New York City’s Best Bagels

Murrays Sturgeon Shop Photography by Sarah Stone

Murray’s Sturgeon Shop | Upper West Side, Manhattan 2429 Broadway

Murray’s may not bake their own bagels, but that doesn’t make them any less of a bagel icon in the city. They’ve been getting their bagels from H&H for decades. Literally. Murray Bernstein opened up shop in 1945. Even now, in H&H’s current iteration, Murray’s still finds the H&H bagel the perfect complement to their famous sandwiches. Eastern smoked salmon, Scottish smoked salmon, gravlox, mild salt cured lox, smoked trout, sable, kippered salmon, rainbow trout, whitefish, extra fancy (because it’s the best quality) sturgeon, and schmaltz herring—pick your poisson and get it on a bagel.  Some of the smoked salmon comes from the excellent Brooklyn smokehouse, Service Smoked Fish, but the rest comes from a closely guarded, unnamed source that smokes fish according to secret recipes provided by the proprietor.  

Bagel Hole | Park Slope, Brooklyn 400 7th Ave.

Bagel Hole bagels are a nod to the evolution of New York bagels, with a different flavor profile than the rest on the list. There is no sweetness, and they are slightly chewier and smaller than what we’ve come to know as a city bagel. Other traditionalists agree; Russ and Daughters, a New York City institution known for smoked fish and the fixings, stocks these small bagels and uses them for all of their sandwiches.

New York's Best Bagels - Bake from Scratch
Bagels from the Bagel Hole / Photography by Sarah Stone

Noshman’s | Williamsburg, Brooklyn

Started by former H&H insider Marc Halpern, Noshman’s provides bagels to delis throughout the city, most notably the Urban Market of Williamsburg. But you can also order them by mail, or buy them in sleeves or par-baked, which make them ideal for taking your New York bagel experience back home with you. Pop them in your oven without fear that they’ll dry out. The bagels deliver ideal chew and density without being heavy, even after they’ve cooled. It’s a New York bagel experience without the lines or the ‘tude when you just want yours scooped out with tofu cream cheese without the judgment.

Sadelle’s | Soho, Manhattan 463 West Broadway

Melissa Weller’s bagels now have their own shop. Weller started selling them at Smorgasburg, a Brooklyn food stand mecca, a few years ago and caught the attention of the Major Food Group (the boys behind Italian hotspots Torrisi and Carbone). A chemical engineer by training, Weller jumped into the baking world with stints at Babbo, Per Se, and Roberta’s, and then landed on bagels at Smorgasburg. Now she’s perfected her seed ratios and barley-malt syrup in the perfect round for all to schmear and nosh.      

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