Can I find a good Seattle bagel at... Old Salt Fish & Bagels?

Can a Seattle restaurant group that does no wrong keep the streak alive?

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.

This newsletter has taken a turn in recent weeks. Initially, as I made my down the list of “Seattle’s best bagels that are as good, if not better, than New York City,” the downward spiral portended a dark future. It seemed as though I was destined to spend my days wandering the Pacific Northwest, eating blah bagels, and regretting my mission.

But a funny thing happened along the way. Loxsmith had something interesting going on. Then Bagel Oasis set the bar. And then Oxbow confirmed that there are good options in town. Just like that, we’re on a hot streak.

But with any kind of streak, it’s a question of whether or not you can keep it going. The same thinking is likely what goes through the mind of the people behind this week’s bagel spot.

Manolin opened on the edge of Fremont and Wallingford in 2014 and was met with almost immediate acclaim. Opened by partners Joe Sundberg, Rachel Johnson, and Patrick Thalasinos, along with chef Alex Barkley, all of whom were disciples of Renee Erickson's The Walrus and the Carpenter and The Whale Wins, it quickly received rave reviews and earned a spot on the Bon Appetit hot 10, a list of America’s best new restaurants.

The name comes from Manolin, Santiago’s loyal acolyte in “The Old Man and The Sea,” which informs a seafood-forward menu served inside “a spiffed-up sea shanty” that is lauded for its interior design.

Based on the success of their restaurant, the same team opened Rupee, which focuses on the food cultures of Sri Lanka, in 2019. That place earned a coveted James Beard Award in 2020. Chef Elisabeth Kenyon, who also took over at Manolin after Barkley left, was a James Beard Award semifinalist in 2022.

All of which is to say that this restaurant group seems to know what they’re doing. So when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, it stood to reason that if anyone was going to figure out what to do, it would be them.

Sure enough, while Manolin closed temporarily in 2020, they needed to figure out how to keep things going while the sit-down restaurant business hit a standstill.

“We needed to do something fast-casual that we could run with minimal staff, to get us through what is turning out to be a dreadful winter for restaurants in Seattle,” Sundberg told Eater Seattle in December 2020. “As for Manolin, we can’t wait for spring. When the sun comes back out, we’ll reopen with expanded outdoor dining in our courtyard. Just gotta survive until then.”

That survival tactic was, at first, tacos. However, they eventually landed on the tried and true bagel. In late 2020, Manolin re-opened as a pop-up called Old Salt Fish and Bagels. While it sounds strange for a seafood spot to move into the bagel space, once you realize what they could bring to the table in terms of lox and smoked salmon, it makes a lot of sense.

But what about the bagels themselves?

“The restaurant then brought in an old used Blodgett deck oven to make the bagels, and started testing dough, with wire racks scattered throughout the once-full dining room to cool the finished products,” wrote Gabe Guarente of Eater Seattle. “It took two months of trial and error before Kenyon and company were ready to roll, but the new menu already seems to be gaining some traction, selling out regularly since opening last Thursday.”

Almost two years in, while Manolin has reopened and reclaimed its place, Old Salt has become a mainstay of those “best in Seattle” bagel lists, earning its way onto rankings from Eater Seattle, Do206, and chef J. Kenji López-Alt.

Maintaining their “pop-up hours,” opening for business Thursday through Sunday in limited windows, also helps to keep the exclusivity reputation going around town.

But with all of that said, we know now that Seattle has a tendency to over-index for how good some of its local bagel purveyors are, especially if they’re a feel-good restaurant scene story. So is Old Salt’s reputation based on the reputation of its owners or on the quality of its bagels?

Let’s find out.

And if you want to know how I define a good bagel, you can find that here.

WHAT I ORDERED

• Untoasted everything bagel with plain cream cheese.

• Untoasted plain bagel as-is.

THE EXPERIENCE

It was really interesting arriving at Manolin on a Saturday as I realized it is right next door to Sea Wolf, which runs Oxbow. When I said last week that Oxbow was “what people in the Northeast think Pacific Northwest bagel shops must look like,” I might have jumped the gun. I have to imagine Manolin provided some inspiration for them just across the courtyard.

It’s a very cool space, featuring salvaged and recycled wood and aqua-blue tiles that evoke the sea. The curved counter bar wraps around the entire main area like a wave. The baskets of bagels that line the bar may not fit that aesthetic, but it’s a pretty unique experience all the same.

UPON FIRST GLANCE

I have to admit, my initial reaction to the bagels was trepidation. I did like the look of all the bubbles I was seeing on them, but I was concerned with what appeared to be an inconsistency with the coloring. Some bagels had that golden brown that represents a good bake while others veered on the side of light brown which is associated with undercooking. However, looks can be deceiving so I kept an open mind about it.

I like that they keep things simple. Five flavors to choose from (plain, sesame, poppyseed, everything, and black sesame. Initially, the bagels were priced at $2 apiece, but they’ve upped their prices to $2.50 for any bagel, which is in keeping with most of the prices around town.

They also keep things simple on the spreads. So simple, in fact, that they don’t do a scallion cream cheese. I considered getting the veggie or herb version to keep with what I’ve been doing but figured I’d just go with the plain to see if it can stand on its own.

TOP

The everything bagel had a slight crisp on the bite. The first thing I noticed is that the seasoning is pretty light, though they do include salt (thank god). Definitely more going on here than some of the earlier everything bagels I’ve eaten on this journey, but not the most flavorful.

The plain features a very bubbly top and exterior. That doesn’t translate too much to crunch and the top itself is very easy to push in. The most interesting aspect here is that it does feature salt on the exterior, which I was okay with as it gave the outside a little flavor boost, even if it straddles the line between plain and salt.

I would describe both bagels as a “tough chew,” though not in a bad way. There’s a big difference between a bagel that is tough to chew because it's stale or dry and a bagel that is tough to chew because the crust is durable. This is the latter and, for me, I don’t mind a tough bite when it’s good.

INSIDE

The inside of both bagels is pretty light and fluffy. I wouldn’t say it’s pillowy in the way I’d ideally want, but it’s a decent contrast to the exterior. The lightness of the interior of the bagels makes them strangely collapsable if you press on them, and the lack of much “weight” seems to be what leads to that tough bite.

That slightly bready smell that I’ve encountered in most Seattle bagel places is here as well. It’s not as overwhelming as some of the other spots, and it didn’t bother me here, but it’s certainly present.

The plain cream cheese was, somehow, tastier than a lot of the scallion cream cheeses I’ve eaten in Seattle. It’s a real highlight of the bite and they do a pretty solid job with the distribution. Substantial but not overwhelming or gloopy.

BOTTOM

The bottoms of both bagels were very firm to the touch. They were also very flat, as though they had been pushed down in some way while being cooked. It’s not a bad thing, just a noticeable quirk in how they sit. The firmness does give off a little crunch, which was pleasant.

I also noticed a sprinkling of cornmeal or something like it on the bottom, which is usually not a good sign. But it appears to have been used judiciously here and didn’t impact the flavor.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Up top, I wondered about streaks. I’m on a good bagel hot streak and this ownership group is on a good restaurant hot streak. Did we both keep our streaks going? I think so, though I would say that it’s a solid-but-not-spectacular effort. And hey, when it comes to Seattle bagels, that’s a win.

I stuck to the bagels on this journey, but the experience of ordering in Manolin/Old Salt, not to mention the seafood-y options available, certainly make them a welcome entrant in the Seattle bagel game.

Is It Good Enough For The Goys?

For sure. It’s a solid bagel with just enough PNW quirks that add interesting wrinkles without losing what’s essential about the bagel experience. I don’t think most folks around town would scoff at a dozen Old Salt bagels.

Is It Good Enough For Northeastern Jews?

I’m gonna land on yes here as well. I think that my current rankings still have Bagel Oasis way ahead followed by Oxbow, Loxsmith, and now Old Salt, though I’m gonna have to revisit to figure out who goes where. But in terms of the ordering experience, the ambiance inside, and the quality of the bagels and schmears, I wouldn’t have a problem serving these to family and friends from back East, especially if the lox measures up to the expectations.

Thanks for actually reading this far. If you enjoyed my Seattle 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? Forward the link their way.