The 18 best bagel spots in NYC

The six-decade-old Fresh Meadows bagel maker offers firm, old-fashioned bagels that are kettle-boiled and then baked for a crunchy outer crust and chewy interior. You can get this Queens landmark’s hand-made rounds in flavors like egg-onion, everything and blueberry.

This neighborhood gem has been one-upping popular Upper West Side bagel establishments for years, serving freshly boiled bagels in their most perfect form. A respectable array of toppings includes cream cheeses (blueberry, sun-dried tomato, walnut-raisin), Tofutti, deli meats, salads and silky smoked fish—though we can happily tear into one of their bagels as is.

This Tribeca staple has been hand-rolling and kettle-boiling bagels since 1994 (it’s now expanded with locations on the UWS and in Grand Central). Mix and match smoked and pickled fish, cream cheese flavors and more than a dozen bagel varieties.

Black Seed bagel shop quickly generated a lot of buzz for its hand-rolled and poached Montreal-style bagels when it opened its first shop in Nolita in 2014. Today it has seven NYC locations where you’ll find its hit titular bagels, plus house-made spreads like scallion cream cheese and smoked mackerel. 

This Upper West Side institution—founded in 1934 by Louis Zabar, a Ukrainian immigrant—began as a smoked-fish shop. Now 20,000 square feet, the gourmet mecca boasts a wide selection of prepared kosher foods, coffee, cooking utensils and cheeses, as well its trademark bagels, made according to a signature house recipe that calls for malt barley flour. 

Russ & Daughters has been New York’s pinnacle appetizing store since 1914, serving lox, herring and bagels on the Lower East Side. The bagels, alone or in sandwich form, are stellar, and all made in Russ & Daughters’ Brooklyn factory.

Bo’s bagels opened its brick-and-mortar store in Harlem in 2017 after previously testing the waters with friends and family and as a pop-up operating out of a commercial kitchen. Pair its daily bakes with deli meats, cheese and cream cheese flavors like tofu scallion, maple walnut and berry almond.

This century-old kosher spot has an old-world reputation for producing cutting-edge artisan breads. Though, aside from the classic rye, the bagels bring a new-world flare to the table. Instead of the classic boiling and baking, they use a high-tech steam oven to get the same glossy finish on each soft beauty.

Though the original H&H has since closed, the Upper East Side shop still churns out some NYC’s best bagels, garnering a famous Seinfeld bit. Options like everything, cinnamon raisin and pumpernickel are kettle-boiled and baked to create a product “like no other bagel in the world.” H&H is named for founders Helmer Toro, who worked in Bronx bakeries after his family moved from Puerto Rico, and his brother-in-law Hector Hernandez.

Baskets of bagels, hand-written signs and a couple of tables fill this narrow space on its eponymous spot in Carroll Gardens. Choose from fresh baked onion, poppy, sesame and everything options and layer them with thick coats of cream cheese or breakfast and lunch sandwich fillings. 

The old-fashioned boil-and-bake technique stays true in this diner upgrade. Small-batches of low-rising dough rings are set on burlap-covered boards and given a spin in a rotating tray oven, resulting in springy-yet-crusty vehicles for spreads like beet-horseradish, cucumber-dill and wasabi-tobiko cream cheeses.

This West Village standby has been slinging superlative bagels in several varieties (poppy, cinnamon raisin, sesame) since 1996. The lines can be overwhelming but luckily the spot is able to crank through customers getting you a bagel and schmear faster than you can say Nova Scotia.

Tal is great to grab and go or enjoy its plentiful baked goods at a table in its serviceable space. Ever found yourself with a hangover forced to bring out-of-towners to the Natural History Museum? Us neither. But if you do, this is a beacon. 

Ushered from the oven on oak dowels by the waitstaff, fresh bagels are announced to the dining room with a shout of “hot bagels!” as they come through. The glossy, smaller than average, boiled-then-baked rounds come in varieties like everything and salt and pepper.

Bialys may be the namesame at this historic Lower East Side Jewish bakery, which opened back in 1936, but the bagels stand up on their own as a reason to visit. Made in three stages—kettled-boiled, baked on burlap boards and finished on stone—the bagels have a rich sweetness courtesy of pure malt syrup.

This Bronx shop is approaching 30 years in operation in its narrow storefront on Riverdale Avenue. It has a dozen different daily baked bagel varieties, a bunch of breakfast and lunch sandwich options and oodles of baked goods like muffins, cinnamon rolls and danishes. 

Tompkins Square Bagel’s menu includes the expected options like plain, poppy and pumpernickel bagels, plus specialty selections like French toast and chocolate chip. Sandwich ‘em or select from fruit or nut spreads and all manner of cream cheese options. 

This Park Slope bagel counter specializes in hand-rolled, kettle-cooked bagels in varieties like cinnamon raisin, pumpernickel and garlic. Adorn them in a vibrant array of flavored cream cheeses (mixed berry, guacamole), smoked fish or with the bodega-breakfast-of-champions, bacon, egg and cheese.