Vic’s Bagel Bar

Judging from the Sunday morning crowd that wrapped throughout the store, Vic’s is a welcome addition to Murray Hill. Why, you may wonder, is this bagel shop different from any other bagel shop? The answer is bold innovation, creativity, efficient service, fresh high quality ingredients, and most importantly THE BAGEL.

What’s the bold innovation? A customized cream cheese/bagel topping bar. All cream cheese is made to order with those high quality ingredients I mentioned.

They have everything you’d expect, and then a few unexpected ones like Chocolate Chips, Sprinkles, Potato Chips, Kosher Bacon Bits, Pesto, Wasabi, BBQ Sauce, Zaatar, and Maple Syrup. They are smartly capitalizing on the very popular overpriced NYC yogurt /salad bar trend.

I had the “Tokyo Tel Aviv Express” with lox, wasabi, pinch of scallion and edamame on an everything bagel. My everything bagel was soft on the inside and crunchy on the outside. It was much better than I expected. They included the perfect amount of ingredients– I usually tell other bagel shops to go light on the cream cheese but this bold mix of ingredients was easier to eat than a “glob” of cream cheese. The wasabi added nice flavor, but was not overpowering as it could have been.

The coffee was also good.  Vic herself said it was somewhere between Dunkin and Starbucks and she was right.

Though I like Daniel’s bagels across the street, when I walked by with my bagel from Vic’s the crowd was nowhere near Vic’s.  Time will tell what kind of impact Vic’s has on Daniel’s.

This may be a bold prediction in the young life of Vic’s Bagel Bar, but I see this concept as being a perfect franchise in cities beyond nyc.  As Bravo says “Watch what happens!”

Rating:
Food – 8/10
Ambiance – 8/10
Service – 8/10

Category:
Food Type – Bagels
Style – Casual
Price – Reasonable

Wanna go?
Address/phone –
544 3rd Ave At 36th St – 212-213-3900
menu- menupages.com/restaurants/vics-bagel-bar
website- vicsbagelbar.com