The 20 Best Bagel Shops in New Jersey: 2025 Edition is written by Vinny Parisi
All across New Jersey, generations of bakers have spent lifetimes perfecting the art of kettle-boiled, hand-rolled bagels. So we say with absolute confidence that NJ’s bagel prowess matches even that of our neighbors in New York City. But not all bagels are made equally, so Best of New Jersey has made it our mission to find NJ’s 20 Best Bagel Shops.
Our statewide list showcases the state’s must-try bagels. These are the spots locals wake up early for, order by the dozen, and swear are worth the drive. This fun mix of mom and pop shops and larger known bagel spots all have one thing in common: Their bagels are beloved for their texture or creativity, pairing perfectly with breakfast meats or homemade cream cheese spreads.
Quick Click Guide: Select an NJ Region below to find the Best Bagel Shop nearby.
| North Jersey | Central Jersey | Jersey Shore | South Jersey |
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North Jersey
Alfa Bagels
Where: Randolph
Details: A longtime staple of the community, locals have been going (almost exclusively) to Alfa Bagels for over 25 years. Fans say it’s tough to go anywhere else after trying their hand-rolled bagels and breakfast sandwiches. For the uninitiated: Do not be intimidated by the long lines. Despite each order being prepared with care, the warm and inviting staff keeps the line moving quick. We recommend the sesame bagel with pork roll, egg, and cheese. For lunch, try one of their overstuffed sandwiches like the classic Pastrami.
Bagels by Jarrett
Where: West Orange
Details: The secret recipe used by owner Jarrett creates twice-baked, heavily seasoned bagels that are irresistible to locals. Fans love the bagels here so much, they often buy a dozen of them frozen for reheating throughout the week. Jarrett is always cooking up new ways to enjoy his bagels. His newest creation is bagel buns, a sort of Hot Pocket-esque idea that stuffs bagels with different fillings. (Everything from traditional breakfast options like egg and cheese to lunch favorites like chicken salad.)
Hot Bagels Abroad
Where: Bloomfield
Details: Often imitated, never duplicated, the original Hot Bagels Abroad is in Bloomfield; first opening its doors back in 1992. Hand rolled and baked fresh daily, they offer all the classic bagels and spreads, as well as lunchtime bagel sandwiches. This includes staples like chicken cutlet in addition to creative twists like bagel BLTs and even grilled cheese bagels. The menu boasts vegan options, plus cream cheese and tofu spreads available to purchase by the pound. All bagels at Hot Bagels Abroad are cholesterol and preservative free.
Kinderkamack Hot Bagels
Where: River Edge
Details: Kinderkamack Hot Bagels is a true hole-in-the-wall, only visible to those who know where to look. They have barely any presence online or on social media. But what they do have is a long line out the door every morning on weekends. (And on most weekdays too, for that matter.) Want more proof locals can’t get enough? Kinderkamack Hot Bagels is open seven days a week beginning at 6:00 am daily. This way all the early birds can get their orders in before the morning rush. 2025 marks their 30th anniversary, so cheers to that!
O’Bagel
Where: Hoboken | Stirling
Details: O’Bagel is so confident in their bagel-making skills, they are willing to share their recipes. Anyone can order the O’Bagel Baking Kit and make their most popular bagels — Plain, French Toast, and Everything — at home. But for those who want to leave it to the experts, they offer a carefully-curated breakfast and lunch menu. We recommend the Jalapeno Cheddar bagel with bacon, egg, and cheese with a side of tater tots. With additional locations across Central Jersey, most NJ residents are never far from an O’Bagel.
Plaza Bagels & Deli
Where: Clifton
Details: Open since 1988, Plaza Bagels is rapidly approaching 40 years in business. The secret to their success? They continue to bake bagels all day long, so there is never an old or stale bagel in the place. Locals love their variety of bagels, including the unique Bagel Twist, which are three bagels twisted into a sub roll. Weekends are super busy here, largely because it’s the only time of week they offer their specialty bagels. This includes the mega popular Oreo, Jalapeno Cheddar, French Toast, and Bacon Cheddar.
Sonny’s Bagels
Where: South Orange
Details: Sonny’s Bagels has been around since 1971, and remains a local favorite to this day. (Even surviving the always anxiety-inducing change in management back in 2017.) The shop prides itself on their high-quality smoked fish and assortment of cream cheeses. This includes their nova, lox, whitefish, herring, and baked salmon, all sourced from local NJ purveyors. As for those specialty cream cheese spreads, fan favorites include scallion, strawberry, walnut raisin, olive, and veggie. Sonny’s Bagels bakes both full sized and mini bagels.
Teaneck Road Hot Bagels
Where: Teaneck
Details: This not-quite hole in the wall counter-serve spot has been delighting customers since 1993. Their hand-rolled kosher bagels are always fresh and come in all the traditional flavors. (No frills necessary.) Popular options include sesame, cinnamon raisin, whole wheat, and of course, everything. Locals also love the quality of their spreads, which include butter, cream cheese, peanut butter, jelly, honey, and more. Lox, veggie cream cheese, scallion cream cheese, tuna fish, and white fish are also available.
Central Jersey
Bagel Pantry
Where: Metuchen
Details: Three Palestinian brothers brought Bagel Pantry to life in 1997, and 25+ years later locals still love it. Their success has led Bagel Pantry to be able to expand into additional markets. They now have locations in Short Hills and Millburn. The menu selection includes plenty of mainstays, but also frequently introduces limited time specials and baked treats. While breakfast is the star of the show, we recommend getting an order of the Bagel Pantry’s famous home fries. They make any meal, breakfast or lunch, even better.
Bagel Street Grill
Where: Plainsboro
Details: Bagel Street Grill skyrocketed to fame after an appearance on Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives in 2016. The owners blew show host Guy Fieri away with their Jalapeno Cheddar bagel that packed a surprising amount of heat. Since then, the original owners — brothers Jimmy and Doug Rohr — sold the business in 2018. However, the brothers ensured the new owners would respect the shop’s legacy; maintaining the original bagels and recipes that locals have grown accustomed to. (Including that legendary Jalapeno Cheddar bagel.)
Bagels N’ Cream
Where: Robbinsville
Details: Bagels N’ Cream has changed ownership three times since opening in 1993. Original owners George & Dianne Villani actually ran an ice cream shop that introduced bagels to the menu. (Which is where the name comes from.) Then came Nadir Dural, who maintained the brand’s high standards and fresh bagels for over a decade in the 2000’s. Current owner Vedat Saygili took over the business in 2020, adding an extra emphasis on hot coffee to the mix. Throughout the changes, Bagels N’ Cream remains a pillar of Robbinsville.
Caesar’s Bagel & Deli
Where: Hamilton
Details: Caesar’s is a full-service deli with bagels, sandwiches, omelettes, and more. Their classic breakfast sandwiches raise the bar for egg & cheese bagels thanks to the addition of high-quality meats. Available choices include Pork Roll, Bacon, Ham, Steak, Turkey Bacon, Sausage, and Italian Sausage. Their selection of bagel spreads is also noteworthy, boasting favorites like cream cheese, jelly, Oreo, and Nova Sliced Lox. We recommend going for the blueberry or fan-favorite French Toast bagel with cream cheese.
Kosher Bagels Supreme
Where: Springfield
Details: Owner Manuel Branco has spent a lifetime baking bagels. Born in Portugal in 1944, he came to American in 1967. Prior to owning Kosher Bagels Supreme, he worked at My Mother’s Bakery in Newark; Watson Bagels in Irvington; and Elmora Bagels in Elizabeth. Finally, he opened Kosher Bagels Supreme in 1983 and continues to serve the community to this day. Popular bagels at this spot include Whole Wheat Everything, Salt, Sesame, Onion, Egg, and French Toast. As for spreads, we recommend the Jalapeno Cream Cheese.
Udo’s Bagels
Where: Lawrenceville
Details: Udo’s Bagels has a larger variety of bagels than many of the spots on this list. That’s because on top of traditional favorites, they offer options like Chocolate Chip, Asiago, Sun-dried Tomato, and Cinnamon Sugar. Udo’s also frequently rotates new flavors, and brings back old classics like Bacon Cheddar, to keep things fresh. We recommend the Egg Everything Bagel with either scallion cream cheese or Pork Roll and egg whites. Pro tip for those visiting from out of town: Plan to pick up the order and go, it’s usually packed.
Jersey Shore
Bagel Masters
Where: Shrewsbury
Details: The bagels here are soft on the inside and crispy on the outside. That’s because they hand roll and kettle boil all of the dough they bake fresh daily. To support local kids in the community Bagel Masters offers a special school lunch program. Shrewsbury Borough School families can drop off a completed form and payment deposit by the Friday before the upcoming school week. Meals are then delivered daily to the school. In addition to bagels, they sell salads, sandwiches, and wraps filled with a selection of Boar’s Head deli meats.
Baron’s Bagels
Where: Brick | Point Pleasant
Details: Baron’s Bagels is a one-of-a-kind spot for unique cream cheese spreads. Their high-quality, hand-rolled bagels pair perfectly with their homemade, blended cream cheeses. Popular flavors include Oreo, Green Olive and Pimento, Sundried Tomato, Walnut Raisin, Jalapeno, and Muellers crumb cake. They also introduce new options every so often, including their latest creation, Pumpkin Cream Cheese. Most of their cream cheeses also have tofu variants, so nobody feels excluded from the fun. We recommend the Sriracha Bacon cream cheese!
Hot Bagel Bakery
Where: Oakhurst
Details: In business for over 45 years, Hot Bagel Bakery is owned and operated by two brothers. Dan and John are old school, using a traditional barrel mixer to give their bagels that signature crunch. They hand roll each bagel, boil them, then bake them in a revolving oven. Their most popular options include the Egg Everything, Onion, Sesame, and Poppy bagels. We recommend the Egg Everything bagel with scallion cream cheese, or the Cinnamon Raisin bagel with strawberry cream cheese. But in truth, every bagel here is a winner.
JT’s Bagel Hut
Where: Forked River
Details: Locals love the unique selection of bagels baked fresh every day at JT’s Bagel Hut. Some of their more unique bagels include Pizza, Swiss, Cinnamon Crunch, and Harvest Wheat. Customers can create their favorite bagel sandwich from a large list of breakfast items. Popular picks include Canadian bacon, green peppers, cheddar cheese, Pork Roll, egg whites, and mushrooms. As for their signature bagel, the most popular by far is the ever-trendy French Toast bagel. JT’s uses Boar’s Head meats and cheeses, and Taylor brand Pork Roll.
South Jersey
Sharky’s Bagels
Where: Blackwood
Details: There are folks in South Jersey — including North Jersey transplants — that swear Sharky’s makes the best bagels they’ve ever had. It seems hard to imagine, but there’s no denying Sharky’s takes an authentic approach to their bagel-making. Their selection of bagels ranges from classics like Poppy and Cinnamon to standouts like Rye and Bacon, Egg, and Cheese. They also serve the trendy French Toast bagels here, as well as blueberry. We recommend the Sharky’s Special: Bacon, Egg, & Cheese on a Bacon, Egg, & Cheese Bagel.
Westmont Bagel
Where: Haddon Township
Details: Nat Acchione started Westmont Bagel back in 1993, striving to make the best boiled bagels around. That remains true today, with his daughter and son-in-law running the shop and serving up fan favorite bagels. Open seven days a week from 6:00 am – 3:00 pm, Westmont Bagel is always baking traditional favorites. But every once in a while, they will introduce a new flavor. Their latest creation is the sourdough bagel. We especially recommend the Grilled Chicken Rancher sandwich on an everything bagel, perfect for lunch.
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NJ’s Best Bagel Shops FAQs
The concept of “authenticity” is rooted in a specific, time-honored manufacturing process. Mainly, bagels which are “kettle-boiled” and “hand-rolled”. The boiling stage is what imparts the glossy, slightly resistant crust and signature chew, while hand-rolling creates a denser, more satisfying texture than machine-forming can replicate. Hot Bagel Bakery, Bagel Masters, and Teaneck Road Hot Bagels exemplify this tradition.
Plaza Bagels & Deli in Clifton unveils “specialty bagels” every weekend. Their lineup includes the wildly popular Oreo, Jalapeno Cheddar, French Toast, and Bacon Cheddar bagels. Udo’s Bagels in Lawrenceville boasts favorites like Chocolate Chip, Cinnamon Sugar, Asiago, and Sun-dried Tomato. In addition, JT’s Bagel Hut in Forked River sports savory creations like the Pizza and Swiss bagels, and trendy French Toast bagel.
Baron’s Bagels in Brick and Point Pleasant offers unique cream cheese spreads. Favorites include Oreo, Green Olive and Pimento, Sundried Tomato, Walnut Raisin, Jalapeno, Muellers crumb cake, and Pumpkin. Similarly, Sonny’s Bagels in South Orange is a bastion for the timeless combination of a bagel and lox.
The truest hidden gem spot in New Jersey is Kinderkamack Hot Bagels in River Edge. The shop is met with a long line out the door every morning on weekends. (And on most weekdays too, for that matter.).
For an authentic and top-tier Pork Roll, Egg, and Cheese experience, we recommend these three bagel shops: Alfa Bagels in Randolph, JT’s Bagel Hut in Forked River, and Caesar’s Bagel & Deli in Hamilton.
Top Photo: © O’Bagel | Website
