Can I find a good London bagel at... B Bagel, It's Bagel, or Beigel Bake
I had hoped I'd might find a solid bagel in London. I'm still hoping...
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My recent European trip took me from Amsterdam to Brussels, then to Ghent, and finally to Paris and London.
After Brussels, I mostly accepted that I probably wouldn’t find a decent bagel on my journey. Especially after stopping in Ghent, which was lovely, and seeing this…
Paris, understandably, had better things to do than make good bagels. Plus, my trusted producer and I were a bit pastried out by the time we showed up in London.
Still, I’m nothing if not a glutton for punishment.
So when I found myself with some free time on my hands, I did a look around at the local bagel scene. I happened to be spending the day around Soho and took notice of several bagel businesses. I zeroed in on two: B Bagel Bakery and It’s Bagel. The former appeared to be a local chain with seven locations (and growing). The latter appeared on numerous lists of the best bagels in town and seemed to be one of the trendy spots.
I decided to focus on just one bagel from each place to make the call. I figured if they nailed the everything with scallion/chive cream cheese, then I could circle back and try the plain. Since we have three total bagel places to discuss, I’m eschewing my usual review setup so we can just get down to business…
B Bagel Bakery
I rolled up to the B Bagel in Soho in the late morning and got in a small but steady line. In front of me were two Northern English women who said this was their first time eating a bagel, and it was an absolute joy listening to them fret over what to order before eventually landing on everythings with salt beef (a staple of the British bagel experience).
I’ll say this. The menu was robust. If bagel places are indeed turning into sandwich shops, the options here were varied and impressive. Three different plant-based sandwich options? I’d kill for that kind of consideration most of the time back in America.
I went with the everything bagel with plain cream cheese (I was scared of the chive-garlic and didn’t want to risk it).
This bagel was on the larger side with an oblong shape. It arrived unsliced in the paper wrapper. The coloring was light to golden brown, and the top was soft to the touch with no crinkle or texture. There was a strong seed hand at work on top, though the bottom only received a smattering. The bottom did boast a deep brown ring and was very firm and crinkly when pressed. There was no Cornmeal Ring of Doom (CRoD), but the bottom was gleaming.
The first thing I noticed on the bite was an intense sweetness. The bagel offered a dense chew, but not in a good way. It ate like a store-bought bagel. I got a little bit of the seasoning flavor,r but the sweetness from the bagel overwhelmed it. The cream cheese was passable but unmemorable.
Ah well.
It’s Bagel
I headed for It’s Bagel, hoping for better returns. If you’ve ever wondered what a bagel shop might look like if it took every New York City aesthetic and put it in a blender, this would be it. Simultaneously capturing the vibes of an NYC bagel shop, deli, and diner, It’s Bagel was trying to cultivate a Big Apple sensibility (which makes sense as the owner hails from there). I especially loved the “please don’t show this to anyone’s copyright lawyers” merch that inserted their logo into iconic New York imagery.
Given its focus on recapturing what works about a classic NY-style bagel shop, I was able to get an everything bagel with scallion cream cheese.
This bagel was a good size and featured a lovely golden-brown color on top. It was soft but firm and crinkly when touched. The crust was indeed crackly, though I should note it was auto-toasted. I didn’t notice any blistering on the exterior. There was a medium seed hand at work, with a focus on poppy and sesame. The bottom was beige, soft to the touch (though with slight crinkles), and included a dash of seasoning. There was no CRoD.
The chew was soft, and again, I detected a sweetness, though much less distinct than the one from B Bagel. Some everything seasoning flavor came through. The cream cheese application was solid but a little slight, which kept it from oozing. I also noted a slight tang in the schmear. Overall, there was a slightness to the bagel-eating experience, as well as an odd aftertaste.
Ah well.
At this point, I figured that would be the end of my European bagel tour. However, when planning the following day’s itinerary, I came across a synergistic opportunity. We decided to explore Brick Lane, a renowned street in the East End known for its food scene and street art. It just so happened that one of London’s most iconic bagel shops was located there.
Excuse me, beigel shops.
Beigel Bake
Beigel Bake opened in 1974 and is one of two shops that have become mainstays of the Brick Lane beigel scene, along with the aptly named Beigel Shop. You can read about the long, sordid rivalry between them here.
As for why it’s called a beigel and not a bagel, I’m going with how one Reddit commenter explained it:
“The word bagel is from Yiddish, and was written in the Roman script as 'beigel' or 'beygl'. Polish Jewish immigrants to both the UK and USA brought bagel baking traditions with them but the spelling stuck here, and changed to a more anglicised spelling in the States for whatever reason.”
It’s also been said that the London "beigel is more twisty and chewy than the American bagel.
Beigel Bake churns out around 3,000 beigels a day and boasts a very meat-heavy menu, with the aforementioned salt beef (accompanied by pickle and hot mustard) being the sandwich for which they’re most well-known.
When I arrived midday, there was a line out the door, both here and at Beigel Shop—the place was buzzing with energy and efficiency. The interior was the epitome of Jewish deli style, featuring an absolutely stacked menu board and large glass counters filled with beigels, schmears, and a variety of other ingredients.
You have only two beigel choices here: plain or seeded (with poppy and sesame). You can also get a plain or onion pletzel, which is like a sweeter and thinner bialy (some call it Jewish focaccia). I ended up getting my classic review order here: one plain and one seeded with cream cheese (plain only).
The plain beigel was still warm when I sat down to eat it a few minutes later. It was a good size, perhaps a smidge on the smaller side. The coloring was a lovely golden to dark brown. The beigel featured a U-shape, where the ends pressed together rather than forming a circle, creating a long, skinny middle with no hole. The beigel was extremely soft to the touch and pressed down easily. The bottom was soft but firm to the touch, with some somewhat knockable spots. There was no CRoD.
The bagel offered a very light rip, and the bite gave me the mouthfeel I’d expect from a soft pretzel. The flavor almost reminded me of challah. There was also a strong, malty tone. The bite was slightly tough with whips of crispness. There were a few crispy bits on the chew, but they were few and far between.
Before we get into the seeded bagel, I need you to see the absolute unit of cream cheese they slapped in there. That is a cold schmear brick, and that thing was going nowhere. I admired the application.
The beigel itself was a good size and also an enclosed U-shape, though this one had a tiny center. It was golden to dark brown and featured a light seed hand with a smattering of poppy and sesame seeds. The top was soft to the touch, while the bottom was firm but soft. There was no CRoD.
This thing was a real mouthful, thanks to that cold block of cream cheese. At first, I got a nice mix of the seasoning and schmear flavors. Then, the maltiness kicked in and overpowered everything. The cream cheese ended up being an absolute star; I wish the beigel had stronger integrity to keep up with it. It got very mushy on the chew and ended up being very roll-like in terms of eatability. I wanted to like it more than I did.
Ah well.
Many people love these bagels, but I return to my longstanding belief that a lot of people eat a bagel sandwich and attribute the enjoyment to the bagel itself rather than the many flavorful ingredients inside. It’s easy to make your bagel/beigel a big hit when you’re slapping a slab of salted meat in between it.
And so, I leave Europe going 0-for-6. That’s kinda what I expected. What I didn’t expect was for so many to be so sweet. However, I’m learning that there are many bagels out there where sweetness is an appreciated profile. I don’t quite understand or want that, and it’s what terrifies me about going to Montreal (which I will eventually do).
For now, it’s back to Seattle bagels for a bit, and I’m excited about that. When I started this newsletter, I don’t think you could have convinced me that I would look forward to eating local bagels as much as I am, but the Seattle (and Western Washington) scene keeps surprising me. It’s good to be home.
You can read my full bagel rankings here.
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I sometimes travel to China. They have one of the oldest civilizations and have some wonderful food, but they never learned how to bake. Unfortunately then they were exposed to the British and learned how to bake from the worst bakers in the world. Not surprised they can't make a decent Bagel
Accurate reporting as usual. I went to It's Bagel and B Bagel while in London. B was a 4/10, It's was a 5/10 tops. Eh. It is what it is. Sometimes, you just need time away to appreciate what we have here nowadays.