New York City's 5 Hands-Down Best Bagel Shops, According To Locals

It's almost surprising that New York City's flag doesn't have a bagel emblazoned front and center. The NYC bagel is legendary: the city was ranked the top U.S. city for bagel lovers by 24/7 Wall St., beating San Francisco in second place by over double the points. There have even been scientific investigations into why the NYC bagels are so uniquely delicious. For locals, a bagel is a beloved companion for the morning commute, while for visitors, trying out an authentic NYC bagel is an experience worthy of a pilgrimage on its own. There's a good chance you'll start your day waiting in line at a neighborhood bagel shop before taking the uptown-bound train to Central Park or swooning over views from the Brooklyn Bridge.

For a city famous for its bagels, it should be no shock, then, that there are literally hundreds of bagel shops across the boroughs. A map of the city's bagel shops by Everything Is Everything shows at least 226 shops in the city (and notes that there are certainly more, which might not have been covered due to obscure online presence or temporary closure).

Rather than tapping the latest trendy and viral TikTok NYC eats, this ranking draws from firsthand experience and consistent praise from locals. I can hardly say I've been to every bagel shop in NYC, but I did consume a generous share of bagels during my eight years in the city. I drew from my own experiences and also used reviews from NYC locals (including Everything Is Everything) to pinpoint the most dependable bagel shop recommendations. For visitors who want to taste the city's best, these are five NYC bagel shops worth seeking out.

Travelers who stick around the East Village, NYC's beloved area with eclectic local shops, can't go wrong with a bagel from Tompkins Square Bagels. The shop has since opened four locations around the city, but it's the original outpost on Avenue A that I found myself pulled into every time I passed it, as if by an irresistible force to order a bagel with cream cheese. In an interview shared on Instagram, the shop's owner, Christopher Pugliese, said he opened Tompkins Square Bagels to "pay homage to the neighborhood, pay homage to the New York that I grew up in." Pugliese pours a lot of heart into the shop, and it shows in the lusciousness of its bagels.

Nearly every part of the bagel is made on-site, with bagels rolled by hand, boiled in water, and spread with cream cheese that's also made in-house. Tompkins Square Bagels uses unique ingredients that make their dough stand out — one that Pugliese shared in the Instagram interview is barley malt, but the full ingredient list is a secret. The result is a plump, fresh, and thickly topped bagel that will more than satiate. It's gotten a fair share of recognition, too, having made it onto The New York Times' list of the best bagels in the city and ranked fifth in Manhattan by Everything Is Everything.

The Avenue A shop is a five-minute walk from the 1st Avenue L train station. It's got some tables inside and a backyard area that's nice to sit in when it's warm out. The menu is sprawling, with a variety of bagel types piled up behind the counter, nearly a dozen cream cheese flavors, and even around 10 vegan (tofu) cream cheese options.

When I lived in Brooklyn, Knickerbocker Bagel quickly became one of my mainstays. The first thing you'll likely see upon entering the shop is a line, but it always has a big team of people working behind the counter, and the line moves pretty quickly. Once you get closer to the counter, you might feel overwhelmed with the options laid out before you: Large, doughy bagels heaped in baskets, a refrigerator of diverse cream cheese flavors, and a long list of sandwich ideas to load onto your bagel (though you can also build your own).

The bagels themselves are toasty, golden, and, above all, voluptuous. Each bagel is hand-rolled and boiled, which lends it an added chewiness. When you get it with cream cheese, the shop lathers it on thickly, too. "I've been here many times, and it's never disappointed," another NYC local shared in a Google review. If you can't decide between the array of options, a personal favorite — a sentiment that many reviewers have also shared — is the egg everything bagel.

In terms of its location, consider a trip to Knickerbocker Bagel a chance to explore its edgy and art-filled neighborhood of Bushwick. Take the M train to the Knickerbocker Avenue stop, from which it's a five-minute walk to the shop. Inside, it's got plenty of table seating. "The seating inside is super cozy, and they have lots of space. If you want to work on your laptop for a bit, they even have free Wi-Fi," a Google reviewer shared. Coffee, fresh-squeezed orange juice, and some home-baked pastries are offered alongside the bagels.

Russ & Daughters embodies a different type of bagel shop in NYC. It's a rare remaining example of what's called an appetizing store, a type of store started by Jewish New Yorkers selling kosher products suited for bagels: smoked fish, pickled vegetables, and cheese (but not meat, which is the specialty of delis). Russ & Daughters keeps up a tradition that locals are loyal to. "It's been my go-to spot, especially for brunch, for 20-plus years since I got to NYC," one Reddit user said. It's almost a rite of passage to order a bagel with lox here.

"I think that a bagel and lox is one of the literal tastes of New York," Niki Russ Federman, a co-owner of Russ & Daughters and descendant of its founders, told NPR. The bagels alone are good — Everything Is Everything gives them a 4 out of 5 — but the lox (and other smoked fish, like sable, sturgeon, and whitefish) takes it to the level of excellence. Expect fish that's properly salty, very thin-sliced, and highly flavorful. Make it a true old-school New York bagel sandwich by adding capers, onions, and, of course, cream cheese. The cream cheese options are solid, too, with some specialty flavors like caviar and horseradish-dill that are less common elsewhere.

It's a no-brainer to stop by Russ & Daughters if you're walking down Orchard Street, which was named the "coolest street" in America in 2025. Its original, mainly takeaway, shop is at the end of the strip, on East Houston Street, though I'm partial to the Russ & Daughters Cafe a couple of blocks down, about a five-minute walk from the Bowery station. The cafe is great if you want to sit down and enjoy a full-service brunch, with a warm, retro feel inside.

Given the sheer number of bagel shops around NYC, it sometimes becomes hard to differentiate between two that might be a couple of blocks apart, with the same interiors. That's not the case for the Olde Brooklyn Bagel Shoppe. It certainly has one of the most unique aesthetics of any bagel shop I've been to in the city, with dark wood paneling, a chandelier, and shelves stocked with so many snacks that it might, at first glance, appear to be an old-fashioned general store. But as soon as you look left, you'll see the rack of sumptuous bagels, which are the true reason to give this shop a try.

Brooklyn locals hold the Olde Brooklyn Bagel Shoppe in high regard. "Yes, it's the closest bagel to my apartment, but it's also the best," wrote a user for Perfectly Imperfect. The bagels themselves are large and doughy, and the cream cheese is doled out liberally. Like its classic interiors, the shop keeps its bagel-making techniques traditional, hand-rolling them and kettle-boiling them in-store, according to its website. The shop is also fairly well-known for its special za'atar-topped bagel, incorporating a Middle Eastern spice blend of oregano, thyme, and marjoram. The shop could be a good choice for gluten-free visitors, too, as several Google reviewers recommended its gluten-free bagel. 

One caveat about Olde Brooklyn Bagel Shoppe: There's very minimal seating inside, just a couple of tables cramped in a corner. But why not take your bagel to-go and make it a picnic treat at Brooklyn's beautifully wooded Prospect Park? It's a 10-minute walk to the park's entrance, and about a five-minute walk from the Grand Army Plaza subway station.

Utopia Bagels has gotten a bit of online fame for its huge pizza bagel. But locals know the shop for so much more than the oversized creation. To be clear, Utopia is one that I haven't tried myself, but it gets such high praise from locals that it demanded to be included in this list. Everything Is Everything ranked it the number one bagel shop in Queens, while its Manhattan location got the top spot from New York's "Bagel Ambassador" and founder of BagelFest. NYC local Kaitlyn Lavery wrote on her Substack that Utopia is "1 of the 2 shops in Manhattan I think are a must hit when visiting!"

Reviewers consistently rave about the bagel's texture and flavor. "Good crisp on the outside and wonderfully soft and chewy on the inside," one Google reviewer wrote, assuring that "the fame and press have not ruined this place." As for what makes Utopia's bagels taste so good, part of it might be decades of fine-tuning — Utopia Bagels has been in business since 1981, according to its website. It also uses a carousel oven to bake the bagels, after hand-rolling and kettle-boiling them. The menu boasts a plethora of options, from over a dozen cream cheeses to adventurous bagel flavors like piña colada. Something unique is its size options, too, ranging from mini to party style (which serves 20 and requires 48 hours' advance notice to order).

The shop has two locations in Queens and one in Midtown, Manhattan. Its original shop is the one in Whitestone, Queens, which sits right off the Utopia Parkway/19th Avenue Q16 bus stop. One reviewer noted there's "a fair amount of seating," with outdoor seats available, too.

Most of the bagel shops recommended here I've tried myself, and I used my own experiences as a base for making the list. I looked at opinions from other locals, too, including the meticulous reviews from Everything Is Everything, Google Reviews, and local bloggers. One shop, Utopia Bagels, I haven't tried yet, but its strong reputation among locals (including NYC's unofficial "Bagel Ambassador") justified being included. 

The primary criteria used to evaluate the shops were the quality of the bagels themselves, inclusive of toppings, which are sometimes inseparable from the bagel experience (take the bagel with lox from Russ & Daughters, for example). Secondary factors considered were the ambience, originality, and the range of options for flavors and add-ons available.