A bagel may just be the simplest indulgence. Perhaps you take it with a cream cheese schmear or loaded with lox, capers and red onion. Either way, its chewiness on the inside and delicate crispness on the outside is pure bread heaven. These top bagel shops combine this deliciousness with a dollop of history and community, for your next feel-good meal.
The savory counterpart to another regional favorite – doughnuts – bagels reign supreme in the Northeast.
Connecticut
Norwalk
Sugar & Olives makes its signature bagels with its own rye flour-based sourdough starter that bubbles with active yeast as it rises on the counter during production. This natural leavening takes four days, creating nine fresh varieties. Pumpernickel caraway everything and cinnamon raisin are the newest flavors. Or try gluten-free with hot honey pistachio cream cheese for your morning kickstart.
Check out Sugar & Olives Diamond Dish recipe for Kale Ribbons With Miso Maple Dressing.
Greenwich
Since 1994, Upper Crust has kettle boiled and hearth baked more than 18 varieties of 5-ounce “bull style” bagels fresh daily, including weekly specialty bagels like apple walnut, pesto and sun-dried tomato. No matter how you slice it, its Beach Club sandwich makes a great lunch with turkey or roast beef, or try The Vegg, featuring a veggie burger with lettuce, tomato and Bermuda onion.
Massachusetts
Longmeadow
Do you like your bagel savory or sweet? This bagel shop makes both. Your little one might like peanut butter and jelly or Nutella on a plain bagel, while you might try something bolder, like the jalapeno cream cheese on a caraway bagel with notes of fennel. The egg and cheese breakfast sammy will satiate every taste bud. If you like it that much, take a dozen bagels with cream cheese to go.
North Reading
The turkey club is a popular choice at Beyond Bagels, a small but friendly bagel shop in North Reading. Also try the Lox Supreme with scallion bacon cream cheese. A dozen freshly-baked bagel flavors are the tastiest backdrop for hearty additions like these that satisfy the hungriest appetite for breakfast or lunch. Don’t forget an espresso or chai. Cash only.
New Jersey
Robbinsville Twp.
Start with Bagels n’ Cream’s famed egg bagel and you have nowhere to go but up. Hot out of the oven, it’s the perfect blank slate for the nearly 50 custom breakfast and lunch sandwiches served at this independent bakery. Pumpernickel rye is also a crowd pleaser, or try the biali to kick up the flavor profile. Fresh roasted coffee, as well as baklava for dessert, make this a one-stop shop. If you can’t make it in person, order online for delivery.
Boonton Bagels and Gourmet Deli
Boonton
There’s just something about the Nova Scotia lox and cream cheese at Boonton Bagels that makes use smile with anticipation. Perhaps it’s because it crafts custom bagel sandwiches with the freshest ingredients. Try the Italian egg sandwich with peppers, tomatoes and potatoes, or any of its specialty sandwiches like the Michael Jordan (corned beef and pastrami with coleslaw and Russian Dressing) or the Jennifer Lopez (roast beef, lettuce, tomato and Russian dressing).
New York
Locations in Manhattan and Brooklyn
Serving traditional sourdough bagels and lox for more than 100 years, Russ & Daughters was founded by a Polish immigrant selling herring from barrels in 1908. His three daughters helped it grow to an appetizing store, selling the best bagels and their accompaniments. Now operated by fourth generation cousins, Russ & Daughters and its Orchard Street café remain must-visit foodie destinations. Try the Yum Kippered (baked salmon and cream cheese on a bagel) or the whitefish salad for Russ family recipes, and make sure you take some to go.
Southampton
Since 1949, Goldberg’s has dominated New York’s bagel heritage, from Brooklyn and Queens to Long Island. Four generations later, its 14 flavors of freshly baked bagels include sesame, pumpernickel and egg everything, as well as 13 cream cheese varieties and add-ons like hash browns, tomato and lox. Its extensive menu includes a host of specialty breakfast and lunch sandwiches, so every picky eater will find something tempting to nosh.
Rhode Island
Providence
Founded by a chemical engineer-turned baker, Rebelle Artisan Bagels hand rolls then cold ferments every bagel. They’re bathed in brewer’s grade malted barley, dipped in poppy seeds, sesame seeds or the house-blended everything mix, then baked on soaked cedar planks in a 24-hour process that elicits crispy yet chewy perfection. Try the house-made whitefish salad or house-cured lox on a pretzel bagel with Avi’s Pickles, then take home a signature pop tart and a half-dozen everything.
Newport
Rhode Island’s newest and most secret bagel shop doesn’t have its own storefront – yet. Jamo’s Bagels are boiled and baked New York-style at Foodworks Restaurant in Portsmouth, then sold at locations across Aquidneck Island on weekends, including Sweet Berry Farm in Middletown, and The Nitro Bar in Newport, which can craft your bagel into a mouthwatering egg sandwich. Make sure to pre-order your favorite jalapeno cheddar bagel or get it delivered before it sells out.
Did we forget your favorite bagel spot? Tell us about the best bagel shops near you in the comment below.
103 Thoughts on “Can’t-Miss Bagel Shops in the Northeast”
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Cape Cod was previously a desert when it came to good bagels, but in 2022 the Bagel Hound on Rte. 6 in Wellfleet became an oasis. As a former New Yorker, I am an experienced judge of bagel quality. The little Bagel Hound shop in Wellfleet, MA turns out a product equal to NYC’s best.
Try Barrington Bagel Shop in G.B., MA. They are the best I’ve had. I recently had a gift frpm Russ & Daughters which wasn’t as good as I’m used to @ Barrington Bagels
Derocco’s witches, bagels and brew. Naugatuck, CT. Best bagels and sandwiches ever!
One Mighty Mill in Lynn,MA. They use their own stone milled organic flour to make their bagels. The everything bagel is my favorite.
Bagel Alley in downtown Nashua NH right off Main St.
How could you have missed Bagel Master in Syosset? Simply the best old world bagels made the original Polish/Jewish way. Not to be missed.
The best bagel shop in union nj is Bagels & Beans near 5 points
Great bagels & coffee
Hard to believe this one didn’t make the list
Best of the best
Back Bay Bagel on Rt. 123 in Easton near the Brockton line have excellent bagels, especially the cinnamon sugar.
Bagelsaurus in Cambridge and Goldilox Bagels in Medford, MA.
You simply can’t go wrong at either!
Bagels on Hudson in Croton, New York is fantastic.
“Bagel Express” in Warwick, RI.
There is one bagel that all else are compared to and not can match. Ess-A-Bagel in Manhattan (NYC) is the top bagel in the U.S.!
Spot in Norwood, MA!!
Carlos’s Bagels in Hawthorne, New Jersey serves fabulous variety of homemade bagels and the best sliced salmon anywhere!! Stunning decor too!
Sorry but I don’t believe any list of “can’t-miss” bagel shops in MA that doesn’t include Katz’s in Chelsea. Folks travel for many miles to buy bagels here, and they originated the pizza bagel!!
AM Bagel’s in Derby CT – outstanding bagels, the best in South Central CT!
I think Providence Bagel Co. should be included in your list. They have two locations, Providence and North Prov., RI
Simply the best bagels in RI!
Bagel Cafe in New Providence, NJ has great bagels and excellent made-to-order bagel sandwiches.
Bagel cafe is great
Ami’s in Waterbury, CT, sets the standard for Western Connecticut.