The Bagel Shack

Best bagel sandwiches ever! Brock, the owner, is awesome and always says hello. The bagels are fresh everyday and better than any I’ve had anywhere else (including NYC). The breakfast choices are great and always hit the spot after a morning surf session at T-​street, San-​O, Riviera or Lowers.

Beautiful view and delicious bagels! Traveling through from out of state and the Bagel Shack made for a perfect pit stop!

I never write reviews for places, mainly because I’m too lazy, but this place is amazing! we were helped by one of the workers to find a parking spot in back and then when we went inside, it was very busy. I walked over to the bagels and the cinnamon crunch bagel basket was empty and that was what I came for! less than 3 minutes of waiting, they brought out a full basket of hot cinnamon crunch bagels. I got one and a regular cream cheese and it was to die for. the bagel was hot and soft and the cream cheese was extra sweet and melted on my bagel. best bagel place I’ve been to and will be coming here often!

While at Patriots’ Motel, staff advised street parking due to a full lot. We walked next door to Bagel Shack (BS) and saw a note on our car: «Please don’t park in front of BS.» No one owns street parking. The motel brings business to BS through meal vouchers included with every suite. The least they can do is politely share the already public parking. We still ate, as planned. If you don’t mind a side of discourtesy with your bagel, you’ll enjoy this place.

Day old bagels for the win! Grab a bag whenever we grab ourselves breakfast, and toast them ourselves at home for days. Value, and tastes good. Their food to order is always good, service too! Parking sucks but on a busy day I’ve seen one of the gentleman who work there (perhaps the owner?) direct traffic in and out of the tight spots. He makes up for it so a full 5 stars.

The bagels I bought recently were very disappointing. For some reason, one of the bagels looked and tasted like it was fresh — soft and airy. The others were dense and hard — like the ones you buy a a grocery store. If you were to compare the one good one and the others you’d never guess they were from the same place. It was just odd, and disappointing.

The T Street bagel was awesome! They also have sandwiches, soups and salads. They also sell day old bags of bagels for a great discounted price.

Absolutely wonderful, loved every bite! Cannot wait to go again tomorrow morning. I recommend the Malibu on an Everything bagel. Yum!

I have been to The Bagel Shack countless times since my first review, and the service and quality has sadly declined over time. If there are a lot of people inside, it is always kind of confusing because you have people coming in the back door from the parking lot behind the building, more people coming in the front door, and a handful of people browsing the bagel selection near the registers.
Some of the flavor combos seem a bit off. My husband ordered the San-​O (cream cheese/​tomato/​lemon pepper + he added avocado), and he couldn’t get past how overpowering the lemon pepper was — the flavors just didn’t seem to «go». It may be just a personal preference or a heavy-​handed assembly line, but we definitely wouldn’t get it again.
I always get some kind of a breakfast bagel which tastes just like my rating says — A-​OK. Nothing spectacular or unique, and just as good as I could get anywhere else. We will probably visit again on our way through San Clemente, however I plan to steer clear of their creations and instead stick to the OG BFF’s, a good ol’ bagel and cream cheese.

Great Bagels. My favorite is the jalapeño cheddar! We live in Sacramento and every time we come down to visit family we have these bagels everyday!

We happened upon this place while stopping for gas at the gas station next door. Our friends spotted it while waiting for us, decided to go in and we joined cause… duh, bagels.
The only parking we saw was on the street directly in front of the place. Service was friendly and fast even though the place was hoppin’ and it was a Sunday morning. I ordered an egg and cheese asiago bagel and my hubs got an everything bagel with cream cheese.
I’m usually not picky about bagels at all but the bagels were just okay. They were really doughy and lacked that satisfying chewy/​crunchiness. Maybe it was just a one-​off but I wasn’t impressed at all. The eggs tasted a bit overcooked as well. To be fair, our point of comparison was bagels from a Jewish bagel shop on Long Island that we absolutely love. Nothing beats those. No.thing. We’ve also had bagels outside of NY that have been way better than the ones we had here. My husband said his everything bagel was just okay, also doughy and tasted like it had Italian seasoning on it. Everything is usually my go-​to but it didn’t look like an everything bagel at all so I opted for something else.
I’m all about ‘don’t knock it till you try it’ so if you’re curious, go for it! I’ve just had way better bagels in my day. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I’ve been here a few times and I usually get a breakfast bagel and they’re always very good. It’s usually pretty busy which is a great sign. They have a great selection of bagels along with smoothie options and coffee/​tea drinks. I’ll continue to make stops here!

I came here on a Sunday morning while visiting San Clemente from Sacramento. I became vegan recently, so this review is meant for other vegans.
The bagel selection here is large and has some creative options. I decided to get a strawberry bagel with peanut butter and jelly and enjoyed what I got. This is the kind of place that you order at the counter and wait for them to call your name to pick up. I felt like they were properly staffed for a place that was bustling and that I never had to wait long. They had limited indoor seating and some nice communal tables on the patio out front as well. There is also parking available behind the store, but it gets busy.
I liked what I ordered, but I don’t feel like it was special enough to go out of my way to go back especially as someone who was visiting from out of town.
This is a good place to go if you need to get something quick to eat for breakfast, but it won’t be the most memorable part of your trip if you are visiting from out of town.

Went on a client meeting in lovely San Clemente and was craving a bagel sandwich. Unilocal guided me to this awesome bagel store.
The friendly stuff was an added bonus to the amazing food! The bagel was prepared with fresh ingredients, which you could taste! In a market that can be over saturated Bagel Shack stands out. One of the best bagel shops in all of Southern California! Will definitely return soon!

Pretty damn good bagels!
The inside is chewy soft and delicious, the outside has a harder shell, but still chewy and perfect. The bagel sandwiches are really good too, I think I had «the surfer» or something.
On busy days parking can be a complete pain, busy days being the weekend, there is a small parking lot behind the place, which should be labeled for compacts only… Because its a tight space to back out of for bigger vehicle. Also seating can get hard to get, might as well take it to go.

I’m so bummed to knock them back to a 4 rating. But they are slacking!
So I’ve been in the last two Sundays in a row and both times they have not added the cream cheese I paid for and our orders were left up on the counter without our names being called loud enough to hear them. It’s crazy busy, I get it, but change your system or I’ll change mine.
LOCATION & AMBIANCE (Rating 5) Their location is a shack. Well done! Parking can be tricky at times but this is San Clemente so get over it. There’s a nice outdoor patio and a little bit of space inside as well. The atmosphere is definitely beachy.
SERVICE (Rating 2) Finding my order incorrect once is a mistake, but twice (in a row) is a problem with your internal systems I’d say. And there’s no room inside to stand and listen for your name called on weekends. Why not make sure your customers get their food while it’s still hot.
LOWERS (Rating 5) This is by far my favorite bagel sandwich. (Eggs, American cheese, add ham and cream cheese on an everything bagel. It’s got everything needed for a happy tummy, trust me!

Nice little bagel spot in San Clemente. Small parking lot in the back. A few tables to sit at indoors and outdoors. Excellent and quick service.
We tried their Old Mans breakfast sandwich — your choice of bagel (we got cheese), cream cheese spread, topped with lots of sliced avocado, and lemon pepper sprinkled all over. The bagel was fresh and soft. The lemon pepper definitely made this sandwich. Might be too lemon-​peppery for some people, but it was good for us! Great combination. And then you lick your lips and taste more of that lemon-​peppery goodness. Yum!
We will be coming back to try more off their menu. Looks like they have lots to offer… all kinds of bagels with a variety of spreads, breakfast bagels, lunch bagels, soups, salads, smoothies, coffee…

A coworker organized a tour of our soon to be decommissioned nucelar power plant and suggested we stop by Bagel Shack for bagels if we arrived early. Since it only took us a little over an hour to make the trek down to San Clemente, no better way to kill some time than to swing by to this place out.
Arrived and scored a parking spot in their small lot and walked in. Unlike most bagel shops in LA or in NY, patrons select and bag their own bagels in plastic bags. A no frills type of shop that serves up some pretty tasty bagels. Just simply pick out your assortment and head to the register. I only sampled their jalapeño cheese which I requested them to toast and it was awesome!
If only they were closer to Pasadena, I’d swing by more often. A definite must try if in the area.

Best place to stop at on the way to work in the morning, especially during these long commutes! Fresh bagels, soft, almost lightly toasted, add some cream cheese and it’s beautiful.
Service is quick, don’t need to wait too long. And if you buy a box of bagels they give you a box so you can pick and choose among the 12+ varieties they have. My favorite is the blueberry!
There is parking in the back but there isn’t many spaces. .luckily most people are in and out in 10 minutes or less, but there are seats inside of you’d rather relax there.

Absolutely delicious.
Food: Yum. Each of the bagels have fun names that correspond to surfing spots nearby, and every one I’ve tried so far has been absolutely delicious. Lowers, Cottons, Baja… all of them have been great. They’ve also got fruit cups, fresh squeezed OJ, other sandwhiches. lots of options to make everybody happy.
Service: The staff is friendly, and their service is as prompt as can be with the long lines they can get. Other than that, though, there isn’t too much interaction.
Atmosphere: Parking can be difficult, but there is typically a spot on the street if the lot fills up. This place continues the beach town feel — very laid back, lots of flip flops & tank tops, & smiles all around. I always leave a little happier than when I arrived.
Definitely recommend!