It’s true that a good bagel – well fermented, plump, chewy yet tender – can be difficult to come by in Hong Kong, but there are definitely bagel specialists out there that stand head and shoulders above the crowd.
Whether enjoyed on their own, slathered with cream cheese, or in sandwich form, we’ve collated this list of the spots offering the best bagels in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong’s top bagel shops
R&R Bagels
R&R Bagels debuted on Central’s Li Yuen Street West nearly a decade ago, and it’s since expanded to three dine-in cafés and one takeaway joint – a testament to its authenticity. A quality bagel with cream cheese will run you HKD45, with bagel options including plain, sesame, wholegrain, poppy, cinnamon raisin, onion, garlic, everything, and vegan and plenty of both sweet (pecan maple and fresh strawberry) and savoury (plain, low-fat plain, lox, vegetable, sun-dried tomato, and scallion) cream cheese flavours to keep things interesting. However, it’s R&R’s bagel sandwiches that are the most popular of all. For breakfast, the maple bacon and egg (HKD80) is a winner, whilst the smoked salmon (HKD95) topped up with lox, tomato, red onion, dill, and cream cheese is a top pick all day long.
R&R Bagels, multiple locations across Hong Kong
Bagels Alley
This bagel shop in Central serves up handmade preservative-free bagels with the ideal crispy exterior. On the Bagels Alley menu, there’s a variety of choices in the bagel with spread (HKD37) category; the spreads run the gamut from classic plain cream cheese, to aromatic black truffle cream cheese (+HKD5), and even to spicy hummus (+HKD3). The bagel sandwich bestseller here is the Pastrami Bomb (HKD75), a delicious mélange of pastrami, cream and Swiss cheeses, tomato, rocket, gherkin, and mustard.
Bagels Alley, Shop A1, G/F, Haleson Building, 1 Jubilee Street, Central, 9793 8401
Schragels Delicatessen
Hong Kong’s OG bagel spot, Schragels was founded in 2014 by New Yorker Rebecca Schrage. Taking a bite out of one of Schragels’ kettle-boiled and stone-baked bagels transports us straight to the Big Apple; the texture and flavour are simply spot on. For a small breakfast or brunch gathering, we suggest ordering the Schragels 1.0 (HKD370), which comes with a dozen bagels and two tubs of cream cheese. If you’re flying solo, you can instead opt for a bagel and schmear (HKD60) or a bagel sandwich, perhaps The Big Apple (HKD95) itself, delivering roasted turkey, honey and pecan schmear, and green apple on a sesame bagel.
Schragels Delicatessen, G/F, 104 Jervois Street, Sheung Wan, WhatsApp 5285 7092
Blendit
Over in Prince Edward, Blendit is a cute café specialising in delightfully chewy New York-style bagels (HKD30 each), offering flavours that range from the classic plain, poppy, sesame, onion, and everything to the more innovative beetroot, curry, matcha, and black sesame. Blendit’s bagels can also be ordered frozen (HKD80/3pcs), along with cream cheese (from HKD25/100g).
Blendit, G/F, 73 Lai Chi Kok Road, Prince Edward, 5334 0188
Mendel’s Delicatessen
Kennedy Town’s Mendel’s, a cross between a New York diner and a Jewish deli, is beloved for its all-day breakfast offerings, stacked deli sandwiches, and – you guessed it – bagels. The bacon, egg, and cheese (HKD88) and house-smoked salmon (HKD108) are signature bagel sandwiches for good reason, whilst we also rate the diner staple that is the tuna bagel melt (HKD88). For a sweet change of pace, the blueberry bagel (HKD58) is recommended: blueberry compote and cream cheese on a toasted bagel slice.
Mendel’s Delicatessen, G/F, 66 Catchick Street, Kennedy Town, 9220 4344
Bagel GoGo
An underrated spot for top-drawer bagels in the city, Bagel GoGo in Hung Hom showcases about two dozen sweet and savoury bagel sandwiches, creative to the max. The messy chalkboard menu, scrawled in both English and Chinese, lists them all, from the scrambled egg and BBQ pork bagel (HKD72–75), to the chicken chop with pineapple bagel (HKD76–79), to the black sesame mochi bagel (HKD58–61). The bagel types and spreads are also many and varied; we’re partial to the bodega-standard everything bagel with spring onion cream cheese (HKD28).
Bagel GoGo, G/F, 35 Sung Chi Street, Hung Hom, 6679 2716
