Black Seed Bagels

Worst bagels I’ve ever had! They were day old at best and small with a large hole in the middle, twice as big as usual. Dissapointing

I wandered in on a rainy morning and had the everything bagel with smoked salmon with tobiko cream cheese and butter lettuce. I originally wanted a whole wheat everything bagel, but it was sold out. I felt like it was way too early for bagels to be sold out. The bagel itself was dense and not doughy or soft like the bagels I am accustomed to. Now I know I’m not a fan of Montréal style bagels. I like my bagels big and soft. These bagels were super tiny. I feel that the bagel itself would’ve been better if it was toasted, but I was not offered this option. The combination I chose was one of their specials and I must say together it is a great sandwich. However, I feel that ingredients should be of superb quality on its own. The smoked salmon was a little skimp as was the tobiko cream cheese. The tobiko cream cheese is actually super tasty. I wish there was enough tobiko to feel the pop as I was eating it though. It didn’t feel like I was eating tobiko. I really wish they gave me more of this because this was the star of the entire sandwich. The butter lettuce added a nice crunch element. This was a one time thing for me due to the price and lackluster effect it had on me. However, never say never lol. If I were to come back I would get the tobiko cream cheese only.
I also got an iced Americano which was terribly watery.

A bit disappointed. Ordered multigrain everything bagel with veggie cream cheese which is my go to for bagels. A relatively small bagel came out at around $ 3,50. And… Is just did not taste anything! Boring bagel and boring cream cheese (with only carrots and scallions??).
I love a good bagel, but this one just is… Meh.

I come here often and I absolutely love it. Directly across where I work so that’s a bonus for me.
My usual order is a Poppy Seed bagel with Tobiko Spread.
They have a daily special which always sounds amazing.
They serve Stumptown Coffee so that’s great.
I’ve heard a lot of cmplainted regarding the price, but I think this is typical NY price. And where else are you going to get Montréal bagels in NY?

Come here early for the fresh bagels!
I stumbled across this place by chance walking through the neighborhood looking for breakfast.
It was a nice find. The place is small but cozy. You walk in and get hit with a smell of bagels and they’ve got plenty. Actually they have 8 different types: plain, poppy, sea same, salt, rye, everything, multigrain, and multigrain everything!
I got the multigrain everything bagel with sausage, eggs and cheese.
How was the food? Not bad and not amazing. Just your slightly above average bagel. It is a little
Pricy for what you get but its the city so everything is pricier…
Overall a pretty decent experience here. I’ll have to work my way through the different breakfast options they have.
Come check out the black seed if you need a quick delicious breakfast.

A bit disappointed. The bagels were great but sandwiches were not special. Particularly the beef bagel was common. Number 3 and 5 fish sandwiches were better. The fish was fresh.

The bagels are small and the hole in the middle is quite large so all your toppings fall through! They were beautifully warm and chewy though.

TL;DR: Great (but small) bagels and so many different amazing options for toppings/​bagel sandwiches. Small space for eating inside. Inconsistent bagels though — come on a weekday morning.
Honestly I’m a bit confused why Black Seed doesn’t have a higher rating. When I first came here, I got the griddle bagel sandwich with ham, 2 eggs, and cheese on a multi-​everything bagel. Wow. This was the first thing I ate when I visited NYC and it changed everything for me. «Nothing was the same» my friends. My top food I wanted to explore and discover in NYC was bagels, and I loved my first bagel here so much that I came back on my last day and ordered the same thing! Except on an everything bagel since they ran out of multi-​everythings (already? It was like 11am).
I read in some reviews that the bagels are smaller than most, yes, and that they are pretty inconsistent, which from my experience is also true. This makes me sad because the first time I came here got me on such a bagel hype, but the second time I came was so disappointing because of the inconsistency and I was expecting a bagel like my first experience — maybe I had too high of expectations.
First time I came here as I said I got a multi-​everything bagel with ham, cheese, 2 eggs. First of all, the cheese they use is SO unique and delicious. I was meaning to ask them what it was because it was crazy good and really took my bagel to the next level. Looking at their menu of cheese selections, I know it has to be either muenster or gruyère. But this is what got me — the eggs were SOFT. The yolk was golden and just SLIGHTLY runny still. And let me tell ya, I am an absolute egg FIEND so the fact that I got 2 of these soft egg babies really got me hyped. The multi-​everything bagel itself was also just perfect, nicely soft and slightly salty in a tasteful way. Needless to say, you bet I inhaled this bagel.
Over the next couple days I kept thinking about this bagel and wanted to go back to Black Seed on my final morning in New York. I ordered the same thing but on a regular everything bagel. It just wasn’t the same! The eggs were more cooked and kinda looked like they were plopped on there. It was still a great bagel, but I had such high expectations the second time coming here. It was pretty disappointing honestly and I felt the truth behind a lot of the mediocre reviews that people gave Black Seed.
The eating area inside is pretty small, with maybe 3−5ish small 2-​person tables and a bar against the window that can fit 3 people. I loved the décor though — very hip and the music the staff plays was on point for me, some throwbacks got me dancing while eating my heavenly sandwich.
Something I noticed though was that my first visit was on a Thursday morning and the small eating area inside was only filled with a couple people, and as I ate at a table there was no line that came swarming in. It was a relaxed morning, and maybe that’s why my bagel was so good because they could put a lot more attention in making it. The second time I came was on a very busy Saturday morning — the line was packed and kept rolling in and there was almost no place to even stand in the eating area. Maybe Black Seed was rushed in making my bagel and that’s why it was so meh compared to my first one? If I come back here, I’ll be trying to mimic my first religious bagel experience and come on a random weekday morning instead of a busy cramped weekend. Hopefully that’s the solution to Black Seed’s inconsistency.
I want to give Black Seed a 4.5, but rounded up to 5 because DAMN that first bagel I had was just… phenomenal.

LOVE THIS PLACE. From the moment I walked in I felt completely welcome. The staff here is exceptional. They’re cute, friendly, complimentary, and I want to be friends with all of them.
Now on to what we’re here for. The bagels. The goddamn best bagels I’ve ever had. They’re a bit smaller than the other NYC bagels I’ve devoured, but I’m ok with that, because that means I can eat two. The smoked salmon sandwich was insane. The sweet one with apples was delish. And the iced coffee and iced chai made me want to dance on the tables. I love you guys.

Came here for breakfast on a COLD and WINDY Sunday morning around 9 a.m. just to avoid long lines. The place is very spacious with tall seating. The menus are high up on the walls. It was a little difficult to see.
Got their #3 which is smoked salmon, vegetables, with tobiko cream cheese on a Everything Bagel. Super stoked to try this bagel but it was a disappointment. At a little over $ 14, I got this small bagel that’s not bigger than 75% of my palm. All of the ingredients were regular. There was nothing spectacular about this bagel.
In addition to the $ 14+, I had a Chai Latte costing me over $ 5. The total was approximately $ 21. The cup of Chai Latte was maybe 80% full. It was a small cup too. Why was everything so small?
The worse part of it all was the smell. This store was emitting the scent of the smoked salmons. The entire place was getting clouded with the smoke and it latched onto my clothing. At least have a vent or open the window.

In a city inundated with iconic foods (pizza, pretzels, bagels, etc) Black Seed Bagel manages to stand out. Now this is not your classic NY bagel but rather it is a Montréal-​style bagel, and it is delicious. As a bagel in and of itself, it is perhaps a bit smaller and flatter than its NY counterpart. However, it does deliver on taste and quality.
I stopped in on a Tuesday afternoon and had no problems ordering half a dozen fresh bagels (half dozen for $ 9). When you enter you are immediately greeted with the smell of smoky, baked goodness (courtesy of the wood oven they bake their bagels in). Service was prompt and despite them being out of one of the bagels I had wanted (the multigrain everything bagel) I found the experience to be pretty uneventful. I was in and out with bagels in tow in less than 10 minutes (half of that was just deciding what bagels I wanted). While I cannot speak to having a bagel of theirs fresh out of the oven, I will say that they do reheat well.

I don’t really get the generally mediocre reviews this place has gotten. Yes, the bagels are smaller than average, but any sandwich you get is still a very appropriate amount of food; and yes, it’s more expensive than average, but only by a dollar or two (I think), which, to me, is well worth it for the quality of food here, compared to an average run of the mill bagel shop.
And on the quality of food — I got a #1 with no cream cheese (i.e. smoked salmon, tomatoes, red onions, and capers) on a toasted multi-​everything bagel, and I thought it was one of the best I’ve had in the city. My wife also got a #1, but WITH cream cheese, and loved it. We also got a black and white cookie, which was fine but nothing extraordinary, and my wife got a brownie, which she thought was incredible. Overall, we walked out with a $ 30 bill, which, again, is expensive for what we got, but not overly so relative to the average bagel place, and the food was excellent.

Black Seed is a solid bagel spot. I didn’t understand all of the type and still don’t. My everything bagel with lox and dilly cream cheese was salty (but that’s also the nature of lox).
It wasn’t crazy busy when we arrived around 845 this morning.
The bagels weren’t so amazing that I would trek all the way to nolita again for it.
That all being said, it was way more expensive that most bagel places and I’m a firm believer that since things you just remember tasting a certain way, like bagels, so I’m likely biased towards anything but the über traditional NY stuff.

I was pleasantly surprised by the whole atmosphere of the place – very cozy with an artsy décor. This is not your usual bagel spot. Although you can get the classic bagel with cream cheese, today, I went with an everything bagel with ricotta, honey and apples.
Note that black seed bagels may be a bit smaller than what you’re used to from an NY bagel, but the quality is certainly still there.

Checked out this place on a weekday while I just happened to be in the neighborhood. The place was pretty much empty with only 1 other person sitting and enjoying their bagel sandwich.
I ordered their most popular menu item, the #2 which had the house cured beet lox, horseradish cream cheese with herbs and watermelon radish on a sesame bagel. I loved the fact that there were no overwhelming flavors; the horseradish cream cheese complemented the salmon very well negating the «fishiness» of the bagel sandwich. Let it be known that overall the bagels are smaller than the traditional NY bagels that most people are used to.
I also ordered an everything bagel with horseradish cream cheese for breakfast the next day for my husband who was very pleased with it the next day.
Overall the place is clean and spacious, and the staff is very friendly and were great with recommendations. I will most certainly be back to try more of their bagel sandwiches!

So excited to welcome Black Seed Bagels to the East Village! I think this is a perfect location for this place.
Black Seed is known for there smallish, dense, chewy and crispy bagels that come from being cooked in a wood fired pizza oven (a lot of people just don’t get the concept.) What’s great about this location is that there is a huge fired oven right as you walk in, so you can actually see the hot bagels being coming out– not to mention get a whif of a nice smokey wood. Being able to see the artistry behind the bagel will allow people to admire the unique methods, rather than poopoo it for not being the huge and fluffy traditional NY bagel.
Another great thing about this location is the seating. No fighting over tables today (or at least until the word gets out.) This makes it a great spot to be able to sit and enjoy, unlike Tompkins where the only reasonable option is to take it to go.
My mom, who loves chewy crispy bread, said the sesame bagel with butter was one of the best things that had ever been in her mouth (that’s what she said.) I opted for a poppyseed with scallion cream cheese, tomato, red onion and sprouts.
Unfortunately when we were there, they didn’t have the griddle setup due to some difficulties getting the gas going. I will forgive this since I arrived within the first 4 hours of opening. You know I will be back to get some bacon-​egg-​burrata situation within the week!
PRO TIP– you need to walk out with a cold brew, or you’re not doing yourself justice.

Biggest and best location yet of the rapidly growing bagel spot.
In addition to the excellent (though often criticized as being tiny and pricey, which are both actually true) bagels and sandwiches, this newest location also has new sandwiches and a bunch of pastries, such as mini meringues, Rugelach, cookies, and cheesecake.
On this visit I tried the #14, which is a house made roast beef au jus with onions and swiss ($ 12.50). The everything bagel was fresh out of the oven, so do not bother toasting here.
The larger size of this location makes the ordering much easier too — instead of a line out the door and an army waiting by the counter to listen for a name being called for a ready order, you get a number here and get to take a seat and the bagel makers bring your sandwiches to you.
This is an excellent addition to the neighborhood, while even though we didn’t really need another excellent bagel shop around here since Tompkins Square Bagels is a block away, it’s still nice to be able to get these a little further uptown than the other two locations.

Well, I am a fan of almost every bagel place around — so of course I liked Black Seed too. This is probably the hippest and trendiest bagel store in NYC. It is deserved.
These bagels are made out of good quality ingredients: freshly baked bagels, good salmon etc.
I actually like most of Black Seed Bagels concept, but the bagels are small. Not even small-​ish, but small. That is despite the rather high price tag. No matter what, I would gladly pay that much for them, which is a good sign.

I discovered this place after looking for places to eat close to my work. Being from New York I am obviously a sucker for bagels and am always looking a new bagel place to try. The idea of the bagels being cooked in the back in a brick oven that you can see, it’s amazing. I love seeing where my food is prepared and knowing that it is fresh.
The bagels are delicious and by looking at them you can definitely tell they are homemade. It is not the classic bagel or the classic bagel combination, although you can just get a bagel with cream cheese. Every time I’ve tried something of the special menu they have and let me tell you it’s AMAZING I was not disappointed. They are flavorful and the combinations of different ingredients is so unique.
My only issue with the place is the bagels are so small. Literally half the size of a normal bagel, you might as well get two bagels. Going off of that the prices for the size of the bagels are high. If I’m going to pay 12 $ for a bagel I want it to be bigger then a mini bagel.

I’ve had this place bookmarked for a few months now. I walked over on a (slightly hungover) Friday morning around 10:30am. There was a small, but fast moving line. I was trying to quickly browse through Unilocal photos to see what I should order, but ended up just going with my favorite bagel (everything) toasted, with veggie cream cheese. Also got a cold brew coffee, both to go. I think it came to ~$ 7 bucks.
All I can say is… YUMMMM! The bagel was SO tasty, with just the right amount of cream cheese. My only complaint is the size. I probably could have easily housed two of these, but my waist thanks me that I didn’t know this in advance and didn’t realize until I was a 15 minute walk away.
So glad I finally took the walk over and checked this place out. I might become a regular!

Good bagels, but expensive, son!
I got the #3– Tobiko Cream Cheese, Smoked Salmon, & Butter Lettuce. When I added avocado, it came out to be $ 16+! AIYAH!
It sure was tasty though. The tobiko cream cheese was delicious. Combined with the savory lox + creamy avocado + party-​in-​my-​mouth flavor of an everything bagel = match made in heaven! YOM.
So, think of Black Seed as one of those trendy, high end bagel shops. I asked my NYC friends for bagel recs, and many say Ess-​A-​Bagel (
). Next time I’ll go there for more affordable, classic bagels. I’m glad I tried Black Seed though, and I will continue my food hunt for delicious NYC bagels.

Lovely Montréal style bagels boiled in honey water insteada just malted water, as learnt from my bagel/​restaurant guru friend Richard E.
This technique of using a sweetener in the process, lends to a finished bagel that is sweeter and more delicious in the eyes and mouths of many. Well mainly the mouth.
The chew of this bagel is very good. As well as it’s resemblance to a flagel in that it is less doughy and more crusty. That’s wassup! This is a bonus in my opinion as flagels are usually more expensive than regular bagels.
Note the wood fired fragrance of your bagel’s crust. Just heavenly. This is a delicious bagel that has just been lazing in the sauna all morning and is extremely happy to see you!
Having a location near the BDFM6 is truly convenient yet the address is just tuff enuf to locate, creating minimal lines and therefore lessening the waiting game.
This info is purely for you, bagel Unilocalers as I live 2 blocks away so the impediment of travel time strategizing doesn’t apply to me in this case as I wish this held true with D’Fara’s Pizza also. Oh well, I guess one carb heaven spot is still a win. Well 2. if I count the newcomer pizzeria Margherita’s on Grande st.
Happy bageling!!!