Sam’s Bagels

I wish I could say Sam’s Bagels was quick and convenient, if not a tad lacking in taste. However, the service is not the quickest, particularly for a one-​stop bagel shop as this. The bagels are pretty good — probably one of the best places for genuine thick New York style bagels in Federal Hill. However, beyond the bagels, Sam’s is pretty lackluster. The eggs on their breakfast sandwiches taste like they are straight from a microwave, and the cheese tastes like Kraft singles. The iced coffee is pretty tasty, and you can get free refills. However, there’s not much sitting room, so you will likely not stay long enough to take advantage of the refill. The tables outside are a nice place to sit in warm weather, but the seating is pretty limited, so you usually end up sharing a table with random people — however, a good way to meet new people … Or play with the passing dogs walking by! Overall, a good place for a simple bagel and schmear, but don’t go looking for much else beyond that.

1. I purchased OJ only to realize that it expired 2 weeks ago, after I got home
2. This was my second trip there, and both times my order was taken, I paid, and then I waited while the ladies talked behind the counter instead of making my bagel. 10 minute wait both times.
3. Also, it smells terrible in there. Not sure what they’re cooking in there, though it definitely isn’t bagels…

I love this small, charming corner bagel store in Bawlmore! The tall glass case always contained a wifde variety of fresh bagels and the coffee is self serve. The service is quick but the store is small so seating can sometimes be an issue.
As for the reviews about microwaved food… yep! It’s true, but I go for the traditional bagel and cc, so I don’t have to experience the microwaves.

After reading reviews, my only thought is Sam’s Bagels may have had some problems early on as my visit today was great. Tuna with lots of veggies on a toasted everything bagel was just as I expected and more. Much to my delight, the «everything» actually stayed on the everything bagel and didn’t end up falling off onto the plate. A great sandwich. A great bagel. I am a fan.

Good bagels, great location, quick service.
I ordered 3 bagels — toasted with 3 different cream cheeses.
1.) Pumpernickel + Walnut Raisin = great taste, not enough nuts
2.) Pumpernickel + Very Veggie = great taste, not enough veggies for being «very veggie»
3.) Everything + Lox Spread = hmmm… it was good, not enough lox (like a previous Unilocaler mentioned ‘it’s like cream cheese with pink speckles’)
Overall, the cream cheese flavors could use more stuffing… lots more, but the bagels are good.
I also loved the quick service, I saw how hard the team was working during the rush… I admire that. I surely will come back again.

I love this little breakfast shop in the middle of Fed Hill.
Great coffee, great sandwiches, great bagels, great prices. It’s owned by a local Korean family and feels exactly like a small family-​run shop.
A bagel with choice of cream cheese or an egg with cheese on toast are great go-​to choices. Extra large coffee for those particular tough mornings. Don’t be surprised to see a bunch of hungover kids here on the weekends.

I was warned that this place wasn’t great but decided to try it myself. After walking up to the counter I was waited on shortly which was nice– but the woman behind the counter was very rude. The had no patience for the customers she was taking orders from. Then she tried to charge a man $ 3.12 for approximately 2 Tablespoons of cream cheese– I’m sorry but that’s absurd.
I got a sesame bagel with lox spread. The bagel was toasted to death. The bottom was so dense that I could taste that it was burnt. The lox spread tasted like pink speckled cream cheese and the amount they put on my bagel probably equalled the amount in the small container the woman said was $ 3.12. The bagel cost me $ 3.98– stop over pricing your subpar product!
Only plus– I didn’t smell like a bagel place when I walked out of there.

sams bagels are flipping amazing !!! they are toasted to perfection the service is so fast ! sams bagels forever

I thought Sam’s was totally fine. I had a sausage, egg, and cheese on a jalapeño cheddar bagel and it was good, and my friend had the lox (with sprouts, onion, tomato, and cream cheese I think) and it looked fantastic. Granted we made it here later in the morning on a Friday so we followed the morning rush, but I have no complaints.
Also worth noting, as a response to other reviews about subpar service, that while we were sitting the cashier lady offered to let a woman come back and pay later and offered my friend a free bottle of water when neither of them had enough cash. Sounds like a nice place to me.

I decided to go back and re-​review after reading all of the negative comments just to see what all the drama was about. I walked in wearing my best NYC CBGB T-​shirt (Just to set the snobby New Yawker tone and to let them know who’s ready to throw down.). See photo.
It was Saturday morning at 8am and there were about 10 people there sitting at tables both inside and out (but no crazy hungover 20-​something crowd). A woman quickly flew past me and cut in front of me even though there was no one else in line. I thought, «How NYC! Kudos to you, aggressive middle-​aged lady!» I figured she must have been a neurosurgeon who was late for an operation so I didn’t make a fuss. I mean, if I can get a good bagel AND help save a life all before 8am, how cool is that? The owner walk past and gave me a humble smile and muttered what must have been the equivalent of ‘Good Morning’ in a language I didn’t understand. The indecisive line-​budger ahead of me sang a happy «Good Morning, Joe!» to the cook behind the counter and Joe turned around and smiled back. There was no Bagel-​Nazi barking orders and belittling patrons, which was a little disappointing (which is why I only gave them 4 stars).
Pretty good selection of bagels (and they had plenty of them). They were of normal, average-​sized bagel-​shop-​bagel girth (e.g. larger than normal). All-​in-​all it was drama-​free bagel-​buying experience. Oh, and they don’t taste too bad… a slightly above average («average» being store-​bought and national-​brand coffee stops). 6 large bagels for $ 6, not too shabby.
My advice to people who don’t like microwaved food yet saw the large bank of giant microwaves lined up above the counter and then ordered microwaved food anyway: Next time, don’t. Order a bagel witha schmear.
Though actually closer to a «3.5», my previous 4-​Star rating stands. They get the half-​point just for being a locally-​owned mom-​and-​pop shop trying to make an honest buck.

im just giving 1 star for the coffee!
i got egg and cheese on sesame bagel…
bagel was SO dry and stale.
egg was made in microwave, it was so dry!
i asked to get the bagel toasted it was barely toasted.
it was the worst bagel and worst egg i have ever had in my life.
coffee was ok like 6 out of 10
staff were ok they were either tired or hated their job…
i wont go back

Place is packed on the weekends, which gives off an awesome vibe. Sam’s bake their bagels fresh every morning and brew fresh coffee. The sandwiches are great and it’s a great place for something quick. It may seem like a long wait, but that’s just because you gotta wait for your bagel to go through the toaster. Place prefers cash, but will accept Mastercard or Visa credit cards with a $ 7 minimum.

I came this past weekend and I hope I never have to come back. I ordered a sausage, egg and cheese on a jalapeño bagel. Seems kind of hard to mess up a simple breakfast sandwich, but this place sure did. First off, you can see them using microwaves to make the food. When I got my sandwich the cheese wasn’t melted and the sausage looked like mystery meat. If I wasn’t starving I would have just thrown it away. I got about halfway through and then just had to get rid of it away because I think it was making me sick. I also got a coffee and thought at least this would be good. I tried the Southern Pecan flavored coffee, but this was also a disappointment. It tasted really old.
Inside was also kind of gross. The trash was overflowing everywhere. I understand they were busy, but c’mon. They had a $ 7 minimum for credit cards so if you actually decide to try this place make sure you bring cash.

I have a love-​hate relationship with Sam’s Bagels. As a Federal Hill resident it is the only coffee/​bagel place that I can pop in and get something on the go. I do love their coffee and creamer bar, but I don’t care for the bagels and I am a bagel fiend. They are too doughy and the breakfast sandwiches I’ve had in the past have not been good.
I also don’t like their policy of no credit cards without a $ 5 purchase. I understand the charge that they have to deal with but I wish it was a suggestion or a courteous ask, not a rule. I have been turned away for stopping in after a run and all I had was my card.
I only go to Sam’s when I desperately need fuel, other than that I’ll pass.

After reading the Unilocal reviews extensively, I thought I had a game plan for tackling Sam’s. I went later one Saturday morning, to avoid the morning rush, had my cash in hand, and restricted myself to just a regular everything toasted bagel and cream cheese. I decided I could live with bland or overcooked egg sandwiches if at least the bagels were worth it.
They weren’t.
I’d put them a notch above Dunkin’ Donuts, but way below most bagel places. These are not New York style water bagels. Even most bagel places outside of New York sell bagels that are first boiled and then baked. It’s how you get the chewy, delicious middle with the crisp outside. The «everything» bagel was 75% sesame seed, with some garlic on top and only half the bagel came out toasted. It’s probably worth noting, that upon re-​reading some reviews, there appears to be something called «double toasted» which I would highly recommend if you want anything more than just a warm bagel.
Other than the quality of the bagels (problematic for a bagel place), I see no issues with the rest of the shop. It’s a bagel joint. You walk in, grab your food and walk out. Everyone was friendly, even the lady at the front counter who I expected to be Roz from Monsters, Inc. from reading all the reviews. It’s small, but functional. The menu was much larger than I was expecting and can be read from the line, which I appreciate.
Will I be back? Probably. I’m a glutton for bagel disappointment.
Will I like it? Doubtful, but I’ll update my review if my experience changes.

Only giving this 2 stars because the food was edible. I got a turkey bacon egg and cheese on a cheese bagel. How can you make an egg sandwhich bland? Didn’t even ask how I wanted my eggs, she told me it was a fried egg after making the sandwhich, it was clearly a scrambled and tasteless. Only got the food down by drowning my bagel in Franks Red hot sauce. Thank you Franks Red hot sauce for masking the taste of burnt cheese.
There’s Baltimore’s best restaurant covers inside. If this is truely the best Baltimore can offer then I feel bad for the people that live here. I would suggest dinner the next city over.

Bagels are great here, and coffee is good too! Quick, cheap, tasty… Some great bagel choices and good breakfast sandwiches. Grab one, some coffee, and walk up to nearby Fed Hill for a Baltimore breakfast done right!

Stopped in here after some exploring of the area.
It was full of folks as it was a Saturday morning. I got a breakfast sandwich on an everything bagel. It was good but not great.
Solid place to get something quick to eat.

I have no idea what all these negative reviews are about. I love Sam’s!
Is the woman at the front snarky? Absolutely. Will she yell at you if you don’t have cash if your order is under $ 6? Definitely. But I sort of like that. This is not a frilly place where you stay and linger. You walk up to the counter, give them your order, and wait for someone to yell out your order. There are seats, but no one really sits. Everyone grabs their bagels to go.
To be fair, I’ve only had the bagels with cream cheese, which I find to be perfectly toasted and delicious. I’ve read some complaints about the breakfast sandwiches, which could be legitimate.
If you are looking for a sit down place, with warm and friendly service, this isn’t it. But for decent bagels, they’ll hook you up.

Alright so (correct me if I’m wrong here guys) but based on the reviews below, i was under the impression that Sam’s had a decent bagel but no one liked the microwaved eggs hence the 2 stars. Luckily, I’m a bagel purist and go for the simple bagel and cream cheese. I figured if the bagels were good, for me it’s be better than a 2 star rating.
I walked in and immediately felt like I was in NYC, old lady at the counter barking at customers and other workers. No greeting, no smiles.
I went for the everything bagel with plain cream cheese. The bagel was warm but way oversalted (it’s hard to oversalt something for me!) and oddly had a gritty texture. Not pleasant. Bad food = 2 stars for me. Won’t be back.