicated people working the food line and dedicated people working the cash registers, their employees wouldn't need to wash their hands every 4 minutes (which is an advantage to the employee. As someone who has worked in food service, your hands get incredibly dry because you are washing frequently throughout the day. Imagine having to do that 5x more often because of a bad work flow!) And seriously, the excuse I was given as to why the work flow method this place uses is laughable. I don't know about you, but I would rather have a less-than-perfect customized order than get sick. On top of that, in my letter I outlined (to great detail) how splitting the work flow would speed service and eliminate food code violations....how do I know all these things? Because I organized the work flow processes for a deli I operated--which offers a much higher level of customization for orders (the deli I used to run offered 30 different cheese options alone. Yeah, it's just lazy to say you can't customize right if the person who took the order doesn't make the order). And well, I honestly tried. I gave the business a chance by writing a letter before writing this review. I even went back after getting the response, figuring that I can put up with the long wait as long as my food was prepared safety...but unfortunately the lack of 100% compliance on hand washing is still an issue. You'd figured at least that would have gotten cleaned up (pun intended). Given the response I received and the lack of correction on the major issue, I see no choice but to now inform you that this place is willing to make you wait unnecessarily longer...and is unwilling to ensure your food safety. So I implore you to also ask for better, safer service next time you visit this place. You as a customer should demand better! Instead of having one person complete your order from start to finish, there should be dedicated cashiers, dedicated bagel line workers, and an expediter. Cashiers ring you up and get you coffee, bagel line makes your food, expediter gets you your food when it done (and verified your order to make sure the customizations were done right). A ticket system (hey, maybe stickers that can be used to wrap your bagel!) can be used to write down customizations. Trust me, it works. The bagels really are delicious. The smears are really great. Had I not had to wait 20 minutes to even place my order (and then witnessed glaring food and employee safety issues), this would have been a 5 star review. read more

So so bagels. I would expect more out of their bagels from a place called the bagelry, but they are only sub-par. I even prefer Whole foods bagels to this place. I tried a regular everything bagel and a gluten free bagel. The gluten free was hard as a rock, it wasn't even edible, I would have broke a tooth. The everything bagels was softer, but wasn't tasty. read more