Are bagels the new sandwiches? 10 of Sydney’s best for a hole in one
Cafes are swapping sourdough for hand-rolled, freshly baked bagels, each with their own multicultural twist. Here are 10 of the best to try in Sydney.
Bagels are becoming the bread of choice for sandwiches in Sydney, as cafe owners seek an alternative to the perennially popular sourdough.
New cafes Happy Alley (Rockdale), AnotherPlace (Potts Point) and Humm (Annandale) all launched bagel-forward menus over the past two months, each adding their own individual touch with a diverse range of spreads and fillings.
“We didn’t want to be another cafe with smashed avo on toast,” says Humm co-founder Sarah Christopher.
“As soon as we told the locals we’d be bringing in bagels, their eyes just lit up.”
And the popularity of bagels means stalwarts Brooklyn Boy Bagels and Lox in a Box have expanded to new locations.
“There’s growing awareness around bagels, their history and the diverse ways you can use them,” says Lox in a Box co-founder Candy Berger.
Berger prefers her bagels light and fluffy, like a “roll with a hole”. They come wrapped in white paper and cut down the middle to reveal layers of fresh ingredients like chicken katsu and colourful shredded slaw, or beef brisket pastrami with house-made sauerkraut.
Lox in a Box opened its fourth venue last week, in a converted trailer in Marrickville. In two weeks, they plan to launch a breakfast bagel menu with LP’s pigs head sausage, fluffy eggs and potato latkes.
Brooklyn Boy Bagels founder Michael Shafran says his wholesale business has recently grown to service over 150 suppliers across NSW, including Happy Alley, Humm and Barrel One Coffee Roasters.
“When I started making them 10 years ago it was a bit of an anti-trend. No one was doing it,” Shafran says.
“But as the American food trend continues to take hold – first with burgers, then diners, then fried chicken – we’re starting to see bagels become more popular.”
Shafran makes old-school, New York-style bagels, boiling and fermenting them to achieve a stretchy chew and unique, malted flavour.
“It involves a lot more labour, but it’s worth it for the deeper flavour and the nicer crust,” he says.
While Shafran is the first to bring New-York bagels to Sydney, they’ve long appeared in Jewish bakeries in the eastern suburbs. Wellington Cake Shop, which was established by Hungarian immigrant Lesley Brull in Bondi 1979, began as an Australian cake shop before evolving into continental specialities, like European-style bagels. Meanwhile, the late Mendel Glick opened Glick’s bakery in Balaclava, Victoria in 1960, before opening three Sydney outposts (one remains in Rose Bay, renamed as The Bagel Co. and run by Glick’s grandson, Baruch Kluwgant).
At the newly opened Brooklyn Boy Bagels cafe in Surry Hills, Shafran puts his characteristic American slant on the menu. A collaboration with nearby sandwich shop Lenny Briskets for the month of June has resulted in a French-dip-inspired bagel filled with tender roast beef and horseradish cream, served with a bowl of warm beef consomme.
The bagel takes on Middle Eastern flavours at Happy Alley, where owner Ali Barakat serves sesame bagels with spicy sujuk sausage and cheese, and zaatar bagels with fried halloumi, olives and tomato.
“Before us, you couldn’t get bagels like this in Rockdale,” says Barakat.
“I’ve been surprised at how successful it’s been.”
Jinny Choi took inspiration from her Korean roots for the cream cheese schmears at AnotherPlace, the cafe she co-founded with friend Reanne Bang.
“Whenever I’d travel back to Korea I’d notice all these different cream cheese flavours, and they were really popular, but you couldn’t find them in Sydney,” Choi says.
“So we decided to create cream cheese flavours of our own, like yuzu, espresso, blueberry and peanut butter.”
10 bagels to try in Sydney
Lox in a Box, various locations
For those who prefer fluffy bagels with lighter fillings, try the veggie bagel with whipped schmear, pickled jalapenos, beetroot, tomato, rocket, carrot and pickles. Keep an eye out for the upcoming brekkie menu with options like whipped Oomite schmear and avocado.
Brooklyn Boy Bagels, various locations
For authentic, New York-style bagels with classic cream cheese schmears alongside meatier options like the muffuletta, which is brimming with layers of mortadella, sopressata, capocollo and provolone.
Happy Alley, Rockdale
For traditionalboiled bagels with Middle Eastern-inspired fillings like spicy sujuk sausage, zaatar and halloumi. Try their house-made cookies afterwards, which come in flavours like red velvet and Nutella.
Humm, Annandale
For a brekkie of cheesy bacon and eggs on an everything bagel, with a fried egg cracked over the top. Pair it with Humm’s house-roasted specialty coffee for the classic coffee and bagel experience.
AnotherPlace, Potts Point
For cream cheese schmears in flavours like yuzu, espresso and blueberry, served on softer bagels from Marrickville’s Luxe Bakery. Order the sweet boy bagel for an Elvis-inspired combination of sliced banana, peanut butter cream cheese and maple syrup.
instagram.com/anotherplace_official
Best Bagel Co., Cremorne
For fun monthly specials developed by well-known Sydney chefs served on house-made bagels. This month Will Stewart (winner of My Kitchen Rules) has developed The Scotchish Egg, with a crumbed pork-mince pattie, boiled egg and tangy piccalilli (proceeds to be donated to R U OK?).
Small Talk, various locations
For Montreal-style hand-rolled bagels that are soaked in a lye water bath to create a pretzel-like crust. Their brekkie bagel is particularly good, with cheesy egg, jalapeno and tomato.
Good Fella, Bella Vista
For plant-based bagels, hand-rolled and baked fresh on site every morning. Try the pumpkin bagel with roasted, smashed pumpkin, walnut dukkah, feta and mint, or keep it simple with herb and caper cream cheese and sliced tomato.
Iggy’s Bread, Bronte
For sourdough bagels, proved for 20 hours, then steamed intermittently throughout the baking process. The result is lighter than boiled bagels while retaining a crunchy golden crust.
instagram.com/iggysbread_downunder
The Bagel Co., Rose Bay
For dense, chewy bagels made with a secret family recipe passed down over three generations. Simplicity is key here, with classic toppings like house-cured salmon and cream cheese.
