# Are bagels popular in England? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [November 12, 2024, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-bagels-popular-in-england/1010162 "2024-11-12T19:05:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2024, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-bagels-popular-in-england/1010162/41 "2024-11-13T12:54:35Z")
> [@zbuzz](#): > > In my experience, you need to go to an actual bagel shop to get a decent bagel, meaning a shop that makes them fresh daily, where the bagels are what the customers are coming for. Those kinds of shops are usually sold out by like 11am and close soon after. While Chicago is not particularly known for bagels (though a few artisinal shops have cropped up over the years), there’s a place out in Lincolnwood, just north of the city, called New York Bagel and Bialy that is open 24-7 and churns out bagels like no one else. It’s the first time I’ve ever had a bagel and realized, oh, this is why people love them so much. Their bagel sandwich with lox (which they don’t skimp on), a healthy schmear of chive cream cheese, cucumber, onion, tomato, capers on a mish-mosh (aka. “everything”) bagel is one of the top sandwiches I’ve had in my life. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2024, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-bagels-popular-in-england/1010162/42 "2024-11-13T12:55:55Z")
> [@Coriolanus](#): > > And perhaps due to the Egg McMuffin what Americans would call English Muffins are catching on Huh? ‘English’ muffins have existed in the Uk long before McDonald’s starting using them. We just used to call them muffins. Same thing. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2024, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-bagels-popular-in-england/1010162/43 "2024-11-13T13:08:48Z")
And here in the US also. ---
**Author:** ![Coriolanus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coriolanus/32/18769_2.png) [@Coriolanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coriolanus)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2024, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-bagels-popular-in-england/1010162/44 "2024-11-13T13:20:11Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > We just used to call them muffins All those times I stayed at the Travelodge on Drury Lane I still thought the Muffin Man was selling what I guess are the sweet cake-like so-called “American Muffins”. Thomas’ English Muffins are the best and I’ve not seen their equal either in the US or UK. Samuel Thomas was an Englishman who set up shop in NYC and so probably coined the “English” bit to differentiate them from “American” muffins. I have tried the Bagel Factory bagels somewhere in London and they’re to NYC bagels what the Pizza Hut down the block here is to NYC pizza. I haven’t eaten there yet to their credit it looks like you get exactly what Pizza Hut in America heats up and sells. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2024, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-bagels-popular-in-england/1010162/45 "2024-11-13T13:48:59Z")
> [@Coriolanus](#): > > All those times I stayed at the Travelodge on Drury Lane I still thought the Muffin Man was selling what I guess are the sweet cake-like so-called “American Muffins”. They’re a relatively recent import though - maybe late 80s? When did Starbucks arrive? Whereas ‘English’ muffins have been a popular bread item for a lot longer. Hence there was no need to call them ‘English’ before the American cake version turned up. I remember have them hot and buttered as a child in the 70s. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2024, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-bagels-popular-in-england/1010162/46 "2024-11-13T16:47:10Z")
Going back a bit, ‘muffin’ was a bit like ‘bun’ in England - in that it was a category of baked items rather than a specific thing. ---
**Author:** ![Stanislaus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stanislaus/32/3391_2.png) [@Stanislaus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stanislaus)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2024, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-bagels-popular-in-england/1010162/47 "2024-11-13T17:04:54Z")
There are good bagels in London, and I still miss the salt beef ones from the place outside my last but one job. The only bagels I’ve had back in Scotland have been pretty rubbish, flavourless and rubbery. That’s not been an exhaustive search, no doubt there are good ones somewhere, probably Glasgow. An important factor here is that compared to the US, the UK has a very small Jewish population (0.5% vs 2.4%), more than half of whom live in London, and much of the rest of whom live _near_ London. And it’s fair to say that that 0.5% has not had the cultural impact seen in the US, particularly, in this case, in culinary terms. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2024, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-bagels-popular-in-england/1010162/48 "2024-11-13T17:42:38Z")
Yeah, when I was talking about not being able to find anything like American all-beef hot dogs here in England, a lot of people said ‘just go to a kosher deli’. We just don’t have many of those here in rural Dorset. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2024, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-bagels-popular-in-england/1010162/49 "2024-11-13T20:39:43Z")
There aren’t that many true Kosher delis in the States either, unless you’re near a pretty large Jewish community. There are many Kosher-style delis near Boston, but only a handful over in Brookline are actually Kosher. But we actually have a few very good bagel places, the best I’ve had outside of NYC. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2024, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-bagels-popular-in-england/1010162/50 "2024-11-13T21:14:10Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > In answer to the OP, they are popular enough that most people know of them, and most supermarkets sell them, but I’d say they are far from a breakfast staple. > [@Mangetout](#): > > I would eat them halved and toasted with something spread on the cut surfaces, but would not attempt to construct a sandwich from them, for the squeeze-out reason mentioned above. They are chewy and stiff. True and true - however…if you want the best stuff you have to go to the right place. And BTW, note the spelling: > **[The Beigel Shop 🥯 Freshly baked beigels in Brick Lane](https://www.thebeigelshop.com/)** > > Oldest, first and original bagel bakery in Brick Lane, London. Established in 1855. Order VIA Deliveroo now! (and also, as noted by @Q.Q.Switcheroo: ) > **[Brick Lane Beigel Bake | London's 24/7 Bagel Shop | Order Now!](https://www.beigelbake.co.uk/)** > > Beigel Bake offers freshly baked bagels 24/7, famous for our legendary salt beef bagels, smoked salmon, and cream cheese. Visit us for the best bagels in London OK, there is a long tradition in London (and elsewhere) of former Jewish areas (as Brick Lane was) being taken over by more recent immigrants. [Brick Lane](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brick_Lane) is, these days, largely Bangladeshi but these two shops remain at the north end of the street. I have eaten bagels from The Beigel Shop and whilst they are (as you would expect) a cut above, they are not _radically_ different from store bought bagels. I would say they do have a chewiness and stiffness about them (a texture I like) - I guess it’s not beyond the bounds of possibility that it’s a local style which has been passed down from Brick Lane originators (as above) to supermarkets. Maybe a genuine British (should I say English?) beigel is simply not quite the same as a US bagel. j ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2024, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-bagels-popular-in-england/1010162/51 "2024-11-13T21:18:46Z")
> [@Treppenwitz](#): > > OK, there is a long tradition in London (and elsewhere) of former Jewish areas (as Brick Lane was) being taken over by more recent immigrants. [Brick Lane](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brick_Lane) is, these days, largely Bangladeshi but these two shops remain at the north end of the street. Meanwhile, in New York’s still-heavily Jewish Upper West Side, one of the best bagel shops is [Absolute Bagels](https://absolutebagels.fun/) - run by a family of Thais. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2024, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-bagels-popular-in-england/1010162/52 "2024-11-13T21:19:18Z")
That’s glorious! j ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2024, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-bagels-popular-in-england/1010162/53 "2024-11-13T22:13:29Z")
I don’t like using bagels as closed sandwiches. I like eating them plain; i like them halved, toasted, and buttered; and i like making an open faced sandwich with cream cheese and lox. I even like freezing one and gnawing on the still-frozen bagel. But even hot and fresh, they are too thick to be easy to bite. And good bagels are moderately dense and chewy, not fluffy. They are kind of a saltless pretzel. They should be boiled in lye and have a shiny crust with a distinct hint of lye flavoring it. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2024, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-bagels-popular-in-england/1010162/54 "2024-11-13T22:18:00Z")
I remember decades ago visiting shops or bodegas in Manhattan that served a bagel with a schmear, meaning a _really_ thick layer of cream cheese. BTW, the New York Times ran an [article](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/08/world/europe/new-york-bagels-london-beigel.html?unlocked_article_code=1.Zk4.3oCG.9He_FpkQ0cUu&smid=url-share) (gift link) in March about how New York-style bagels were starting to become available in London with some shops operated by New York transplants. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2024, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-bagels-popular-in-england/1010162/55 "2024-11-14T00:37:21Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > Use of bagels in a sandwich is limited to fast food joints. Err, no, not really. Any time I’ve gotten a bagel with cream cheese at an old-school NYC bagel shop it’s been a closed sandwich, including the aforementioned Absolute Bagels. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2024, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-bagels-popular-in-england/1010162/56 "2024-11-14T01:20:11Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > i like making an open faced sandwich with cream cheese and lox. I’m not a big salmon fan and even I love this so much. Especially with capers. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2024, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-bagels-popular-in-england/1010162/57 "2024-11-14T01:40:42Z")
> [@Coriolanus](#): > > Thomas’ English Muffins are the best and I’ve not seen their equal either in the US or UK. Nah, Orowheat’s are much better. I don’t care for Thomas’s. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2024, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-bagels-popular-in-england/1010162/58 "2024-11-14T16:22:17Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Hijack, but I think the Egg McMuffin is the best thing on the McDonald’s menu. Every 4 or 5 years or so I’ll get a McMuffin breakfast…& then immediately realized _why_ it’s been so long since I had one. I put them in the category of sustenance not food. They are like supermarket bagels as compared to a Brooklyn / Lawn Guyland bagel from a bagel shop; technically the same thing but multiple standard deviations of quality apart > [@Telemark](#): > > > [@Mangetout](#): > > > > to the extent that biting them just squeezes the filling out of the opposite side before your teeth have made it through the bread > > Proper bagel constructions is eaten open-topped, with cream cheese, lox, a slice of tomato, capers, and a bit of red onion. Use of bagels in a sandwich is limited to fast food joints. > > But I digress. Nope, any of the good delis will give you a sandwich on a bagel, usually piled high with whatever you’ve asked for. Not quite Dagwood height but not flat, either. A good pastrami or corned beef is magnifique! As long as you hold it properly you can keep the meat in it. > [@Coriolanus](#): > > I can’t speak for all places in the USA yet even ten years out I would love a bagel from Forest Hills in Queens, NYC. Even the Bagel Shop out by my Mom on Long Island is good. Yet it, and likely most of them close at 1PM. That’ll have been over 8 hours since they started making them and they’ll have sold all they made by then. I’m used to more like 3pm but I agree, if you go after lunch rush options may be slim pickin’s & you may not get your desired type/flavor. I’ve also been in one at 9 or 10am on a weekend & have waited a minute or two for a fresh batch. There’s almost nothing as good as a fresh, _hot_ from the oven bagel! (I couldn’t even hold it to eat; had to let it cool for a few minutes before chomping into it.) NY/LI bagels are also bigger, both in diameter & height than something like a Lender’s bagel you get in the supermarket. I actually read this thread while eating one this morning, unfortunately, it was purchased fresh the other day. ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2024, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-bagels-popular-in-england/1010162/59 "2024-11-14T18:00:44Z")
I’ll just throw in since no one has mentioned it but Dunkin Donuts makes a decent bacon, egg and cheese bagel sandwich all day long. I miss the McDonald’s breakfast sandwiches since they dropped them from the all day menu. Heck, they stop selling them before I get out of bed these days. ---
**Author:** ![Stanislaus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stanislaus/32/3391_2.png) [@Stanislaus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stanislaus)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2024, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-bagels-popular-in-england/1010162/60 "2024-11-14T21:17:56Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > There aren’t that many true Kosher delis in the States either, unless you’re near a pretty large Jewish community. There are many Kosher-style delis near Boston, but only a handful over in Brookline are actually Kosher. Yeah, but there aren’t even fake kosher delis in most of the UK. It’s a culinary style that just isn’t widespread or well established. To our loss! And what there is has come at least as much via American cultural import as home grown, I would guess. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-bagels-popular-in-england/1010162.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-bagels-popular-in-england/1010162.md?page=4)