Always respecting the pop game. We visited them on a Saturday late morning at a plant shop. There was a medium long line but was moving fast. We were a little scared we wouldn't get anything. Although on our turn he had some garlic, poppy seed, and everything bagels left. After ordering it was nice to wander around the shop as they made our order. Very aesthetic yet calming vibes, as they re-toasted then prepared the smear on top. For $5+ I'd say it was definitely worth the price. There was an adamant amount of smear on a chewy/tasty bagel. I personally was already getting full after my first half. Hope to catch them around again and maybe get there early to try something on the sweet side. Lots of different smear flavors, we hope to try a new one! read more

Hella Bagels - Everything bagel with nova lox smear - Bagels Near Me - Albany, California

Easier for me to get to and park - right off of San Pablo Avenue in Albany. Fresh, warm, and softer (than typical) dense bagels right out of the oven. My favorite is the everything bagel, which has got a nice crunchy exterior. I also like that their bagels are not too ginormous. Sorry Boichik, I have a new favorite bagel spot in the area. read more

Hella Bagels - Bagels Near Me - Albany, California

Came here on a Sunday around 10 AM and got a poppy bagel with horseradish cream cheese, untoasted. The bagel was delicious, texture and size comparable to Poppy Bagels in Oakland. What impressed me most was the generous amount of ingredients in the spread. You could actually taste the horseradish, lemon, and dill, not just plain cream cheese with a hint of flavor like so many other places. Wish I lived closer to catch the fresh bagels at 7:30 AM! read more

Hella Bagels - Bagel & Schmear - Bagels Near Me - Albany, California

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The employees, the atmosphere, and the bagels. There's no losing here. You're missing out if you haven't tried them yet.

Yesterday I had lunch at Hella Bagels. I had emailed Blake earlier to ask about reserving a dozen everything bagels as well as a breakfast sandwich. I wanted the one w/ bacon and eggs but didn't want the hot honey or pepper jack, substituting American cheese. It also contains cream cheese. I didn't hear back from him but headed over there regardless. My Thursday schedule was different, as Three Stone Hearth is closed until after the first of the year. Also, I'm getting my house cleaned on Thursdays because Christmas and New Year's Day fall on Wednesday. I drove over to the shop and found parking on San Pablo Avenue, not too far away. I walked in to the restaurant, ordered my sandwich at one counter and the bagels at the other. They had 10 everything bagels and that was enough; I bought them all and they have been cut up and are now in the freezer. They are on the thin side, which I prefer, I also bought a couple of schmears. I asked the first woman if Blake was there and she said he was in the back and asked if I wanted her to get him, I said no, because I didn't want to bother him. Mary, the first woman, asked me if I needed help carrying the bagels and schmears to the table, I really appreciated that, because I did. She carried the bag over to an empty table and I followed. A short while later my sandwich was brought to me, warm, cut in half and wrapped in two layers of paper. It was very good. As I was eating Blake came over and sat down to visit w/ me. We caught up on the events of our lives and he asked about my next door neighbor who rode his bicycle over to buy bagels and hadn't been in for a while. I said I would convey his concern to Brian, which I did, and emailed Blake w/ his response. Blake was apologetic about not answering my email, saying he had been super busy the past few weeks, even before Hella Bagels had been the favorite in the SF Chronicle's blind tasting of East Bay bagels. I sympathized. When I was ready to leave I asked if anyone was available to help me out to the car. Mary volunteered and carried the bag out to the car. It was a lovely experience all around! read more

Hell, yeah! After reading about H.B., I placed an online order for a pickup the next day. When I arrived shortly after the appointed hour, I found a bag with my name on it at the exact spot that was described on the receipt in my email. I went up to the cashier to purchase some schmear (which I had forgotten to include in my original order) and received it at the pickup counter less than a minute later. Coming to this location was jarring because I hadn't been back since the days of Christopher's Nothing Fancy, except for an isolated visit to the Persian Mexican place that was here during the Pandemic. The interior had changed in some ways, but I still knew where I was. In particular, I knew to park behind the store and was able to walk in through back entrance that I remembered as a gateway to the land of burritos and chimichangas. The bagels, to get down to brass tacks, were delicious. I had feared that I'd be buying something super-dense like a Montreal bagel and was relieved to receive items that were simultaneously soft and chewy. The half-dozen bagels that I purchased for my group of four disappeared rather quickly. I learned in the process that a bagel that's less than one hour out of the oven is miles better than one that's been cooling its heel for five hours. This place is the real deal. Everything you hear about Hella Bagels is true, the good stuff anyway. read more

Hella Bagels - Former burrito prep space has become Bagel Central - Bagels Near Me - Albany, California

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Chewy, crunchy, perfect bagels! We sampled plain and sesame, one with the lox shear. So good, my new favorite bagel place! The lox spread was very lemony, so didn't get much lox flavor. I'll go with a lox sandwich next time. Really nice, bright space with easy street parking. Great customer service too. read more

The Bougie Bagel exceeded my expectations! So tasty and kept me full for hours. I will definitely me coming back. read more

Hella Bagels - Bougie Bagel - Bagels Near Me - Albany, California

A friend and I decided to do an East Bay bagel throwdown today between Boichik and Hella Bagels. Having been a big fan of Boichik for years, I was curious to see how HB would taste in comparison. I tried an Everything bagel in its purest form--just by itself and not toasted or heated. All I can say is that was honestly the best bagel I can ever remember tasting. The outside skin was firm but not tough, and the inside dough was chewy (yet just soft enough) and toothsome. Overall, a very satisfying bagel and one that will be hard to beat. Look forward to trying more varieties. They also serve bagel sandwiches and coffee/tea. Modern interior with tables to linger awhile. Easy parking. read more

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Some of the best bagels are now in the Bay Area, and Hella Bagels is just one of many fantastic bagel options that we are fortunate to have here. Chicken Dog Bagels is another fantastic one based in SF, and there are several others, but I think Hella Bagels is toward the top of the list. We ordered everything bagels with their inventive schmears (spicy samba, jalapeno cilantro) and Nova lox. Bagel had just come out of the oven 45 minutes before we ordered and they were perfectly chewy and delicious. Schmears and lox were delicious as well....sandwiches were well balanced, just the right amount of each ingredient. The ambiance of Hella Bagels is lovely and inviting. The spacious location is decorated with plants and wide gleaming wooden tables and chairs. Drip coffee was pretty good too. What a wonderful bagel spot. Wishing Hella Bagels great success and hope they stick around for many years to come. P.S. Please don't go the route of Boichik (ie expansion)...what you have is spectacular and singular. read more

Hella Bagels - Everything bagel, spicy samba schmear, Nova lox. - Bagels Near Me - Albany, California

I found this place on a Saturday after a long run in the morning. I was excited to try a new bagel spot and came hungry! I ordered the bacon, egg, and cheese on an everything bagel. The spread also included scallion cream cheese and hot honey. It was certainly adequate but not as flavorful as I'd hoped. read more

Hella Bagels - Bacon Egg & Cheese - Bagels Near Me - Albany, California

Superb bagels. NY style. I got them through the Hella Bagels' own delivery. Best bagels I've had in California. The boichik were slightly sweet and not to my liking. Loved the schmear and the Lox Box. Fresh dill, capers, everything! Delivery service was on time and super convenient. That is over and now I'm looking forward to visiting the shop in Albany near University Village. read more

Hella Bagels - Hella Bagels, 1019 San Pablo Ave., Albany. Not yet open. It's right next to ODDLOTS wine store.Check out IG for details, they're hiring. - Bagels Near Me - Albany, California

"We only have everything bagels, garlic bagels, and one poppy seed bagel." "Great, I'll have the poppy seed and two garlic bagels." "Oh. We're out of poppy seed, somebody just ordered it online." "I'll have an everything bagel and two garlic bagels." "Oh. We're out of everything bagel, somebody just ordered the last of them." "I'll have three garlic bagels." It was 11:30 in the morning. The garlic bagel was fine. read more

Finally made it to the storefront after coming highly recommended by a friend who had the bagel delivery service. The toasted Everything bagel with plain cream cheese was delicious - perfectly crisped outer crust with the right amount of inner chewiness! Indoor seating is clean, bright and spacious and the outdoor patio (dog-friendly!) has the right amount of sun/shade which my pup & I absolutely loved! Will return to enjoy more bagels in the outdoor space, especially now that more sunny days are in the forecast! read more

Hella Bagels - Perfectly sliced everything bagel with plain cream cheese - Bagels Near Me - Albany, California

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Albany is now blessed with some of the bay's best bagels! I have been eager to stop by since they opened their brick and mortar location, and yesterday I was getting my car serviced I got to stop in and walk home with half a dozen bagels and an open-face lox tycoon bagel! The service was super friendly, plus you get to dee some of the bagel magic happening. The space has a good amount of seating, including outdoor seating out back which is nice because you're protected from the business of San Pablo. I decided to order the lox tycoon open-faced on an everything bagel to share with my partner, plus a half dozen bagels. Somehow despite carrying this all on my walk home without asking for a bag, the open-faced sandwich survived. They give a generous amount of cream cheese and lox, just the right amount of onion and capers, plus fresh sprigs of dill, and a lemon wedge to squeeze on for some acid and tang. The bagel itself was just the right amount of chewy and soft. I can't wait to eat the rest of these bagels and go back for more! read more

Hella Bagels - Open-faced lox tycoon on an everything bagel - Bagels Near Me - Albany, California

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First time here! I had the Bougie Bagel with everything bagel, and scallion cream cheese. OMG love the fresh flavors! I was always a plain cream cheese bagel type of gal. Thank you Blake for the best bagel I had in years! Keep up the good hard work, and amazing flavors put together! Hella good, Hella Bagels!!! read more

Hella Bagels - Bougie Bagel - Bagels Near Me - Albany, California

Hella Bagels is where it's at! I love a good bagel, so when my friend recommended Hella to me, I knew i had to try it. I am HELLA happy I did. This was my first time trying and definitely will not be the last. The staff was happy and welcoming, as was the space. My mom and i got a half dozen so we could try a few flavors- plain, everything, salt, and garlic. Of these the plain was actually my favorite. It was still warm when we got it. It had that crispy shell on the outside and was soft on the inside - that you get from a boiled then baked bagel. Looking forward to trying some of the others, as well as the sandwiches, in the future. Fyi - They opened their brick and mortar store in Albany on 3/6/24 @ 1019 San Pablo Ave (right near Marin ave) read more

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Very disappointing. We bought 8 bagels. All 8 were charred and black on the bottom. We could taste that they were slightly burned. Sorry Hella. We're going back to Noah's bagels next time. Also, note that there is a step near the entrance from the rear parking lot. If you're looking ahead instead of down it's easy to miss it. I almost fell when entering the store. read more

Hella Bagels - Bagels Near Me - Albany, California

Such great bagels! Def fulfills my NYC bagel craving. The everything bagel has a perfect balance of seeds. I recommend having one at the shop and getting an uncut one for home for the next day. Service is friendly and quick as well. read more

Hella Bagels - Everything bagel with veggies. - Bagels Near Me - Albany, California

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Big fan of the Sideshow Cream Cheese, but sadly was not impressed with the Bacon, Egg and Cheese bagel sandwich. Went right around opening and our bagels didn't seem very fresh read more

Hella Bagels - Bacon Egg & Cheese - Bagels Near Me - Albany, California

This place is legitimately great! Much better than Boichik, in my opinion. Bagels are fresh, warm, soft, delicious, and come with a generous helping of cream cheese. Beautiful interior with lots of seating inside and outside, even on a Saturday morning. Line moves quickly and the folks working there seem super nice. I'll definitely come back soon! read more

Today i drove in from multiple cities away, and arrived during normal business hours, only to be told that the bagels were sold out. That's fine, and I understand running out of food, but what I don't understand is why I wasn't even allowed to enter and purchase a simple drink for my son. read more

Food is amazing! I got the Bacon Egg and Cheese! I really am impressed. This might be the best bagel i've ever eaten. Service is really friendly too. read more

Hella Bagels - Bagel, cheese, bacon and egg. - Bagels Near Me - Albany, California

The bagels are a little smaller than normal, but the insides are soft and the outside was cooked to perfection would recommend these bagels to anybody. The service was great, and the bagel shop was in a nice location. We had the bacon egg and cheese bagel on everything and a bougie bagel open on and everything bagel and they were both cooked to perfection. Would recommend that you would give it a try. read more

I had high hopes for this establishment given that they kettle boiled. They get that part right but they regularly fail in the baking. They regularly burn the bottom at baking which often is what you taste. read more

Great bagels. I have tried onion, everything and sesame. The only improvement could be whitefish salad. It has stuff added to it that detracts from the taste.I bought a container and it doesn't compare to the whitefish salad at Diablo foods in lafayette. ..which is pure whitefish. I only used half of the container. I will stick with the bagels only. read more

Hella bagel is hella amazing! I the bagels are delicious and flavorful. We ordered the salmon and tuna that for the life of me I can't remember the cool name it had... but it was greaaat!!! I wanted something warm, so I ordered a coffee, and holy heck, was that good too. The only thing I would mention is that it gets pretty busy after 10:30/11 am. Thr line can get pretty long, but it's worth the wait. The staff are so patient. We are definitely coming back! read more

Hella Bagels - Salmon and white fish! Omg! - Bagels Near Me - Albany, California

Disappointing! We tried these at one of their pop ups, onion and salt flavors. Something about the bagel texture felt off and un-bagely. I didn't love the schmear either. For some reason my bagel was cold too?? I've never had to clarify that I wanted a toasted bagel when ordering with a schmear, so maybe that was my fault for assuming. But it was kinda annoying to then scrape off the cream cheese and reheat in the oven--possibly this affected the texture (although the other bagel was bready too, and that one we toasted regularly). Plus, 10 min wait for two untoasted bagels? Stick to Boichik--even their frozen bagels are better! read more

Excellent bagel (the bagels themselves) and the selections of bagel sandwiches were unique and tasty. It's a bit pricy. Would love to see more than one small size for coffee as well, it's not nearly enough for me in the morning, and there's no refills that I was aware of. Friendly staff. Nice indoor and outdoor space. read more

Hella Bagels - Bougie bagel and Dr Greenthumb - Bagels Near Me - Albany, California

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Hella Bagels has a permanent home! And only a block away from me. This makes my east coast heart happy. I had grabbed bagels from their Flowerland pop ups and am psyched they have their own space now. Finally stopped by the new spot this morning. I usually get the open lox everything bagel but switched it up today and got the salt bagel with horseradish-lemon-dill schmear; definitely a great combo and will get again. Only feedback would be I wish there was a bit more horseradish but the combo of the dill/lemon/horseradish was delicious and a schmear I'd never had before. The bagels themselves have the perfect crunch crust and soft chewy inside. Hands down the best bagels on the west coast, and honestly stiff competition for the east coast too. Friendly and quick service. Fingers crossed for them to start offering a proper BEC bagel. read more

Hella Bagels - Salt bagel with horseradish-lemon-dill schmear. - Bagels Near Me - Albany, California

The food was delicious. Service was friendly. Sadly, there was a woman at a table, with her dog on the bench, trying to climb onto the table...the lady proceeded to feed the dog, from her plate, without putting the dog back on the floor...clearly it wasn't a service dog! The lady and her dog disrupted a couple of folks at the next table as the dog was on the bench begging for food. Unfortunately, the place was busy...it was a Saturday morning, and the staff had not noticed this woman and her dog. It was unhygienic and obnoxious. She didn't seem to care that this would be grounds for a health code violation! May this never happen again. read more

We were so excited to try this bagel place but it fell short overall. The place is so cute. The food has potential if the owners are willing to take the feedback and improve! Pros- Fillings were tasty. Lots of options. Cons- Bagel texture was off. It was soo chewy and dense that my mouth was hurting after eating a small bagel (the size is definitely on the smaller side esp for this price). Ratio of filling to bagel was also off - should have added more filling. I want them to succeed so I really hope the store takes this feedback. read more

Hella Bagels - Bagels Near Me - Albany, California

Very good dense, chewy, nearly-spherical bread items (I really hesitate to call them bagels)! They have a great taste and texture and lots of nice toppings but they're like no style of bagel I've ever had. They're more like chewy sourdough balls or something. Anyhoo, the lox were great and the lox sandwich was very nice. The strawberry one was also very unique and tasty. read more

I dined in with a toasted plain bagel w/ scallion cream cheese and a cold brew (black). The bagel was hella fresh, and the schmear generous. The cold brew was perfect, strong and refreshing. The dining area was cute and spacious, and there was even an outdoor patio. The staff were friendly and efficient. Oh...and ample parking. 5/5! read more

I think these are the best bagels in California. I eat them just with butter because they are THAT good! The only thing I have had there that was underwhelming was the breakfast sandwich with egg/cheese. The egg was very rubbery and I was a little disappointed that they used American cheese. Thankfully the bagel is so good that I just threw the egg away and finished it. I'm not going to knock a star off because the bagels are amazing. read more

Lox & bagel were excellent The only coffee that they have is an undrinkable dishwater-weak drip. Four people behind the counter, all too busy to wait on customers read more

Good bagel place. Love the outdoor seating. I got the bacon and cheese bagel I think was the name it was actually pretty good!

These are simply the best bagels in the Bay Area. Better than Boichik Bagels (which is also really really good). Their veggies, lox, and schmears are just a little fresher and tastier than BB. And their bagels are just...oh man, perfect chew and nice pillowy, yet dense crumb. My daughter often eats their salt bagel plain, they're that good. Blake's service and attention to detail have always been top notch. His delivery operation was a major silver lining of quarantine for my family. Stoked for HB in their new phase in a spacious Albany brick and mortar! read more

Fresh ingredients, great bagels, and such a nice vibe. Service was great, and the girl at the counter was nice and patient when we were ordering. Plus, our food was ready in less that 3 minutes!! read more

Friend and I went here around 10am on Sunday, the line ended up going out the door, and while it did not move quickly it didn't seem unreasonably slow. We ordered a salt bagel with the spicy mango peach schmear and an everything bagel with the horseradish lemon dill schmear. Both were tasty. My friend and I decided the spicy mango peach schmear reminded us of peach yogurt with a hint of spicy - definitely not a very powerful spicy - it was our favorite of the two. The everything bagel was warm while the salt bagel was not. We're not sure why, maybe one was fresh out of the oven. Not a lot of drink options, we saw that some people had brought in coffee from another shop. The interior was super cute with lots of seating and there is free parking available behind the building. read more

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