Noah's Bagels
- Price Range: $
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Private Lot
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
14 Reviews for Noah's Bagels
The service here is always bad. ALWAYS. I've been going here since high school. That's nearly 10 years.
Since there aren't other Noah's close by I eventually give in and deal with the service. Or lack thereof.
Because I live close by, I now go here often, but only for the everything bagel and jalapeno cream cheese. I love the whipped jalapeno cream cheese, with the right amount of richness and spiciness. No chunks of canned jalapeno. The service still SUCKS!
First visit:
I came here this morning for a bagel with cream cheese. I waited for ten minutes and still no bagel. I was already late for work! I went up to the cashier and said I wanted to cancel my order and wanted my money back. For whatever reason, she took the longest time trying to find my order on the carbon copy slip. The manager came over and asked, "You want your money back?" I said, "Yes, I waited too long." No apolegetic smile or "Sorry about that" or anything, she plunked my money back into my hand. Rude, rude, rude!!!
The only reason why they're open is because they're a franchise, not because of good customer service. They need a lesson in manners and customer service. If you want to be treated right, go to the Noah's off of Prospect and Saratoga. Their staff is friendly and attentive. When I used to be a regular there, the manager would slip in a cookie or extra bagel. I'm said to say that his Noah's SUCKS!!!
The sun-dried tomato basil bagel is bomb!
Haven't experianced the same problems as other reviewers..will update this review if I do.
I have always had good service here. 4-stars because they seem to run out of the multi-seed/everything bagel too early in the day, and I am always having to get a different flavor.
Kinda pricey for bagel sandwiches.
Good for call-in orders too.
*~*~*~*
Update: Saturday, Sept 29th
Whoa...don't even try to come here before 1pm on a Saturday. Is the whole town of Santa Clara here? No parking for this busy strip center, and Noah's is jam packed...people waiting everywhere for their bagel.
Just like the other review, this seems to be a consistent pattern with every Noah's bagels. It's pretty decent food served by incompetent and oftentimes rude teenagers. It's really annoying when they take your order, you pay for it, and then ten minutes later they tell you that they don't have the variety of bagel you ordered and look at you as if they want you to tell them what to do. Maybe keep track of what bagels you DO have?
Also, I'd say I get what I actually order about 50% of the time. The other 50% of the time they give me something ranging from a completely different type of cream cheese to something totally random, like a hot dog when i ordered a bagel. Who even orders hot dogs at 7AM?
Noah's really isn't worth the frustration. Also, it's really crowded. For better bagels, try Izzy's in Palo Alto.
This applies to all Noah's bagels. When Noah Alper started steaming bagels rather then boiling them when I was a boy in Berkeley he created soemthign new, and yes, quite good. Many many NY transplants like my father converted from Brothers Bagels traditional boiled bagels to this new steamed bagel which was quite crispy on the outside and never-the-less soft and chewy on the inside. That steaming process really makes a beautiful crust, ask the folks at the cheeseboard how they get their amazing crust ont heir bagettes, yep steam...
Noah's bagels itself was a nice joint with a good selection of smoked fish, tasty bialys and plent of Jews working there (I am allowed to say this because I thought Mel Brooks was funny before he hit broadway). Yes, you need Jews to have a good bagel place.
I used to rave about Noah's as a new type of Bagel place and stand toe to toe with H&H folk in New York claiming we had a California style bagel that held its own. Sadly Noah sold the franchise years back, and somehow that novelty of a bagel became white bread in the shape of a donut. The jalapeno-raspberry and pumpkin spice thingies started showing up pushing my salt bagel to a litl storage bin behind the counter. And the fish went from abundace and by the pound to lil' prewrapped things of overpriced nova that nobody buys, because, well-
"ewww.... fish on bagel, who would do that? Yes, can I have a blueberry, rasin, honey muffin corn bagel with strawberry rubarb schmear and a sice of bacon?"
Yeah, and most of the Jews are gone. Sorry, send in the Jews. Send in a bagel worth eating, send in plates of oily fishy stinky fish, capers, red onions! Main stream has killed the bagel.
People thought this was:
Useful (1)
Funny (1)
Cool (1)
Ok, so I grew up loving bagels, specifically the Noah's on University Ave in Palo Alto. This location was beyond PATHETIC. The manager helped us out when we ordered a baker's dozen. When I got home, we only had 11 bagels!!! And to add insult to injury, 4 of those bagels were half the size of a normal bagel - unrisen half baked insults. NEVER GOING TO THIS LOCATION AGAIN.
People thought this was:
Useful (2)
Funny (2)
Cool (1)
I have had the honor of picking up bagels for the office on several occasions. This place was right on the way to work (I've since then moved...) and I always enjoyed the bagels that I ordered.
Although, my last trip (Friday 3/9) wasn't so great. I ordered the Schlepper (13 bagels in their darling little box). Got to the office and only had 12. No worries...the extras were for the guys for later in the week, so no big deal (although this kind of ticked me off...momentarily).
Bagels tasted fine (I've never had a worse bagel or even a better bagel...so I have nothing to compare it to).
Here's my deal with the only 3 stars: I have been in this store at least 6-8 times in the last few months. Each time, I am barely greeted when it is my turn at the counter and I've never been smiled at. NOT ONCE! You feel like *just another face* when you go in here. There is no *human* connection. They don't even look you in the eye half the time!
I've even done the fax your order in thing, and each time my bagels were ready (as promised) but no smile. No connection.
Just: "Here's your bagels, buh bye".
Poo on that! I want a little love with my bagels! It's early, I need someone to get my day off to a good start!
+3 stars for consistent (at least in my case) bagels
-2 stars for no smiles, no connection, no LOVE!
People thought this was:
Useful (1)
Funny (1)
Had a good experience buying bagel's here for the office. The one complaint I have, and this is to ALL you Noah Bagel locations, is to make more Asiago bagels dammit.
People thought this was:
Funny (1)
Cool (1)
I've never received worse service ANYWHERE else in my entire life. I've been stopping at this location every 3 weeks for the last year to pick up a Muffin & Bagel Nosh box for an office breakfast meeting we have... you guessed it, every 3 weeks. And every 3 weeks I leave fuming pissed at the crappy service I had to tolerate to get the nosh box.
Upon entry into the store there are usually 1 or 2 customers waiting in line to be noticed while 4 or 5 employees stumble around behind the counter, knocking into each other like lost ants trying to find the trail. Only 1 time out of the last 17 times I've been there did the person know what actually goes into a Muffin & Bagel Nosh box when I ordered one. Then begins the sloooooow, painful process of them asking 2 or 3 other employees what to do, finding the binder with the pic & list of the items that go in, then physically building the box and then finally gathering the damn bagels and muffins. EVERYTIME! I swear, the security line at SFO moves faster than the line at Noah's. I often stand there wondering silently to myself how they are still in operation.
Anyway, the time before last, after waiting a ridiculous amount of time for them to complete the box, someone set it on the back counter where it was forgotten. After more waiting, I had to walk up to the counter and ask if that was my box. Another customer was at the counter too, asking why they didn't receive an item from their order. Bagel Girl said they were out of plain bagels.... then snapped a quick & empty "sorry!" after admitting she forget to mention this to the customer who's daughter was still waiting for her order while the rest of the group was more than half way through their breakfasts. ugh@! The other customer and I gave each other a knowing look: "This place sucks." Or maybe the look was: "Can we get a hit of whatever they have back there??"
Why do I keep going back, you ask.... alas, it's the only bagel place on the way to the office. Well, tomorrow marks another 3 weeks on the calendar and presumably another dreaded trip to Noah's. NOT SO! I will NEVER go back again. I found a Le Boulanger close to my house that I'll forever-more be making a side trip to every 3 weeks from here on out. F U Noah's Bagels.
With all this venom why even 1 star?? I love the Rice Crispy Treats they sell at the register.
If you are into bagels, and you have ever had one in New York, and you are reading this review of a restaurant in California...then your expectations should already be set properly.
Now that that's out of the way, let's get on to our review of this Noah's Bagels, located on El Camino near a Blockbuster and a Starbucks.
This is the most astoundingly, consistently busy bagel shop I have ever seen, on Saturday mornings. It's simply slammed with families. The staff is usually pretty friendly to me, but of course, I am a friendly guy. I usually go to places that serve Peerless Coffee, like House of Bagels, but when I come to Noah's I am reminded that their coffee is pretty decent as well.
Now I'm an odd duck when it comes to bagels...My favorites are salt bagels (aka giant soft pretzels in a donut shape :^). Noah's has them, on RARE occasion (they sell out frequently) and when they do have them, they're wayyyyy over-salted. Scraping off most of the salt, they're ok.
In fact, they have far too few "savory" bagels (pumpernickel, egg, plain, sesame, etc.) Wait, now that I think about it, they have far too few bagels, period. Guess they need to make room for muffins, bread, danishes, bageldogs...Odd that, not having that many bagels at a Noah's BAGELS.
But the primary reason I gave them a low rating is that they used to carry whitefish, which I'd buy by the bucket (well, little plastic container). Recently stopped carrying it, but the manager (a very nice lady) said they'd get some soon. Return visit, "Well, maybe next week." Following visit, "Here's your whitefish" and they gave me a tub of seafood salad. NOPE. Following visit, they had some! Tadah! But then the next time and time after, no whitefish again. WTF. Either carry it or don't, I guess they don't.
The location is good and their staff is nice, they just have an supplier or inventory problem that they need to resolve. Someone message me when they get a regular supply of whitefish.
Although there is no atmosphere to speak of, Noah's makes surprisingly good sandwiches. In particular, I speak of the tuna fish, which, truth be told, is the only sandwich I've ordered. It comes on your choice of bagel or bread (choose the potato peppercorn bagel) with tomato, onions, and cuke.
You also get a choice of potato salad and cole slaw (I always get potato salad), as well as a free pickle. All for $5.
HEALTHY FOOD TIP:
Tuna sandwiches are super healthy. Especially if you get them on whole wheat bread (a sesame bagel will work in a pinch). Instead of potato salad, you can get a fresh fruit cup.
People thought this was:
Useful (1)
On the weekends, you see people flock into Noah's Bagels, those of us who are so lucky to have known and tasted Montreal Bagels find this oh so amusing and ask WHY? Noah's bagels are TERRIBLE! They are like rock, so hard and tasteless!
Instead, one would crave for Montreal style bagels! Simply put, Fairmont Bagel, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, is where bagels were born! Other bagels such as NY-style and especially the oven-baked Noah's bagels are a joke in comparison to Montreal-style bagels!
Upon entering this little bagel shop, you immediately smell all the flavors coming out of the wood burning stove ovens. Varieties of bagels are being made there to satisfy Montrealers' insatiable appetites for yummy and fresh bagels. One bite and you can't forget that taste! Those of us having grown up and/or lived in Montreal will never forget the memories of walking into Fairmont Bagels, and have them handded you freshly made bagels still piping hot from the wood burning oven, mmmmmm, so yummy! In fact, anytime someone visiting here from Montreal asks us, "do you want anything from Montreal?" Almost the unanimous answer is, Montreal bagels!
If you've never tasted Montreal-styled bagels, I urge you to try some if you are anywhere in that area! You will NEVER eat another Noah's bagel ever again...^_^ ^_^ ^_^
People Who Viewed This Also Viewed...
Related Lists
-
My Favorite Reviews
Actually... I wish this were a feature of yelp...… -
Losing Weight and Still…
Here's how to do it. Look for my Healthy Eating… -
Eat here! -- South Bay
Some of my favorite restaurants in San Jose and…
Hot and New
- Kitsho
137 reviews
Cupertino, CA
- Athena Grill
147 reviews
Santa Clara, CA
- Sky High Sports
122 reviews
Santa Clara, CA
- Lucy's Tamale Factory
30 reviews
San Jose, CA
- Gulzaar Halaal Restaurant &…
52 reviews
San Jose, CA