Where to Find the Best Bagels in North America

Split whole, smeared with cream cheese or stuffed with smoked salmon, the bagel is the ringed baked good to rule them all. From sea to shining sea—and a brief detour up north to Canada—these are the bakeries serving up the best bagels in North America. 

Sadelle’s — New York, New York

Sadelle’s—and more important, their bagel spread—is a SoHo brunch mecca. Their specialty is an everything bagel that boasts fennel seeds and caraway seeds as the topping, packing a particularly aromatic punch.

St-Viateur Bagel — Montreal, Quebec, Canada

If you’re going for a true Montreal-style bagel, you might as well start with the longest-operating bagel shop in Montreal, St-Viateur Bagel. In business since 1957, the bagels are served 24-7, with bakers using wooden planks to ferry bagels directly from oven to display case. In case you need a refresher, Montreal-style bagels are petite bagels boiled in a honey-sweetened water rather than barley malt and water, then baked in a wood-fired oven. They’re sweeter and denser than New York-style bagels, but no less delicious.

Philly Style Bagels — Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

What makes these bagels “Philly style”? They’re fermented in small batches, boiled in a mix of water and beer from Yards Brewing Company (a local brewery that’s been operating in Philadelphia since 1994), and baked on wood planks in a high-powered oven, the same way many restaurants bake their pizzas.

Eltana Wood-Fired Bagel Cafe — Seattle, Washington

Hand-rolled and baked in a wood-fired oven, Eltana’s bagels are modeled on the classic Montreal-style bagels but with a faintly sourdough-like flavor on the interior and a smoky, slightly charred exterior.