Overrated, poor service
DESCRIPTION: Though Goldstein's claims their bagels are tasty and 5 ounces, I can assure you my two trips there resulted in both poor food and poor service. The girl behind the counter was rude and wouldn't wait on me until I said "excuse me" twice. The bagels were not particularly tasty and were stale-tasting.
DATE: 2001-04-17
SERVICERATING : 4
AMBIANCERATING : 6
OVERALLRATING : 2

Best Bagels in the World
DESCRIPTION: Perfect bagels. Not hamburger buns with holes in them like most "bagel" shops, or Lender's or Thomas's. If you like that sort of thing this place is not for you. If you crave authentic bagels like the ones you had in NYC, Goldstein's is it. Try the pumkin bagel with a schmear of peanut butter.
DATE: 2003-02-13
FOODRATING : 10
SERVICERATING : 10
AMBIANCERATING : 6
OVERALLRATING : 10

Good Bagels...TERRIBLE, TERRIBLE Service!!!
DESCRIPTION: I regularly go to the Goldstein's Bagels in Old Town Pasadena. The service there is so BAD. The people who work there talk about me in a different language not knowing that I fully understand them and if you are lucky enough for them to actually wait on you, they are completely RUDE and still get your order wrong!
DATE: 2003-03-09
FOODRATING : 6
SERVICERATING : 2
AMBIANCERATING : 4
OVERALLRATING : 4

Shockingly Rude Service, Horrible Lox and Bagel
DESCRIPTION: I tried the La Canada shop after sipping coffee next door at Starbuck's. I asked for a lox and bagel, was told they didn't have any lox. I asked if he meant today, or Goldstein's never had lox. He said just today. I left. The following week I tried again. Two different guys were behind the counter with their backs to me and appeared to be making a joke about me to each other. I asked for a lox sandwich on a toasted sesame bagel. In all my life I've never seen less lox on a sandwich, it's a pity it wasn't served with a magnifying glass so I could find it. The bagel was average, and the lox so minuscule I couldn't taste it. This place obviously hires losers off the street and doesn't bother teaching them how businesses earn their profits. I wouldn't go back in this place for any reason including taking shelter during an earthquake.
DATE: 2003-06-09
FOODRATING : 2
SERVICERATING : 2
AMBIANCERATING : 6
OVERALLRATING : 2
RECOMMENDED DISHES : Try the sarcasm sandwich with a side of rudeness

Worst Bagels Ever
DESCRIPTION: I've been to Goldstein's in La Canda a couple of times. First time, I thought it was probably a bad day. Second time, I realized the place just plain sucks. The bagels have no flavor, there's no good texture. I recommend Noah's Bagels, or better yet - if you can find Einstein's Bagels, you'll be very pleased.
DATE: 2003-08-14
FOODRATING : 2
SERVICERATING : 4
AMBIANCERATING : 2
OVERALLRATING : 2
RECOMMENDED DISHES : Get something at Starbucks, just across the way.

Rude Rude Rude
DESCRIPTION: I have visited this Goldstein's about 5 times. Not once have I received good service. Whoever manages this store is completely clueless about customer service. The customer shouldn't feel as if they're interrupting the lives of the servers because they want to place an order. My last (and LAST) visit there was today. The service was slow as usual. Ordered a coffee from the drive thru. When handed my coffee, I asked for a couple of napkins. He gave me about 30 (no exaggeration), and when I said I didn't need that many, the guy just shrugged and walked back to get my change. He handed me the change - 55 cents out of 58 cents immediately landed on the ground under my car. All he said was an "I-couldn't-care-less" sorry and quickly closed his window and walked away. Great customer service, huh? He dropped the money outside of my hand (because he wasn't paying attention) and then acts as if I should pull forward, stop, get out of my car, and search the ground for my 55 cents. Knowing this Goldstein's, he's probably Employee of the Month.
DATE: 2003-09-03
SERVICERATING : 2
OVERALLRATING : 2

Nice service
DESCRIPTION: I have visited Goldstein's about 15 times. Customer service is very good. They always wait for me, with a smile on their faces as I changed my mind abour bagels. Then they say thank you for coming about 5 times. The bagels' taste is not bad.
DATE: 2004-04-19
FOODRATING : 6
SERVICERATING : 10
AMBIANCERATING : 10
OVERALLRATING : 6

Best Bagels Ever
DESCRIPTION: My entire family goes to this particular Goldstein's every Sunday and sometimes even Saturdays. The service is great and the people are really friendly. Not to mention the wonderful food! I always stick with the plain bagel and cream cheese with freshly squeezed orange juice. I LOVE GOLDSTEINS!
DATE: 2004-05-23
FOODRATING : 10
SERVICERATING : 10
AMBIANCERATING : 10
OVERALLRATING : 10
RECOMMENDED DISHES : Bagels

The bagel is excellent
DESCRIPTION: I go to Goldstein's in La Canada everyday. I think they bake the best bagel in town. I like Noah's too, but I think people who know authentic bagel will agree that goldstein's is the best. But don't expect perfection from the bakery; the place gets packed at certain hours and sometimes you have to wait for fresh coffee to brew; and things get hectic at times. So if you're looking for a chichi place, this isn't the place for you. I've gotten to know most of the employees pretty well and I find them to be courteous and friendly. The only bad behavior I see is out of the rude, aggressive and inconsiderate customers who make unreasonable demands and don't clean up after themselves. You can see the level of incivility and viciousness in some the reviews here.
DATE: 2004-07-21
FOODRATING : 10
SERVICERATING : 6
AMBIANCERATING : 6
OVERALLRATING : 6
RECOMMENDED DISHES : Almost any kind of bagel

Great service
DESCRIPTION: I go to Goldstein's in La Canda everyday. They do have good customer service. When you're a regular customer, they prepare your order before you even get to say what you want. I love it. It does get a little hectic on the weekends when it gets full, but I am a patient person. I enjoy this bakery better than the one that was in Old Town. There are maybe 1 or 2 people that could learn a little more customer service skills, but other than that, it is the perfect ambient.
DATE: 2005-08-16
FOODRATING : 10
SERVICERATING : 10
AMBIANCERATING : 10
OVERALLRATING : 10
RECOMMENDED DISHES : Jalapeno, Banana Nut, Sun dried, Cheese & Jalapeno Cheese, Bagel Dog, Chicken Wrap.. I could go on!!

Great Place to Go
DESCRIPTION: The people that are actually writing negative comments about the La Canada store are probably the rude customers. If they don't like the service then why do they keep going back? I love going to Goldstein. They are always ready for me to order, and are really nice. I like it and I would definitely take my family back.
DATE: 2005-09-16
FOODRATING : 10
SERVICERATING : 8
AMBIANCERATING : 10
OVERALLRATING : 10
RECOMMENDED DISHES : Jalapeno and Cheese Bagel heated with butter

Goldstein's Arcadia - poor manager
DESCRIPTION: On a Sunday afternoon, I found the manager having a conversation with one of his employees across the store. The store was empty when I entered so I found them shouting their comments to to each other in a foreign language. They continued their loud conversation during my entire visit. It was so loud and distracting, I couldn't hear the counter employee (who was very nice) and she couldn't hear me. Don't know if the bagel was worth getting a ringing in my ears.
DATE: 2005-10-31
FOODRATING : 4
SERVICERATING : 4
AMBIANCERATING : 2
OVERALLRATING : 2

Pay Good Money For Lousy Food Served By Rude Incompetents
DESCRIPTION: Avoid Goldstein's Bagel Bakeries at all costs. I have never been treated so rudely by inept employees dishing up lousier grub in my life.
DATE: 2003-06-15
FOODRATING : 2
SERVICERATING : 2
AMBIANCERATING : 4
OVERALLRATING : 2
RECOMMENDED DISHES : I can't recommend any food served by Goldstein's incompetent and rude staff.

The Best Bagels
DESCRIPTION: Goldstein's makes the closest to New York style bagels I've ever found in Southern California, home to enough Wonder Bread with a hole in the middle to make any native of the Northeast homesick. Goldstein's doesn't make ersatz bagels -- they're big and chewy, the just the way God intended a bagel to be. The service is perfunctory -- but who cares? It's bagel bakery, not Chez Panisse! Sadly, their Old Town Pasadena bakery has been crushed to make way for yet another high-tone corporate retailer. Fortunately, their other outlets on Santa Anita Ave. and in Glendale remain, for those of who appreciate a real bagel.
DATE: 2005-06-16
FOODRATING : 8
SERVICERATING : 6
AMBIANCERATING : 6
OVERALLRATING : 8
RECOMMENDED DISHES : Bagels!

Best Bagels in Pasadena
DESCRIPTION: Noah's offers bagels that are soft on the inside, chewy on the outside, and generally tasty. The garlic bagels are excellent (unless the garlic is burnt) and usually sell out quick.<P>They're not listed on the online menu, but the Noah's I've visited all serve several types of knishes, which rival the bagels in tastiness. The spinach and mushroom knish is slightly better than the potato one.<P>The lox bagels are highly recommended, and they come with a bunch of vegetables (including capers), in addition to a nice slab of lox and some cream cheese.
DATE: 1999-11-08
FOODRATING : 8
SERVICERATING : 6
AMBIANCERATING : 6
OVERALLRATING : 6
RECOMMENDED DISHES : knish