Bruegger’s Bagels

I was visiting Pittsburgh about a month ago and stopped in Bruegger’s on S Aiken. We are from New York so we’re quite needy with our bagel orders. Justice took our (complicated) order and made it to perfection. Thank you for your patience and kindness!

The only thing worse than ignoring social media is giving an identical canned response to all slightly negative reviews.
A carbon copy auto-​response by «Aaron T» to all postings does not improve dining experiences, nor is a viable «social media reputation management strategy» or whatever they think he is doing. In fact it makes the company look more out of touch; I emailed «
» and no response.
Sigh. I guess I will stop in after a few months to the store several times and report back if any improvement, which is really all we want. With relatively small improvements to the store, staff training, and small drop in prices this could be a nice neighborhood bagel place.
I’ll anticipate «Aaron’s» next response and save him the trouble!
— — — — — — — — –
John, thank you for making us aware of the situation. We apologize for your experience at our S
Aiken Ave bakery as providing our guests with delicious food and a consistent product are things
we hold paramount.
We assure you your comments have not gone unheard and your feedback has been shared with
the District Manager of this bakery to make sure it does not happen again. Please contact us at
so we may follow up with you appropriately.
— Bruegger’s Social Team

A massive thank you to this bagel place. There was a group of 10 runners that were supposed to have a water stop set up nearby that wasn’t there. The staff very kindly gave us water which made a 17 mile training run much more pleasant. Thank You and I will definitely be patronizing this shop and sending others as well!

I would love to give this place a good rating but wow, three times in a row you guys struck out. The average wait time per customer is usually around 5 minutes… So if there’s 6 people or more in front of you, allow yourself at least 20 – 30 minutes.
I just do NOT understand why this location is so slow… I would not recommend this spot to anyone, unless your in a real pinch.

The toppings on my salad were barely there.
I never had the bacon I asked for. The salad dressing was watered down… The salad has been greatly reduced in size.
I used to love their salad… Not anymore. Cutting too many corners.

This is the slowest Brueggers ever. It doesn’t matter if I am the only one in the store or in a like out the door, the staff is slow and does not care that they are slow. They frequently mess up my friends orders when we go there. The food is okay/​typical Brueggers quality usually which is the only reason I am giving it 2 stars instead of the 1.

I agree… parking nightmare. Would be better if you walked here. Also do not attempt to go here on a Saturday or Sunday if you don’t like long lines.

This Bruegger’s is a parking nightmare. They have a tiny lot behind the shop that is often packed to the gills. The larger parking lot next-​door, often empty, is managed by a parking attendant who takes his job very seriously. Very very seriously.
Despite the trouble securing parking, I frequent this location and find service to be great despite the long lines. If you want turkey sausage make sure to point that out as I only recently realized that it’s not the standard when you ask for a egg/​cheese/​sausage bagel.
Also, order your drink while they make your bagel and if you slurp it all down while still in line they are more than happy to give you a free refill as you head out the door.

Pamela is a bad representation of this location! Attitude and lack of hygiene is an issue for this «employee.» I will not return.

Began my Unilocal account in hopes of reminiscing and offering reviews on all my old favorite spots upon my return visit home. Have to say I’m more than disappointed with how downhill this Brueggers has gone. Great food, yet tables upstairs sat dirty for hours during our meeting. In addition, hearing employees discuss smoking weed and other things from right up the stairs was truly disappointing. Terrible service overall.

The staff here was friendly and even offered to show me nutritional information when I asked questions. My bagel was decent, similar to other bagels I’ve had from bagel chain places.
But this place is dirty, at least in the customer areas. The bathroom toilet did not look cleaned for many days. The same with the stairs where dust and dirt checked in to the step corners. I saw an employee clean a table using nothing but his hand and arm. Nasty.

As much as I typically avoid bigger industry-​type chains, I’ve always enjoyed stopping in here while hanging out in Shadyside. It’s at the perfect location at the end of Walnut (though technically on Aiken) to grab something on your way into Shadyside or on your way out. I walked in today and the manager greeted me sweetly. I just picked up a bag of day-​old bagels (who can beat a bag of 6 for less than 3 bucks?) and a soda, and the woman was nice enough to offer a free bag of bagels to me! I don’t even care if they had to get rid of them by the end of the afternoon, it was an incredibly nice gesture which almost guarantees a stop in the next time I need a quick breakfast or lunch sometime soon. Great upstairs area with Wifi (though limited outlets) to eat and work.

The staff is very friendly at this location. I love the create your own salad option, and the produce is always fresh. Skinny bagels have become quite the trend, and Brueggers does it justice. At times, the coffee can be mediocre, but the bagels are always fresh, and Brueggers really is a Pittsburgh staple. A skinny zesty egg white breakfast sandwich is the perfect way to go for a lite breakfast.

The number of bagel stores in Pittsburgh has declined over the last five to ten years, but thank God for Brueggers. It’s the one place in Pittsburgh where I feel as though I’m getting authentic New York style bagels. And it’s one of the last bagel shops in Pittsburgh to serve SALT bagels. Yea, I know they’re bad for me, but they are so damn tasty!
The staff is quick but friendly. The selection can be thin if you get there after 9.00a but I certainly prefer limited options to bagels that might not be as fresh.

Haven’t been to a Brueggers in years. This one has a great location and is probably one of the only fast service style restaurants in Walnut Street area.
While I was here I just had a simple everything bagel toasted w/​cream cheese. It hit the spot. Still as good as I remember them.

Let it be known that I am the biggest Bruegger’s fan ever. I’ve been a pretty steady once-​a-​weeker since childhood.
After all that… This is the worst Bruegger’s ever. I always think: Oh, I’m close by and it’ll be fine this time. Nope. The staff is awful. The bagel are stale. The staff is so awful they don’t know that the bagels are stale.
Protect your brand, Bruegger’s, and get a new staff for this location.

I frequented Bruegger’s a lot in my childhood and I still do so I have a soft spot for this place. Bruegger’s offers a selection of bagels, sandwiches, soups and salads. The Bruegger’s on S Aiken does a great job in preparation. If you’re not getting a simple bagel with cream cheese, the items are about 6 – 9 bucks but the quality is worth it. They actually mix all of the components of your salad in a bowl before they put it in a container whereas other locations will just put the fixings on top with dressing on the side. I have enjoyed their breakfast sandwiches, signature bagel sandwiches and salads. I haven’t had their paninis and their coffee is just a-​ok which I’d go elsewhere for that.
Surprisingly they have wi-​fi though I have never seen anybody studying/​working with a laptop. This location is nice in that it has a whole upstairs to eat your food but the configuration of entering and ordering doesn’t make sense to me. When you enter the store, the cash registers are in front of you and then off to the right is where you order. They have a big ORDER sign in wooden letters above the counter where you order but I just noticed it. Hopefully I am not the only one!

I love Bruegger’s. I’m a member of their «Bottomless Mug Club» which costs about $ 150 for the year and entitles me to unlimited free beverages for a year. Many times your receipt includes a survey to get a dollar-​off coupon.
Prepared bagels and sandwiches are a bit pricey but there are a lot of coupons and promotions available. The «Last Night’s Bagels» are a great deal and if toasted, taste almost fresh.

A decent place to hang out on weekend mornings. Decent coffee, tasty bagels, and so-​so bagel sandwiches. I’ve tried several of their sandwiches and been disappointed, but I’d still recommend this location overall. Try the upstairs seating; it’s divine.