The Bagel Guys — Restaurant in London

Five years ago, when I moved from along Island to London, I searched high and low for a good, familiar bagel and couldn’t find. Finally, someone has done the thing right!

I can’t say much more than all the other former NYers in this group of reviewers, but these are the real deal. Perfect hydration and flavour, hand-rolled, great proof (not easy in this ridiculously humid climate!). I hope one day they have a larger operation and the oven that would give these gorgeous bagels that wild, perfect browning that comes from that magic rotating bagel beast of NY lore.

Papos is also very good, but these have the taste and chew of home.

Although I’ve been making my own for years, I’ll be making the trip from Hammersmith when I can’t find the time and precious fridge space for a 12-24-hour cold proof 🤣

Thanks, y’all. London needed you....

The bagels are great, can’t complain. But the service is incredibly, inexplicably slow. I understand that the space is small, but there are 5-6 people working in the place, all moving at an absolute snails pace.

I ordered a smoked salmon bagel (delicious) at 10am when there was no queue. It took 20 minutes! I saw the salmon being very slowly weighed and then delicately placed on the bagel as if it was a piece of art. I have been there before and waited 25-45 mins for a bagel. It’s crazy. Guys, it’s a bagel, not fine dining. People want their food quickly. Don’t take yourselves so seriously.

It says “New York style” on the shop front. If this was in NYC, it would be out of business for being slow.

Food is great....

These are advertised as New York style bagels. They are absolutely nothing like New York bagels unless it means they are round and have a hole in the middle. I tried the “everything” bagel and it was not like any bagel I had in New York, no onion, no sea salt. Fairly soggy texture and almost a bit raw inside, fairly tasteless, nothing like a real New York bagel so they should not advertise as such. It would probably taste fine if smothered in cream cheese with salmon or something. I just had mine toasted with butter and it was almost inedible.

The only place near here that does anything like New York bagels is Papo’s on Shacklewell. Don’t bother with any other bagel shop in Bethnal Green or...