Einstein Bros. Bagels

Nova lox is my favorite here! I uploaded a photo. It’s a bit pricey but delicious. This place is clean, we’ll organized, and everyone seemed nice. And they’re open on Thanksgiving. Great for a starving me. I would definitely come back again.

I think this location is pretty good. It’s a little bit smaller than some of the other locations. It always has great service that when I’ve never had any problems with the food quality so I keep going back. That’s about it.

I am addicted to this place now. A friend brought me one from this location and I have been going since. The people who work there are the most friendly people ever and conversational. Forget Starbucks. I have been looking for an alternative for a long time just never checked this place out before. I love the bagels with the cream cheese spreads. The drinks are good. You basically get food that fills you up. It’s a meal. Unlike Starbucks where they just have light, small dessert or some have small food. But the bagels at Einstein are big and fill you up. The sandwiches are good too. Service was great!

One day, I had a craving for an Einstein’s bagel and trucked over to this location. There was a fairly long line, but they processed people pretty quickly. When I got my bagel with turkey sausage and egg, though, it was only lukewarm. Can’t say I was especially pleased, although the staff were nice. Guess I’ll just have to make my own bagel next time.

Not bad. They were open super early which was great because I got up super early to wait in line at R.E.I. for a garage sale. The bagel with smoked salmon was pretty good. They give you a good amount of salmon which you can’t say no too.

I was disappointed last time I ate a Einsteins, they are serving rolls disguised as bagels. Soft bagel shaped rolls. Service was friendly and very fast, but the bagel and pulverized lox cream cheese did not satisfy my bagel craving. I’ve got to find a good local bagel shop!

The bagels here are disgusting and old. I will never return. I will drive all the way to Maryland before I come here. The best location is the one off of Brandywine.

Bagels are just ok. Not exactly NYC standards. But the issue is actually service and management. Big lines. Inefficient operation and customer service. 2 guys handling customers ever so slowly one by one. People literally giving up and walking out. I see this at other Einsteins too. So apparently a company wide management issue. Wake up guys. Customer service matters.

How can a bagel shop run out of bagels? At 1 pm? We had planned to pick up a dozen, but had to leave empty handed. They said they had a busy day and the baker had gone home!!! Disappointing. Wound up at Manchester Bagel in Kingstowne.

Food: Great, freshly made bagels. Breakfast bagel sandwiches are delish. Pretty solid for a chain. Coffee was decent as well.
*Note* You can get 1 free side veggie, like lettuce, or tomato slices, or onions — along with any bagel order. So get some lettuce or something!
The atmosphere: Not kept clean. Crumbs all over our table and chairs. We had to wipe up the crumbs from whomever left the mess before us. Staff of 5 were all too busy taking and preparing orders, and taking money.
Too busy to keep the place clean. Bummer.
My experience: You need to be super clear and specific when placing orders. They’re moving so fast, they make mistakes. So say your order, like twice, and watch them make it. Its hectic in the food prep area. The manager was annoying and loud. It was hard to have a conversation without having to hear her every — single word she was yelling from behind the counter. Although the Manager was really trying to be polite and welcoming, she just needs to tone it down a few notches. Customers come to eat, dine, and have conversation with whomever they are with — not to be annoyed by a loud, busy-​body manager.

VEGAN options, but ask 3x
I have to give 5 stars to places that have Vegan options. While it might be an accidental vegan thing, at least we vegans ahve someplace to go and eat. When you are vegan the pickings are slim.
SO we get the Sesame or raisin bagels, which we were told were dairy and egg free.

Einstein’s has always been a solid bagel option in my mind. Though my experience with the service provided here easily takes away 1.5−2 stars. The individual handing me my sandwich order checked to see if I had received everything else I ordered, which was great. But somewhere down the line, they mixed my sandwich order up.
If you’re looking to order to go, I highly suggest checking everything!

The food is excellent. Fresh bagels. Great sandwiches. If I were just rating the food, we are talking an easy 4 stars.
Service? I’m not sure why but just sit close to the register for 10 minutes and at least 1 or 2 orders will be returned for being wrong. The most common error is giving you your order to-​go when you wanted to eat in. In my last 3 visits I have had my order lost 1 time and messed up 1 time. And you need to stay on them. For example, I gave them the benefit of the doubt and waited for 20 minutes for a bagel sandwich. When I asked, the said they would get it. I then waited another 15 minutes — nothing. I spoke with them again and they seemed annoyed with me? I just wanted my food — ugh! Then when I got it, it was the wrong sandwich. I just took it to go and left. They already made me late for work.
Also, if they are busy, there is limited seating. Many people stand around during busy hours waiting on someone to finish reading the paper. So just get it to go if they are busy.
I still go back. I love the bagels and food. I just hover now and make sure they get my order done and done right.

I love Einstein Bagels Bros, in general. Great selection of choices and decent quality.
However, at this location, the weekday morning service is lacking, and that’s what this review is about. I agree with a previous reviewer in that there is one lady there who’s cheeriness is over the top, (almost seems forced, to me) but I prefer that over the opposite.
Service quality has gone down in recent months. I used to go there about 2−3/mo and order the same thing: a Thintastic breakfast sandwich and a bagel cluster. Before, I never had problems getting the right sandwich and the bagel cluster piping hot (just as their sign says, «served warm»). However, there are new people there during weekday mornings and TWICE I got the wrong sandwich and a cold (or lukewarm/​room temp) cluster instead. Grrr. Becuase of this, I only go there about once every other month now.
The 2^nd time my sandwich was wrong, I was told that I didn’t specify what I wanted. I responded that I did, and that this was the 2^nd time my order was wrong. The girl rolled her eyes and the other girl ended up fixing it for me. No one apologized except fo the girl who ended up giving me my sandwich, at the end. I didn’t even bother complaining about the cold bagel cluster.
I hope they re-​train their staff and that service improves soon.

So this is my favorite bagel place near the Ballston area but I wish it was within walking distance for me. One lady there definitely can be over the top with her happiness but I’d rather have that then grumpy. The lines can be long on the weekend during breakfast/​lunch hours so be wary of that if you are in a rush.
The bagels are fresh and I love their sundried tomato cream cheese and they also have espresso drinks which is great since no other place in the area seems to have that flavor and most of the other bagel shops just carry drip coffee. But if you are a Starbucks addict like me, you can always grab your espresso drink from there which is only a few doors down. Plenty of breakfast sandwich options to choose from and love their veg out sandwich.
Plenty of parking as it is in a strip mall and I always can grab a seat.

Yummmmmmmy!!!
So last Saturday I was lazy too cook breakfast and decided to go and a breakfast date to this place lol… I had got coupons in my mailbox and thought why not (you know I love discounts lol)
Got there and the guys were so friendly behind the register. I ordered a lower calorie bagel and fb got a panini. The lady at the till was also very friendly even though we couldn’t understand her accent lol.
We sat for a few minutes then they brought our food over and all I can say is yuuuuuuummmm!!! Why hadn’t I seen this place sooner. I will be back!

One of my all time fave bagel places! The bagels are great and the Honey Almond Spread should be outlawed it’s so good. Furthermore, they have bagel thins as well. You can get a healthy breakfast here. Their bagel thin breakfast sandwiches are deelish! I don’t care what the pretentious may say. Einstein’s rocks for me!

I don’t understand why Unilocaler’s are knocking this place. It’s not the greatest bagel place ever but it’s solid. The service is always good, there is one particular lady that is always happy.
Good coffee, solid bagels, and their lunch sandwiches are pretty good.
Give them a try.

Meh. I’m quite hard to please with bagels, as I eat (what I like to think) are quality ones from the grocery quite often. Their sandwiches are a bit sloppy though. I had the Tuscan Chicken Pesto once and it was dripping with grease and who knows what else. Also the cashiers/​cooks in this place are usually a bit cold and not very lively.
In general, this place’s bagels aren’t bad. That said, if you’re thinking of getting their bagel sandwiches though, I’d recommend you try to avoid the temptation.

I’m not a fan.
The boyfriend lived in his bachelor pad for 10 years within walking distance of Einstein’s. He was going at least once every weekend morning for about 10 years. They had tables outside and a standard café/​deli interior. I move in about a year ago, and promptly the tables outside are gone. Dammit. inside is soooo crowded in weekends with table hogs. The explanation on the missing tables outside is because there was too many loiterers hanging out which the owners didn’t like (check out the Starbucks a few doors down at any time of the day, and you’ll see what I mean.)
Rant: On a crowded morning, it is RUDE to walk in the door, plop down a newspaper and THEN go stand in line for 20 minutes. The rest of us are patiently waiting and hope to get a table too. Common courtesy is that you order your food THEN get a table. Especially in a place that seats like 20 people! Rant over.
So, a year ago, the tables outside are gone, and the service SUCKS. 90% of the staff hardly understand what you order and it comes out wrong half the time. I have no earthly idea why the boyfriend came to this place for 10 years every weekend. Then they recently changed up a bunch of their staff and the service is much better. The inside was re-​done but is actually worse. It seems as if there is way less seating.
On the positive note, I love their eggwhite, asparagus, mushroom and swiss bagel melt.
Although the staff is better, I just can’t get over the annoying weekend mornings with the table hogs and the redone interior. Oh well, we moved out of the bachelor pad anyway so I don’t have to suffer through Einstein’s for the boyfriend anymore :)