When I yearn for a great bagel, I confess I don’t run to Times Square.
But sometimes I'm with a friend in the area or leading a tour, and when I'm hungry, I head to one of the bagel stores included in this post.
You don't have to take my word for it, these happen to be some of the ones I like.
Not in Times Square? See where else you can find the best bagels in other NYC neighborhoods.
Best Bagel & Coffee
This tiny Midtown bagel shop lives up to its name. If you haven’t yet had a New York bagel, this is a fine place to start!
Take your pick from Plain, Everything, Pumpernickel, Sesame, Poppy Seed, Salt, Egg, Onion, or Cinnamon Raisin bagels. (I'm an everything devotee).
Then choose one of these traditional cream cheese flavors: plain, scallion, vegetable, lox, garlic, and cinnamon, with walnut and raisin.
Want to break the mold? Go wild with sun-dried tomato, bacon and cheddar, blueberry, strawberry, chipotle, jalapeno, or olive.
For vegans or lactose-intolerant folk, there’s tofu cream cheese in a few flavors.
Best Bagel is a pretty good lunch option, serving up generous portions of deli sandwiches and large salads.
Located at 225 W. 35th St at 8th Ave.
Ess-a-Bagel
Like so many New Yorkers, I think Ess-a-Bagel (known fondly as Essa) is one of the very best bagel shops in New York City.
While this store is 10 blocks south of Times Square, the bagels here are so incredible they are worth the walk.
Ess-a-Bagel (meaning eat a bagel in Yiddish) has been making sublime bagels since 1976. That’s a long time to perfect their recipe.
First, the dough is hand-rolled into shape, then boiled, and then baked. The result? Fluffy on the inside, with a perfectly browned outside.
Top your bagel off with a schmear of scallion cream cheese, or try one of their fish salads, like whitefish or smoked salmon. They are out of this world!
Located at 108 W. 32nd St between 6th and 7th Ave.
Liberty Bagels
When they first appeared on the scene, I refused to try a “rainbow bagel”.
I'm an old-school New Yorker and bagels shouldn't look pretty -- just taste good.
But then a friend forced me to try one, and well, I kinda like them now!
First and foremost, the appeal of a rainbow bagel is the cheerfulness it adds to one’s morning as one's drudge to work.
Next, are the key factors: texture and taste.
Liberty Bagels exemplifies the best of both worlds. Colors and flavors with the right balance of fluffy and chewy.
Make your day even brighter by topping your rainbow bagel with one of dozens of cream cheese flavors including the utterly unconventional Oreo cream cheese!
Located at 260 W. 35th St. between 7th and 8th Ave.
Russ & Daughters
Be sure to make your way to this outpost of the Lower East Side institution that opened more than 100 years ago.
Besides fresh, fluffy bagels, they sell several different kinds of lox, smoked fish, pickled herring, and other traditional Jewish food.
It’s easy to get distracted here by the sweets -- rugelach, chocolate babka, and Black and White cookies. But stick with the plan. Get a bagel.
I like the “Classic”: an onion bagel, with a schmear of scallion cream cheese, draped with silky smooth lox, thin sliced red onions, and capers.
A bagel and lox at Russ and Daughters is a quintessential New York experience!
502 W. 34th St at 10th Ave at Hudson Yards.
TIP: Head to the Lower East Side location-- it's been open for over 100 years!
Brooklyn Bagel and Coffee Company
Ironically, this chain with multiple locations in NYC has none in Brooklyn!
No matter. There are plenty of locations in Manhattan, including this one in Chelsea, which is south of Times Square.
Their bagels are fluffy on the inside with a slightly chewy exterior. Just the way I like my bagels.
The array of cream cheeses on the menu is inventive. Besides the familiar flavors, they have
Honey Bacon Sriracha, Jalapeno Asiago, and…Cannoli. It must be tried to be believed.
Located at 286 8th Ave. at W. 25th Street.
Zucker’s Bagels
Zucker’s Bagels started in Tribeca and now has a few other locations throughout Manhattan.
This one at Bryant Park is perfectly situated. The park is one of the loveliest to sit and have a bagel and coffee.
Not to be bossy, but I encourage you not to think too hard when ordering. Just get one of NYC’s best breakfast sandwiches: a BEC (bacon, egg, cheese).
Zucker’s Classic BEC comes with two eggs, applewood smoked bacon, and cheddar cheese.
Located at 1065 6th Ave at 40th Street/Bryant Park.
H&H Bagels
One of the best things to come out of the construction of the stunning Moynihan Train Hall, an addition to Penn Station, was that H&H Bagels have come to Midtown.
Until its opening in the Train Hall Food Court, you would have to travel to the Upper West Side or Upper East Side for one of their kettle-boiled bagels.
The result? Airy and light on the inside and ever-so-slightly chewy on the outside, H&H bagels are a thing of wonder.
Our fave? A bagel sandwich with tuna salad, lettuce, and tomato. Perfect for when I board an Amtrak train for a day trip to Washington D.C. or Philadelphia.
H&H is so iconic that it made its way into a `Seinfeld` episode!
Located inside the Moynihan Train Hall on 8th Ave. at W 33rd Street.
Tips from Locals and Travelers
When I made my picks for this post, I was curious about what other locals and travelers had to say.
First, I gathered opinions from our NYC Travel Tips Facebook group.
Then, I took a look at a Reddit forum dedicated solely to NYC food.
Here are some opinions from that forum about the best bagels in the Times Square area.
Below is a discussion about Best Bagel and Liberty. You can see that bagel preferences are so individual.
It’s one of the foods that New Yorkers could debate all day.
One commenter even had a 'showdown' at work between the two!
Here's one more thumbs-up for Liberty and one for Ess-A-Bagel.
Here’s someone who likes both Ess-A-Bagel and Liberty Bagels, and throws Brooklyn Bagel into the mix. There’s no need to have just one favorite!
One of the most hotly contested bagel shops in NYC is Ess-A-Bagel.
Here the commenter is replying to a question about waiting in line at Ess-A-Bagel and if it is worth it. The answer was no and suggested heading to Best Bagel instead.
But, here this New Yorker can't imagine NYC without Ess-A-Bagel.
While not as many people mentioned Zucker's as the other shops, here's someone who thinks Zucker's is worthy of more praise.
So what's the takeaway from these Reddit posts? Find your own favorite. I hope this list is a good place to start!
If you are looking for answers on other NYC topics, take a look at our NYC Travel Tips Facebook Group. You can even ask a question yourself!
