The best bagels in Los Angeles

This always-busy Virgil Village bagel shop slings wild-yeasted, Montreal-style bagels with flavor, texture and presentation noteworthy enough to grab the East Coast's attention via the New York Times. In our humble opinion, the bagels are worth waking up early in the morning for, especially for anyone who considers themselves a true bagel aficionado. Slightly burnt, slightly chewy and barely sweet, they’re crispier and thinner than your standard New York style—all the better to throw on farmers’ market veggies like heirloom tomatoes and sustainably farmed lox. Just be warned that the wait can get gnarly later in the mornings, especially on the weekends.

With all the anticipation of a Fairfax Avenue sneaker drop, sleepy patrons line up outside this Highland Park bagel operation early on weekend mornings, hoping to score one of the shop’s signature, double-fermented bagels, which are smaller and denser than what most bagel lovers might be used to. Coming in standard flavors like everything, onion and plain, Belle’s also offers a unique cacio e pepe bagel dusted in pecorino cheese and pepper. With high-quality cream cheese in beet, scallion, lox and vegan cashew varieties, plus delicious, hefty bagel sandwiches with must-try spicy tomato jam, it’s no wonder people line up at Belle’s most days of the week. (Planners can skip the line and place an order online the day before.)

Located in Santa Monica’s Ocean Park neighborhood, this small storefront is helping meet the city’s overflowing demand for Montreal-style bagels. Though lines are, for now, nowhere as long as the more eastward Courage Bagels, those hoping for a taste of Layla’s delicious open-face creations should arrive early and anticipate at least a half-hour wait to order. Once at the counter, you’ll find a mix of savory and sweet options like the must-order Pre-Jam (seasonal fruit, cream cheese and honey), plus coffee and a small “not bagels” section that includes muffins, challah bread and overnight oats.

L.A.’s homegrown bagel mini-chain has been making some of the best in the business since 1958. With 11 locations (mostly in the San Fernando Valley, except for an outpost within West L.A.’s Colony ghost kitchen), the family-owned Western Bagel is often cited as an essential piece of L.A. food culture. The bagels are soft and light, and, when served with a heaping helping of cream cheese, are almost in danger of folding over, even when toasted. Extremely L.A. bagel options, including low-carb and sprouted wheat options, complement a decidedly less health-conscious lunch menu, including a full line of Boar’s Head cold cuts and in-store roasted and thick sliced turkey breasts.

For anyone craving fish for breakfast, the crackly, naturally leavened sourdough bagels at this weekend-only brunch pop-up (Fri 8am–2pm; Sat, Sun 7am–2pm) at Vintage Wines + Eats in Studio City are simply divine. Each thoughtfully constructed open-faced bagel—available by the half or whole—comes topped with your choice of cream cheese and high-quality seafood, including a standout tuna poke, a straightforward whitefish salad and, of course, smoked salmon. A few non-fish options including avocado and heirloom tomato, plus a bacon, egg and cheese combo made with Nueske bacon and Zab’s hot sauce. If you’re in the mood for something simpler, you can also order loose bagels with schmear. That being said, wine pairings and the family-style “Smögen Tower” with all the accoutrements make this erstwhile casual dining experience feel special enough for a spendy brunch, but we’d recommending visiting Smögen any time you’re in the Valley over the weekend and craving a light, crispy nontraditional bagel.

Family owned since 1987, Bagel Broker is the real deal, with consistent, affordable bagels—a dozen (which here means 14) bagels for $18—that have made this Beverly Boulevard bagel shop a breakfast mainstay among Angelenos for decades. (More recently, Bagel Broker also opened up a Downtown location.) The tiny strip mall spot often draws lines as soon as doors open at 6am for its freshly boiled bagels, which are made on site. The bagels maintain their airy interiors and chewy crusts even after toasting. Bagel Broker also offers a ton of flavors, including jalapeño cheddar and cheese onion, plus containers of spread and schmears to take home and enjoy.

One of L.A.’s most beloved bagel pop-ups now operates out of a tiny Silver Lake storefront, where Maury’s serves its pliable, chewy boiled treats with plenty of cured fish options. The shop is about as old-school charming as it gets: There are metal baskets of piles upon piles of the chewy, yeasty bagels, while black-and-white signs display the daily selection of house-made schmears and bagel sandwiches. They’ll toast a bagel, if you insist, but a little frowny sign hints that owner Jason Kaplan isn’t thrilled about the request. What the sign doesn’t tell you is that toasting a bagel removes some of its moisture and chew—and the chewiness of a Maury’s bagel is unparalleled, so don’t mess with a good thing. Toppings can skew familiar (whitefish salad) to rare-in-L.A. (there’s kippered salmon, in addition to lox). If you’re really feeling ritzy, add roe to any bagel.

Lauded for its smoked fish, homemade pickles and pastrami sandwich, is it any surprise that Micah Wexler’s new-school deli makes a great bagel as well? Stop into the original stall inside Downtown’s Grand Central Market or the larger outpost in Santa Monica for bagels that are soft and pillowy on the inside and just the right amount of crispy on the outside. Pile your open-faced sandwich high with avocado, cucumber, chili flakes and a twist of lemon (the Elaine) or spring for the pastrami lox or creamy smoked sturgeon. Bagels here come in just three flavors—plain, everything and sesame—but the excellent toppings more than compensate for the lack of variety.

Unlike most West Coast bagel shops, which highlight connections to New York City, Manhattan Bread & Bagel is proudly named because it was founded in Manhattan Beach, and the bagels—along with the entire bakery—have a distinctly Southern California vibe. A popular breakfast and lunch spot, Manhattan Bread & Bagel is a full-service bakery, its counter filled with crusty loaves of bread and flaky pastries alongside stacks of bagel baskets. The bagels themselves are dense and heavy, with a lighter crust that stays chewy even when toasted. There are a wide variety of styles and flavors of bagels on offer here, with rotating specials popping in and out according to the season.

This beloved stalwart, Sam’s Bagels, is a full service bagel-maker with outposts in Larchmont, Santa Monica, West Hollywood and Pico-Robertson. The Larchmont location's larger dining area translates into the ideal weekend hangout for locals, who order their bagels “for here” so they can read the news, schmooze or people-watch through the large window looking out onto the boulevard. The bagels themselves have a really crispy exterior with a dry, almost crumbly interior. Sam’s has an extensive selection of bagel styles and cream cheeses, including sweet bagels like cranberry apple and peanut butter chocolate chip.