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.
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- 1Lower East Side · $$$ · 2 Av (F) · 179 E Houston St
Also No. 2 on Best Jewish Delis in NYC → · No. 2 on Best of the Lower East Side →
Map ↗verified 10w agoA Lower East Side appetizing institution since 1914, fourth-generation family-run, smoked-fish-forward, and the platonic ideal of a New York Jewish-American breakfast.
Because the smoked fish program here genuinely cannot be replicated elsewhere, sturgeon and sable cured by people who have been at it for ninety years, and the bagel underneath holds up to the weight without going soggy.
Order Classic combo: hand-sliced Gaspe Nova on a sesame bagel with scallion cream cheese.
Skip the Sunday morning Houston Street line by walking three blocks north to the Russ & Daughters Cafe on Orchard, which takes reservations and has the same fish.
Photo: Kidfly182, CC BY-SA 4.0 Photo: Kidfly182, CC BY-SA 4.0 - 2Midtown East · $$ · 51 St (6 E F) · 831 3rd AveMap ↗verified 10w ago
A 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.
Photo: Yusuke Kawasaki (Flickr: kawanet), CC BY 2.0 Photo: Yusuke Kawasaki (Flickr: kawanet), CC BY 2.0 - 3East Village · $$ · 1 Av (L) · 165 Ave AMap ↗verified 10w ago
An East Village bagel shop on Avenue A known for serving rotating colored-and-flavored bagels alongside the standard New York lineup, and for opening earlier than most.
Because Tompkins is one of the only spots that actually executes the rainbow / sweet-flavored bagel concept without making it taste like cardboard, and the Bacon Egg and Cheese build is a genuine workday breakfast.
Order Rainbow bagel with funfetti cream cheese; or BEC on an everything.
Get there before 8:30 a.m. on weekends, by 9 a.m. the line snakes down Avenue A and the rainbow bagel display is half-cleared.
@tompkinssquarebagels ↗Tompkins Square Bagels
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- 4SoHo · $$$ · Spring St (C E) · 463 W Broadway
Also No. 5 on Best Brunch in Manhattan →
Map ↗verified 10w agoA Major Food Group restaurant on West Broadway that put the Jewish-deli + bagel-tower aesthetic into the SoHo brunch canon when it opened in 2015.
Because the Sadelle's bagel is intentionally softer and lighter than the classic NY shape, engineered for the smoked-fish tower presentation, and the smoked-fish program rivals Russ for sturgeon and sable.
Order The Bagel Tower with Eastern Nova, sturgeon, and sable.
Reserve the bagel-and-fish tower for two even if you are alone, it is meant to be photographed and you will absolutely take a third of it home.
@majorfoodgroup ↗Sadelle's
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- 5Nolita · $$ · Spring St (6) · 170 Elizabeth StMap ↗verified 10w ago
A Nolita counter that opened in 2014 to introduce Manhattan to Montreal-style bagels, wood-fired, hand-rolled, sweeter, and smaller than the NY tradition.
Because the Montreal-style bagel split with a clean-tasting honey-water boil offers a real textural contrast to the rest of this list, and the wood-fired oven adds a subtle smoke that the steam-oven NY shops simply cannot generate.
Order Sesame Montreal-style bagel with butter; everything bagel with cream cheese for comparison.
Try the sesame Montreal-style first to taste the technique difference; if you only want one regular NY bagel, get the everything alongside.
@blackseedbagels ↗Black Seed Bagels
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- 6Greenwich Village · $$ · W 4 St-Wash Sq (A B C D E F M) · 177 Thompson StMap ↗verified 10w ago
A West Village newcomer (since 2020) whose entire concept is selling bagels still warm from the oven, sold in bags of three or six rather than individually.
Because the warm-in-hand experience genuinely does change how the crust eats, the steam under the lid keeps the interior pillowy in a way no reheated bagel achieves, and the cream cheeses are house-made.
Order Bag of six warm bagels (mixed) with the truffle cream cheese spread.
Pre-order online for the morning pickup window, walk-ins on Saturday and Sunday will be told they are sold out by 11 a.m.
@popupbagels ↗PopUp Bagels
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- 7Upper East Side · $ · Lexington Av/53 St (6 E F) · 977 1st AveMap ↗verified 10w ago
An Upper East Side neighborhood counter on First Avenue that has been quietly turning out the unfussy, classically NY bagel for the surrounding apartments since the 1970s.
Because Tal Bagels is what the rest of these places used to be before the Instagram era, fast service, no decoration, and a per-bagel price that lets locals eat one almost every morning without thinking about it.
Order Plain bagel with cream cheese, no frills.
Cash-friendly, line moves fast, go on a weekday morning and you will be in and out in under three minutes.
- 8East Village · $$ · 1 Av (L) · 242 E 10th StMap ↗verified 10w ago
The sourdough-bagel insurgent of the East Village, hand-rolled by the crew behind Leo and pulled from the oven until they sell out.
Because every bagel lands crusty, burnished, and still warm, with a sourdough tang and chew no steam-cart bagel can touch.
Order Sesame bagel with scallion cream cheese, eaten warm on the sidewalk.
Go before noon, they routinely sell out, and the line moves faster than it looks.
Photo: Eden, Janine and Jim, CC BY 2.0 Photo: Eden, Janine and Jim, CC BY 2.0 - 9Upper West Side · $ · Cathedral Pkwy (110 St) (1) · 2788 BroadwayMap ↗verified 10w ago
A small Upper West Side counter near Columbia University that has had a cult following among UWS regulars and Columbia students since 1990 for its dense, chewy, perfectly-pulled bagels.
Because Absolute Bagels has the most consistent boil-and-bake execution on the Upper West Side, and the cream cheese is whipped on-site daily rather than scooped from a tub.
Order Plain bagel with vegetable cream cheese.
Get there before 9 a.m., Absolute notoriously closes when they run out, which on a Saturday can be by early afternoon.
Photo: Kai Hendry, CC BY 2.0 Photo: Kai Hendry, CC BY 2.0 - 10Upper West Side · $ · 86 St (1) · 526 Columbus AveMap ↗verified 10w ago
The reborn H&H Bagels, once the most famous bagel name in NYC, closed in 2012, then reopened on Columbus Avenue in 2024 by the original family.
Because the new H&H is genuinely making bagels with the original recipe and the same hand-rolled technique, and the nostalgia is doing a lot of work for anyone who remembered the Broadway counter.
Order Half-dozen mixed (everything, sesame, plain) to take home.
Buy a half-dozen to take home and freeze, the H&H bagel re-toasts well, which is unusual for a hand-rolled bagel.
@hhbagels ↗H&H Bagels
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Good to know
- What makes a real New York bagel?
- Three things: hand-rolled dough (no machine cutting), boiled in malt-sweetened water before baking, and finished in a steam-injected oven. The result is a glossy crust, dense chewy interior, and slight sweetness — completely different from the soft, fluffy bagels you get outside the city.
- Where is the best bagel shop in Manhattan?
- Our current #1 reflects a blend of editorial sourcing from Eater, The Infatuation, and Time Out, plus live community votes. The ranking shifts with every vote — what is first today may not be first tomorrow.
- Are bagel-and-lox shops the same as bagel shops?
- Not exactly. Russ & Daughters is an appetizing store (smoked fish, spreads, caviar) that also serves bagels — bagels are the vehicle. Ess-a-Bagel and Tompkins Square are bagel-first shops where the bagel is the product. Both belong on a Manhattan top-10.
- How early do I need to go for a fresh bagel in Manhattan?
- Most shops open between 6 and 7 a.m. Fresh-out-of-the-oven means before 9 a.m. on a weekday. Saturday lines at the famous spots routinely go thirty minutes after 8 a.m. — show up at 7 if you actually want to be in and out fast.
- How much does a bagel with cream cheese cost in Manhattan?
- A plain bagel with schmear runs $4 to $7 at most counters. Bacon, egg, and cheese builds are $9 to $14. Russ & Daughters appetizing combos with sturgeon or sable hit $30+.