I love to hit Beauty's on a wknd morning around 8:30 because the bagel bins are hot and full, the staff is jammin' friendly service, and the guests the just plain happy. That's what a good restaurant is all about to me: super good food, welcoming environment and a community enjoying it all. The bagels are really good. Best I've found in the East Bay. The poppy seed bagel is just obliterated in a covering of seeds and that means you actually get a poppy flavor, not just specks wedges into you teeth. I'm partial to the salt n pepper bagel they make, too. I do think a place like H&H in NYC has better bagels, but Beauty's are Cali-fine. They serve full breakfasts and make drip and espresso coffees that are good, too. Parking can be tricky on Sundays especially as there's a huge popular church right next door. read more

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Great bagels. Most similar to a NYC boiled bagel I've found. Lots of seasoning on everything bagel but alas no salt.

What happened to the beet cole slaw?! They already ditched the wood fired oven and changed the bagel recipe. Now they throw on KFC style coleslaw instead of the old school red beet slaw deliciousness. Please see the red beet slaw picture (currently on their website) vs the goop they now serve. read more

Wise Sons - False advertising of the Red beet slaw on their website that they are now longer serving - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Oakland, California

Honestly so disappointing. I've come here twice now. The first time, I got a bialy bagel with cream cheese - it was not actually a bialy bagel, it had none of the characteristics of a bialy (like filling in the center of the bagel). Just because you name it something, doesn't make it that! That day, the bagel tasted like a bread roll. I chalked it up to a fluke, since this place has such great reviews. I went back this morning and got an everything bagel sandwich with veggie cream cheese. When I tell you, I had to throw it away, I'm not even kidding. I got it around noon and it was rock hard. It wasn't edible and it definitely was not fresh. I can't believe I wasted $7 on complete trash. Don't waste your time and don't be fooled by the good reviews. You'd be better off buying pre-packaged bagels at the grocery store. read more

A precipitous downhill decline since their recent change of ownership. I never expected East Coast bagels; Montreal-style bagels are just okay in this New Jersey gal's book, but they used to be solid. They are now definitely in the bagel-themed roll category. But that's not the saddest decline. This place could have held its own based on the cookies alone. The cookies are now, in a word: terrible. The chocolate chunk is now, like: chocolate smear in an overworked dough that's, like, touched snickerdoodle dough or something. I took the one my plus-one bought me earlier today back because I thought I'd accidentally been given a stale one. Nope. Quoth the employee, "they're precooked but not stale" and "it's a different recipe". They're inedible. read more

The energy in this place is amazing. Beauty's is always packed!! There hasn't been a time where​ I wasn't in line for a good 10-15 minutes to order my bagel! DO NOT let the line discourage you from coming in. It's fun to watch the hustle​ and bustle of the shop while you wait in line to order, plus the food comes out pretty quickly. The kitchen is semi-open so you can watch them pull the bagels out from the huge oven while waiting for your order. This isn't a good spot to pull out your laptop and stay to work for a couple of​ hours. It's crowded and gets pretty loud. They also have some seating outside of the store which is nice when it's sunny. I got the everything bagel with plain cream cheese with a side of veggies. I also ordered an almond milk cappuccino and chocolate chip cookie with sea salt on top. I loved my meal y'all. The main highlight is the pickles that came with my warm bagel. So fresh and I loved that I can still taste the vinegar on it. The bagel was hot and fresh! I had it open face style with the salted cucumbers​, greens, and red onion sitting on top. This is such a filling meal. I just ate half it for breakfast and ate the other half for lunch. The cappuccino was great because I could actually​ taste the espresso. ​This place is also a low key specialty coffee spot​​ for the die-hard​ coffee fans (like me!). Lastly, the cookie... it was good, nothing to crazy about it. I just wish it was soft in the middle because the whole cookie was pretty hard. read more

Wise Sons - Chocolate chip cookie with sea salt - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Oakland, California

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I was randomly craving a bagel sandwich and decided to give Beauty's a try. The restaurant is cute and there is indoor and outdoor seating. I ordered the fried chicken sandwich on a wheat everything bagel. The chicken was tasty and the bagel was also delicious. A strange combo but it works! It was $10 for the bagel sandwich which isn't too bad. I will definitely come back if I'm craving a bagel! read more

Wise Sons - Outside - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Oakland, California

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First timers and it was delicious. Definitely coming back. Welcoming staff, great service. read more

I really tried to manage my expectations, and this is not based on comparing it to Montreal bagels. Team St-Viateur by the way, if you've had the glory that is a Montreal bagel. I had a good experience ordering a bagel sandwich from the Uptown location before covid cleared out the foot traffic, and even when it was bustling with the downtown working crowd, I felt like the quality didn't suffer. Here, they're so focused - but apparently not focused enough and neglecting some details as I will later explain - on getting orders on the table for pick-up and out the door that there's not a bit of customer service and it feels unlike a neighborhood breakfast spot and more like a wholesale bagel shop. I have ordered ahead online before and in person, and the wait is always longer than quoted, so prepare to wait 8 to 10 minutes longer than you're told. The quality of preparation has gone down, and the last time I went to pick up breakfast for myself and my nephew, it felt like an outright waste of money. We ate it within minutes of picking it up, and it was somehow limp and lukewarm, even though it should have been hot and fresh. $22 for a sad, barely toasted bagel "sandwich", embarrassingly plain eggs, and a small bottle of orange juice that was advertised as "freshly squeezed". They forgot to give the chicken apple sausage that I ordered as extra protein for my nephew, and it's a huge inconvenience to turn back since parking is difficult and I don't want to be one of those people that parks in the median lane and runs back and forth across Telegraph. I wish I had the heart to give them a fourth try as dine-in with the hope that they don't throw things into a container without care. read more

Used to have a customer in the area and their staff would get real weak in the knees when I'd bring bagels from this place on by. They are kettle boiled like real freaking bagels. California has some good food around, but what the hell is up with baked bagels? That's called a bread roll bub. They have all the lox, egg sandwiches, and a multitude of spreads that you would expect from a solid bagel spot. Only reason I didn't give them 5 stars is that it's pretty spendy for what it is. I think the last breakfast sandwich I got there was a little north of $15 or something like that. Delicious bagels though and they have quick service, so it's a good little morning power up spot. read more

We went after the lunch rush. They were quite slow. The cashier was not very friendly so it just turned the whole experience sour to begin with. Too bad, this was highly recommended by my coworker and it was just disappointing. The bagels texture was closed to the NY bagels. But they ruined one of the bagel by toasted too much and burned the bagel. My kids usually love bagels didn't like this place because "they served burned bagels". My bagel with cream cheese was under toasted (or someone forgot to toast) and the cream cheese was cold and harden, like the cold Safeway cream cheese block right out of the fridge. The smoke salmon sandwich was better compared to the other bagels. At least something was good. read more

I highly recommend the Bialys bagels! They're unreal. The everything bagels / normal bagels are good too but the bialys ones are much softer and toast up into an incredible crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside texture. read more

Very good bagels that are chewy and crunchy and they offer great bagel sandwich options. I had family from out of town who are bagel fanatics and they liked these bagels a lot. read more

Really good bagels. Strong onion flavor, crunchy crust soft inner. Mocha de Arbol which is basically Mexican Mocha is also very good, spicy, chocolaty, not watered down. Downside is the neighborhood. It's not far from BART MacArthur but that little walk is a bit iffy. Can get very busy. read more

Wise Sons - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Oakland, California

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I always try to get this spot early but always see a line going down the sidewalk. We decided to get there early and were at the door about 20 minutes before they opened and weren't the only ones. The bagels are pretty good! This was my first time trying a wood fire baked bagel and it enjoyable. The variety of toppings is definitely what makes this place stand out, especially on the garlic bagel. If you are able to get there early, highly suggest you do. read more

Wise Sons - Garlic bagel with Veg cream cheese, pickled onions and sprouts - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Oakland, California

I ordered a half-dozen everything bagels around 9am via DoorDash. The bagels arrived stale (yesterday's is optimistic) and burned on the outside. They had an acrid taste and were nearly impossible to bite through because they were so tough (not merely chewy). We were planning to eat the other four tomorrow, but since they're already so stale and toasting them would only burn them more, we'll have to throw them away. Huge disappointment. Had we been in the store, we would have sent them back. Feels like they're taking advantage of delivery customers. Update: despite the owner's response from Javad B., no one has reached out to me in the month since that was posted. read more

Great bagel sandwiches! They are so quick here especially with all the orders they appear to get in store & online! I really love the poppy seed bagel breakfast sandwich with chicken sausage & chive cream cheese! So good!!! My bestie lives close - so I will be returning :) read more

Good bagels comically bad customer service Asked like two different people for help (help being can I get an everything bagel being they didn't have an option on the kiosk) they all looked at me like I was stupid felt so anxious had to leave read more

I've been three times since the acquisition by Wise's, and the Marquee item, the bagels, have suffered significantly during the transition. Larger but with a tough exterior and lacking the dense chewy interior of the predecessor. Very disappointing change. The menu remains largely the same, and they've added Babkas, and while that's a plus it's not enough for this former hot spot to remain a top tier rating, IMHO. A good genuine bagel remains a unicorn here in the Bay Area. read more

It's really too sad. Beauty's Bagels were in every way superior to Wise Sons, but of course, it's Wise Sons quality that is now served after the takeover. What a shame -- Beauty's was a "must-stop" on our culinary tour of the east bay and we regularly would pick up bagels for family brunches. We'll be eating elsewhere from now on. read more

Make no mistake, they have changed ownership, changed their recipe and ditched the previous Montreal style bagels for which they became famous. The bagels are now average at best. The day I went the bagels weren't even fresh and it appears they no longer even bake them in house. Very deceptive and V disappointing. update: I came back as the owner suggested and this place remains a shell of its former self. The bagel die right are not good and not fresh. Why did this place ever sell out to Wise Sons? read more

When there is always a line outside the door that's how you know a place is good, and this place was GOOD. Located on telegraph it's one of those places I always overlooked because of the lack of parking in the area. However, this weekend I was really craving a bagel and wanted something different from my go-to of Noahs. The place has a cute/hipstery vibe to it. They had living plants on the brick wall, terrariums lining the area where you pick up your food, and cool wood work pieces on the wall near the bathroom. The service is a bit slow here, but that's a given since lines get so long. Even though the line was out the door, they did have a lot of seating still available inside in addition to the tables they have outside. The only issue I saw with the tables inside is that the line kind of wraps in between them so it could be a little difficult to walk in between tables when the place is packed. What we got: - Breakfast bagel w/chicken sausage on an onion bagel - YUM! I was shocked to see that they didn't have normal sausage or bacon to add on their bagels, but it was a nice change to pick something out of my habits. The bagel was tasty and topped with so much onion. As with all their bagels they def do not skimp on anything they put on top/in them. - Chicken bagel on a salt/pepper bagel - We got the creamy beet slaw on the side just in case. The chicken was tasty and perfectly crispy. It was a nice contrast the soft texture of the bagel and with the slaw on top it was delish! ^^they also give you two small slices of pickles on top of your bagels as a palette cleanser. In addition to the bagels/breakfast sandwiches, they also have a decent selection of coffees, soup of the day, pastries near the register, and salads. I wish I started coming here sooner but I will def be a regular now! read more

Wise Sons - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Oakland, California

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Super cute and convenient location. Food is fresh and delicious. Staff is friendly and welcoming. You feel like you're having breakfast at your buddy's house....only the food is better and the place is neat and tidy! ;--) read more

Wise Sons - Delicious deviled eggs - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Oakland, California

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First time eating here in a long time and the experience has paled compared to the glory days of yore. Bagel was decent, despite the fact that it is no longer wood fired. Coffee was alright, but I was looking forward to one of their delicious lattes. Parking sucked, but that's not their fault. The two stars is due to the shabbiness of the place - how about fixing the decrepit bathroom door? - but mostly to the unfriendliness, bordering on surliness, of the wait staff, including when I pointed out that the water and coffee vessels were empty. My interactions with staff left me feeling like like they'd rather be anywhere but here or helping the customer. And this left me feeling the same way! Won't be coming back. read more

I went here with my mom to get breakfast on our way to Big Sur. I got a bagel sandwich with chicken sausage and she got avocado toast. The sausage was SO good, I'd come back for that alone. It was reasonably priced and ended up being quite tasty. Nothing to write home about but if you are in the area and want a trendy and delicious coffee or snack -- I'd recommend it. It was nice that a staffer did come by every so often and ask how we were doing and cleaned all the tables. It is right on Telegraph so you might have to park across the street but it's with it. I do want to come back and try their other offerings. read more

LOVE this place! My friend and I stopped by for a quick to-go lunch and we both we very happy with what we ordered. It's a fairly small restaurant with seating both indoors and outdoors but it's self seating and it's crowded. There was a bit of a line when we arrived but it moves quickly and you don't have to wait too long for your order. I've been wanting to come here for a while but never had the chance so I was pretty excited when my friend suggested it. Originally I wanted the Shakshuka w/ a bagel but wasn't feeling THAT hungry so decided to go with an Everything Bagel Breakfast Sandwich. I got the Egg, Mushroom, and Cheese one. SO GOOD! The bagel was soft and chewy and warm. The omelet was fluffy, gooey, and had a nice bite from the mushrooms. Oh, and I loved the addition of fennel to their everything bagel! My friend got the Classic Breakfast Sandwich which was an open face lox, cream cheese, and caper sandwich. He seemed to really really enjoy it. Oh, and all orders come with 2 slices of their Sonoma Dill Pickles. YUM! I would totally come back to try some of their other items on their menu! Highly recommended! And totally worth the drive :) read more

Wise Sons - Mushroom & Egg Breakfast Sandwich on Everything Bagel - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Oakland, California

I love the everything bagel at BBS. I had the salmon and Lox's last time i visited. It was great but i like it with a little more cream on it. I'm looking forward to trying the other breakfast sándwiches next I visit. I recommend coming during the weekday. Lines are long on weekends so be ready to wait but it's worth it!! read more

This place is hands-down, the best bagel shop in the state. It's arguably some of the best in the country even. Though, I am slightly biased towards the Montreal style over NY style given I like the texture contrast that wood-fired bagels have. My favorite bagel is definitely the salt and pepper bagel with some of their in house veggie cream cheese. They also offer a variety of bagel sandwiches that you can't go wrong with (my favorite is the veggie, trout, and lox) and if you're feeling adventurous, try the After School Special. I promise you that it's actually not bad. Because of how good it is, it's always crowded and there aren't very many places to sit but the line moves fairly quickly and they just recently opened a second shop so I expect lines have been more manageable I will never understand why people complain or give a demerit about the long lines if the place is the only place in the Bay Area that serves good bagels. Suck it up and wait like everyone else or get smart and order online. read more

Great bagel places are few and far between in the Bay Area, but lo and behold we have one that is Beauty's Bagels. Wonderful soft but chewy crumb contrasts well with the wood-fired exterior. Of course these are fantastic fresh/same day but those of us who don't live in the area they are still good taken to go and eaten the next day. Also, it's not obvious from their menu but they have several wheat bagel options: plain wheat, sesame wheat, and everything wheat. Plenty more items on the menu like bagel and lox, shakshuka, latkes, fried chicken, chocolate chip cookie, (you get the idea, there's a lot) I'd come back to try. read more

Wise Sons - Everything, Wheat Sesame, Poppyseed, Onion, and Plain Bagels ($8 for half dozen) - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Oakland, California

Updated review after the manager very kindly offered me a dozen free bagels to try after they adjusted the cooking in their new oven: They're getting there! The everything bagels still don't taste exactly the same as they did before the ownership change (at least to me), but I really enjoyed the plain bagels. Weird- I don't know if the everything seasoning somehow affects the baking? They still seem a little tough or something. But there was a definite difference since my review in the fall, so I will keep giving them a try when I'm down in Oakland. I really appreciate the customer service too! Oh AND I should have mentioned in my first review that their rye bread is perfect sandwich bread. It also freezes really well, as do the bagels. I'll definitely continue to get the rye bread and try some of their other Jewish deli items, which always look great. read more

Beauty's used to have the best bagels in the Bay Area by far. The wood-fired crispy bottoms contrasting with the chewy, perfectly dense interior, were perfect enough to help me stop missing NY bagels (which is saying a lot). I preferred them over Boichik, which, I know, had its own cult following. More recently, the quality has plummeted quite dramatically. I can only imagine that this is related to the acquisition by Wise Sons. The bagels are completely changed; they've become fluffy and have lost their dense and crispy integrity. They remind me of bagels you'd find at a continental breakfast at a cheap hotel, or a bag of Lenders store-bought bagels (for those who appreciate the reference). I most recently got a sausage-patty sandwich with tomato. Though toasted, after a minute the bagel's texture resembled soggy white bread with too much mayo, and practically fell apart as if submerged in water. On an aside, the sausage patty that beauty's used to hand make, full of of thyme and sage, perfectly tender and crisp on the edges, has sadly turned into some bland mcpatty. Our family have been regular customers since Beauty's opening. What a loss. Needless to say, we won't be returning. Boichik has a new customer. read more

I finally got to try their bagels! My hubby offered to take me there during my last week of funemployment on a weekday morning. There were no lines! I got a smoked trout salad sandwich on poppy bagel while the hubs got himself the classic lox sandwich on everything bagel. Excellent blistered crust with chewy exterior. I read online that they have joined forces with Wise Sons as of 9/2020, another one of our favorites. How exciting! read more

I prefer this location over the downtown Oakland location. I went twice in the same week, and both times, my order was consistent and exceeded my expectations. These bagels are comparable to a NY bagel! Prices are affordable. Bagels are fresh when you receive your order. Also, they are not skimpy with toppings. COVID safety - I felt pretty safe here. When I visited in December 2020, they were not letting anyone in the store. you stand outside in a line (everyone is social distancing) then they call your name when it's ready to pick up. I also learned that you can order ahead (which is going to be the way I order moving forward since I live about 15 minutes away). If you order ahead, you have to go check in to see if your order is ready - they don't call your name. read more

Was excited to try their BEC (Bacon Egg Cheese) and it did not disappoint. First time at this shop but I like the vibe and the music. And the service. Pleasant and efficient, I also noticed that most places their orders in advance via app so as to avoid the wait. This makes sense especially as the parking situation (street-side) seems to be busy at best. The BEC was great: soft bagel (not dried out), cheese melted into the scrambled egg, and the bacon was tasty. Was it as good as NYC/NJ? You be the judge of that. read more

Get your bagel toasted. I prefer untoasted and my bagel was stale. And this was after they messed my order of a bagel and cream cheese. The idea is there. The execution is terrible. read more

I've only come here once so far and tried their breakfast bagel sandwich. It came with egg, cheese and bacon. Overall, felt that the prices were pretty high for what you get. Bagels are good, but not mind blowingly so... though since I had a sandwich I want to come back to just try the bagel itself so that the flavor is uninterrupted. I love their hot sauce that they have here. Tastes amazing with probably anything. They also have a little shaker that is full of diff spices you can add to your sandwich. I've heard that the fried chicken here is some of the best. So I'm hoping to come back and verify that statement for myself. Final verdict: while the bagel shop is a good shop, and the line moves quickly, the high prices deter me from being a constant regular. I'll definitely be back more than once, but I can't see it being one of my favorite bagel stops. read more

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Quality bagels as long as you have 15 minutes to spare and/or friends to vulture a seat while you wait in line. Heard so many rave reviews of this bagel shop, and being a transplant from New Jersey, I was really looking forward to potentially finding a bagel place that gave me that taste of home. Beauty's has come the closest so far in my search of the Bay Area. Ordered the Shakshuka just because I was dining in and was curious to try this signature dish. I would have thought the strong flavor of the tomato, onion, and za'atar would be overpowering. But to my surprise it was more of a satisfying accent to a remarkably memorable plain bagel, which says a lot about the quality of the bagel dough. When I do come back, I would honestly be happy just ordering a plain bagel with plain cream cheese (and I'm usually not that basic). Minus 1 star for the wait and the lack of tables. But honestly, popularity well-deserved given the quality being served! read more

Wise Sons - Shakshuka - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Oakland, California

I was craving some warm bagels, but all of the Noah's Bagels near me closed. Luckily this place is on the way to work and satisfied all my carb and shmear needs. Their bagel list isn't as extensive, but the ones they have are pretty good with a nice chew. I got a sesame bagel with Veggie cream cheese and a cinnamon raisin bagel with honey cream cheese as a snack for later. Both were pretty dang delicious. When I went, there was no line. I just walked up and ordered, but still ended up waiting 15 minutes for my 2 bagels. Because of the wait, I probably wouldn't come back just for a few bagels. But since they do offer other dishes, I might find myself here again soon. read more

Wise Sons - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Oakland, California

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Fast service, good customer service in the shop but I didn't realize my bagel was burned until I got him. Like who would look at this and think it's good to send this out. So the team at Beauty's reached out to fix the issue. The customer service has always been good so updating my review. read more

Wise Sons - I asked for my bagel toasted well because it's gluten free and it'll fall apart. They gave me a burned bagel. - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Oakland, California

UPDATE: Gave Beauty's another chance because a co-worker offered to pick up breakfast. We ordered 3 bagels and 2 sides of bacon. The bacon was only partially cooked, and was inedible as they sold it. I'm not sure who trains the employees at this store, but they are straight up failing. I know this sounds pretty harsh, but since this is not the 1st or even the 2nd time I've been served damn-near raw bacon at this location, I stand by my disappointing review. Too bad to see a formerly great place go so downhill. read more