New Absolute Bagels Returns to Neighborhood Hole-y Site

The Upper West Side has a revived bagel mecca. It’s called New Absolute Bagels, and if that name sounds familiar, it should, for it’s located at the same address—at 2788 Broadway, between West 107th and 108th Streets—as the original Absolute Bagels, which served its loyal customers for 34 years.

Though the former UWS bagel emporium was beloved by locals, it was forced out of a business two years ago, on Dec. 11, 2024, when the city health department shut it down after uncovering a host of repeat code violations, including the presence of rats and unrefrigerated food.

The new owners promised to open by the end of this year, and on the foggy Monday morning of Dec. 29, at 8 a.m. all was indeed good again for both the indefatigable local bagel brigade and pilgrims from across the Big Apple’s bagel diaspora.

This lifetime “bagelnaut” accepted a mission to cover the so-called soft opening. The new menu? Same as the old one. The counter staff? Many old familiar faces, greeted and hugged by former regulars, who stopped by to resume their interrupted dining routines.

Many waited in line up to a half hour to make sure that they were there before 12 noon, which would be the closing time for the first week. Two free bagels were distributed to anyone who asked.

This being the disputative city, there is a controversy: Are New Absolute Bagel’s bread items made from former owner Sam Thongkrieng’s recipe? The jury is still out on that issue, although some media outlets have said they are.

Differences? You order from a menu, now on video monitors, not plastic and paper signage as had been the case. A dazzling array of choices includes 14 bagel varieties, 13 regular cream cheese choices, and seven different tofu ones. Longing for something else? There are 10 different spreads and meats on the screen to add diversity to the list.

Another difference? This newly opened bagelry takes cash and credit cards (with a 4 percent surcharge) whereas the old Absolute was strictly cash and carry.

The baking area is spotless, the front area's walls mostly tiled in black and white. The dim industrial green paint of the old ownership is gone.

The new owners, who identified themselves as Ms. Kim and Mr. Cheng, have created a bold new space from the ground up. Straus News Manhattan spoke to one enthusiastic customer, Jan, who had originally grown up in Seattle before moving to the UWS. “The hallmark of a good bagel is the smell, like the ones that Zabar’s and Barney Greengrass sell. The old Absolute ones didn’t have that—these do,” she continued, after having had both a plain and a cinnamon raisin bagel.

“The plain was a little undercooked and doughy, but the cinnamon raisin and my husband’s everything [bagel] were good. I was impressed,” she said.

The proof of the bagel, so to speak, is in the eating. What that in mind, I took them home. My wife shared some comments about her half-avocado, half-buttered creation on an everything bagel, half toasted, the untoasted half still warm.

She noted, “It looks hand rolled, which is a plus. It was tasty, reminiscent of the old Absolute. It has a good chew and a hard crust.” I would add that just out of the bag, the bagels were springy, a good sign. The location, close to subways and buses on Broadway, will be open 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. seven days a week, per manager Amy.

Don’t look for a website, telephone number, or take-out menu. There’s no Facebook page either at the moment. Hopefully that all changes in near term. For the moment, the dawn of a new Absolute bagel shop is relying on word of mouth and coverage in local media outlets.

But it is already getting thumbs up on the subreddit site r/upperwestside. “I was there at 8am,” said a poster who went by briskstein. “The bagels were as good as ever and fresh. A lot of the old staff was there and it was good vibes all around.”

“Totally agree,” posted user creddit-check. “Some of the same bagel rollers and cashier! Now super slick and clean set up with two registers. My everything bagel was everything I wished it would be. Rejoice.”

One person did not like the fake grass wall, but even that person admitted it was good to have it back. “The fake grass wall is a bad sign,” posted curiious-cat. “That sounds like they’re trying to go viral through social media posts. Not sure why they’d want to when they already have lines around the block. But I’m so glad they’re back! “

And another poster chadillac313 posted, “I recognized 50-75% of the people that were working this morning.”

Added Mwarner42, “I drove by it earlier today and was so shocked how long the line was. Glad they are back as I try to cut down on carbs. Haha.”