Gramercy Bagels and Deli (Delray Beach)
***** Gramercy Bagels and Deli, 15200 Jog Road, Delray Beach, Florida 33446 (561) 496-5400.
The folks in Delray Beach, Boynton Beach and Boca Raton just got real lucky…About 2-weeks ago a “New York Style” bagel-deli joint named Gramercy Bagels opened in the Atlantic Plaza Shoppes…and I gotta tell you, based on today’s-lunch this place is going to be an absolute homerun.
At this juncture, I would suggest that you check Gramercy’s website
gramercybagels.com for menu/prices/photos.
Today, I did lunch…first off, Gramercy Bagels is 5500 square feet…for the non-carpenters out there, that’s big. When you enter the store, there is an enormous and I do mean enormous area for takeout stuff…soups, salads, sandwiches, meats-smoked fish, pastries, bagels, bialys…you name it and its probably there. There is also a dining room which seats 155. To give you some idea of what we are talking about here, the owner Andy Hopta told me that all 26 types of bagels, bialys, breads, flagels, salads, soups…are prepared in-house. Just so you know, the bagels are made the “right way”…boiled and then baked.
Anyway…if you check Gramercy’s website you will find a handful of photos which really show the joint-off. Let’s just say, that this is one of the most attractive-looking bagel-deli joints that I have been to. When you look at the takeout-cases, you’ll be like a kid in a candy store…you are going to want to try everything.
As for the old food-test…matzo ball soup (A), pastrami (B), corned beef (B+), chopped liver (A), chicken salad (B+), potato salad (A), cole slaw (A), macaroni salad (A), Israeli salad (A), cucumber salad (A), french fries (B+ only Nathan’s gets an (A), everything bagel (A), pumpernickel bagel (A), rye bread (A), raspberry ruglah (B), cinammon ruglah (B+), coffee (A). For you weisenheimers out there, I just “tasted” a-drop of everything and there were 3-of us at the table. Also note, the (A) for coffee…one of the best cups I have had in a long long long time.
Prices are neighborhood bagel-deli prices. Service, you’d never know that this joint has only been open 2-weeks…real smooth operation.
There are a ton of bagel-deli joints in South Florida. This is one of the best ones that I have eaten in.
Gramercy Bagels is open 7 days a week 7am-4pm.
jeff, a group us ate lunch on friday. i had a pastrami and ff and coke. the food was very good. you are right that it has an amazing food selection and everything looks great. very pleasant waitresses.
I tried Gramercy. Had a very good corned beef sandwich also took home a mixed dozen of bagels. Gramercy between 2-4pm gives you 6 bagels free with every 6 you buy. Great looking store, but there is so much room in front of the counter that you can get lost. I was told that they are planning on putting a few tables there. That’s a good idea.
On a different subject I have been hearing that a new bagel fast food place called Brooklyn Water Bagel Co. is going to open any day in Delray. Have you heard anything about this one?
Mike: Just had a chance to read your post. First, I am really glad that you enjoyed Gramercy. Like I said in my review, I think that this joint has a shot to be a real homerun.
On the Original Brooklyn Water Bagel Co., here is what I know. The joint is set to officially open for business on 8/10/09. It is owned by Steven Fassberg, who in the mid-1990’s owned Wolfie’s Deli in Deerfield Beach and Wolfie’s Deli Express in Delray Beach. Way back when, I must have eaten in the Deerfield joint at least 5 times. It was a great operation and the food was just right. I am not sure as to why both locations are no longer around, but I do know that Steven Fassberg has a tremendous deli business background. I also have heard that the Original Brooklyn Water that is opening in Delray Beach is the first of a “planned” chain. Now don’t quote me on this, but I understand that Boca Raton resident, Larry Feldman a major player in the Subway’s chain and founder of Hair Color Express is also involved. Just so you know, I have been in the Delray location and it is a very interesting concept. Sort of like a fast-food bagel store, that also does full dinners. I am also going to tell you that I have sampled several of its bagels, chicken salad, tuna salad and the stuff was excellent. I am planning on doing some more “due diligence” here and I will have a full review in the near future. From what I have seen so far, I like the concept…my only concern is the location of the initial store, personally it wouldn’t have been my first pick.
This is an interesting story. Let’s see how it works out.
jeff, am i crazy or something or is delray beach all of a sudden being inudated with bagel joints? elbaums, gramercy, now water bagel? not that i am complaining because nothing tops a good bagel with scallion cream cheese but all of a sudden they are popping up like locus.
shelly m.: Just had a chance to read your post. You maybe onto something here. I say, the more the merrier, as long as they are good joints.
Thanks for reading…
Really enjoyed Gramercy. For right now it only does breakfast and lunch. Hope they add dinners. Very attractive setup, good prices, good food, good service.
born in brooklyn.
been in fl for 34 years.
know my bagels, deli, appetizing.
have eaten in most of bagel places in pb, broward.
gramercy is good. not great bagels or deli, but good food. nice looking store not dumpy like most bagel places.
Simply the best! Had lunch at Gramercy Bagels today and the food and staff were great. This is by far the best spot in the county for bagels, deli and appetizing. Place is clean and staff is the friendlist. The bagels are the best around and I have tasted them all. Keep up the good work!
Will be going there on Thurs with a guy named Leo, another named Jim and a sweet beautiful young lady named Karin. Will write comments afterward
gramercy bagles was excellent. we are a group of golfers and this is a great place to meet have a bagel and coffee before heading out pleasant wait counter people and wait staff. highly recommend.
One big problem here the lines. tried to get in on Thursday afternoon around 1:30 pm and there was a 45 minute wait. This is SUMMER folks, restaurants are suppose to be slow. Just imagine how good this is going to be in SEASON. The food in the counter cases looked awesome as did the waiters carrying dishes but we couldn’t wait so we went over to Bagel Twins which by the way was empty.
We;’ll be back for another try.
Gramercy has Mediocre bagels at the best. Go to The Original Brooklyn Bagel Water Co. if you want a great bagel. I will never go back to Gramercy now that a real bagel shop has arrived in South Florida.
If this restaurant doesn’t add a dinner menu it will fail. The place is huge and the takeout counter area is gigantic. Too much overhead for just breakfast and lunch crowd.
Food is decent enough.
Prices are fair but not the cheapest in the area.
I like the place but it won’t last with the overhead.
this is a great place for very senior citizens whose tastebuds have wilted and who are on a salt-free spice-free taste free diet. i had what passes for mushroom barley soup. let’s just say they got the mush right. had macaroni and potato salad. both were cool and slippery. no flavor whatsoever. their roast beef sandwich was average and their pickles were good. they will never satisfy the younger single and family customers if they don’t spice things up. i do agree that the place itself is lovely and the prices are fair. i’ll stick with their neighbors, oddysey diner for now.
Hey Jeff ~
Well, I’m finally back from the cold and wet north, having spent 4 months in the Borsht Belt – what a depressing summer! Tried Gramercy this morning for an omlette after my gym workout – oh well, calories off and calories on. The place is good and if it remains so could possibly put Bagel Tree out of business yet again. Not a cheap place to eat but first quality, and that’s what I look for. Now I have to catch up on your other recommendations from the last 4 months – a lot of eating and a lot of exercising going to come my way.
Food B
Service A
Prices B
Three places opened in the same area all within months of each other. Gramercy, Original Brooklyn and Elbaums. Gramercy is very good. Original Brooklyn is good. Elbaums not good.
Gotta tell you, went there today and actually really liked it. The bagel was great, better then that other place with the brooklyn water, way better. The food was great, and service decent. Just couldn’t stand the other clientele that eats there, with their nasty faces, and kvetching about everything.
Would certainly go back though
elbaum’s out of business. good riddance.
BAD EXPERIENCE TODAY. HAVE BEEN THERE SEVERAL TIMES & IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN GOOD. STOPPED IN TODAY TO SHARE A LITE LUNCH WITH A FRIEND. WE DECIDED TO SHARE NOVA EGGS & ONIONS. ORDERED IT DRY WITH WELL DONE ONIONS. THE WAITRESS WAS VERY NICE. OF COURSE IT CAME OUT NOT WELL DONE AND THE ONIONS NOT BROWNED AS WE ASKED FOR..WE LET THAT GO BUT IT WAS COLD. WE ASKED FOR THE WAITRESS, BUT THE OWNER CAME OVER INSTEAD & HE WAS SO RUDE HE IMPLIED THAT MY FRIEND WAS LYING, SAID HE WOULD HAVE TO CHECK WITH THE WAITRESS ABOUT IT BEING ORDERED WELL DONE. HE WAS NASTY. SAID I WILL TAKE IT OFF THE CHECK & JUST GRABBED THE DISH AWAY. HE HAD NO RIGHT TO SPEAK THE WAY HE DID. AGAIN, NO REFLECTION ON THE WAITRESS. I DOUBT THAT I WILL RETURN THERE EVEN IF THE FOOD IS GOOD. YOU NEED TO TREAT YOUR CUSTOMERS WITH A LITTLE RESPECT EVEN IF YOU THINK THEY ARE WRONG.
Not sure what you are talking about L.T. Gramercy is a breath of fresh air for Delray Beach. The food and the service is always great. Those guys really know how to do deli. Keep it up Gramercy!!
Had breakfast this morning at Gramercy. First time. Great coffee, excellent bagels, excellent pancakes, excellent service.
Like my friend Zak above, also had breakfast this morning. The western I had with American Cheese was delicious as was the everything bagel with cream cheese. Amazingly clean and the front counters are packed with great takeout food. This is one of the best bagel places in Florida and I have been to loads of them.
this has to be one of the best bagel places in the delray-boca area.
delicious food and great bagels.
clean, reasonable prices, delicious food, great waitstaff.
try this one.
This is a wonderful place for breakfast. Clean with great food and reasonable prices. When are they going to start serving dinner?
I thought this was a good bagel restaurant but Bagels & a few minutes north is much better. By the way that original water bagel store is a joke.
We were at Gramercy several times and have found it excellent on all counts. Today I had a pastrami and corned beef sandwich and it was served hot..can’t remember when I had that last! The management has been so accommodating that it makes it even more of a pleasure to go in there.
one of the best eat in bagel places,
Gramercy is top shelf. Good bagels, breakfasts, deli meats. A big plus for the area.
Have been to Gramercy at least 10 times since I read your review. Excellent food and all priced right.
Jeff, this morning I and two golfing buddies had breakfast at Gramercy Bagels. This was our first time at this restaurant.
You are correct, that this bagel-deli is absolutely great looking. When you walk in, the appetizing takeout department is huge and you are like a kid in a candy store deciding what to try first.
The dining area is clean as a whistle and the waitress we had was as good as one would want. Plenty of hot coffee was served from bottomless table pot like the ones you see at IHOP and the food presentation was terrific. My western omelette came with a toasted pumpernickel bagel with cream cheese, hash browns and a small blueberry muffin. My friends, one had a pastrami/swiss omelette and the other had waffles with fresh strawberries. We all agreed that the food was really good.
Making the rounds was Andy Gramercy’s owner. When we told him that we were big fans of Pastrami Queen in Boca and that we especially liked its pastrami and cabbage soup. Without fanfare, Andy brought out what was probably a 1/2 lb of pastrami and gigantic bowl of cabbage soup for us to try. Now that’s a good businessman. We all thought that the pastrami and soup could give PQ a run for the money as it was a real close call.
The store was very busy with both eat in and takeout customers. Andy told us that in a few weeks he is planning to start serving dinner 7 nights a week. He said that menu details were being finalized and that in the Fall he was planning on adding a 60 seat extension to the store because he expected a huge demand for the dinner hour.
You are 100% correct that this is one of the best deli bagel stores going.
Tried Gramercy and it is very good. Excellent bagels and the restaurant is great looking.
Gramercy imho has developed into the best bagel joint in the Boca-Delray-Boynton area.
Gramercy has been in business for about 1 year and it as clean and new looking as the day it opened. The owners really take care of this business.
Super pleasant waitreses and the takout area has a great selection of bagels and appetizing.
This is a winner and I am a regular.
Jeff, great find here. One of the best bagel joints in the area. Extremely well run.
love this joint.
heads and shoulders over the others in the area.
Jeff, today, I and a some friends ate breakfast. We got there about 8:45 am and there was no line, but most tables were taken. We had never eaten there before but had heard that it was a very good bagel place. To make a long story short, the four of us had a great breakfast with great service. This is a great looking restaurant and is as clean as a whistle. The waitress was new it was her third day but we noticed that a waiter was watching her to make sure that our order and other tables were handled correctly. Of note, the general manager Steve visted our table and from I could see every other table to make sure that eveything was just right. Very pleasant guy who also showed us the new 24 seat dining area that is being added. From what he told us, this breakfast lunch business will soon be handing dinner as well.
Gramercy Bagels is a great find.
By the way, when we left around 9:45am every table was taken and there must have been at least 30 people waiting outside for a table.
it’s going to be a tossup between gramercy and 3g’s for the dinner crowd.
3g’s got a goldmine but not for long.
The other day I ate in the new dining room. It adds about 25 seats so I guess they are getting set for a dinner menu. If the dinner food is as good as breakfast and lunch it, Gramercy will really hurt 3g’s, flaowitz, poppies and the others in the area. Gramercy is my favorite bagel shop.
Jeff, there should be a law in Florida that if you want to open a bagel store you first must train at Gramercy. Terrific bagels and food, great help. Clean and extremely well run. A textbook case on how it should be done
I and my family have lived in Boca-Delray area for 25 years. We literally have eaten in every bagel store between Hollywood-Boynton Beach. There are some very good ones, like Sage, Bagels &, Bagelworks, but we find Gramercy the best all around bagel-deli. For sure, others may have a better this or a better that, but for all around food, decor, staff, cleanliness. Gramercy is #1.
First time at Gramercy yesterday for lunch. Had heard about this bagel place from your site and several neighbors and finally got a chance to eat there.
Great looking store. Clean. Very well run. Terrific turkey off the bone, whitefish salad and tuna sald.
This is my new favorite brekafast lunch bagel place.
Looking forward to trying Gramercy for dinner.
George S.
Gramercy is right on the money.
Outstanding service.
CLEAN.
Good Food.
Good prices.
Great selection.
Excellent management.
Has to be one of the best bagel joints in Florida. Excellent food and service. Clean as a whistle.
great for breakfast and lunch. i was there the first night that they opened for dinner, got to get kinks out, but good selection, prices.
jeff,
i have been a huge fan of gramercy since it opened. i like gramercy because it is clean, has good food, reasonable prices and good service. over the past year, i have been there at least 20 times for breakfast and lunch. i know that last week gramercy started to serve dinner and i’m looking forward to dinners.
Like others here I am a breakfast-lunch regular at Gramercy. I think that they do a great job.
I was there for dinner last Wednesday and had turkey meatloaf which was nothing special. The meal came with a salad and the portion was very small.
Based on breakfast and lunch I’m sure that the owners will get everything working right but the first outing could have been better.
One other thing, I think that if they want to really compete with 3 G’s which is in the area Gramercy will have to lower their prices by $2-3 a meal.
Gramercy has everything going for it.
Good food. Good prices. Good service. Clean. Great decor.
My friends and I eat breakfast out at least 3x a week. Of all the places we frequent Gramercy is the best.
Love the French toast.
Dinner last night at Gramercy. Great salads and meat dishes. Previously had done breakfast and lunch, now got a good dinner joint as well.
I really enjoy Gramercy for breakfast.
Tonight, my wife and I tried Gramercy for dinner and I must tell you that for 45 bucks tax and tip included we had a terrific dinner. Included was soup/salad/or appetizer, entree, two sides, dessert and beverage. My wife had sliced turkey and I had the romanian steak. Great value.
On the service front we had a really good young fellow Jimmy who was as attentive, hardworking and knowledgeable as can be. I also love that he had a great haircut reminisent of the one that Jim Carey wore in Dumb & Dumber. Ask for Jimmy when you eat there he was a pleasure.
the enormous chopped salad menu alone makes this a great place for lunch or dinner.