Best Trendy Bagels Restaurants in Chicago
17 hand-picked restaurants, critic-reviewed and ranked
Last Updated: February 2026
Our Top Pick
The Bagelers Coffeehouse
Kettle-boiled bagels with serious toppings and café-level coffee in one room.
Notable Picks
8.7
The Bagelers Coffeehouse is a Lincoln Park staple for kettle-boiled bagels, house-made cream cheeses, and breakfast sandwiches that lean more craft café than corner deli. Locals use it as an all-day bagel and coffee stop, from work sessions at the communal tables to quick grab-and-go mornings.
Must-Try Dishes:
The Bageler breakfast sandwich, Sea salt bagel with giardiniera cream cheese, Cheddar jalapeño bagel with garlic chive spread
What Makes it Special: Kettle-boiled bagels with serious toppings and café-level coffee in one room.
8.5
Handcrafted sourdough bagels with a Chicago-leaning flavor lineup, built around a chewy interior and lightly blistered crust. The ordering sweet spot is a single specialty bagel plus a schmear or one sandwich—tight orders keep timing, toast, and texture consistent during the morning rush.
Must-Try Dishes:
Chicago-style bagel with house schmear, Cacio e pepe bagel, Smoked salmon lox bagel
What Makes it Special: Sourdough-driven bagels with signature Chicago seasoning profiles and rotating specials.
Kanela Breakfast Club brings a slightly Greek-leaning brunch menu to Streeterville, with lox-and-bagel plates and fried egg bagel sandwiches sharing space with pancakes and crab cake benedicts. It’s a sit-down option where the bagel set skews more composed and cafe-style than grab-and-go, with enough variety to please both bagel traditionalists and brunch grazers.
Must-Try Dishes:
Lox and Bagel with chive cream cheese, Fried egg bagel sandwich, Crab Cake Benedict
What Makes it Special: A polished brunch cafe where lox bagels and eggy bagel sandwiches are treated like plated entrees.
8.4
West Town Bakery & Diner anchors the neighborhood with house-baked bagels, pastry cases, and all-day brunch plates under one busy roof. Locals lean on it for breakfast bagel sandwiches, coffee, and cakes in a casual, family-friendly room that also works for quick meetings.
Must-Try Dishes:
Breakfast bagel sandwich with egg and cheese, Bagel with lox and cream cheese, Toasted bagel with veggie cream cheese and side hash browns
What Makes it Special: Big-volume neighborhood bakery where bagels, cakes, and brunch share one counter.
#5
Brobagel
8.3
Vibes:
Cheap Eats Budget Brilliance
Quick Bites Champions
Solo Dining Sanctuaries
Trendy Table Hotspots
Brobagel is a dedicated Wicker Park bagel shop turning out New York–style, boiled-then-baked bagels with a crackly crust and dense chew. Morning regulars line up for simple cream-cheese setups and hefty breakfast sandwiches before the shop sells out.
Must-Try Dishes:
Everything bagel with scallion cream cheese, Bacon, egg, and cheese bagel sandwich, Vegan tofu scramble bagel sandwich with mushrooms and spinach
What Makes it Special: Traditional boiled-and-baked bagels from veteran bakers with decades of experience.
8.3
Dorothy's Bakery is a farmers market–born bakery turned Clark Street storefront, known for sourdough bagels, pastries, and the Frankie breakfast sandwich. The space is compact and largely takeaway-focused, but locals treat it as a morning ritual for freshly baked bread, bagel sandwiches, and coffee.
Must-Try Dishes:
Frankie bacon-egg-and-cheese bagel sandwich, Crème brûlée croissant, Sourdough bagel with smoked salmon
What Makes it Special: Market-honed sourdough bagels and pastries now served from a focused Lincoln Park storefront.
8.3
A Loop takeout-first window that treats bagel sandwiches like the main event—hot, fast, and built to hold together from first bite to last. Best for a focused morning or lunch reset: pick one signature bagel build, add coffee, and keep the order tight so the line stays painless.
Must-Try Dishes:
Lox bagel, Sausage, egg & cheese on jalapeño cheddar bagel, Spicy cream cheese bagel sandwich
What Makes it Special: Takeout-window bagel sandwiches with real downtown speed and polish.
8.3
A Lincoln Square cafe where bagels are treated like a composed breakfast—distinct spreads, clean builds, and a menu that leans nutrient-dense without feeling austere. The move is a signature bagel sandwich plus one of their house-driven coffee drinks, then take advantage of the patio when it’s open.
Must-Try Dishes:
Strawberry cashew cream bagel, Green Power bagel sandwich, Goat cheese + cucumber + avocado bagel sandwich
What Makes it Special: Bagel sandwiches built around distinctive spreads and health-leaning combinations.
8.3
A Ravenswood sourdough bakery that treats bagels like a craft product—hand-rolled, kettle-boiled, and baked onsite, with flavors (like za’atar) that stay savory and structured. The best orders lean into their lox-and-schmear builds or a breakfast sandwich, and the patio/takeout flow makes it an easy repeat stop when you want something more serious than a standard bagel counter.
Must-Try Dishes:
Za’atar sourdough bagel, Lox & chive everything bagel, The Youngster bagel sandwich
What Makes it Special: Sourdough-based, kettle-boiled bagels with real flavor-driven topping choices.
8.2
A downtown bagel counter that leans into bold flavors and sandwich builds, designed for fast morning runs and early sell-outs. The sweet-and-savory lane is the move—pick one signature bagel sandwich, keep modifications minimal, and treat it like a focused grab-and-go stop.
Must-Try Dishes:
Bacon, 2 Eggs & Cheddar on a bagel, Churro Bagel, Everything bagel with chive cream cheese
What Makes it Special: Flavor-forward bagels and big breakfast sandwiches that sell out early.
#11
Rye Deli & Drink
8.2
Vibes:
Business Lunch Power Players
Trendy Table Hotspots
Quick Bites Champions
Instagram Worthy Wonders
A smoked-meat deli built around a breakfast menu that treats bagels like a real lane, not an afterthought—kettle-boiled options with schmears and stacked sandwiches that hold up for an office-day start. It’s best when you commit to one bagel build (salmon or bacon-egg-cheese) and skip the buffet mindset so it stays crisp, hot, and focused.
Must-Try Dishes:
Classic Smoked Salmon Bagel (Stack It), Royale with Cheese (bacon, egg, cheddar on a plain bagel), Everything bagel with smoked salmon schmear
What Makes it Special: A deli that actually runs a full bagels-and-schmears lane all morning.
8.2
A compact Edgewater café from Co-op Sauce and Crumb Bread where bagels get treated like a canvas—bold spreads, rotating builds, and a lox option that leans savory and layered. Come hungry but focused: one bagel sandwich plus a sauce sample is the sweet spot before the menu tempts you into over-ordering.
Must-Try Dishes:
Bagel Du Jour, The Lox (bagel), Bagel with garlic chilli crisp spread
What Makes it Special: Bagel sandwiches built around creative spreads and rotating, chef-y fillings.
#13
All Together Now
8.1
All Together Now is a wine shop, cheese counter, and cafe that bakes its own bagels for daytime service alongside sandwiches and natural wines. West Town neighbors treat it as a relaxed spot where you can grab a bagel in the morning and come back later for a glass and small plates.
Must-Try Dishes:
House bagel with cream cheese and seasonal toppings, Breakfast bagel sandwich with egg and cheese, Toasted bagel with charcuterie and cheese on the side
What Makes it Special: Hybrid bottle shop and cafe where house-baked bagels meet wine and cheese.
#14
Gotham Bagels
8
A New York-style bagel counter that’s strongest when you stick to the classics: a properly toasted bagel, a clean cream-cheese lane, and a topping that doesn’t fight the chew. The room runs quick and compact, so it’s best treated as a grab-and-go staple rather than a long hang.
Must-Try Dishes:
Premium Atlantic cold-smoked salmon bagel, Cinnamon sugar bagel with maple cream cheese, Bacon, egg & cheese bagel sandwich
What Makes it Special: New York-style bagels with a tight, classic toppings lane.
Worthy Picks
#15
Bagel Miller
7.8
A bagel shop built around thick, sturdy bagels and sandwich combos that lean filling rather than delicate. It’s best when you keep the order focused—one signature sandwich and one straightforward schmear—so the experience stays clean and satisfying.
Must-Try Dishes:
Breakfast bagel sandwich, Lox bagel sandwich, House schmear bagel
What Makes it Special: Bagel-and-sandwich focus with big, sturdy builds.
#16
Café Consume
7.8
A McKinley Park coffee counter that doubles as a local hangout, with breakfast sandwiches that happen to land well on an everything bagel. Treat it like a focused grab-and-go stop: one bagel sandwich, one iced drink, done.
Must-Try Dishes:
Bacon, egg & cheese on an everything bagel, Sausage, egg & cheese on an everything bagel, Iced latte
What Makes it Special: Breakfast bagel sandwiches that feel built for regulars.
#17
Sip & Savor
7.7
A bright, community-forward coffee shop where bagel sandwiches fit naturally into the daytime cafe lineup. It’s strongest as a simple breakfast stop—one bagel sandwich, one specialty drink—before the room fills up.
Must-Try Dishes:
Ham & egg bagel sandwich, Mocha Bama, Honey vanilla latte
What Makes it Special: Coffeehouse energy with a reliable bagel-sandwich breakfast lane.