Best Ugly Bagels

The Yodi is fantastic. Food quality is «from scratch.» The PB&J also is a must have.

Best staff, so friendly. The bagels are the best in NZ and the coffee pairs perfectly well. Often meet there with my bike crew, good parking for bikes

Great homemade bagels. Fresh ingredients and fun atmosphere! The coffee was very good and fresh

Good selection. A little pricey for a bagel but cheap compared to getting eggs benni etc! Always tastes good and never stingie on ingredients

There is a bit of hype about this place. Don’t get me wrong, bagels are great. Especially the tomato, avocado and basil one. It’s great how they your name over a little speaker but I’m unsure the price fits what you get in terms of value.

Oh the best bagels in Auckland I would say! Tasty, fresh and even though the menu is small it makes it somewhat easier to decide. And even then I still have to ask what everyone else is getting before I make my selection. Hate getting food envy! Perfect spot near Victoria park for a quick lunch with friends or great option for a takeaway on the go.

Like Al Brown’s other two establishments in Auckland Depot Eatery and Federal Delicatessen (both of which I rated five stars), Best Ugly Bagels is excellent, and the only reason I’m not giving it five stars is simply because you can get everything available at Best Ugly Bagels and more at nearby Federal Delicatessen, so giving both establishments five stars like cheating.
Star 1: How were the service and atmosphere?
First off, Al I don’t know who picks your soundtrack here at Best Ugly, but whoever it is you’d better be advised that they may leave you to become a top level radio DJ. While it was early on a holiday Tuesday during my visit to Best Ugly Bagels, the tunes coming out of the laid back and trendy establishment had me bopping around in a good mood in no time. Service was fast and friendly, and the open kitchen concept was excellent. Star Granted.
Star 2: How were the portions relative to the cost?
In a city where I was quickly coming to terms with the fact that everything would run me in excess of NZ$ 15.00, I was pleased to find that my decent portioned bagel sandwich came in at only NZ$ 10.00, and that was with a serving of Al’s brilliant pastrami no less. Star Granted.
Stars 3 and 4: How was the food?
So a disclaimer here — you could put some of Al’s pastrami on a literal piece of animal manure and I would think the dish was the best thing since the hamburger. I don’t know how it’s done, but it’s the best pastrami I’ve ever had anywhere — ever, and that’s having scoured the smoked meat establishments of New York City and Montréal alike.
My Yodi Sesame Bagel sandwich, which included habanero mustard and cheese, was served open faced, which surprised me, but at the end i realized that this was as good as having two sandwiches, which worked out brilliantly. The flavor was fantastic, the consistency and portions perfect, and the bagel itself well executed given the unique pizza oven style method it’s cooked under. This was, at the end of the day, a fantastic breakfast sandwich. Dual Stars Granted.
Star 5: Would you eat here every day if you could?
Here’s the kicker here as I alluded to earlier — no, I wouldn’t, but the only reason is because you can get more or less the entire Best Ugly Bagel menu at nearby Federal Delicatessen and then some! No Star Granted.

My diet has gone to shit since I arrived in Auckland yesterday. First I ate a cookie, and now an entire fucking bagel! I tried half of the King Salmon and half of the Swiss Melt with Marmite, both on wood oven-​baked sesame bagels. I realized two things: 1) I love Marmite 2) These are the best bagels I’ve had in my life!
Pass judgement if you will, but I didn’t feel guilty eating these — they are much smaller and lighter than American bagels!

Best ugly bagels. Well… they are anything but ugly and are definitely the best! What a great set up. Large wood oven, open planned kitchen, smiling and happy staff. Set up in a sort of shared warehouse with other restaurants and offices as it seems.
First thing I noticed was the handsome devil on the wall. A wonderful cow head with a bagel stuck on his horn. I love taxidermy. Then there is the whole lot of fresh bagels being cooked right in front of you. Woo hoo!
It’s hard not to order a habanero chilli bagel with swiss cheese, mustard, pickles and pastrami. Could there be anything better on a bagel? Clearly not! Schwing! The bagel was toasted and cheese melted. I thought it was going to come out fresh, but that’s all cool. Bagel was great, not that chewy but sweet. I guess the only thing about it that disappointed me was that it was not hot. Maybe I have a massive tolerance. But I when I saw habanero, I thought chilli awesomeness. It had a bite, but not a kick. Oh well. Damn tasty though and I would order it again, just that I would add some of the amazing looking chilli sauce on hand near the counter. When I come back to Auckland, I am coming back here for sure!

I feel sorry for these delicious bagels that they are so blatantly and without hesitation called UGLY. Beauty comes from within! Beauty is in the eye of the beholder! What other beauty phrase can I spout out here? The point is, stop being mean!
We popped in for a quick lunch and were absolutely delighted at the bagels on offer. I was a bit boring and immediately searched for something with salmon and cream cheese and was not let down when a delicious bagel was popped down in front of me. Topped with capers, this lunch seriously hit the spot. The bagel was soft and fresh and the toppings generous — however it was the perfect size — not too big, not too little, just right.
Special mention must go to the awesome staff who yell out your order one after the other with some serious gusto — all the while freshly baking bagels. They have created a super fun atmosphere and I am so bummed that Best Ugly Bagels is in an entirely different country!

I love bagels so I was keen to check this place out. I loved the idea of them baked onsite.
The bagels were delicious but as many of the reviews indicated the bagels were small. However they were generous with the toppings but I think that is the idea smaller bagels with the look of generous toppings then bigger bagels & stingy toppings! The jam is good quality jam like homemade. Really for $ 15 for salmon & cream cheese bagel it really is on the expensive side that’s $ 30 for two & when you think you can get a good steak with sides it is I must say a rip off. For the price of 5 bagels for what we paid all I thought was I could of tripled that amount of bagels if I made them at home.
The bagels were on the sweet side not that you could taste it right away but it’s a aftertaste.
All in all I’ve rated it a 3 because it’s place I won’t be dreaming of but if will go back if I’m in the mood for a bagel & I’m on the run. Also because my 5yr old son, myself & my husband all found something we wanted to eat & there is parking.

You can’t go wrong here. The bagels here are the best in town. Simple, delicious, and cheap. My favourites are the T.A.B (Tomato, Avocado, Basil), Chickaboom (which often comes back as Bagel of the Month), and the PB+J for dessert.

A favourite in our family–
Delicious every time, great staff, a great vibe and reasonably priced. Especially love being able to see the bagel making process.

Okay, full disclosure: I really had very high expectations going into this Best Ugly experience. I had been to both the Depot and the Federal Delicatessen on the previous day where I learned that Al Brown (the owner of all three establishments) had spent some time in New York and wanted to re-​create the great restaurants experiences to be had there. Depot and Fed Deli were dead-​on replications of New York restaurants, so when I found out that he has a bagel place too… Well, this little American was excited.
But then I got my bagels. We had the following:
–Bagel with cream cheese and raspberry jam
–Bagel with crème fraîche and smoked white fish
–Cinnamon raisin bagel with cream cheese
First off, the «plain» bagels were actually sesame bagels, and the only flavor they really had came from the sesame seeds. Second, they were incredibly small and thin – more like bagel crisps than the big chewy bagels that New Yorkers are accustomed to. And the toppings were scant. I mean, come on, when you order a schmear, the cream cheese shouldn’t be spread so thin that you can see the bagel through it.
So my disappointment is primarily rooted in the fact that I know and understand what true New York bagels are, and I know and understand that this fellow Al Brown has a pretty good conception of New York restaurants, and he is just deceiving the people of New Zealand.
I had a good flat white though.

I love this place. Thats all I can say. The atmosphere is exciting, the staff are relaxed and upbeat and ALWAYS helpful. And it is pretty awesome to see how the bagels are made at their Depot store. Recently they have updated their menu which has more items to cater to people, there are your stock standard bagels, or those with a little something extra. Either way, they are some of the best bagels Ive had.

Here is an awesome place. if you like bagel or even if you don’t, you might be convinced. The quality is really high and the bagels are cooked and made just in front of you. All of that in a wooden fire. The taste is so fresh and the ingredients used are top notch. Slightly expensive if you eat there versus just buying bagel but well. It is worth it. Proof of the success, it is almost always busy. Bagel with avocado is my favorite, followed by the delicious home made bagel chocolate cream

I can sum it up with one name… mean joe green.
Order it and enjoy. Bagels baked before your eyes and topped with the freshest ingredients. This place has landed in my travel top ten.

The tried and true salmon /​capers /​cream cheese combo always wins. I always go to ‘change it up’ and just can’t
I did live on the edge this one time and had a bite of the pastrami /​swiss cheese /​pickle and that was also delicious
The only gripe I have is the bagels are sometimes super stodgy. I know this is the idea but to the point of almost dry?
I have another fav bagel spot so it could be down to different bagel types /​baking techniques that I’m not totally familiar with. Obviously I still enjoy the hell out of these, but I do prefer Goodness Gracious myself.
Love the interior and relaxed, noisy atmosphere in the open kitchen. Your order is yelled across the room and you can see them make it before your eyes
Great buzz

I thought that Best Ugly Bagel may of been the answer to my bagel prayers but it seems I’ll have to keep on praying.
This place was quite easy to find with the giant Best Ugly signage on the front of the building. Wandering inside I was greeted with a very cool retro warehouse vibe with a buzz of activity as bagels are being wood fired, prepared with tasty fillings and the sounds of the espresso machine in full force. There was plenty of people here which is always a good sign. After pursuing the menu I decided on a B.A.T bagel and a Maple Iced Coffee (I couldn’t actually see a drinks menu but I’d seen the Maple Iced Coffee mentioned in other reviews and knew I had to try it). After ordering I was able to snag a seat, there is not a lot of seating here but most people were getting it to go.
My drink was prepared pretty quickly and half gone by the time my food was ready. The Maple Iced Coffee was tasty. Standard iced coffee with a touch of mapley goodness.
Now to the bagel (the main reason I was here). The B.A.T or basil, avocado and tomato was delicious. Generous amount of avocado which is always a plus. The bagel itself was a sesame bagel, although I love sesame seeds I would of preferred a choice as the seeds always get stuck in my teeth. I’m sure if I asked I could of had a plain bagel but it was not offered. The bagel was a little on the small side for my liking, I like a nice round, fat bagel and this one was was just a bit flat. Also a tad sweet. Don’t get me wrong I still enjoyed it and will probably venture here again.
Bagels for me are more about the bagel then the filling, so I guess my search for the perfect bagel continues…

AL Brown’s Best Ugly Bagels is a must have. To be honest, I really dislike bagels. They are stodgy and heavy and I think its like 5 slices of bread in one bagel. However Al will change your mind.
These bagels are handmade and finished off in a wood fire oven instead of the normal boiling process and then baked. They have a much lighter and chewier texture, and are a good quick bite if your on the run.
The toppings are unique. Below I have tried the TAB — tomato, avo and basil. Sounds basic, but its finished with a lemon fennel oil, which really just completes it. For more of a kick try the Yodi. Hidden underneath is a habanero mustard and finished with pastrami and swiss. If you are more classic, have the King which are your traditional flavours of salmon and cream cheese.
If you have gone as many times I have, try the ‘Bagel of the Moment’.
Rating:
Food: ⁹⁄₁₀
Service: ¹⁰⁄₁₀ — I have given this a 10 even though theres no real service, but the food is efficient and there’s no missing your order with the P. A System.
Value for money: Good
City Works Depot
Cnr Wellesley St & Nelson St
Opening hours: Mon-​Fri 7am-​3pm