San Francisco's bagel scene is small but mighty. And any local bagel enthusiast will tell you that chewy, golden-brown bagels aren’t too difficult to find—you just have to know where to look. From weekend pop-ups and farmer’s market stands to neighborhood spots attracting lines down the block, here are the 10 best places to get a bagel in the city.
THE SPOTS
The Laundromat in the Outer Richmond wears many hats—the all-day-ish spot does pizza and wine at night, and serves incredible bagels in the morning. So get here during the day to be hit with the smell of malt and everything seasoning radiating from the towering bagel carts filled with their plump stunners. Loose bagels and tubs of cream cheese are on deck (no sandwiches or toasters here), so take a dozen egg everythings (the best flavor) and scallion cream cheese to go and assemble it at home or nearby Golden Gate Park.
The bagels coming out of Midnite Bagel are unapologetically San Franciscan. They’re whole-grain sourdough, for one, denser than most others you’ll find in town, and available at their new Dogpatch commissary and at farmers markets and cafes around the city (their Inner Sunset cafe closed after a brief stint). They're offered as fantastic open-faced sandwiches, which are piled high with things like smoked salmon and lemony onions, or cream cheese, capers, and guacamole.
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Starting your morning with a golden-brown bagel from this takeout window in NoPa is always a good idea. The bagels coming out of this (appropriately) salmon-colored spot are evenly coated with seasonings and have a gorgeous crust. Sandwiches are filled with things like smoked ham and sweet pepper butter, or caper schmear with house-cured lox that's silky and translucent. And tubs of schmear have green onions and capers layered across the top, like sprinkles on a cake.
Daily Driver’s huge, two-story flagship location in Dogpatch is one of our favorite places to go for a coffee date, or to get work done. They also happen to churn out some of the best bagels in San Francisco. Dress up the gorgeously crackly wood-fired bagels with spreads and lox, or get into a bagel sandwich—we like the classic bacon, egg, and cheese, which comes with housemade butterkäse cheese. If you want to enjoy your breakfast with waterfront views, their smaller Ferry Building outpost is the answer.
The pop-up named after the owner's dog currently operates out of Avedano’s in Bernal Heights. We could go on and on about the evenly seasoned sourdough bagels, which are perfectly crisp on the outside and good enough to eat plain. But instead, we'll just tell you to pick your favorite bagel type and get it topped with lox, trout rillettes, avocado, or smokey beets. And heads up, bagel sandwiches are only available Saturdays.
PizzaHacker in Bernal Heights leads a double life. They're a pizza spot that also moonlights as a place (called BagelMacher) to get chewy sourdough bagels on weekend mornings. They also have great open-faced sandwiches like the Veggie Vibes topped with fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, and red onions, or the Fresser, which comes with lox on one side and smoked trout (our favorite) on the other.
The Bagel Bakery in China Basin has been turning out New York-style bagels since 1976—they’re still going strong. These not-too-bready bagels are as reliable as ever. You can get them by the dozen, but the power move is to order the vegetable bagel sandwich that goes heavy on the cucumber and tomato, and comes with a sweet balsamic dressing that ties everything together.
This Jewish deli has been around since the ’60s, and, at this point, is a Geary Boulevard institution. They sell challah and pastries like rugelach and hamentaschen, but you’re here for their great selection of New York-style bagels that are made fresh daily. We like the everything bagels—the seasoning is on the lighter side, but this bagel is still flavorful.
For a quick breakfast spot in Noe Valley, head to Noe Bagel. The old-school spot makes a delicious BEC that’s packed with generous amounts of bacon, and is an ideal way to power up before a day full of meetings that could have been emails. You can also stand in front of the glass case and point at whatever looks good—if you want to stock your freezer with something other than half-opened bags of frozen fruit.
This casual spot in the Sunset has breakfast down to a science. Cases are full of donuts and pastries, but you’re coming here for the bagel sandwiches loaded with vegetables, lox, or sausage, egg, and cheese. The creamy, well-seasoned lox schmear is a standout. And because breakfast is always better when you're wired off excess amounts of caffeine, you'll want to snag one of their extra strong Vietnamese iced coffees.
