Back East Bagels

I go here once a week, being from the east coast they don’t compare, but for out here there pretty good. Better than the three and a half score they currently have. Nice staff too.

I’m from the East Coast but have lived in AZ for a long time. Still– I miss the bagels back there and am so sick of Einsteins! I was happy to find a different bagel place nearby. They definitely aren’t comparable to the east coast, but their bagels are a thousand times better than Einsteins and I definitely plan to be going back regularly as my go-​to bagel place. I love their spinach herb cream cheese too!
The only reason I knocked off a point was that their eggs are microwaved instead of cooked. This is pretty much unheard of back east, but is how almost every bagel shop does it here. If they had a grill I’d be over the moon! I’ve only found one place that fresh makes everything, but they are extremely far away. This however, is still an overall good bagel place that I recommend.

Sorry to only give this place 3 stars. Since it is close to work I’ve been a fairly regular customer here recently. The bagels are good as is the coffee with fair prices. The chili habanero bagel is unique to them and the tomato basil is very tasty. What I don’t like about the place is the owner. If you are a young attractive women the middle aged owner will flirt with you and be very nice, however if you are a male or an older woman forget it, there is no recognition of your being there or appreciation for you being a regular customer, it is like you don’t exist and he makes you feel like get out of the way dude so I can flirt with this cute young ASU sorority girl… it is kind of sickening.

Great REAL bagels. Not quite at the New York level but pretty close. Service was fantastic. Good coffee too. We went back three days after our first visit and the woman taking our order remembered our order from our first visit.
Place is quirky too with a décor featuring dozens of license plates — from many different states and countries.
My only ding is the heavy cream cheese on the bagels — if you don’t like your bagels smothered, you should ask them to go light on the cream cheese.

Get there early, we have showned up twice about half an hour to an hour before closing and there is a very limited selection, which I understand. I love their green Chile cheddar bagel but we have gotten an assorted variety and the sizes and shapes of each individual bagel vary significantly, I am not very experienced with gourmet bagel shops so I do not know if this is a normal practice or if I get the runt of the litter because that’s all they have left. I come to this location for convenience since I do business in this area every week but will definitely try one other famous bagel shop close by to compare their consistency and might update my review upon further research.

When you move to AZ from NYC, there are three things that you will miss and be constantly in search of, good bagels (not bread with a hole but real authentic Jewish bagels), pizza, and Chinese food. These are 3 essential food items that the average New Yorker takes for granted until they move to the desert. After years of searching I found a decent bagel place, still not quite NYC level but as close as you will get, NY Bagels and Bialys on North Scottsdale road. This place satisfies my bagel cravings but unfortunately, I don’t get to go there often because it is miles away from my house and miles away from where I work. In an attempt to find an adequate replacement I stumbled upon Back East Bagels. Their bagels are okay. They are NOT New York bagels, or even back east bagels for that matter, I’ve had better bagels in Detroit, but they are better than Einstein’s (this is not a stretch since Einstein’s doesn’t even serve REAL bagels).
Anyway, because of proximity to home and work I have been going to Back East Bagels for years and I have to say that every time I leave there feeling like I’d much rather be giving my business to someone else. I don’t know if it’s the service or the small portions but truthfully I always leave with a slight regret. Today I made the decision once and for all that I will not be returning to Back East bagels.
I was running late for work and wanted to make a quick stop to pick up something quick to eat. I was craving a bagel with lox and cream cheese so I called Back East Bagels and asked if I could place a to go order. The girl on the phone told me that they don’t take to-​go orders on the weekends. Not quite understanding her explanation I said okay and hung up. Since I was headed in that direction anyway I decided to stop by the store to order in-​person. When got there I asked the cashier, «could you explain to me why you won’t take a to-​go order over the phone?» The girl I spoke with earlier was there and she responded by saying that it’s because they reserve the weekend for catering orders and it gets too busy to take phone orders.
Let me just say, her explanation made NO friggin sense on several levels. First of all, it’s 7:30 Friday morning, in case they didn’t get the memo, the weekend for most people starts Friday evening and goes through Sunday evening. Also, what’s the difference between taking a phone order and taking an order in-​person and how does it take up any more of your time? You still have to stop to take the order if a person comes into the store to place it. As for them being too busy on the weekends, when I arrived there were no lines out the door, and there was no one standing at the register, the phone wasn’t ringing off the hook, there were a few seated customers and I walked right up to the register. I pointed this out to the cashier and she seemed at a loss for how to respond.
Meanwhile, while this discussion was happening the owner was in the back and he overheard the entire conversation. Did he stop what he was doing to come out to offer his customer an articulate explanation? No, he just sat in the back and let his employees, young girls, perhaps ASU students, not fully able to articulate the boss’ reasoning, deal with the inquiry. The conversation was going nowhere and I had to get to work so I hastily ordered my bagel. I was still visibly annoyed when the owner called my name to tell me that my order was ready but rather than taking the opportunity to explain his policy further, he handed me my order and condescendingly offered, «Have a nice day.»
On the way to the car, I checked my order and when I looked down at the clear container I noticed a small bagel with two sad little pieces of lox, no onions, no tomatoes, no capers. Considering that I spent $ 9.48 for this meager meal I went back in and asked why there wasn’t anything else on it. The girl at the counter (she by the way was the only one that was very friendly and sincerely accommodating) told me that I had to specify that I wanted the other items and that it would be 25 cents more. GTFOH, Are you kidding me with this place?

Mmmmm mmmmm mmmmm, so fresh and warm. The best, five star! Convenient location! I totally recommended this place for fresh warm bagels.

Always good service. Bagels are delicious but the cream cheese mixes are the best. The roasted jalapeño cheddar cheese is spicy, but the chive is our favorite.
The sandwiches are huge and they also offer coffee and smoothies as well as some pastries. Great place for breakfast, but also great for lunch.
half off after 1pm I think

I have to thank Georgie for his recent review, otherwise I might not have known this place existed. I was talking with my buddy Tim a few weeks ago about low carb diets, so what does that make me immediately crave? BREAD. After I read Georgie’s review I realized I can’t think of the last time I’ve had a good bagel.
After two visits to Back East I can say they are definitely good to great, but not better than The Bagel Man. Back East’s bagels are light and chewy and the breakfast sandwiches are pretty good. I love a good cinnamon sugar bagel and thank God I discovered this joint so I never have to step foot in an Einstein Bros. again. The first cinnamon sugar bagel I had at Back East was absolutely perfect and was almost like eating a cinnamon roll without the icing. I love that they put the cinn/​sug all over the bagel, not just on top.
I ordered another one this morning and it was a bit smaller and harder on one side. I’m sure it’s difficult to make them all the same all the time, but the one today just wasn’t as light and tasty as the one I had the other day.
This morning I got the breakfast sandwich with the green chile cheddar bagel and that is a delicious bagel as well! I’ve never tried one before, but I really enjoyed that and I heard a lot of people ordering it while I was in the shop.
To accompany my breakfast I ordered a blended mocha and they do give you your choice of milk and with or without whipped cream. For $ 3.99 it’s a large drink, but I thought the flavor was kind of weak and for a blended drink there were quite a few pieces of ice still in it. That drink was just a 2.5÷5 for me. They do have a lot of choices for coffee drinks so I’m sure I can find something I like better the next time.
Overall I’m definitely a fan and would come back. I’d much rather patronize a place like this than the chains. They have great deals on large purchases and a wide variety of lunch sandwiches as well.

Four and Three Quarter Stars, bordering on Five.
Yes, they’re that close to being the real thing.
Coming from the east coast, we’re always on the look out for a good bagel or bialy (sorry, bagels only) place. Here, they are doing a great job.
I might offer up what a east coast bagel is not. It is not a bagel larger then your fist. Those over sized doughy things you find at Einstein’s are not east coast bagels and they don’t have a hole in the middle like a donut. Bagel should have a hard, glossy brown exterior with a soft interior. Here, that’s what you get.
Soooo if you are following along at home, we have three really good places that offer a decent bagels in the Valley. In order of preference:
Back East;
New York Bagel ‘N Bialys;
Big City Bagels & Deli
Enjoy! Don’t forget to get your Coupon Card stamped.

Bagels are okay, I’ve had better and I’ve had worse. The real star of the show is their raspberry chocolate coffee. It is out of this world delicious!
I’ve never had a great interaction from the staff. I usually go early in the morning and there is an older gentleman working, presumably the manager or owner, he is always in a bad mood and I believe that sets the tone for the rest of the staff because they all seem unhappy to be there.

They seem to have reduced the size of their Bagels reciently and they don’t seem to be boiled before baking like they should be. Poor variety and they aren’t very good at deciding how many of the popular variety they should bake daily. Staff is clueless and rude to customers.

Recieved a stale bagel with almost no cream cheese on it and hardly toasted. This place puts any east coast bakery to shame, or any bakery for that matter.

The everything bagel with jalapeño cream cheese is incredible. My wife got toasted pumpernickel bagel with spinach chive cream cheese and she loved it. We tried two house roast of coffee and they were excellent. Much prefer this over the big franchises

Great breakfast bagels… perfect way to start your morning… moist bread and melted cheese ;)

Nothing like driving completely out of your way to a New York bagel
Place asking for a over easy egg
You know cause that’s what they do in ny
Oh no the only to microwaved scramble here
Nothing about this place is back eats
I could have drove a mile vs the 12 out of my way and gotten a cheaper bagel w mire then shred of bacon

Eat here occasionally but not that great. I actually think I prefer Einstein bagels and their iced tea… embarrassing as that is.

I Decided to stop by here out of desperation of not being able to find anything remotely healthy in the area.
I ordered one of their salads with cranberries, feta cheese, and vinaigrette. the salad was good and the services was great.
Its nice to find a small business that cares about quality and their customers.
I’ll be back for more!

Offering a hearty selection of breakfast items including pastries, bagels, and sandwiches, BEB is often on my radar when looking for a morning meal in Tempe.
What I like:
*Good number of bagel choices
*Bright, quaint location, with outdoor seating
*Friendly staff
*Prices are comparable to Einstein’s
What needs work:
*The actual bagel quality can sometimes be hit or miss. My bagel is sometimes big and fluffy; other times it’s wimpy and haggard by the cutting blade.
Overall, there’s nothing strongly beckoning me to BEB, other than it’s close to my work, and they serve breakfast foods. Depending on my available time and money, I would probably spend a little more to go somewhere with better quality. If I’m trying to save a dollar, I’d probably go with a very cheap breakfast somewhere else. That being said, I’ve liked every encounter with BEB bagels. Their bagels and breakfast sandwiches do the job. So, I will continue to be a repeat customer.

I’ve noticed Back East Bagels for years while getting coffee at Xtreme Bean across the street, and finally made it in the day after Halloween.
This place was rockin’. Cyclists dropping in for a post-​ride bagel and coffee, folks about to do their shopping at Sprouts, ASU students still in trashy Halloween costumes + make-​up from the night before.
I only tried a Cinnamon Raisin Bagel with their seasonal Pumpkin Cream Cheese.
Friendly and quick service from the employees, even though the store was totally packed.
The bagel wasn’t the size of a Chihuahua, but not the size of drink coaster either. Just right.
It was still piping hot when I got home, toasted perfectly while still being chewy, and believe it or not, the Pumpkin Cream Cheese with the perfect compliment to Cinnamon Raisin.
Wish these guys sold that stuff by the tub!
Never lived on the East Coast, never even visited, so I don’t know what constitutes a bagel from there.
But I do know a good bagel when I bite into one, and this was it!