One shop on this list still bakes its bagels in a carousel oven that was built back in 1947. Another refused to toast a single bagel for nearly two decades, and I love that kind of stubborn pride.
New York takes its bagels very personally, and the weekend lines outside these counters prove it. You’ll find tangy sourdough rings, rainbow bagels built for photos, and a cream cheese that tastes like birthday cake.
A few spots have been hand-rolling and kettle-boiling their dough since the 1970s and early 1980s. A couple began as small backyard and pizzeria pop-ups, and now they draw crowds that would make any bakery jealous.
Honestly, standing on a city sidewalk for breakfast has never sounded this reasonable to me.
The hardest part will be picking which line to join first, because each one leads somewhere worth the wait.
1. Apollo Bagels
A sourdough craze that started inside a Williamsburg pizzeria in 2020 now has a permanent East Village home. The weekend line along 10th Street tells you how that move went.
The dough here is naturally fermented, then boiled before it hits the oven. That process gives the crust a bumpy, crackly shell and a light, tangy finish.
Inside, the bagels are airy and chewy, closer to a great sourdough loaf than a dense classic. You can grab a plain, sesame, or everything bagel hot from the oven.
A tub of scallion cream cheese on the side makes tearing and dipping as you go very easy. Sandwich fans can also order versions with lox or whitefish spread.
The shop keeps things minimal, with a marble counter, a glowing sign, and a cold case. That simple setup leaves the bagels to do the talking.
The neighborhood keeps this shop on its toes, with other well-loved bagel counters a short walk away. Competition like that only raises the stakes for a sourdough ring.
The founders ran it as a Manhattan pop-up in 2022 before landing on 10th Street. After opening its first permanent shop in March 2024, Apollo expanded rapidly across New York City and beyond.
Bagels are also sold by the half-dozen and dozen, straight from the oven. That makes it easy to bring a bag home and share the haul.
Address: 242 E 10th St, New York, NY 10003.
2. PopUp Bagels
Knives are optional at this Greenwich Village counter. Bagels arrive whole and hot, with the schmear in a cup on the side for dunking.
The business began as a pandemic project in a Connecticut backyard. It has since grown into several New York City shops, and Thompson Street was the first.
Bagels are shaped and baked throughout the day, right behind the counter. Ripping one apart and dipping it straight into cream cheese is the whole point here.
Walk-in orders come in bags of three or six, and a dozen can be pre-ordered online. The bagel lineup stays short, with flavors like plain, everything, sesame, and salt.
There’s no seating, so plan on eating outside or taking a stroll with your bag. A friend makes it easier to sample more than one schmear.
Collaborations have brought surprising schmears to the menu, including one with pastry chef Dominique Ansel. Another teamed up with Cup Noodles, which is about as unexpected as bagel news gets.
Fans of giant bagels should know these run smaller than the New York norm. That just makes ordering a few extra feel completely reasonable.
Address: 177 Thompson St, New York, NY 10012.
3. Utopia Bagels
The real star at this Queens bagel shop is an oven built in 1947. That vintage carousel oven still turns out bagels in Whitestone today.
Utopia opened here in 1981, and its recipes have stayed the same over the years. Each bagel is still hand-rolled, then boiled in a kettle before baking.
Fresh bagels, pastries, and coffee fill out the counter. That makes it an easy one-stop breakfast run.
The payoff is a crisp outer layer with a soft, pillowy middle. A glass window lets you watch the kettle and oven at work while you wait.
An everything bagel with scallion cream cheese makes a strong first order. It’s a combo that lets the crisp crust shine.
Utopia has expanded into Manhattan and Long Island City, but this shop is the original. If you want the full story, Whitestone is where it starts.
The Whitestone shop also offers a broader range of appetizing specialties than its Manhattan sibling. Smoked fish fans should keep that in mind before choosing a location.
Utopia has shipped nationwide through Goldbelly since 2021. Still, eating one a few steps from that 1947 oven is a different kind of treat.
Address: 19-09 Utopia Pkwy, Whitestone, NY 11357.
4. Tompkins Square Bagels
Birthday cake cream cheese sounds like a dare, yet here it’s a menu regular. Pair it with a French toast bagel if you want breakfast to taste like dessert.
The spread lineup runs wild, with flavors like chocolate chip cookie dough and carrot cake. Savory fans can stick with scallion or bacon scallion instead.
Behind the playful schmears, the bagels themselves are old-school. They’re hand-rolled and boiled in small batches, based on a recipe from the 1950s.
The owner has been making bagels since he was 15 years old. Tofu cream cheeses and gluten-free bagels give even more people a reason to join the line.
The shop sits one block north of Tompkins Square Park in the East Village. Grabbing your order and heading to a park bench sounds like a solid plan.
The menu also lists signature mac and cheese bagels, which are exactly as fun as they sound. Breakfast sandwiches stay classic, with picks like Taylor ham, egg, and cheese.
Each bagel contains just five ingredients. That short list proves a classic doesn’t need extras to stand out.
Address: 165 Avenue A, New York, NY 10009.
5. Best Bagel & Coffee
Calling your shop Best Bagel is a bold move in New York. This Midtown counter has been backing up that claim on 35th Street for years.
The bagels are hand-rolled, kettle-boiled, and baked fresh on the premises. Expect a puffy, chewy texture with a slight hint of sweetness.
The menu is big, with more than 15 bagel varieties and a long list of spreads. That adds up to plenty of combinations to work through.
Sandwich options run from jalapeño cream cheese to grilled chicken smothered in mozzarella. An efficient production line keeps orders moving for the breakfast and lunch crowds.
Liberty Bagels sits on the same block, which turns this stretch into a friendly bagel showdown. Knowing your order before you reach the counter keeps things smooth.
Apollo Bagels has joined the block too, turning it into a three-way bagel battle. You could easily compare all three in one hungry morning.
An everything bagel with jalapeño cream cheese is a simple, spicy way to start. Save the grilled chicken sandwich for a lunch visit.
Address: 225 W 35th St, New York, NY 10001.
6. Liberty Bagels Midtown
A bagel with seven colors swirled through it sounds like a gimmick. Near Penn Station, it’s the headliner.
The rainbow bagel is a social media star, and birthday cake schmear is a popular partner for it. Oreo cream cheese brings even more sweetness to the party.
Savory fans have options too, like a jalapeño everything bagel with chipotle cream cheese. The shop makes more than 25 schmear flavors from scratch.
Lines can get serious, with someone at the door managing the crowd even on weekdays. It’s usually packed, so plan to take your food to go.
Liberty Bagels was founded in 2018, although the team behind it has been in the bagel business since 1995.
That gives the playful menu plenty of bagel experience behind it.
Besides the rainbow ring, the shop bakes a signature Liberty bagel year-round. The menu also includes burritos, griddle specials, and vegan tofu spreads.
One owner’s classic pick is an everything bagel with bacon, egg, and cheese. Salt, pepper, and ketchup finish it off.
Address: 260 W 35th St, New York, NY 10001.
7. Brooklyn Bagel & Coffee Company
The name says Brooklyn, but none of this company’s shops are actually in Brooklyn. The original sits on 30th Avenue in Astoria, Queens.
That name is a nod to the old-fashioned style of hand-rolling and water-boiling dough. The company opened in 2002 and has grown to six locations.
The bagels here are soft and moist, with a few fun flavors in the lineup. The French toast bagel is eggy without being too sweet.
Prefer a little heat? The jalapeño asiago bagel brings a subtle kick at the end.
For something heartier, the signature Brooklyn Bagel Classic is worth a look. House-made whitefish salad is another option if you want a deli-style order.
Bagel choices range from bialy and blueberry to gluten-free options. That range makes this an easy stop for a group with different tastes.
Fresh-squeezed orange juice and locally roasted drip coffee round out the morning order. Pair either one with an egg sandwich for a full Astoria breakfast.
Address: 36-14 30th Ave, Astoria, NY 11103.
8. Ess-a-Bagel
The name comes from Yiddish and means “eat a bagel.” Few shop names offer better advice.
This family-owned brand opened in 1976 and celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2026. To mark the occasion, it opened a bigger Midtown East flagship this summer.
The new space is shaped like a U, with daylight coming in from East 47th Street. It sits a few blocks from the longtime Third Avenue shop it replaced.
The bagels are famously big, kettle-boiled, and built to hold heavy toppings. A signature order with whitefish salad and nova makes for a filling Midtown breakfast.
The spread list runs to dozens of options, including tofu-based choices. Deli sandwiches like the Reuben round out a seriously classic New York menu.
Sweet tooth? Red velvet cream cheese sits on the spread list next to sun-dried tomato and avocado garlic.
At the anniversary celebration, oversized bagels were cut in place of a ribbon. A platter of cream cheese the size of a pizza dish sat nearby.
The original shop opened on First Avenue near Stuyvesant Town. Today the brand stretches from the Financial District to Newark Airport.
Address: 770 3rd Ave, New York, NY 10017.
9. Bagel Pub
The name sounds like a neighborhood hangout, and the branding plays right along. Bistro tables and chairs make a quick bagel run feel more like brunch.
The brand opened its first location right here in Park Slope in 2012. This shop on 9th Street sits between Fourth and Fifth Avenues.
Bagels are hand-rolled and kettle-cooked in varieties like cinnamon raisin, pumpernickel, and garlic. Cream cheese flavors include fruity picks like mixed berry.
The sandwich board goes well beyond the basics. The ABC stacks eggs, avocado, bacon, and cheddar on your bagel of choice.
Want something lighter? The Jumpstart pairs egg whites with cheddar, jalapeño, avocado, and turkey bacon.
The Italian takes a fancier route with eggs, fresh mozzarella, and prosciutto di Parma. It’s a good pick when a plain egg and cheese feels too simple.
The menu reaches past bagels with full breakfast entrées, quesadillas, and burgers. That range explains why the place feels more like a hangout than a grab-and-go counter.
Group orders get their own option in the Breakfast Bagel Box. It packs 15 halved bagels stuffed with whipped spreads.
Address: 287 9th St, Brooklyn, NY 11215.
10. Murray’s Bagels
For nearly two decades, asking for a toasted bagel here got you a firm no. The shop finally began toasting on request in 2015.
That rule came from serious confidence in a fresh, hand-rolled, kettle-boiled bagel. Even when giving in, the shop insisted its bagels were superb as they are.
Murray’s opened on Sixth Avenue in 1996, in a space that was once a pottery shop. It has been a Greenwich Village standby ever since.
The brothers expanded to a second shop on Eighth Avenue in 1999. That growth came just three years after opening day.
Classic flavors like poppy, cinnamon raisin, and sesame keep purists happy. Beyond cream cheese, you’ll find sandwiches with pastrami, salami, or chicken cutlet.
Order yours untoasted first, just to see what the fuss was about. It’s a fitting finale for a bagel crawl across New York.
Plenty of New Yorkers still argue that a fresh bagel should never be toasted. In their view, toasting is only for reviving stale or frozen ones.
The brothers behind the shop opened it after wondering where the good neighborhood bagels had gone. Their answer has been feeding Greenwich Village for three decades now.
Address: 500 6th Ave, New York, NY 10011.