The 10 Best Bagel Shops🗽
In NYC
This isn't the first time Gothamist has rounded up the best of this city's myriad bagel offerings, but last year's Bagel Power Ranking caused so much controversy we decided we needed to come back and settle this once and for all. So gather your pitchforks and torches: what follows are our favorite bagel joints in the city—leave your recommendations and your requests to send us back to Montana (we are not from there, FYI) or wherever in the comments.
ABSOLUTE BAGELS:
With fellow bagel standby H&H Bagels long gone, this uptown joint is the new neighborhood king, selling crispy-skinned, light and chewy bagels to the hordes of Upper West Siders and hungover Columbia students that line up outside on weekend mornings. Individual bagels run about $1, and you can pair them with an assortment of standard cream cheeses, meats and spreads; do note that while the bagels are delectable, they don't hold up to snuff after a few hours, so it's best to consume them ASAP. Cash only.
Absolute Bagels is located at 2788 Broadway between 107th and 108th Street in Manhattan Valley (212-932-2052, absolutebagels.com).
THE BAGEL HOLE:
Mayor de Blasio once proclaimed Bagel Hole the best in the city, and while #forkgate didn't do much to bolster his cred among NYC foodiots, he managed to get this one right. Bagel Hole's goods are always fresh, dense and chewy, enveloped by the necessary salty, crispy skin. And though they get some flack for being on the small side, that's how bagels are supposed to be, a truth that has gotten lost somewhere among the massive dough balls which lesser bagelries have been churning out in recent years. Eat with cream cheese, whitefish, lox or nothing, dream of flocks of angels crowned by bagel halos all night long.
The Bagel Hole is located at 400 Seventh Avenue between 12th and 13th Street in Park Slope, Brooklyn (718-788-4014, bagelhole.net).
TERRACE BAGELS:
Though the jury's still out on Terrace Bagels' highly controversial recent redesign, this Windsor
Terrace spot continues to produce some of the most solid bagels in all of Kings County...and therefore the WORLD. These ever-fresh fluffy offerings are best when doused with a healthy serving of house-made flavored cream cheese or sandwiching sliced turkey and mustard. Plus, there's no need to get them toasted; just slap on a spread and head out to nearby Prospect Park with your breakfast/lunch/midday snack, assuming the sky has stopped winter-crying.
Terrace Bagels is located at 224 Prospect Park West between 16th
Street and Windsor Place in Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn (718-768-3943).
ESS-A-BAGEL:
Like Bagel Hole, there's been some controversy over the size of Ess-A-Bagel's dough halos. Some claim Ess-A-Bagel's offerings are too big. We beg to differ, and will continue to indulge in a crispy, colossal everything bagel loaded with scallion cream cheese, lox and tomato. We will then breathe in your face on the 4 train, our dispelled carbon monoxide pungent with pure satisfaction and the noxious fumes of fish and onion. Suck it, haters.
Ess-A-Bagel has two locations in Manhattan: 359 1st Ave at 21st Street in Gramercy (212-260-2252, ess-a-bagel.com) and at 831 3rd Ave between 50th and 51st Street in Midtown East (212-980-1010, ess-a-bagel.com).
DAVID'S BAGELS:
The Gramercy/East Village/Stuy Town dwellers have long since fought over whether David's or Ess-A-Bagel boils a better bagel. And while Ess-A is one of the best bagelries in town (see above), David's is some pretty solid competition, boasting tasty, chewy bagels that somehow manage to stay hot all day. You can't go wrong with a basic bagel-and-cream cheese type deal, but we've been told their egg-and-cheese concoctions are superior to all other egg-and-cheeses in the city; with that information in hand, do what you will.
David's Bagels is located at 273 1st Ave between 16th and 17th Street in Gramercy (212- 780-2308, davidsbagelsnyc.com).
MURRAY'S BAGELS:
I don't have a particularly great bagel place in my neighborhood, which is probably a good thing, lest I turn into a giant sesame seed. But whenever I'm gripped with the urge to sink my teeth into something dense and carby (usually after a night out at one of these guys), I will make the pilgrimage out to this Greenwich Village spot, still holding strong after nearly 20 years in service. Though some turn their noses up at Murray's' no-toast policy, fresh bagels should never be toasted; that charring is reserved for day-old bread and those horrible faux-bagels packaged in plastic and sold in suburban supermarkets. Get a damn non-toasted everything bagel with lox spread; you're in the BIG LEAGUES now.
Murray's Bagels is located at 500 6th Ave between 12th and 13th Streets in Greenwich Village (212-462-2830, murraysbagels.com).
BAGEL OASIS: Brooklyn might boast a more notable bagel rep, but this Queens joint will give Kings County and its "famed" bagel water a run for its money. Bagels here come thickly spread with homemade cream cheeses, and though they do toast their goods (FOR SHAME!) they won't reduce your cinnamon raisin pick to a charred, tasteless mess. Bonus points: Bagel Oasis is open 24/7, so if you happen to have a hankering for some late-night grub and you're nowhere near one of these places, you can still get your hands on a stellar bagel-and-turkey deal.
Bagel Oasis is located at 18312 Horace Harding Expressway in Fresh Meadows, Queens (718-359-9245, bageloasis.com).
KOSSAR'S BIALYS:
This LES institution may be famed for its namesake bialys, but the 90
cent bagels here are nothing to sneer at, either. Like H&H—forever a
curse on you, Verizon Wireless—Kossar's
does not bother with trifling things like condiments and cream cheese.
If you want a bagel, buy a bagel, and if you want cream cheese, they
sell tubs of Philadelphia at the Key Foods near the Williamsburg Bridge
(they sell tubs of cream cheese in-store, but it's cheaper to buy your
own preferred brand).
Of course, if you're feeling "adventurous" you can't go wrong with a
bialy—a pillowy round thing that looks a little bit like a bagel but
will SURPRISE YOU when you bite into it and are overcome by the taste of
onion—or try the "pletzel," a savory, foccacia-esque flatbread.
Kossar's Bialys is located at 367 Grand Street between Essex and Norfolk Streets on the Lower East Side (212-473-4810, kossarsbialys.com).
BERGEN BAGELS:
An anonymous Gothamist staffer who is enraptured by this Prospect
Heights bagelry describes its offerings as "normal bagels that got
dipped in superpowers." While the bagels themselves are fairly standard
fare for NY and NJ (yes, there are good bagels in NJ),
when it comes to the spreads, Bergen Bagels hits the mark. The Bergen
Street location boasts everything from dill cream cheese to feta pesto
cream cheese to Japanese tuna spread to Chipotle-lime chicken, and just
about everything you ask them to put on your bagel will be delicious and
fresh.
Bergen Bagels is located at 473 Bergen Street between 5th and 6th Aves in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn (718-789-7600, bergenbagel.com). There are two other locations in Brooklyn, but this one is the best.
BROOKLYN BAGEL & COFFEE COMPANY:
Ironically, Brooklyn Bagel does not have a location in Brooklyn. It does,
however, have three locations in Astoria and one in Chelsea, and every
one of them sells spectacular hand-rolled doughy bagels, appropriately
crispy-skinned and accompanied by what seems like thousands of spreads
and proteins. They have a flavor-of-the-week cream cheese that has, at
times, been cannoli cream, red velvet, spinach and white chocolate
raspberry. Expect long lines in Astoria on weekday mornings, but your
breakfast will be worth the wait.
Brooklyn Bagel has three locations in Queens and one in Manhattan; visit their website for details.
5 Best Bagel Shops
in the United States
Ah, bagels. I know many (myself included) that will travel far and
wide for the best bagel. There are infinite reasons as to why I think
bagels are supreme, but getting into that would take up this entire
article. Anyway, if you’re looking for the best places around the U.S.
to get bagels, here are some that can definitely help you find your
bagel fix. While you’re visiting one of these locations, feel free to
pick me up an everything with cream cheese, alright?
1. H&H Bagels Midtown Bagels East – New York, NY
If you’ve searched for the best bagel in NYC, this is probably where many will lead you. This spot has made cameos in Seinfeld, and also serve as the “sympathy bagels” Carrie brings Miranda in Sex and the City
after not being able to help her when she threw out her back. It has
recently closed, but has plans of renovating and reopening under new
ownership. A review on Yelp
said it best: “My first bite of an H&H bagel resulted in a complete
paradigm shift, in which I finally understood why NYC is known for its
bagels. I didn’t know that bagels could reach such heights as this.”
2. Sam’s Bagels – Los Angeles, CA
For more than 35 years, this location has been serving up some of the
best bagels in LA. The spot has a reputation of having a long wait, but
it’s well worth their perfect bagels. Their garlic bagels are what
they’ve gotten the best reviews for, as well as having fresh lox.
3. BB’s Bagels – Alpharetta, GA
BB’s is about thirty miles north of Atlanta, but is still one of the
most popular bagel places in the country. From friends who have
experienced their bagels firsthand, they all describe them as
“revolutionary to the bagel game.” The bagels are hand-rolled and
kettle-boiled, and they have fresh bialys on the weekends.
4. New England Bagel – Manchester, NH
New England Bagel is known for its fresh bagels and its breakfast
sandwiches. Getting a bacon, egg and cheese outside of the NYC area is
usually against all my principles, but this is definitely a place where I
know I can get one of the best in the states.
5. The Bagel Man – Phoenix, AZ
This spot makes its own cream cheeses, which is highly recommended by
those who frequent this spot. Everything is fresh and made to to order,
and they’re known for having a friendly staff.
Where do you buy the best bagels?
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