The Bagel Deli

The Bagel Deli closed!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! What a bummer. This leaves a sad bagel void on The Hill since Eltana is very different and more expensive and Einstein is a chain of inferior quality. I’m also pretty sure this means you can’t find an egg bagel in the entire city now.

I was expecting higher quality bagels considering they were voted best bagel in Seattle Weekly. It was just ok. They would’ve had three stars, but they screwed up my order. When I called ahead and put in an order to be picked up at a later date, the girl DID NOT tell me that I would just be picking up the cream cheese in the case and it would not be «reserved». So, when my man picked it up, two of the special cream cheeses I was wanting was sold out (they offered one cheese for free, but it doesn’t matter since I didn’t want the lame leftover cheese they were offering). Also, they got the bagel order wrong and this wasn’t apparent until it was brought home. How can you get a dozen bagels wrong when you have an order sheet right in front of you?
Two lessons learned — 1) Don’t send your man to get the bagels and expect him to quality assure that they got the order right. 2) Don’t order from The Bagel Deli again.

The sun-​dried tomato cream cheese is wonderful! A bit pricey but worth the splurge!

Best bagels I’ve found in Seattle — almost as good as NYC bagels. Chewy on the outside, dense but soft inside.
I normally buy a dozen and immediately freeze anything I’m not eating that morning. I’ve found months-​old ones at the bottom of my freezer, set on the counter for 30 mins and then toasted up and you’d think I bought it today.
Flavored cream cheeses — particularly veggie and lox — very good if a little pricey.

I stopped by The Bagel Deli for an order of 12 assorted bagels for ~$ 10 and they probably threw in about 15 – 16 of them in a bag for just because they were that nice :). This place definitely has a good selection that should satisfy anyone’s preference for bagels.
Their bagels are delicious and there are many many flavors (15+?) to try. Given that the bagels should be eaten fresh as they do go hard quite fast overnight, I recommend finishing what you buy within a day or two. Else, they get so hard like stones that you will probably end up having to throw them out (if you still want them, you can steam them with water. but they just won’t taste as good anymore).

This place is an institution on 15^th. I’ve been coming here since the very early 90’s. The bagels are as close to NY bagels as I have found in Seattle. They’re consistent and always tasty. My favorite is the «Zen» and my only complaint is that they could use a bit more of the stuff on them… more seeds, more onion, more garlic, etc. I’ve never tried the coffee and since I live in the neighborhood, I almost always get it to go. If you want local, tasty, well made bagels… this is your spot. Also nice is that they’re human sized as opposed to some of the volleyball sized bagels you’ll get at other locations.

This is a great, cheap place.
Let’s put the bagel argument aside for a moment — before H&H closed, they had grown the bagel to the size of a softball, so all comparisons are off!
They don’t do anything fancy. They will fry an egg or put sliced meat or spreads on your bagel, they will pour you perfectly okay coffee, and they will let you sit and look out of the window from a large skylit room where you can have a meeting, pass the time while waiting for someone at Group Health, pull out the laptop, and call it good.
It is not a beautiful place. King County Health shows they have a problem using thermometers and providing hand washing facilities. They probably don’t touch the bagels or the inside of your coffee cup, so you’re probably going to be just fine.

I came here for a Denver Bagel on Honey Wheat. It came with eggs, ham, green pepper, onions, and a slice of tomato. I’ll admit that it hit the spot since I was hungry, but ended up being just a pretty average sandwich. While the bagel itself was good (toasted with a soft interior), I think the egg was just nuked in the microwave and they skimped a little on the ham.
They do have half-​off bagels after 4pm, though, which is worth it if you’re a big bagel eater!

I had a lot of high hopes for this bagel shop because I read that their bagels tasted like NY style bagels — chewy and fluffy. I ventured here with some friends. I tried the egg poppy bagel with garlic cream cheese.
The bagel was very meh. The size is about the size that I expect a bagel to be, but I thought the bagel itself was a tad bit dry. The cream cheese spread was okay though. I also wish they had egg bagels alone (not egg poppy) since I think that might taste better.
They have caffe d’arte espresso here. One thing of note is that the short size, which is usually an 8oz at most places, was actually a 12 oz here. So, you get more for your money in that regards. I had a vanilla latte. It was okay — I could taste the espresso but it was still a little bland.
I am not sure if I will go out of my way to come back here.
There is also a $ 5 minimum on credit cards.

I heard The Bagel Deli offers breakfast sandwiches. So, I went in there for an egg & cheese sandwich. I saw they offered a ham, egg & cheese for $ 6.00. Being a bagel shop, they only had bagels and sliced bread. Okay. I asked if they any other types of bread and they had sliced bread. I went ahead and ordered my sandwich.
What they gave me was 1 egg on 1 slice of bread! Last time I checked, a sandwich had two slices of bread. Especially for $ 6.00 with no meat included.
I went back and said «I’m not sure if noticed but is there a reason this is this half a sandwich?» The response was «You have your egg. It was a ham and egg sandwich. With a free coffee» I said «Umm, yeah. I don’t care about the coffee. I care about my sandwich and it’s a half a sandwich. Why?»
The cook stood there and tried to tell me that it was because sliced bread was more expensive than a bagel!!! IN WHAT WORLD?
When I’m at the supermarket, it’s $ 3.99 for 6 bagels. A loaf of bread with about 20 slices is the same. How is it that sliced bread is more expensive?
One egg and One slice of bread for $ 6.00? No way! Well… Perhaps if it’s made properly, I would. Yet, it wasn’t even to taste! And where in the hell did my cheese go?
Absolutely not.
This is the first and last time they see any of my green —

Disappointed in the coffee. I had a soy latte and it is terrible! Watery, burnt, and way too hot.
The bagel was pretty good so plus 1 star but I wish I had gone to Starbucks instead for the coffee. (I don’t wish that often)

Does anyone else feel odd about the «Kosher» bagels being served up with the option of adding ham, and your order is taken by Dieter from Sprockets? I felt like I was in a strange dream while waiting to order.
In my search for the great Jewish community meeting places, this place doesn’t really represent. But, the bagels are great and they offer order service for fresh made challah. The lox is delicious. Look, you’re not going to get a great East Coast deli experience in the Pacific Northwest. Trust me, I’ve been looking. (And if you find one, please tell me!) But The Bagel Deli makes a damn fine breakfast sandwich, the coffee is really tasty, and the location is super convenient.

Since moving to Seattle several years ago, I haven’t been able to find good bagels easily. Maybe I’ve been spoiled, because I used to live behind a fantastic NY style bagel shop at my old home in Detroit, but most places here make something comparable to frozen bagels in the grocery store: not good.
Fast forward to a few weeks ago when I moved to Capitol Hill, I was ecstatic to find this place and try my first bagel. Boiled, then baked– they’re chewy and dense like a good bagel should be. Perhaps many people here are used to the way other shops do it, but this is a good example of a traditional NY bagel. There’s plenty of choice in terms of styles of bagel, there’s a good assortment of cream cheeses. I haven’t tried their sandwiches, but also I don’t usually order sandwiches on bagels anyway– they’re too thick and chewy to make an easily eatable sandwich, in my opinion.
The prices for a bagel & schmear are about the same as other establishments in this pricey city, so I’m not quite sure what everyone else is going on and on about. The coffee is the only sticking point, it was not good. Perhaps the espresso drinks are fine, or maybe I got a randomly bad batch of drip coffee– but I’d say it’s worthwhile to get your bagel here and grab a cup of coffee elsewhere.

This is a middle of the road, small business with friendly staff. I respect that, I really do.
That being said, the food is just OK. Not great, but not bad either. It’s like the Ford Taurus of deli shops… it will work and get you what you need, but you will never call your friends to tell them how totally amazing your Ford Taurus is.
By the way, if any readers out there drive a Taurus and was upset by what I wrote. I really did not mean to offend, but, really, give me a break. It’s a Taurus.

The bagels themselves are pretty lame. Not that big, kinda chewy.
Way to expensive for what you get. Most of the sandwiches are $ 6.50, and some are more. Since I was going to have to spend at least that amount for a sandwich, I went for it and got the $ 8.25 Lox supreme. It was tasty, but only about $ 4.00 tasty.
This will be my last visit to The Bagel Deli.

Skimpy on the lox. For 8.50 $ I’d definitely expect a more generous portion. Also, they normally serve it close-​face so that you don’t see how much they’re ripping you off. I asked for my sandwich open faced and was revealed the truth.
What’s stranger is that for a dollar less you can get lox, tomato, onion and egg on your bagel. The bagels are soft and doughy like grocery store bagels and lack a wood oven taste. I’m with Stephanie: I’m not a montrealer or new yorker, but these bagels are lame.

I’m glad places like this still exist. I used to go here with my dad early in the morning back when I was a kid and I LOVED it. We unfortunately don’t frequent it nearly as much as we used to but I’m happy to see it is still going strong. They make some pretty killer bagel sandwiches and of course make sure to take a dozen home. They have some great smears as well… clearly made in house.

Its the kind of spot that replaces your haul over to the Safeway or QFC. But really, is it worth it?
Most of the bagel combos can be easily made at home and likely at a cheaper cost.
I do give them fair credit for toasting the bagels and the sandwich combos. Take from me toasting a bagel brings into a how new level of texture goodness!
Seating is aplenty. I’d only hop over here when Coastal Kitchen is full.

A delightful local deli, the sandwiches (breakfast and otherwise) are fine, however the place really shines with its bagels and homemade cream cheeses. Big fan of the zen (with everything) bagels, jalapeño bagels, and the salmon cream cheese, doused with hot sauce. The coffee is ok, but if you’re a coffee snob, you can always walk next door on 15^th and get higher-​end product.
The Bagel Deli does the job, and it does it very well for weekend, relaxing, shambling-​walk burn off the hangover munches.

Coming from the east coast and being Jewish I know my bagels. This place has one of the better selection and variety of bagels in Seattle, and they’re cooked right. I’ve never had anything here (unlike some of the reviewers) that’s been less than what I expected food-​wise, and the prices are very reasonable. If all you’re looking for is the occasional bagel sandwich, or a dozen bagels for your breakfast, you could do a lot worse (for heaven’s sake don’t buy any bagels from the grocery store or Costco).
That said, there’s not much else special about Bagel Deli.
Lots of seating, but it’s all so depressingly bland. Feels like a strip mall plunked down onto 15^th. Some of the staff are friendly, but many are indifferent. I suppose I shouldn’t expect much else, but I have so many choices, I just don’t see Bagel Deli rising to the top of the list.