Can I find a good Seattle bagel at... Loxsmith Bagels (West Seattle)
Which Loxsmith spot prevails: The Beacon Hill hub or West Seattle outpost?
Welcome to It’s A Shanda, one Northeastern Jew’s quest to find a decent bagel in Seattle (and beyond). If you’re interested in taking this journey with me, make sure you subscribe so you never miss a review. If you want to make sure I review any specific bagels (or want to let me know why I’m wrong), you can email me at seanmatthewkeeley@gmail.com.
Capitol Hill. Ballard. Pioneer Square. Georgetown. West Seattle. Beacon Hill.
Between pop-ups, short stints, stops and starts, what-could-have-beens, and what-almost-wases, Matthew Segal’s Loxsmith Bagels has been linked to more neighborhoods than any other Seattle bagel place I can think of. That nomadic quest to find a home seemingly ended last year when Loxsmith opened a brick-and-mortar location in Beacon Hill. Lots of hype and long lines followed.
Based on articles from the time and a lot of interactions I’ve had, it’s pretty clear that Loxsmith was thought by many to offer Seattle’s best bagel between the time it launched in 2016 to around 2019/2020 when upstarts like Mt. Bagel, Rubinstein, Rachel’s, and Zylberstein’s ushered in Seattle’s Golden Bagel Age (all due respect to Bagel Oasis). Since then, it’s been a tug-of-war between fans of those places as well as the many pop-ups now vying for the title.
Sure enough, when I reviewed them in September 2022, back when they were popping up on weekends at Harried & Hungry, I thought it was the best bagel I’d eaten since starting the newsletter. I visited that Beacon Hill spot a week after they opened up shop in April 2023 but came away less enthused.
It was worth noting that Loxsmith also kept its options open by maintaining a presence in West Seattle. Whereas the Beacon Hill spot is purely their own, the Delridge location sticks to Loxsmith’s nomadic roots, sharing space with DUDE’Z woodfired pizza and Portuguese pastry shop Nata.
I figured it was important to swing by and sample the schmears as I wanted to see what kind of differences, if any, would come up in this spot. While I treated my Beacon Hill review as a Second Schmear for Loxsmith, I’m going to treat this like a new one, given my rules about each location getting its initial review for the rankings.
I came into the review curious to know if Loxsmith had worked out the kinks, if the issues that came up for me at Beacon Hill were specific to the location, and what the difference is between the two spots.
So let’s find out.
And if you want to know how I define a good bagel, you can find that here.
WHAT I ORDERED
Everything bagel with scallion cream cheese.
Plain bagel as-is
THE EXPERIENCE
If you’ve been to this location, you know that the block consists of a nondescript green building with several retail spaces. As I walked up on a Saturday morning, I saw the requisite Loxsmith sidewalk sign out front but I couldn’t tell which window I was supposed to order from.
The storefront on the right had a “Hot Bagels” sign in the window so that seemed obvious. But the order window was closed. The storefront on the left had a person standing there. I thought maybe I missed a doorway but the door to the storefront on the right was locked tight. I could see two big baskets of bagels inside the place on the right, but again the only human being around appeared to be on the left. There was no menu I could see on the right, but the left seemed to have a menu and register ready to roll. Was I supposed to order on the left and pick up my order on the right? I felt like I was in a bagel-ordering escape room and I was running out of time.
I made an executive decision and went to the left window. I immediately learned this was a different business and you order bagels on the right. Adding insult to injury, a guy behind me heartily laughed and told the cashier they probably needed to put a sign up instructing people to go to the other side for bagels. Delightful.
I walked over to the window on the right and a human finally emerged so I could place my order. Ultimately, the drama was caused entirely by my neuroses but it made for a comical start to the day.
UPON FIRST GLANCE
I noticed in my Beacon Hill review that Loxsmith’s bagels seemed to have changed. The prior version had more of a sheen and a textural exterior while the newer version was more matte, softer, and roll-like.
At first glance, the West Seattle version seemed to be in line with the Beacon Hill one, likely originating in the same oven.
TOP
The top of the plain bagel was a dark golden brown with a lot of blistering all around. It was firm to the touch with slight crinkles. The top was also soft to the touch, depressing deeply when pushed with a strong rebound. The tight roll led to a nonexistent hole in the middle.
The bagel itself was fairly bulbous and my initial thought was to describe it as “roll-shaped.” We’ll come back to that.
As for the everything bagel, this one had a very nice golden brown coloring. There was a medium seed hand at work here that appeared to be onion- and garlic-forward. Like the plain, the top was soft to the touch and the roll was tight. This one was also a more bulbous and roll-like bagel.
BOTTOM
The bottom of the plain bagel was firm with a slight crinkle on the touch. No discernable Cormeal Ring of Doom (CRoD). The interior of the bagel’s center was soft.
The bottom of the everything bagel was very firm and had some serious crunch potential. Both bottoms were very flat, which accentuated that roll-like structure.
INSIDE/BITE
On the rip, the plain bagel offered a slight crispiness but the tear felt less bagel-esque and more like I was pulling apart a roll. On the bite, again, the feel of the interior and the slightness of the exterior lent itself to a bread roll more than a bagel. I did get a slight crinkle from the exterior and the bagel did rebound well after each bite.
I remembered that my initial Loxsmith bagel really smelled and tasted like a bagel but the Beacon Hill one seemed to lose that flavor. This time, I was unable to detect either the bagel smell or the flavor. The interior tasted blank.
As for the everything, the bite brought about the same bready qualities I’d experienced with the plain. With each bite, my teeth movd through the bagel with ease and I was looking for something to push back on me or provide more texture.
The cream cheese offered some decent scallion flavor and seemed to be more akin to the cream cheese I’d gotten during my 2022 Loxsmith excursion. The schmear stayed relatively in place as I ate, which is always appreciated. The everything seasoning was as onion- and garlic-forward as expected, though overall I would say that I wanted more flavor from the experience. I think it might have benefitted from a little more salt.
FINAL THOUGHTS
It seems to me that somewhere between my 2022 visit and 2023 visit, Loxsmith changed its bagel. I think it’s fair to say that the current iteration is not quite my tempo. I know that they put a big focus on elaborate and eye-popping sandwich creations, not to mention their fish-focused menu, and perhaps these bagels provide the integrity needed for those. But in an ever-crowded Seattle bagel scene, I can’t say these are the ones I’ll think of when I need my next fix.
Is It Good Enough For The Goys?
Loxsmith has built up a lot of goodwill over the years and their loyal fans have followed them all over. From what I can see, that fandom is still going strong.
Is It Good Enough For Northeastern Jews?
I didn’t try any of the sandwiches or many fish options, but I have to imagine that if you’re craving lox or smoked fish, you won’t find too many better places in Seattle to satisfy that. Plenty of Seattleites swear by those sandwiches, so I would say that’s your best bet.
MY SEATTLE BAGEL RANKINGS SO FAR (1/28/24)
Old Salt (Fremont]
Old Salt (Ballard)
Loxsmith (West Seattle)
Loxsmith (Beacon Hill)
Westman’s (Capitol Hill)
Westman’s (U District)
OUTSIDE SEATTLE BAGEL RANKINGS (1/16/24)
The Bagelry (Bellingham)
Howdy Bagel (Tacoma)
Coquette Bake Shop (Bainbridge Island)
Good Bagels Cafe (Anacortes)
Otherside Bagel Co. (Bellingham)
Whidbey Island Bagel Factory (Mt. Vernon, Whidbey Island)
Thanks for actually reading this far. If you enjoyed my bagel review and want to read more of them, make sure you’re subscribed to It’s A Shanda. Know someone in the Greater Seattle Area (or beyond) who would appreciate way-too-detailed reviews of local bagels? Please forward the link their way.