Top 5 Best Bagel Places in Greenwich Village (2026 Guide)

As a food tour guide in NYC, one of the questions I get asked most often is, “Where’s the best bagel place?” and it’s not the easiest question to answer. New York has no shortage of great bagels, and usually my answer is, “well it depends on what neighborhood you’re in.” One neighborhood that I know has great bagels is Greenwich Village. I spend a lot of time there running Greenwich Village food tours and, as you can imagine, I eat a lot of bagels along the way. Greenwich Village is home to some of the best bagels in NYC, with several excellent spots within walking distance of each other. So, after years of trying the local spots, I’ve put together my list of the 5 best bagel places in Greenwich Village.

What makes a great New York bagel?

Chewy On The Inside

A good New York bagel needs a bit of density and a proper chew. It should make your jaw work a little. If it’s too light and airy, it just feels like bread, and that’s not what I’m after. On the flip side, if it’s so dense it feels like eating a brick, that’s not right either. That signature chewiness comes from the bagels being boiled before they’re baked, which gives them the dense, chewy inside that New York bagels are known for.

Crispy On The Outside

The outside needs a thin, crispy crust. Not hard, but just enough crispness to give way when you bite into it. There’s actually a thing here in NYC called the bagel knock test. If the bagel is fresh, you should be able to pick it up and knock on it with your knuckles, like you’re knocking on a front door, and it’ll sound slightly hollow. That’s a good sign the exterior has set properly while the inside stays dense and chewy.

Freshness Of The Bagel

Freshness is non-negotiable. Every good bagel place is making small batches, selling them, and immediately making more. It’s like a revolving door of bagels and customers. If a bagel has been sitting around for a few hours, it’s no good. The best bagels are less than 30 minutes out of the oven. That’s when you still get the crisp exterior and that perfect chewy inside.

Consistency Of The Bagel

The best bagel places are consistently good, not just great once, or only good when a particular person is working. Whether you visit on a quiet Tuesday afternoon or a busy Saturday morning, it needs to be the same every single time. Same texture, same chew, same quality.

Gotta Respect The Schmear

There’s a saying in New York that you “gotta respect the schmear.” It means they need to be generous with the cream cheese and lay it on thick. In most other places, they go pretty light, but in NYC, it’s a proper layer, sometimes 4 to 5 oz of cream cheese on a single bagel. That’s the standard. If they’re skimping on the schmear, forget about it.

Bagel Bob's

Bagel Bob’s is a bit of an institution in Greenwich Village. It’s popular with locals, tourists, NYU students, celebrities, and everyone in between. They’ve been around for over 20 years, and there’s a reason they’ve stood the test of time. It’s my all-time favorite bagel place in Greenwich Village, and honestly, maybe even in all of NYC. I’ll admit, I might be slightly biased since it’s one of the stops on our Greenwich Village Food Tour, but bias aside, they make consistently great, authentic New York bagels. Is it the fanciest bagel shop in NYC? No. Is it blowing up all over TikTok? Absolutely not. But if you care about proper New York bagels, this place delivers every single time.

My Go-To Order

Everything bagel with Nova Scotia salmon, scallion cream cheese, capers, and red onion. It’s simple, classic, and exactly what a New York bagel should be. They also make great sandwiches. Occasionally, I’ll get an everything bagel with turkey, lettuce, tomato, mayo, and cheese, basically a turkey club on a bagel, minus the bacon. The everything bagel holds up perfectly and makes it far more satisfying than a regular sandwich.

Know Before You Go

• This is a small, no-frills spot, and they don’t have a grill, so if you’re looking for a bacon, egg, and cheese, this isn’t the place to go.
• If you’re an NYU student, they also offer 10% discount.
• If you're on the Upper East Side, they also have another location on York Avenue.

Address: 51 University Pl, New York, NY 10003

Website: Bagel Bob's

Murray’s Bagels

Murray’s Bagels sits right on the edge of Greenwich Village, and it’s definitely one of the more well-known bagel spots in the neighborhood. They’ve been in the same location since the mid-1990s and have built a bit of a cult following amongst locals, and you’ll often see a line out the door on weekends.

Similar to Bagel Bob’s, it’s not a huge space. There’s some indoor seating, but it’s pretty tight, and it fills up quickly, especially on Saturday and Sunday mornings. With that said, the line moves fast, and it’s worth the wait.

My Go-To Order

One of my favorite things to order here is their pastrami omelette on a sesame bagel. Honestly, it’s not something I’d usually order from a bagel shop. I normally reserve pastrami exclusively for Katz’s Delicatessen, but Murray’s does a really solid pastrami. It’s kind of like a classic bacon, egg, and cheese, but instead you substitute the pastrami for the bacon. It’s a great alternative if you don’t eat pork or just want to try something different.



They also do all the classics well, with a large range of homemade cream cheese flavors and other traditional options. What I like most is that their bagels have that proper chew, and they’re very generous with the cream cheese. They definitely respect the schmear.

Address:  500 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10011
Website:  Murray's Bagels

Bagel Pub

Bagel Pub is a newer kid on the block, having opened in 2012, but they’ve steadily built a loyal following in the Village. One of the first things you’ll notice is that they have way more indoor and outdoor seating than most bagel spots, which makes it a great place if you actually want to sit down and enjoy your bagel.

They have a huge selection of cream cheeses, probably close to 40 different flavors, along with a great range of deli meats and house-made salads. The bagels themselves are noticeably bigger than what you’ll get at most other spots. They’re thick, hefty, and very filling.

My Go-To Order

My personal favorite here is their cinnamon raisin bagel with berry cream cheese. It’s definitely on the sweeter side, but it’s a great option if you’re not in the mood for something savory.

Address: 287 8th Ave, New York, NY 10001

Website: Bagel Pub

Brooklyn Bagel & Coffee Company

Brooklyn Bagel & Coffee Company is another popular Greenwich Village bagel spot, especially among hungover NYU students lining up for a bagel and coffee to bring themselves back to life.

One of the coolest things about this place is that they make the bagels out in the open, so you can watch them being boiled and baked fresh right in front of you.

They also offer gluten-free bagels, which is rare, and they do a great job with them. I’ve tried them myself, and while they’re not quite as good as regular bagels, they’re still very solid.

My Go-To Order

My all-time favorite is the everything bagel with bacon, egg, cheese, salt, pepper, and ketchup. If you decide to order this bagel, the correct way to say it is “lemmegetabaconeggncheese”, that's one word by the way!

Address: 63 E 8th St, New York, NY 10003

Website: Brooklyn Bagel & Coffee Company

PopUp Bagels

PopUp Bagels is the newest spot on this list, but it might also be the most popular. Every single bagel is served hot and fresh straight out of the oven. Their whole concept revolves around making small batches, usually 50 to 100 bagels at a time, and selling them immediately before starting the next batch. Because of this, it’s easily one of the freshest bagels you can get your hands on in Greenwich Village.

What also makes PopUp Bagels stand out is their rotating weekly cream cheese flavor. One week it might be a Shirley Temple cream cheese, the next it could be a smoked peach schmear. They come up with some genuinely unusual flavors, and once the week is over, that flavor is gone. Of course, they still offer the classics like plain and scallion cream cheese if you want to keep things simple.

My Go-To Order

I’m a big fan of their everything bagel with scallion cream cheese, but if I’m in the mood for something different, I’ll order a plain bagel with whatever their weekly cream cheese special happens to be.

Know Before You Go

They don’t make sandwiches, and they won’t toast your bagel. The bagels are served whole and uncut, with the cream cheese on the side. The idea is to rip the bagel apart and dip it, which sounds a little unconventional, but it actually works really well.

Address: 177 Thompson St, New York, NY 10012

Website: PopUp Bagels

Final Thoughts

Bagels aren’t all made the same, and in Greenwich Village alone, you’ve got plenty of great options to choose from. Whether you prefer an old-school bagel from Bagel Bob’s, a hot and fresh bagel from PopUp Bagels, or a classic bagel sandwich from Murray’s, each place offers something a little different.

Everyone has their own personal preference when it comes to bagels. The best thing you can do is try a few different spots and find your go-to.

If you want to try one of these spots as part of a guided experience, Bagel Bob’s is one of the stops on our Greenwich Village Food Tour, along with several other great local food spots in the neighborhood.

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