It's on 2 of my lists. Each entry below is what I wrote about it there, with my verdict on that list, the fullest first.
- AddressList of NYC Locations
- From my guide, updated September 2026.
At face value it may seem like Black See Bagels has two strikes against them. They’re the newish kids on the block (opening in 2014) and they serve Montreal-style bagels (hand-rolled and poached). Montreal bagels are thinner than tradition New York bagels, but it works.
New Yorkers find them irresistible, as evidenced by the long lines every hour of the day. The signature recipe is attributed to Black Seed Bagel’s James Beard-nominated executive chef, Dianna Daoheung, and dang, she knows her stuff.
What’s more, the house-made spreads are worth writing home about, especially the dill and lox spread (I’m still dreaming about it). It’s not hard to see why Black Seed Bagel has risen to the top of many “best bagels in NYC” lists in such a short span of time.
To the untrained eye, Black Seed Bagels has two strikes against them. They’re the newish kids on the block (opened in 2014) and they serve Montreal-style bagels (hand-rolled and poached), which are thinner than traditional New York bagels.
But between you and me, overlooking this neighborhood haunt would be a mistake because these are some of the best bagels in NYC. The shop’s signature recipe was meticulously perfected by James Beard-nominated executive chef Dianna Daoheung. And dang, she knows her stuff.
Better still, the house-made spreads alone are worth the detour, especially the dill and lox spread (my favorite on the menu). What I love most about Black Seed is the balanced bagel-to-spread ratio, not too much and not too little.