Can I find a good Seattle bagel at... Cafe Argento
This Capitol Hill mainstay has garnered a reputation for its bagel sandwiches.
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I can’t tell you how many times I walked past Cafe Argento before I finally decided to go inside.
A mainstay of Capitol Hill since 2004, Faizel Khan’s community cafe can be found tucked away in the courtyard of The Onyx condo building on the corner of 12th and Olive.
While a lot of coffee shops have come and gone in the neighborhood since then, they’ve held steady thanks to finding a balance between the upscale café experience and affordable prices.
Thanks to a “Coffee. Conversation. Community Service” ethos, they have been big supporters of local charities and nonprofit groups, maintaining a connection with the community.
Part of the reason I think I often skipped this spot was the limited hours (they close at 3 p.m. on weekdays and 2 p.m. on weekends). But admittedly I think I assumed that it was too stuffy or fancy for me, a judgment I made from afar. It wasn’t until I actually went inside that I found it to be as welcoming as its reputation foretold.
That reputation also includes bagels. “I'd like to eat their jalapeño cheddar bagel every day until I die,” Thre Stranger’s Chase Burns said in 2018. And searches about the cafe are littered with photos of bagel sandwiches and spreads.
Again, I’m not entirely sure how I got this far without stopping by, but I finally made it. So let’s see how good those bagels are…
And if you want to know how I define a good bagel, you can find that here.
WHAT I ORDERED
Sesame bagel as-is ($3)
Everything bagel with cream cheese and garlic olive oil ($4.25)
THE EXPERIENCE
The space inside Cafe Argento isn’t big but it’s inviting. A smattering of seats and tables give way to a compact counter where you can peek at the day’s baked goods while deciding what to get. The bagels were fairly front and center, with those jalapeño cheddar bagels getting their own showcase. The rest of the bagels (sesame, onion, cheese, everything) were on the opposite side of the case.
Without a plain bagel, I opted for the sesame. When I asked for an everything with cream cheese, I was offered the option to add garlic olive oil as well. The staff’s excitement over this option left me with no choice but to follow them down this intriguing road.
While waiting for my order, I asked if they made their own bagels and was told they get them from the local bakery that supplies Safeway.
Now, you might be saying to yourself, “Uh oh, this is about to go downhill fast.” But I have to say, I was actually kinda excited to hear this. I’d been thinking about whether or not to incorporate Safeway’s bagels into my reviews. Now, I was killing two birds with one stone.
UPON FIRST GLANCE
These bagels are big. That was my immediate thought when I first laid eyes on them. I might have clocked them as the ones you find in Safeway had I not been told, but I definitely got wholesale vibes at first glance. That said, they were all various shapes, so it seemed like there was some kind of manual process involved.
TOP
The top of this truly massive bagel was covered consistently in sesame seeds, which seemed very stuck on there and didn’t go everywhere as I handled it. Featuring an oblong shape, the bagel had a long, medium-sized center and was light brown in coloring all over. The feel of the bagel was extremely uniform and sleek. The top was incredibly soft to the touch, with the flaky exterior breaking when pushed on.
The everything bagel had been toasted but was also extremely soft on top. While not as big as the sesame, this one was still sizable and featured a tight slit center. The top was dark brown from the toasting. I noted one side of the bagel was larger than the other. There was a medium seed hand at work, a marked difference from the sesame.
BOTTOM
The bottom of the sesame was equally soft and there was a smattering of sesame seeds strewn around. One thing I noticed from handling the bagel at this point was that I could press the entire thing down if I wanted to.
The bottom of the everything bagel was firm and seemed to have some crispness, presumably from the toasting. This one also featured little bits of seasoning from the top but not too much.
INSIDE/BITE
The sesame bagel offered an incredibly soft rip. There was no texture or crispness anywhere. The interior was fluffy and soft, which, coupled with the soft exterior, made for an intensely chewy bite. I got a lot of consistent sesame flavor from the seeds, which stayed put as I ate. There was a medium rebound after the bite. The interior offered a slight sweetness with hints of malt at the end.
Opening up the everything bagel with cream cheese and garlic olive oil, I could see how the oil had infused the interior. Despite the exterior toasting, the bite itself remained fairly soft, though I did get a little bit of crunch. At first, the chew was somewhat ephemeral as my palette wasn’t picking up much. I noted the cream cheese was a little tangy. The garlic olive oil added some interesting flavor that grew on me with each bite. It also seemed to provide a little heat, which was unexpected but not a bad thing. The more I ate, the better the experience got as all of the flavors came together.
The everything seasoning was very onion-forward though I did notice that it included caraway seeds, which I was fairly impressed with. The fact that this bagel includes one of the classic everything seeds while most modern bagel makers eschew it broke my brain a little.
FINAL THOUGHTS
You might have been assuming this review would have an obvious answer but instead, I’m left with a burning question.
What does it mean that I would eat these bagels again ahead of quite a few Seattle and Western Washington bagel shops I’ve reviewed?
For all its intense size and softness, the sesame bagel was weirdly eatable. Another way to put it was that it wasn’t offensive. Sure, I’m damning it with faint praise but some of the places I’ve reviewed would kill for faint praise.
As for the everything with cream cheese and garlic olive oil, I’m at odds with myself. On one hand, I don’t know if it’s a flavor profile I want more of. On the other hand, I ate the whole thing. At this point in the newsletter process, I don’t eat an entire bagel unless I like it.
I’m not saying these are “good” bagels but I’ve had far worse experiences in Seattle.
Is It Good Enough For The Goys?
Here’s a question that I keep asking myself. People love the jalapeño cheddar bagel there, right? But that same jalapeño cheddar bagel can be found in Safeway. If I presented you with that bagel and told you it was from the supermarket, would you be as thrilled? Or does the bagel magically become better because it’s available in an artisanal coffee shop? These are the riddles that keep me up at night.
Is It Good Enough For Northeastern Jews?
Cafe Argento isn’t here to serve you an authentic New York-style bagel. They’ve got their own thing going on. I would be curious to know what other people think of the olive oil and cream cheese combo or perhaps one of their bagel sandwiches. But I also highly recommend stopping by to sample their pastries, baked goods, and coffee drinks (Big thumbs up on my iced oat milk mocha). Those food items, plus the ambiance, are the real draw here.
MY SEATTLE BAGEL RANKINGS SO FAR (9/25/24)
Hey Bagel - 1st visit
Toasted (U District) - 1st visit
Loxsmith Bagels (West Seattle) - 1st visit
Rubinstein Bagels (Eastlake) - 1st visit
Rachel's Bagels & Burritos (Ballard) - 1st visit, 2nd visit, 3rd visit
Macrina Bakery (Capitol Hill) - 1st visit
Cafe Argento (Capitol Hill)
Eltana (Wallingford) - 1st visit
Westman’s (U District) - 1st visit
Blazing Bagels (Ravenna) - 1st visit
Einstein Bros. Bagels (U Village) - 1st visit
Dingfelder’s (Capitol Hill) - 1st visit
Cafe Solstice (U District) - 1st visit
Kelly’s Cannoli (Magnolia) - 1st visit
Bagelbop (Pike Place Market) - 1st visit
You can find my full bagel rankings here.
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Well huh … at least you’re not predictable. While I wait for the Hey Bagel store to open, I may run to Safeway when my own bagel production falls down. Because it’s a damned bagel desert up here in Snohomish!