Arguing between where to get the best bagel in NYC is a never-ending feud responsible for ending friendships, cutting off family members, and yes, different plans for Sunday mornings.
And similar to their favorite pizza joint, New Yorkers are very passionate about where to get the best bagel in NYC. From their local bodega to the iconic Tompkins Square Bagel, there are some places in the city that withstand the test of time!
Whether you’re craving a B.E.C or looking for a little Sunday hangover cure, look no further! We’ve put together a list of some of the best bagel shops in NYC serving deliciousness. Check them out alongside a full bagel map of NYC below:
1. Ess-a-Bagel, Multiple Locations
Coming in at first place is none other than Ess-a-Bagel. Serving up fluffy and delicious bagels, this fan favorite was first established in 1976. Since then, the chain has multiple locations across Manhattan, including the best bagel in Midtown Manhattan.
Do yourself a favor and grab one of their Ess-a-Faves like the Signature Favorite (Sliced Nova, scallion cream cheese, lettuce, tomato, red onion and capers) or Mr. Nova Lova (Sliced Nova, avocado, red onion and avocado garlic cream cheese). See menus here.
📍 831 3rd Ave / 🚇 51 St (6) or Lexington Ave/53 St (E, M)
📍 108 W 32nd St / 🚇 34 St-Herald Sq (B, D, F, M, N, Q, R, W)
📍 324 1st Ave / 🚇 1 Ave (L)
2. PopUp Bagels, Greenwich Village
From Greenwich, CT all the way to Greenwich Village, the viral PopUp Bagels in Manhattan passes the vibe check! What started as a backyard pickup window has now reached the heights of “Best Bagel” at Brooklyn Bagelfest two years in a row.
The key here is to grab both Sesame and Everything Bagels…and dip them in their mouth-watering schmears like Scallion Cream Cheese and Maple Syrup Butter. Trust us, it’s worth the long wait in line. See menu here.
📍 177 Thompson St / 🚇 Houston St (1, 2) or Spring St (A, C, E)
3. Brooklyn Bagel, Multiple Locations
This shop guarantees that glutenous chew every New Yorker is looking for in their bagel. Offering one of the best bagel/coffee combos around, you honestly can’t go wrong with any choice. We highly recommend one of their Rainbow Bagels and pairing it with one of their “Crazy” Cream Cheeses like the Bacon Scallion, Jalapeno Asiago, and more! See menu here.
📍 63 E 8th St / 🚇 8 St-NYU (R, W) or Astor Pl (6)
📍 286 8th Ave / 🚇 23 St (C, E)
📍 35-09 Ditmars Blvd, LIC / 🚇 Astoria-Ditmars Blvd (N, W)
📍 3505 Broadway, Astoria / 🚇 Broadway (N, W)
📍 36-14 30th Ave, Astoria / 🚇 30 Av (N, W)
4. Absolute Bagels, Upper West Side
From endless cream cheese options to homemade bagels hand-rolled to perfection, this Upper West Side spot is definitely worth the trip. As you can probably tell from above, their “Everything Bagels” are literally everything and are easily our biggest recommendation. Feel free to add fix-ins too to make it complete, but nothing beats a simple order either!
📍 2788 Broadway / 🚇 Cathedral Pkwy-110 St (1)
5. Tompkins Square Bagels, East Village
With an everlasting menu of house sandwiches and specials, you could walk into Tompkins Square Bagels everyday and order something new each time. And although it’s becoming one of the East Village’s most popular spots thanks to TikTok, this neighborhood shop is truly a cult favorite and serves some of the best bagels around!
Try out one of their specials The Weezer (Bacon, chorizo, egg, cheddar, any cream cheese) and El Chapo (Braised pork, caramelized onions, roasted tomatoes, chipotle mayo) or keep it simple with their mouth-watering lox concoctions. See full menu here.
Where: 165 Avenue A, New York
📍 165 Avenue A / 🚇 1 Av (L)
📍 184 2nd Ave / 🚇 1 Av (L)
📍 23 E 17th St / 🚇 14 St-Union Sq (4, 5, 6, L, N, Q, R, W)
6. Tal Bagels, Multiple Locations (mainly UES)
From ooey-gooey cheese to piled high lox, Tal Bagels has been a common NY name since ’88. Most of the Tal Bagels locations reside in the Upper East Side but they do boast a Midtown and Downtown location too! Order an everything bagel with strawberry cream cheese and see what all the hype’s about. See full menu here.
Where:
📍 333 E 86th St / 🚇 86 St (Q, 4, 5, 6)
📍 1228 Lexington Ave / 🚇 86 St (Q, 4, 5, 6)
📍 357 1st Ave / 🚇 1 Av (L)
📍 977 1st Ave / 🚇 Lexington Ave/53 St (E, M) or 51 St (6)
7. Zucker’s Bagels, Multiple Locations
Originally founded in Tribeca, Zucker’s has been hand-rolling and kettle boiling their bagels since the very beginning. Partnered with Acme Smoked Fish, La Colombe Coffee, Guss’ Pickles and more, Zucker’s works each day to provide top notch quality made with the best ingredients.
Their Egg Sandwiches are all pretty great, or you can go the build-your-own route, and pack in a bagel with their speciality cream cheeses and spreads. See full menu here.
📍 370 Lexington Ave / 🚇 Grand Central-42 St (4, 5, 6, 7, S)
📍 40 E 23rd St / 🚇 23 St (F, M)
📍 143 Chambers St / 🚇 Chambers St (1, 2, 3)
📍 242 8th Ave / 🚇 23 St (C, E, 1)
📍 273 Columbus Ave / 🚇 72 St (C, B, 1, 2, 3)
📍 125 Fulton St / 🚇 Fulton St (2, 3, 4, 5)
📍 1065 6th Ave / 🚇 42 St-Bryant Park (B, D, F, M) or Times Square-42 St (N, Q, R, W)
8. Leo’s Bagels, FiDi
Whether you’re looking for a bialy, cinnamon raisin, everything bagel or more, you can find them all at Leo’s—even health grain and gluten free options! What makes their bagels so special though is that they scoop out the interior of the bagel, allowing them to fill it even more with tasty spreads and fillings. Go for the lox and cream cheese or a classic BEC. See full menu here.
📍 3 Hanover Sq / 🚇 Wall St (2, 3)
9. Bagel Pub, Brooklyn
Bagel Pub is probably the best bagels in Brooklyn, period. This bagel shop can be found at different locations across the borough, where they’re serving mouthwatering bagels, paninis, wraps, salads and more! Their hand-rolled and kettle-boiled bagels are baked daily at each location, and some of our favorites include the ABC Omelette Breakfast Sandwich (egg, avocado, crispy bacon, cheddar cheese omelette) and The L.E.O. Breakfast Sandwich (lox, egg, onioins). See full menu here.
📍 287 9th St, Brooklyn / 🚇 9 St (R) or 4 Av-9 St (F, G)
📍 57 7th Ave, Brooklyn / 🚇 7 Av (B, Q)
📍 775 Franklin Ave, Brooklyn / 🚇 Franklin Ave (2, 3, 4, 5)
📍 313 36th St, Brooklyn / 🚇 36 St (D, N, R)
📍 350 7th Ave / 🚇 28 St (1)
📍 418 6th Ave / 🚇 W 4th St (A, B, C, D, E, F, M)
10. Russ & Daughters, LES
Renowned bagel shop Russ & Daughters is an iconic city staple, and this family-run Jewish deli is known for it’s incredible bagels and lox. In recent times they’ve even done collaborations with Magnolia Bakery, but the talk of the town is their Classic Bagel & Lox Sandwich (Gaspe Nova Smoked Salmon w/choice of cream cheese). See full menu here.
📍 179 E Houston St / 🚇 2 Av (F)
📍 127 Orchard St / 🚇 Delancey St-Essex St (F, M, J, Z)
📍 502 W 34th St at 10th Ave / 🚇 34 St-Hudson Yards (7)
11. Murray’s Bagels, Greenwich Village
Murray’s Bagels has been operating under a process that has been passed on for generations focused on bringing spectacular bagels to New Yorkers year after year. From the pictured above The Bubeleh (two farm fresh eggs, Nova Scotia salmon, crispy potato latke on a bagel) to the Western Omelette on a Bagel (two eggs, peppers, onion, ham), you’ve got to give this bagel shop a try. See full menu here.
📍 500 6th Ave / 🚇 14 St (1, 2, 3)
12. Utopia Bagels, Whitestone
Although deep in Queens, Utopia Bagels is worth the trek, and their bagel craft has been mastered for decades. Their bagel and roll options are plentiful (go for a kaiser roll or challah roll) and fill it up with greatness…like their Walnut Raisin Cream Cheese or Lox Spread. You can go crazy with it. There’s also so many other sandwiches and platters set to make you drool too. See full menu here.
📍 1909 Utopia Pkwy, Queens / 🚌 QM20
13. H & H Bagels, Multiple Locations
For nearly 50 years H & H Bagels has been using the same methods consisting of proofing, kettle-boiling, a cold water bath, and baking on a burlap covered wood board on vintage revolving trays ovens. Hey, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it! You might even recognize it from Seinfeld, The Office, Sex and the City, How I Met Your Mother, Entourage, Boy Meets Girl, or many others. The classic B.E.C is a staple here.
📍 1551 2nd Ave / 🚇 77 St (4, 6) or 86 St (Q)
📍 526 Columbus Ave / 🚇 86 St (C, B, 1)
📍 Moynihan Train Hall
📍 JFK Airport – Terminal 5
📍 LaGuardia Airport – Terminal D
14. Pick-A-Bagel, Multiple Locations
With plenty of locations to choose from, you’re sure to have one near you to try! Their hand-rolled bagels are truly delicious…and combine them with their spreads like Sun-Dried Tomato Cream Cheese or Lox and you’ll be drooling in no time. See menus here.
📍 891 8th Ave / 🚇 7 Ave (E, B, D)
📍 785 Lexington Ave / 🚇 59 St (4, 5, 6) or Lexington Av/63 St (F, Q)
15. Kossar’s Bagels & Bialys, LES
Kossar’s on the LES has been around for almost a century. Set on tradition, this spot is the oldest Bialy bakery in the country! Our two recommendations from Kossar’s include the Pike Street (double smoked bacon, lettuce, tomato, mayo) and the L.E.O. Sandwich (lox, egg, onion). See full menu here.
📍 367 Grand St/ 🚇 Delancey St-Essex St (F, M, J, Z)
16. BO’s Bagels, Harlem
Bo’s Bagels began as a small stand and has since turned into a booming bagel and bialy business. Some options to try out are the Sausage, Eggs and Cheese Bagel for breakfast…or get a little wild with a Bagel Dog (hot dog baked in a bagel) for lunch. It’s a Harlem standout and deserves a stop by! See full menu here.
📍 235 W 116th St / 🚇 116 St (C, B)
17. Liberty Bagels, Midtown & Jackson Heights
It’s no surprise why Liberty Bagels is one bagel spot that earned our Secret NYC stamp of approval, and it’s because the bagels are top-notch! We even love this place so much we’ve done collaborative SNYC bagels with them in the past! But for now, we suggest stopping by to see what the talk is all about. The rolls are some of the freshest around and the options are plentiful.
📍 260 W 35th St / 🚇 34 St-Penn Station (A, C, E)
📍 5th Avenue, 16 E 58th St / 🚇 5 Av/59 St (N, R, W)
📍 82-10 Roosevelt Ave, Queens / 🚇 82 St-Jackson Hts (7)
📍 32 Broadway / 🚇 Bowling Green (4, 5)
18. Orwashers, UWS & UES
Orwashers is a 100-year old New York institution that all started in a little storefront on the Upper East Side. Though they are undeniably loved for their bagels, like the pictured above New York Breakfast (everything bagel, dill cream cheese, lox, onion, lemon zest), don’t sleep on the rugelach, babka and black & white cookies either! See full menus here.
📍 308 E 78th St/ 🚇 77 St (6)
📍 440 Amsterdam Ave / 🚇 79 St (1)
19. Bagel House, Jackson Heights
Reliable. Delicious. Old-school and everything you could ask for in a bagel. Plus, it’s one of our writer’s favorite spots!
📍 8918 Northern Blvd, Queens/ 🚇 90 St-Elmhurst Av (7)
20. Bergen Bagels, Multiple Locations
With three locations across Brooklyn, owner and founder Yitzhak Saadi has perfected the art of bagels. He’s built an internationally recognized reputation for creating authentic New York bagels, and is a must-visit in our opinion.
We recommend grabbing either The Italian, the Lox Bagel, or the Turkey & Cornbeef. All their food is made from scratch with no preservatives, and you can surely taste the difference! See menus here.
📍 473 Bergen St, Brooklyn / 🚇 Bergen St (2, 3)
📍 536 Myrtle Ave, Brooklyn / 🚇 Classon Ave (G)
📍 949 Fulton St, Brooklyn / 🚇 Clinton-Washington Aves (A, C)