These bagels are too good to go
- Gabby DiRusso
- 4 hours ago
- 6 min read
There’s nothing better than a New York City bagel. But it feels hard to justify paying upwards of a $10 bagel sandwich, unless it’s a special occasion, when we could all make a delicious sandwich at home. On Too Good To Go, an app that reduces food waste by selling the day’s leftovers at discounted prices, there’s a cornucopia of bagel shops that offer “surprise bags:” each containing anywhere from 6 to 27 unsliced, untoasted bagels and priced at $6.99 or less. (If you haven’t heard of Too Good To Go before, I’d highly recommend downloading it for some amazing deals, and checking out another Bite Club article about living off Too Good To Go for a whole day.)
Because of my love of bagels, homemade bagel sandwiches, and a good bargain, I decided to try every single bagel shop that offers a Too Good To Go surprise bag within a one-mile radius of Washington Square Park, and rank them based on quality and value. It is important to note, however, that some of the bagel shops may actually have a better quality for their fresh bagels, as the bagels that they give away on Too Good To Go are the leftovers, either from the end of the day or the previous day.
13. Ark Bagels
110 8th Ave, New York, NY 10011
Quantity: 10
Price per bagel: $0.59
Total price: $5.99
Courtesy of Gabby DiRusso
Ark Bagels has a super cute aesthetic. It definitely would be a good place to check out and maybe study or grab a quick coffee. Alas, the bagels didn’t match the ambiance. First impressions go a long way, and these bagels were surprisingly square in shape. Although one can’t judge a book by its cover, the quality didn’t make it any better. They tasted like a bad Kaiser roll from the supermarket.
12. Tribeca Bagels
374 Canal St, New York, NY 10013
Quantity: 27
Price per bagel: $0.18
Total price: $4.99
Courtesy of Gabby DiRusso
Tribeca Bagels takes the prize for best value, coming in at just 18 cents per bagel. Sadly, I didn’t find that the quality justified ranking it any higher just because of the value. The bagels didn’t have any crust, were quite dense, and had very little flavor. The unfortunately poor quality, however, may also be amplified by the fact that they were day-old bagels, as they were pretty stale.
11. Black Seed Bagels
170 Elizabeth St, New York, NY 10012
Quantity: 7 + 2 small spreads
Price per bagel: $0.99
Total price: $6.99
This was the most disappointing surprise bag. For $6.99, one of the most expensive surprise bags, I’d expected to receive at least a dozen bagels. But as they took the bagels from the case, I ended up with only seven flat bagels—but they weren’t flagels. The dense texture, compounded by the flatness, was hard to overcome, but they were at least much better when toasted.
10. Grabstein’s Bagels
651 Broadway, New York, NY 10012
Quantity: 10
Price per bagel: $0.60
Total price: $5.99
Much like the other bottom ranking bagels, Grabstein’s Bagels doesn’t satisfy the expectation when one walks into a bagel store. Instead of a chewy interior and crunchy outside that one desires from a bagel, these bagels tasted like a dinner roll and were overly dense.
9. Leon’s Bagels
169 Thompson St Suite B, New York, NY 10012
Quantity: 8
Price per bagel: $0.50
Total price: $3.99
Leon’s Bagels has a lot of hype around the city. In my opinion, it didn’t live up to it, at least in terms of their surprise bag. Although these bagels did have a nice crust on the outside, they exhibited little flavor. It had the vibe of a grocery store bagel, not one from a good bagel shop.
8. Gramercy Bagels
246 3rd Ave, New York, NY 10010
Quantity: 13
Price per bagel: $0.46
Total price: $5.99
Courtesy of Gabby DiRusso
These bagels looked like they were going to be good because they were thick and fluffy. In this case the looks were a little deceiving. In reality, they were much more akin to dinner roll than a nice, chewy bagel and lacked a robust flavor. The value was good, however. If you live in Gramercy, the location is perfect, but otherwise requires a bit of a walk.
7. Bagel Pub
110 University Pl, New York, NY 10003
Quantity: 6 + 2 medium spreads
Price per bagel: $0.99
Total price: $5.99
If you’re also looking to get some spreads, you may rank Bagel Pub higher. They always provide two medium-sized spreads, but only 6 bagels. The quality of the bagels are quite good though: thick, chewy, and tasty. However, I didn’t rank it higher because I found that the value was disappointing.
6. Bagel Buffet
510 6th Ave, New York, NY 10011
Quantity: 11 + 1 cinnamon roll + 5 rotting bananas
Price/bagel: $0.36
Total price: $3.99
Courtesy of Gabby DiRusso
When I received this surprise bag, I was off-put by the inclusion of a bag of five rotting bananas (not pictured) in addition to the bagels, which was like asking for a fruit fly infestation in my apartment. Although the bagels themselves looked small and flat, they were super tasty. My favorite variety was the Honey Oat, which was perfectly dense, with a distinct, mildly sweet flavor, serving as a great base for sandwiches. The bagels were both flavorful and chewy, though mostly didn’t have any shell on the outside and were rather uniformly soft.
5. Pop’s Bagels (Nolita )
55 E Houston St, New York, NY 10012
Quantity: 12
Price per bagel: $0.50
Total price: $5.99
These bagels have a beautiful shine and made for some nice lunch sandwiches. My go-to bagel sandwich is one packed with turkey, cheese, avocado, arugula, and maybe a little fig jam or mustard. When on their own though—simply toasted with a little butter or jam—these bagels lacked a strong flavor. I also wish that they were slightly thicker, which would make them feel more satisfying to me.
4. Bagels on the Square
7 Carmine St, New York, NY 10014
Quantity: 15
Price per bagel: $0.40
Total price: $5.99
Convenient location near West Fourth Street. The quality was similar to Pop’s Bagels, as they made for delicious sandwiches. Nice crust, texture, and flavor. However, Bagels on the Square provided an extra few bagels for the same price compared to Pop’s, leading me to rank them slightly higher.
3. Murray’s Bagels
500 6th Ave, New York, NY 10011
Quantity: 14 + 1 banana
Price per bagel: $0.43
Total price: $5.99
Courtesy of Gabby DiRusso
These bagels were thick, flavorful, and chewy, making for a wholly satisfying experience. Beautiful crust on the outside and nice, complex bagel flavor. Murray’s Bagels provides everything one would expect from a bagel shop, with great value too.
2. Gotta Getta Bagel
263 1st Ave, New York, NY 10003
Quantity: 10 + 1 mini bagel
Price per bagel: $0.67
Total price: $6.99
Courtesy of Gabby DiRusso
These were some good bagels. They had a nice shiny crust on the outside. For fans of a sweet bagel, the french toast bagel was quite tasty, providing a syrupy flavor throughout. The value isn’t one of the lowest, but the quality more than makes up for this aspect.
1. Bagel Bob’s
51 University Pl, New York, NY 10003
Quantity: 15 + 10 mini bagels
Price per bagel: $0.35
Total price: $6.99
Courtesy of Gabby DiRusso
An NYU classic, located at the heart of campus. The quality of these bagels is legit. As you can see from the photo, they have a great shine, resulting in a nice crust on the outside. They’re thick with a chewy interior. Also, instead of having a premade bag ready, they take them directly from the case as you pick up the order around 3 p.m., so they’re pretty fresh. Bagel Bobs ranks second best for value, too. So definitely stop by one afternoon in between classes for a bag of bagels!
I hope you enjoyed reading my ranking of all 13 Too Good To Go bagels near NYU. The quality was surprisingly variable, but the top five were all good bagels that I’d definitely recommend. If you haven’t already, download the app and start forming your own opinions!
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