The Best Bagels in NYC, According to a New Yorker

05.09.2024 - 00:35 / cntraveler.com / Peter Pan

A quick way to start a fight? Take a stance on the best bagel in New York City. This may be the world’s bagel capital, but there’s little consensus amongst New Yorkers about the platonic ideal. Perhaps the only elements that we can all agree upon are that the bagel should be freshly baked, and a selection of schmears must be available. Older-school bagel devotees often argue that a bagel must have a visible hole, be on the smaller side, and require a strong jaw to chew; others look for more modern pillowy rounds, reaching to sizes that can nearly eclipse a human palm.

With every year, the options only grow greater, it seems. But bagels have been part of the city’s fabric since they arrived with Eastern European Jewish immigrants in the late 19th century, and for a time in the 20th century, the powerful union Local 338 controlled bagel baking in the city. Today, it’s more of a free for all: Bagels aren’t constrained by size, flavor, or even color—you can still get those bright rainbow bagels that went viral (for better or worse) nearly a decade ago now, while other shops have been baking their rounds the same way for decades.

We respect a range of bagel opinions—but, ultimately drew two lines when it came to assessing what are, truly, the best bagels in New York City: Bagels shouldn’t match the highlighter on your desk, nor should they be sweet (if you’re looking for a sugary round treat with a hole, might we recommend one of the city’s fabulous donut shops, like Fan Fan or Peter Pan?). We’ve also considered geography in our guide, spotlighting standout bites in a range of neighborhoods from the Lower East Side to Greenpoint. (For those cult-inspiring Long Island bagels, you’ll have to find another list—we’re keeping this to the city). And yes, we’ve tasted all of them; if you live here, we suggest making a point to do the same.

Whether you’re a local or visitor, these are the best bagels in New York City for when the craving hits.

Read our full New York City travel guide here, which includes:

177 Thompson St, New York, NY 10012

The name here is a bit of a misnomer. What started as a pop-up is now a brick and mortar chain with three locations in Manhattan and several more outside of the city. The team at PopUp operates things a bit differently from most neighborhood bagel shops. There’s a strictly enforced three bagels plus schmear requirement. And even if you splurge on smoked fish, the team will not be assembling your sandwich—that’s on you. While that may annoy some, we’re grateful this policy keeps long weekend lines moving.

235 W 116th St, New York, NY 10026

Frustrated by the dearth of good bagels in Harlem, Andrew Martienz started baking them in the home he shared with Ashley Dikos nearly a