Einstein Bros Bagels

Oh boy one of the worst Einstein bagels restaurants that you can find. I have been here like 5 times– the only reason being it is the closest to my home.
Whenever I take the Amtrak out of Union station DC I go to the Einsten bagels there. The service over there is so great considering the fact it is 100 times more busier.
But this one in Herndon is the worst. I received free bagel coupons like thrice because my orders came late. I hear ‘sorrys ’ flying all over because they handle things so badly and they feel sorry.
I might still go there because I love bagels and the restaurant is close to home otherwise I wouldn’t suggest anybody. Period.

I work right across the street and have been avoiding this place because I always see workers hanging outside and goofing around. Anyways, I really needed something for breakfast. I went inside and was the only one in line with a few people that were just waiting for their order. There were about 8 employees just walking around, looking disorganized. It took 5 minutes before I had to ask one that is the ‘order here’ area actually where I’m supposed to order? They finally took my order.
Also, one of the guys that was making bagels with cream cheese sat two bagels aside on the counter tucked away near the toaster. Gross. I’m sure that little spot he tucked them away isn’t too clean. Can’t you just bag them when you’re done making them?
Where is management?

The staff was very friendly. and greeted me as I walked in and provided a positive environment with smiles, answers to the questions I had, and great food! The menu had changed since I’ve last been in, but one of the employees was very knowledgeable and helped me decide on a great sandwich!

So I am confused as to why these reviews are so poor. Then I remember, I’m in the service industry as well and the clientele can be very dramatic, picky, and unnecessarily critical in this area. But anyways, every time I have been here I am treated like I’m an old friend. That’s what I can appreciate. I always get the same thing (Tasty Turkey. No tomato. Turkey, cucumbers, spinach, onion cream cheese and Asiago bagel) YUMMMMMMMM. And I have stopped in the building and went through the drive through. Every time is fine. I even brought my dogs in the car with me and they gave me free puppy bagels! How sweet :) thank you all! I appreciate it!

Unless you have 30 minutes to wait in the drive thru don’t go. Not worth the time. They never have enough people working and the ones that are working take their sweet time to accomplish even the smallest task.

I understand the hate for this location. The drive thru makes EVERYTHING slow and discombobulated. I don’t think I’ve ever been to an Einstein Bros with a drive thru, and if I have then it was obviously a non-​issue and this place is just fumbling the ball on every single play.
We had to wait a little while for our food and halfway through the wait they called my name to tell me they were out of the bagels my wife ordered. Other customers took turns going up to the counter to correct mistakes and ask what the actual hell was taking so long. But, friend, my nova lox on an everything bagel was perfect and was honestly one of the best I’ve ever had. All of my fears and anxieties left me and I enjoyed that bagel more than I’ve ever enjoyed any other bagel.
So don’t be surprised if your simple order takes half an hour, and don’t be surprised if it’s the most delicious meal you’ve had in years.

To the owner of this franchise. There’s no reason why it should take 20 minutes to wait for three sandwich bagels. There were less than 3 in the queue…

Hands down the worst Einstein Bagels I’ve ever been to. Don’t come here in the morning unless you have 20 extra minutes to go through the drive through. This morning I drove to the speaker and was directed to come to the window without placing my order… okay. So I sat behind two cars for 15 minutes while orders were being taken, I guess, and given at the window. The person in front of me ordered, was given a bag, and then directed to park in the waiting area for what I’m assuming was something that took awhile to make. Without having ordered, I couldn’t afford to waste another 10 mins there and just drove away when it was my turn.
I’ve been to this location a few times and have always been disappointed. The employees don’t act like they care, you wait for an exorbitant amount of time for what… a toasted bagel and schmear? It’s not like they are even making a sandwich for me and it takes forever. These employees need to be retrained (or trained for the first time) by a corporate representative. The service has gotten progressively worse, and I won’t be returning.

Coffee’s not replenished, orders line gets shifted from one end to the other at a moment’s notice (without the notice). I can tell the drive thru must screw everything up– it’s the only explanation for how bad and scrambled the service can be here. I’m sympathetic b/​c drive thru’s are extremely disruptive to work flow. Still… Hot breakfast sandwich comes with warm bread but cold meat and cheese. You had one job.

I implore you, do not go here. I’ve made the mistake about 3 times now. I wish I was exaggerating, but there was 1 car in front of me in the drive through and it took 20 minutes from the time I ordered until I had my order. Now I’d like to get more into the order itself. The veg out is one of my absolute favorite sandwiches, and they just can’t quite seem to get it right. I don’t know if it’s because they don’t stock the actual ingredients required on the sandwich, if no one knows how to make it, or if they just hate me, but they never put the right combination of stuff on there. I got red peppers and no sprouts this time. Ugh.
Also, after arriving at the window and they accept my payment, I was informed that they did not have Chocolate Chip bagels — one of the things on my order for a co-​worker. He asks what I want instead. I guess cinnamon sugar? I didn’t have time to decide and was really just feeling the annoyance of having waited 15 minutes already and I just wanted to go. I remained as patient as I could be. He did offer to throw in another bagel, but I didn’t need one. After a few trips back and forth to the drive-​thru window, he asked if I wanted a free soda, which I did accept — that was nice.
It’s not just the drive-​thru experience. The staff is just either not trained, don’t care, or both. I love Einstein’s and I love that this opened near my work, but I’ll gladly drive to the Reston location, go in, and wait from now on. It’ll probably end up taking less time! This location will likely be shut down within the next few months if they don’t open their eyes and change something.

I really want to love this place. I mean really. I love there breakfast sandwiches in particular the one with turkey sausage. I love the fact you can get in on a thin bagel and with egg whites instead of just regular egg. The bagels seem fresh and yummy also. The coffee is great as well.
So all this great things right, what is my problem? The staff. They can’t seem to get it together. I’ve gotten my order wrong three times. I’ve waited at least 5 – 8 min two times in drive through just to get my sandwich. I am not sure how they can have so many people working yet things get done so slowly and in a mediocre way. I keep going back hoping for better, like I said I love the breakfast sandwiches despite the fact it’s slapped sloppy together most days. Also that o got only half a latte one day. I just don’t understand why it is so though to get my order correct over half the times I’ve come. I either get my egg whites but bacon instead of turkey sausage or get the turkey sausage without my eggs whites. Drive though takes longer then I think it ought to in my opinion. I have tried and tried again. (About 5 times now) I must be insane for that sandwich and coffee because I kept putting up with bad service. I think I’ll try something different just in the mornings I don’t have much time. If you so order I suggest check your order before you leave and leave a few extra minutes of wait time. Other wise bagels are good, coffee is good, just need to work on the other aspect of service.

Food ok but restaurant is dirty and tables aren’t wiped. Alot of people working but just seems disorganized and a lot if people doing nothing. Just before noon on a Sunday and they are out of most bagels… huh?! Workers talking to each other about not work related things and customers are waiting. The redeeming factor is this place has a drive thru.

I’m not a bagel expert by any stretch of the imagination. I used to come here because it was on the way to work and easy. However, notice how I foreshadowed by saying «used to».
The plot thickens!
The service here is remarkably slow. Like amazingly so. On a recent Saturday during the morning rush there were two guys working and they were slow as molasses. I wish I could say this is an infrequent occurrence, it is not. They were slow almost to the point of moving without a purpose.
I would suggest avoiding. (Oh and good luck turning left out of here!)

I had an exam today, so my turkey sausage and egg bagel sandwich really was crucial this morning.
The bagel was a sad disappointment. It was cold by the time I got back to eat it (my destination was exactly 6 minutes away), and the bagel wasn’t very fresh tasting. Everything was kinda pressed flat, and lackluster.
I also ordered a blueberry bagel (which was fine), with strawberry cream cheese. Tasted fine, but it was $ 2.70 on the receipt which I thought was absurdly expensive…
Lastly, medium hot coffee wasn’t that good. The whole meal of 2 bagels and a coffee turned out to be $ 10 and some change. Next time I need an important meal before a test, I’ll be sure to cook at home or go elsewhere. It seems like they do a better job in the afternoon like all the other times I’ve previously gone.

I hate to give it a 2, but honestly, it was «meh, Ive experienced better». I got a turkey sausage and egg bagel sandwich on pumpernickel and it was almost five bucks. I really hate that premade egg stuff that chains serve… other than that it was ok.
I don’t think i’d order it again… but the bagel was really good. If i ever go back, it will just be for a bagel and shmear.
Staff was nice though!

I’ve had Einstein bagels before in California. I loved them.
I’m not sure what has changed, but I will not be coming back. My experiences was awkward. Who wants to go back to a place where the workers make the customers uncomfortable?
I wanted to order, no one was at the counter. The manager (whom was conducting job interviews in the lobby), had to shout for someone to come from the back. All of their body language indicated that I was annoying them.
I guess I’ll try the Reston Location.

I can only vouch for the drive-​thru, as I have not yet been inside the «bagelry». Sorry to see so many negative reviews about experiences had inside — hopefully my review inspires folks to try the drive-​thru instead. That must be where all the well-​trained, polite staff are stationed! I have driven through in the morning hours about 6 times since its grand opening, and they have never messed up my order. They’ve been quick to take my order and process it. The employees have been friendly enough. I usually order a specialty coffee and bagel with cream cheese. My only complaint is there’s always cream cheese smeared on the outside of the bagel bag, and they don’t hand you napkins, so you wind up getting cream cheese in your car if you don’t ask for a couple napkins.
I’ve tried all of the coffees now: favorites include vanilla hazelnut latte and white chocolate mocha.
I’ve tried several bagels and cream cheese: favorites include green chile with onion and chive cream cheese, and asiago with smoked salmon cream cheese.
For those of you who have given up on the bagelry, try the drive-​thru — it seems to be the much better option.

I hate to do this but I have to bump them down a star. The thing is I still think that Einstein has some of the best bagels in this area. However, at this location, when it comes to service, things have yet to turn around after all this time.
Recently, our daughter and her family were visiting us. Our daughter was happy when Einstein came back to Herndon. When she was growing up, we would occasionally get bagels there and we all felt saddened when the original Herndon location closed. So, she was itching to go there during her last visit. I told her about how bad the service was and that, apparently from reading reviews, the drive-​through was even worse. None of this deterred her. She and my husband went out to Starbucks and decided to surprise me by bringing me a bagel with Nova lox, as well as bagels for themselves.
They used the drive-​through and said that the clerk repeated back their order to them and it was correct. So when they were given the bag of food, neither checked it.
When they got back home, she pulled out 2 packages that supposedly contained bagels with Nova lox. We both looked at them and thought «what?». Instead of sliced Nova lox there were small cubes of salmon scattered on top of the cream cheese. Really, salmon served this way does not work. Still, I did appreciate the thought :)
After all this time, they should have worked out the kinks and the manager on duty should be on top of things. It’s a shame that it is still run so poorly. So… for my husband and our daughter, lesson learned.
If you go here, whether you order inside or use the drive-​through, before you leave, take the time to check to see if your order was done correctly. If you are inside, try to watch as they prepare your food.
Our daughter and family are visiting again in a couple of weeks. I’m curious to see if she still wants to go there. If she does, you can be sure I’ll be reminding her to check the order before leaving the premises.

What a disaster. For some reason they had about 12 people working here on Sunday. I guess they were still trying to train everyone. The problem is only about 2 – 3 of them actually knew what to do, so the rest of the people just milled around and tried to act busy. If you had a question they just looked at you, paused, then turned to ask someone else.
The food itself was ok, I had a bagel of course with minute amount of cream cheese. It really was not worth the hassle of going in there though. Maybe once people learn the menu they offer it will get better.
You could tell the company invested NO time to trying to teach the staff before they actually opened.

As a Herndon-​ite, it’s nice to have an Einstein Bagels back in the immediate area after the previous Einstein Bros closed, and I don’t want to have to drive to Reston if I need a «bagels for the office» fix. The nice thing about all Einstein Bros, IMHO, is that their bagels and bagel sandwiches are much fresher-​tasting and more substantial than those from their main-​chain competitor, Panera.
This particular location seems to be off to a strong start, garnering an A-​OK rating, which ain’t too shabby for day 1 of the grand opening. Anyway, crew is young but trained in typical Einstein Bros customer service and line efficiency. Same menu offerings as your usual Einstein’s, but several good deals through March 1, 2014.
Bagels today on ²⁄₂₄ were fresh and they weren’t out of any of the mainstay items. Location was of course clean and sparkling; retains much of the same layout from when it was a Saladworks and Caribou. Hopefully Einstein Bros stays in business here longer than the two previous tenants!
Parking is a little chaotic at this location, especially during the lunch rush with the shared front lot with Chipotle and Robek’s. Rather than fighting to enter via the Elden St. entrance, try entering from the Herndon Pkwy back entrance (although you can only exit to the right from the Herndon Pkwy thoroughfare).
There’s also a drive-​through, which isn’t too well-​marked, plus with the busy nature of this parking lot, it will be interesting to see how much more of a backup it causes.