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    Hella Bagels

    4.3 (132 reviews)
    ModerateBagels
    Open 7:30 am - 1:30 pm

    Order Hella Bagels Takeout or Delivery

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    Yum Bacon Egg & Cheese bagel sandwich and fresh squeezed oj
    Glydia C.

    Easy parking, fresh squeezed orange juice was delicious. Liked that I made it before they closed, which is still kind of early. Was a pleasant place to pick up a really late lunch - the bacon, egg, bagel sandwich. It was kind of messy though.

    Smears were fun and they had smoked fish and lox too.
    Theresa R.

    Eager to bring bagels home for the family, I decided to branch out and try someplace new. This place is close to the El Cerrito hood, and had a fun menu of sandwiches with an array of bagel and smear options. It's conveniently just off of San Pablo and Marin, with plenty of street parking. The small shop had every table taken, at 11:00 on a Saturday morning, and a line - almost - out the door. I brought home a half a dozen sliced bagels, a green onion and horseradish smear, a chai iced tea and a "Bougie" bagel. As bagels go, these were the quintessential perfect, chewy and soft, fragrant bagels. The cream cheeses were delish and perfect for family to build their fav bagel meal. The Chai, was what will keep me coming back, however! It was perfectly sweetened, versus the sickening sweet of many shops, with a nice oat foam on the top. Don't forget the cinnamon sprinkle, which added the fragrant element. I had to wrestle my 20 yo for it when I got home. Now I'm left craving more.

    Menu
    Shivani B.

    There are my new favorite bagels - chewy, fresh, flavourful and perfectly toasted every time! Also usually sold out so go early! We discovered this place after a friend recommended it and we could not be more grateful! They have a great menu, kind staff and nice indoor and outdoor seating. They are located on a busy street but hidden away keeps it away from the busy road and has plenty of parking at the back as well. Note- They have a bathroom next door We tried their everything bagel, plain, garlic and sesame bagels- all 10/10. My go to order has become the egg and cheese sandwich 10/10 and sometimes I crave it as soon as I finish! The flavor is so good and the eggs and sauce are perfectly balanced together. You can either order custom bagel sandwiches by matching your ingredients or choose a sandwich from their menu. If you are not hungry just get a plain toasted bagel with butter- SO good! They have some drinks and coffee as well and I cannot recommend this place enough! Waiting for a punch card for bagels because I go there ALOT! :)

    Robert C.

    I was in the mood for lox and cream cheese and ordered a lox tycoon to go. I wanted to enjoy this with scrambled eggs at home. This is my first time here at Hella Bagels. The Classic Lox Sandwich. 3oz Nova Lox, Tomato, Red Onion, Lemon, Capers, & Dill. Served Open Faced or Closed Like a Sandwich. You can pay $2.00 more for this open faced variety for a little more ingredients. I thought the sandwich was fine. It was as expected. Nothing more nothing less. Service was good.

    Bacon Egg & Cheese
    Kelly L.

    Stopped by today on a Saturday to try Hella Bagels. I ordered the Bacon, egg & cheese on an everything bagel. It typically comes with scallion cream cheese but I decided to swap it for the jalapeño cilantro cream cheese. My bagel sandwich was so good! Bagel texture was good, eggs cooked perfectly, mixed with the bacon, melty cheese, jalapeno cream cheese and hot honey Can't wait to come back to try more bagels and different cream cheese flavors, they also have drinks (cold brew, chai, matcha) that all looked really good, can't wait to try those next time too!

    Mark A.

    I came in on a cold and quiet Friday morning to be warmly greeted by person behind the counter. Their menu is straightforward and has different sections for bagels, spreads, toppings and vegetarian and non-vegetarian pre-selected options. The space also has plenty of tables to sit in if you are looking to dine in. I went for a cold smoked salmon bagel and a hot smoked salmon salad bagel (that's a mouthful figuratively and literally). They offer both close faced and open faced bagels. The open faced at a slightly higher price due to the extra toppings. I opted for the open faced. Open faced bagels are all the rage right now and Hella Bagels flourishes at them. The bagels were chewy, well seasoned and the toppings were well balanced and fresh. There is also a small patio in the back with a parking lot to be enjoyed on nicer days. These were on par if not better than Boichik with zero line if you are looking for a quicker option. I will definitely be back!

    Cold Foam Chai Latte
    Austin W.

    I stopped by Hella Bagels on a Saturday morning around 10:00 a.m. and there wasn't much of a line to order. Although I normally opt for an everything bagel at bagel shops, Hella Bagel had a sign at the counter that said their daily special was a scallion flavored bagel, so I decided to give it a try. I opted for toasted, and paired the bagel with their horseradish dill cream cheese. Within a few minutes, my bagel was ready; they're definitely quick in the kitchen pumping out bagel orders. I loved the flavor of the charred scallion on the bagel, which gave a hint of bitterness. The outside of the toasted bagel was crispy while the inside remained soft and light. The cream cheese was definitely the highlight for me. I would come to Hella Bagel just to get a container of their flavored cream cheese to go. The cream cheese was incredibly fluffy and well-aerated. I loved the balance of dill and horseradish -- which I thought had the perfect kick to it. Both flavors are very much present, and complement each other well. I would not hesitate to get the same combination again. It's hard for me to declare a clear winner between Hella Bagels and Boichik Bagel, but if I had to choose one, I would say I slightly prefer the bagels at Hella Bagels more. On the side of logistics, seating is plentiful both indoors and outdoors on their patio. Additionally, for parking, they have a dedicated lot in the back so you don't have to fight for street parking along busy San Pablo. If you're in the area and are looking for a quick breakfast, definitely worth stopping by!

    6 here 5 in bag
    David L.

    This would be a five star review if a half dozen bagels included six bagels They go to three There doesn't seem to be any way to call them to deal with this so maybe they'll read this and give me an extra bagel

    Pups welcome OUTSIDE. Please don't be an entitled jerk.
    Lisa T.

    Second time I've been here and BOTH times, people had dogs inside. The staff really needs to keep an eye on this!

    Half of my city light bagel.  Sorry, but I sealed the other half whole before it dawned on me to take a picture!
    Howard B.

    Oh my, I had the pleasure of experiencing Hella Bagels today and it did not disappoint. Was it delicious? Yes, was the service great? Absolutely? Did the atmosphere pull us in? It sure did. Was it cool to watch them making the bagels while we ate? You'd better believe it! Was it expensive? A tad, but totally worth it. The city lights on an everything bagel was out-of-this-world delicious. The fresh and delicious ingredients really come together with this one. I can't wait to have another one next weekend.

    Gigi G.

    Omg. I have not stopped thinking about this bagel spot. My favorite bagel that I've ever had in my life! The boujie bagel was so life changing. I will forever recommend this place!

    Wifey 10/10
    Sarah T.

    TLDR might be the best Bay bagel and the location is enjoyable We tried the wifey on garlic. This was excellent flavor and pretty presentation At home we did a side by side compare of Hella vs Boichick vs Poppy. Hella won. Poppy 2 nd place. Hella has a crisp crust The inside has good chew. Boichick was more doughy Poppy is more chewy-- and the inside and crust of poppy are both chewy so it was a little harder to eat. Hella is smaller circumference than Boichick and about the same as poppy. but does anyone care about that? Parking! Tables inside and out! Friendly staff Had to ask them to clean table but they did Bathroom grade: C. It doesn't smell like pee but it is merely serviceable

    Christine L.

    If you're ever lost on what to do for your birthday, I have an AMAZING recommendation. It involves ordering a variety of Hella Bagels delivered to your home with a crap ton of schmears. Also recommend ordering their veggies, so you basically have to do NO PREP. We all had such a blast trying different bagel and schmear combinations. The delivery process was also super smooth and they were really friendly about the whole thing! Basically, if you haven't had a bagel party, I reaaally recommend it!

    Bacon Egg & Cheese

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    2 years ago

    Excellent and authentic bagels, bright and airy shop, definitely our favorite in the bay!

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    Review Highlights - Hella Bagels

    These were on par if not better than Boichik with zero line if you are looking for a quicker option.

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    Berkeley Bagels

    Berkeley Bagels

    3.8
    (291 reviews)
    0.5 mi
    $

    This is one of the very few proper bagel shops in the East Bay. It is not just a fancy sandwich…read moreshop on circular bread. Rather, it is part of an older generation of storefronts for specialized bakeries. Bagels are baked throughout the day and poured into bins, proudly located for the customer to view and choose. And it doesn't hurt that they make a respectable bagel. The bagels proclaim themselves as New York style, and they fall on the softer end of normal variation. We ordered poppy and onion bagels today. The dough in the poppy was malty and chewy, though it did not provide much structure. You can spread cream cheese over it and tear off pieces, but it won't support an open-faced sandwich. The crust was glossy and toothsome but not crisp. The onion bagel was similar in texture but notable because the bakers roll (rehydrated?) sautéed onion into the dough. The crumb is a bit softer as a result and the flavor is sweet and complex from the onion. It's definitely worth trying here. Berkeley Bagels has been around forever and feels like a real institution. It is not part of the SF bread scene, nor the new wave of modern sandwich-focused shops. It is a dependable, better-than-average bagel made by your neighbors. What's not to love?

    Unfortunately we were disappointed. I remember loving this place a few years ago, but I think the…read morequality may have dipped a bit :( We ordered a mocha, Thai tea, a bagel, and a kebab plate. The coffee and tea were WAY too sweet, it felt like we were drinking liquid sugar. The bagel was alright, but the slices of tomato and cucumber were very thick and it wasn't appetizing as they kept falling out and making the bagel mushy. The kebab plate had a melted salad dressing container in it, and the melted plastic got on some of the chicken, which made it inedible. I'm not sure if they were just having a bad day or if staff was overwhelmed, but overall it was a bad experience.

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    Berkeley Bagels 1281 Gilman St. Berkeley, CA! 
510-524-3104 We are open 7 days a week! 
Order in person, over the phone and online.
    Berkeley Bagels 1281 Gilman St. Berkeley, CA! 510-524-3104 We are open 7 days a week! Order in person, over the phone and online.
    Grilled chicken skewers with our house sauce and marinates.
    Grilled chicken skewers with our house sauce and marinates.
    Berkeley Bagels

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    Boichik Bagels

    Boichik Bagels

    4.1
    (807 reviews)
    3.4 mi
    $$

    Boichik Bagels makes a darn good bagel. I don't think it's perfect. I'm not sure if it's even the…read more best one in the area. Poppy's is nearby and I haven't yet endured the line there. The lines here aren't as bad as they used to be so I was able to drop in around 10 AM on a Friday morning with no wait. Today I had a sesame seed bagel toasted with plain cream cheese. It was delicious, with a nice texture and not crazy expensive at $6.25. There's not a ton of seating, but there are four stools inside and two tables out front. Overall, I can highly recommend this place. Boichik Bagels, they're consistently satisfying.

    This is not the bagel that garnered national acclaim any longer. It is now a refrigerator aisle…read morebagel. We ordered a half dozen plain bagels and the pink label cream cheese. The bagels were pale with uneven color that edged into greenish brown in places. When you bit in, there was no crust to speak of. It gave way to an interior that was chewy but not in the classic bagel sense of low moisture dough. Rather, it was enriched with oil or some kind of conditioner like the kind used in grocery store bagels so they stay fresh for longer. The bagel's one virtue was its flavor: it had a strong malty taste like a classic NYC recipe. The "pink label" cream cheese, however, was delightful. It had a rich flavor -- like a spoonful of yogurt, as opposed to milk -- but the effect was subtle and not overly tangy. They were the best freezer bagels I've ever had, but in the future I'll put their schmear on a fresh dozen from somewhere else.

    Photos
    Inside
    Inside
    The Classic (~$16): on a whole wheat everything bagel
    The Classic (~$16): on a whole wheat everything bagel
    Lox and cream cheese on an onion bagel

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    Lox and cream cheese on an onion bagel

    Hella Bagels - bagels - Updated August 2026

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