Five Fabulous Bagel Spots You Have Try in New York City (2024)

If you google “best bagels in New York City,” you’re going to find many conflicting opinions. However, I believe the opinions of hungry NYU students are much more fine-tuned. Over the past couple semesters, I have dedicated the latter half of my weekends to what I call Bagel Sundays.

Every Bagel Sunday, I go to a new bagel spot and place my classic order: an everything bagel toasted with plain cream cheese and tomato. Then, I update my notes app with my bagel review. I jot down taste feedback, ambiance evaluations, and schmear satisfaction, among other key criteria. While ranking the 30+ spots I’ve visited may be impossible, I can suggest five stellar ones. Each serves a different purpose in advancing your bagel consumption experience.

An Upper West Side location as the first suggestion? Is this girl mad? Yes, mad about bagels. This isn’t your ordinary list. While it certainly includes some Greenwich Village gems, it also includes must-try places beyond campus. Absolute Bagels was my most recent Bagel Sunday stop. From campus, you can easily hop on the 1 train from the Christopher Street Station and ride all the way to 110th Street.

On my outing, my bagel confidant Aidan and I purchased the following: the classic described above, a cinnamon raisin bagel with blueberry cream cheese, and an everything bagel with scallion cream cheese. Two important things to note about this spot: it is cash only and quite popular, at least on the Sunday we went. We waited about a half an hour to receive our order. I recommend Absolute Bagels for its high-quality product, neighborhood charm, and great location. A well-loved and frequently patronized establishment, you’re bound to get bagels with the right bounce, crisp, and fluff. It is outside of the NYU bubble and close to many cool places you may want to check out, including Riverside Park, Columbia University’s campus, and Central Park.

You probably encounter Tompkins Square Bagels on the majority of bagel recommendation lists for good reasons. I am particularly fond of this Tompkins location. When I lived in the NYU first-year residence hall Third North, I went at least once a week. I find that Tompkins never misses. They have an awesome variety of cream cheeses, including sweet, savory, vegan, and seasonal options as well as typical breakfast sandwich fixings, like eggs and proteins. Everything I have ever ordered from them has been flavorful and filling. Besides my classic order, I would often get a cinnamon raisin bagel with strawberry cream cheese, which was always delicious. I also enjoy their coffee and pastries—they really do it all.

The one downside to Tompkins is the wait. Sometimes it’s five minutes, sometimes it’s 50. It really depends when you go. However, they have quite an impressive, efficient system for getting people’s orders in, so the line moves at a reasonable pace. Only a 15-minute walk or short bus ride from campus, Tompkins is quite accessible and is close to Tompkins Square Park and Stuyvesant Square, where you may eat outdoors.

Why limit ourselves to Manhattan? While I have yet to visit Queens, the Bronx, or Staten Island for Bagel Sunday purposes, I have gotten to Brooklyn. Located in Dumbo’s Time Out Market, Ess-a-Bagel won’t disappoint you. Take the F train from West Fourth Street to York Street, and then you’re only a few minutes away.

Located in a food hall right near the East River, this Ess-a-Bagel’s location could not be better. Perhaps you grab a bagel in the morning, explore Brooklyn Flea, which is open every Saturday and Sunday and has a wide selection of clothes, trinkets, records, and other fun goodies, and then head back to Time Out for an afternoon treat. You can even walk back to campus over the Brooklyn Bridge if you’re in the mood. Circling back to the bagels, I tried the classic and an everything bagel with plain cream cheese, nova lox, lettuce, red onion, and capers. While this order was on the expensive side, the salmon was divine.

Olivia Federici (she/her) is a junior studying Media, Culture, and Communication at the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development with a minor in the Business of Entertainment, Media, and Technology. Born and raised in the small town of Oxford, Connecticut, she brought with her to NYU a vigor to enrich her academic pursuits through conducting traditional coursework and immersing in the social fabric of the city. During the school year, she serves as an Admissions Ambassador for the Office of Undergraduate Admissions, as well as a Writing Tutor at the Writing Center. Off-campus, she embarks on photo walks, learning from those whom she meets along the way.