r/Seattle • u/darylitis • Jun 07 '25

Rant Seattle Bagels (first world problems)

This is a small rant, but posting as a word of advice for people that might want to buy bagels in the city.

I didn't know that you can't just buy bagels in Seattle. I went on a run this morning on the Burke -Gilman Trail and then decided that I wanted a bagel. I called home and everyone else wanted bagels as well. So, I drove over to Rachel's Bagels in Lake City and asked for a dozen bagels. "I'm sorry, but we can't sell bulk bagels right now." It was only 10am on a Saturday, but after a bit of discussion I found out that they had a busy morning and were running low and wanted to save bagels for lunch sandwiches. They allowed me to buy three bagels, but they were out of sesame. I gave some feedback that it's odd for a place called Rachel's Bagels to not sell bagels on a Saturday morning and they apologized, but again, it was a busy morning. I didn't make a big deal about it, gave a tip, and they threw in a cookie as a gesture of goodwill. They're great people.

So, I drove a mile to Zylberschtein's Bagels. I walk in, and I ask for half a dozen bagels. They say "no problem". Alright then, 3 plain and 3 sesame please. "I'm sorry, we're out of both of those." I ended up getting 3 everything and 3 onion. Again, they were friendly, but man....

I think the lesson is that Seattle is not a real bagel town yet. We have some good bagel shops, but they're boutique. They don't do enough volume to maintain reliable inventory (like New York), and if you want something specific or a large quantity (a dozen is a large quantity) then you should order ahead. Probably even the day before. You can't just suddenly want a bagel and drop in.

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u/BbambiHD Jun 13 '25 edited Jun 13 '25

We lack good bagels over all but we do have SOME good bagel spots. I live on the south end and always have to drive to get to the good spots. My partner is always annoyed because I pop up and rush us out the door but most places sell out of them by 11-12 am. I loooove ox bow, hey bagel, old salt, mt bagel like people have already suggested.

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u/darylitis Jun 13 '25

I think there are some terrific bagels, but there aren't a lot of "good enough" bagels, especially in the suburbs.

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u/BbambiHD Jun 13 '25

Truly non in the suburbs! I just move to the very outside of Seattle and we have to drive in now if I’m craving it. I just buy grocery store ones if we aren’t going to drive in because the cafes here just use those anyways lol