Best Bagels in Manhattan
The 10 best bagels in Manhattan — hand-rolled, kettle-boiled, fresh from the oven. Russ & Daughters, Ess-a-Bagel, Tompkins Square, Sadelle's, and the rest of the must-try shops.
- 01
Russ & Daughters
Lower East Side · 179 E Houston StA Lower East Side appetizing institution since 1914 — fourth-generation family-run, smoked-fish-forward, and the platonic ideal of a New York Jewish-American breakfast.
Because the smoked fish program here genuinely cannot be replicated elsewhere — sturgeon and sable cured by people who have been at it for ninety years — and the bagel underneath holds up to the weight without going soggy.
Order Classic combo: hand-sliced Gaspe Nova on a sesame bagel with scallion cream cheese.
Skip the Sunday morning Houston Street line by walking three blocks north to the Russ & Daughters Cafe on Orchard, which takes reservations and has the same fish.
- 02
Ess-a-Bagel
Midtown East · 831 3rd AveA Midtown East counter open since 1976 whose hand-rolled, kettle-boiled bagels are notorious for being roughly twice the size of a normal NYC bagel.
Because the everything bagel here has a structurally aggressive crust that the cream cheese cannot defeat, and the schmear-to-bagel ratio is calibrated for actual hunger rather than Instagram restraint.
Order Everything bagel with scallion cream cheese, lox optional.
Order the cream cheese on the side if you are taking it to go — they apply schmear with a trowel and the bagel will leak through the wax paper before you reach the train.
- 03
Tompkins Square Bagels
East Village · 165 Ave A