Best Ugly Bagels — Restaurant in Waitematā

I initially thought $40 for two bagels is a but much but when I sank my chomps into the Tuna Melt, my eyes involuntarily widened and I immediately concluded, BEST is the right adjective here. Let’s start with the bagel - exquisitely toasted in their stone oven fuelled by Manuka hard wood. The bite was not too hard or soft. Perfect for me. The melted cheese was rich and generous, yet not excessively so. The tuna combined perfectly with the mayo, salsa, jalapeños. Really enjoyed every bite and can’t wait to try other options. But wait. Wanna shout out to the lovely people behind the counter. Sitting there watching them work through each order was a delight. Everyone took care in what they did, from coffee prep to putting together each bagel. They serve each order by saying thanks and it does feel like they mean it. Thank you for your service. I hope to be back for more the next time I am back in this...

Jan 24

I had a peanut butter and butter bagel. The bagel was ok but thick and almost uncooked. Making it hard to eat.

My black coffee was so bloody hot!!! Definitely 100%, and it was one of the worst coffee I had in NZ.

Only after I got a plastic cup, filled it with cold water, and poured my coffee into this plastic cup was I able to cool the drink down enough to drink it. What a waste.

The female barista appeared bored and very unhappy about working on a public holiday.

My partners vegetarian bagel faired a little better than mine.

Overall, it was a very expensive breakfast with a 15% surcharge and very average...

Maybe I went in with expectations that were too high but I found the bagels here to be pretty disappointing. The bagels are just dry bread, and not the chewy fried bagel type that I expected (New York style bagel). They were also very bland. The cream cheese was the same, just not very tasteful. I don’t know, I just couldn’t love it. The coffee was good and it was nice to sit at the window and watch the streets. Wouldn’t go again though...