Hot Rize Bagel Cafe & Espresso Bar

I frequent Hot Rize quite a bit. They have a variety of food that is really good and always served fresh. They have tons of bagels and sandwiches. There are a few things I don’t love though. The bacon they use is clearly cheap microwave stuff. Actually, quite a bit of their stuff is microwaved, which is easily seen when they are making your food. I also wish they offered hash browns or something on the side.

The bagel itself was good. But the eggs are obviously microwaved, which I am not a fan of. However, they were fluffy on the bagel egg sandwich.
Service was friendly.
The biggest issue was that there was no wi-​fi.
Overall, I would go back again. I don’t think one can fully critique a place based on one bagel and lack of wi-​fi.

Awesome spot with great breakfast sandwiches and coffee at great prices. Can’t go wrong with sausage, egg, and cheese on multigrain with a hot coffee!

Watch out for this place — new owners. Cheap cheap cheap! Sandwich was okay, salad very skimpy! Certainly not worth the price. They also refused to honor a gift certificate. They capitalize on the name but won’t accept a gift certificate? I won’t be back.

When I found this quaint spot I never looked back. I love this place, the coffee is great with 4 different options, and the veggie panini is my favorite.

Love the ambiance of the library room. I like creeping through the old books while I wait for my food. Great place to sit and read if you need a quick and cheap escape from your usual breakfast. The bagels are pretty good, but really I go for the atmosphere. I order sandwiches on a bagel… yum!

Fresh breakfast sandwiches. Deli style lunch sandwiches. Simple and good. The staff is focused trying to get you out quickly if you’re a takeout customer. Both the breakfast Panini’s and luncheon sandwiches are big enough to share! The coffee is good

We Always receive consistently fresh and delicious food from Hot Rize from People who are interested in quality in everything they serve. We keep going back !

I have been going to Hot Rize since the early 90’s and always had terrific experiences. It is very clear there is new ownership and management at this establishment. It has a real ratty look and feel on the outside with no exterior sign. The last couple of times I have gone here there has been the same employee (with the same old-​school golf hat) at the counter with a less than welcoming attitude. I just went there for two bagels. I got home to find out that the order was completely wrong and the bagels were BONE DRY. I just threw them away along with the $ 4.95 I wasted at Hot Rize. To the ownership: I would suggest a refresh in your customer service and food prep training. Bagel shops are a dime-​a-​dozen and your establishment is subpar at best. Unless they make process improvements I would be surprised to see them last.

Very tasty bagels the servers are always friendly. I would also recommend their lunch options.

Hot rise has been, and remains one of my favorite carry-​out breakfast places! Even with a line to the door, you will not find yourself waiting more than 20 minutes to order and recieve your meal. They have a wide variety of coffee and other morning beverages to choose from and an astounding variety of bagels. A quick morning bacon, egg, and cheese on a bagel with a coffee for around 5 – 6 $ is definately nice. Dining in is also nice, although there are not many seats, it is a cozy setting. Personally if i were dining in for breakfast, there are better options just 3 miles away but Hot Rise is definately worth a shot!

I used to go here almost every day when it was along my commute up to Bedford, and it was great. Over the past few years it seems to have come down a notch from the high regard I used to have for it. It is pretty good, nothing more than what you would expect at a place like this. The bagels are tasty, seem fresh and they usually have a good assortment. The cream cheese flavors are good, we usually get the zesty cuke or bacon horseradish which have good flavor. We also got iced coffees recently, the island madness one was very good (if you like that fruity flavor in your coffee). I got a caramel which didn’t taste right. Maybe that flavor of iced coffee was sitting for a while in the fridge, who knows… but I won’t let it ruin the good bagels there.
All in all– the place is great, we have been taking our son here ever since he had to be carried around in the car seat. It is easy to get to, plenty of parking, friendly staff and good food. We are fortunate to have a number of great bagel places around, but still find ourselves occasionally driving 20 minutes north just to go to Hot Rize!
I would (and have a number of times) recommended this place to friends and family!

TO DIE FOR. Since moving out of Merrimack, this is one of the local joints I’ve missed the most. The veggie cream cheese is fantastic. So fresh and delicious. Never tried the lunch options because the bagels are just too good to pass up. It’s one of the most relaxing places to just curl up with a good book. Perfection.

Pretty much the greatest bagel/​coffee joint on Earth. Why? Funny you should ask, because I was just about to tell you!
1) The best lox cream cheese and sliced lox bagel sandwich (Scotia) I’ve had… NYC included!
2) The bagels: fresh, flavorful and light.
3) For some reason, the house coffee tastes better than anywhere else.
4) The value is terrific, especially if buying for a group of family breakfast.
5) The atmosphere: so cozy and welcoming.
6) Staff: they rock and the owner is very sweet.
7) It’s in Merrimack, ’nuff said!
Hope you all get a chance to check it out; Merrimack is lucky to have Hot Rize.

I go to Hot Rize about once a week and overall, especially for NH, the bagels are really decent. I get my bagels «scooped» (that means that insides are taken out which, for me, makes less carbs and a nice little pocket for fillings)– I’ve taken to double egg white with spinach on my bagels and I think its totally impressive that that is even an option.
Today I ordered a mocha latte for the first time and I didn’t have the highest hopes but I was impressed. We have a family of 6 and I usually call ahead — we haven’t a problem with our order in a long time. Thank you Hot Rize!

When I first moved to Merrimack this place was real good. It has since changed ownership and has gone way downhill.
The overall quality and freshness that it had are gone. the great breakfast sandwiches are mediocre microwave crap, that you could probably get cheaper at Dunkin Donuts. Don’t let the ‘café and expresso bar’ name fool you. the coffee is some cheap alternative to the name brand stuff they used to carry, in a larger selections also.
Seems to be on it’s last leg the last time we were in there recently. Bagel Alley is light years ahead of this place.

I love this place. I have to agree with the slow designation from the other review; the wait can be long even when the place isn’t busy, but the food has always been good.
The ambiance is great. The café area has bookshelves and a few comfy chairs. It’s close to me, so I go once a month or so.

Two words: food poisoning.
Grilled chicken on the caesar salad they made me didn’t taste right; it had a grizzly and tough texture to the bite even though it didn’t look compromised. I stopped eating it a couple bites in, and a few hours of Montezuma’s Revenge later, I’m glad I did — I bet it would’ve been much worse had I eaten the whole serving!
We’re done here. *waves goodbye*

Well okay, I gotta be honest. Though I’m sure all the lunch options are very tasty, I haven’t bothered to venture a taste.
No matter the time of day, a Hot Rize bacon (or sausage), egg, and cheese on a variety of bagel flavors is all I ever want. Why mess with perfection?
The coffee is good too.

This cozy little place has tasty bagels such as French Toast bagels and spinach bagels. Plus they have lots of cream cheese flavors and a decent selection of coffee.
The seating in the back is very nice and semi-​private w/​free wifi and some newspapers lying around.
I go here about once e/​o week or so and get a bagel sandwich and a coffee and I’m never disapointed.