Authentic Bagel Company

Delicious bagels, friendly service, nice atmosphere. They were out of scallion cream cheese, so they went out of their way to make more for me. It’s the little things that really make a place. Lovely atmosphere. Bagels still delicious after 5+ days in the freezer. Better than Beauty’s.

For the indecisive, be ready to make a choice – I usually ask for a recommendation, but I was told «you can’t go wrong with any of the sandwiches». Alright, time to put my decision making hat on. Went with the Best in the West on wheat (the guy at the counter did at least say that it was flavorful). It also sounded like they had run out of the corner bed by 11 am on a Saturday morning, so if you’re coming for that, be sure to come early.
OK, as for my food: the Best in the West was so good! There was a lot of complexity to it – the jalapeño jam made it simultaneously spicy and sweet, the cheddar cheese was gooey and rich and salty, the avocado (there isn’t much that comes in it) added the butteriness, and the egg was a perfect savory base (no meat necessary) on to our a lightly toasted bagel. Would definitely recommend this bagel and will be back to have it again.
Oh, and they also give you a little side of bagel crisps. These were good but a bit either garlicky or salty, so I couldn’t eat all of them.

It’s hard to find a great bagel in Oakland, but Authentic is the closest to the greats in LA and NYC. Yum.

I’d ordered a large order of bagels to take to work. Although the bagels were tasty, for some reason they weren’t split down the middle (as I thought was part of the bagel experience)…
I’m not sure if you have to make a special request to have them split.
I also ordered a latte, which had an interesting flavor… I’m not sure if it was nasty or just all around different for me…

Legit.
Hope that review was helpful.

First time today. Had the «best in the west» which lived up to its name. Boyfriend had a bagel with egg bacon cheddar and avocado. Seriously good. The bagel texture is perfect. I can’t wait to come back and try more of their combos. Service was fast and friendly. So glad I found this place on Unilocal,and it was so much cheaper than going out for brunch. Less than $ 10 per person. Bagels also come with crispy salted bagel chips. Yuuuuum

One of the best bagels in town. As a bagel snob, I had high expectations. The jalapeño bagel with jalapeño schmear is out of this world. Their lunch specials are delicious and easy too. I have to limit myself in the mornings. Great place for either a quick bagel or a sit down sandwich!

Great, if expensive, bagel sandwiches. I got the breakfast corned beef on jalapeño. The bagel was dense and chewy and moist, and the corned beef was nice and tender. It was also quite large. I would come again!

First– a review of the bagels: I have to confess I always get the same few things, but all of which are FANTASTIC! I always get a breakfast bagel w/​bacon, sausage, or corned beef. The bagel itself is just wow. Fluffy but dense… if that is possible? I used to get onion bagel, but the onions were getting a little too burnt for my taste when it’s toasted. I now get plain, and it’s still hella good. The corned beef is my fave and go to– the meet is not fatty or stringy or creepy at all like corned beef can be. The sausage patty is SUPER thick and great flavor– again not chewy or fatty. The bacon is also thick and good, I usually don’t get this but my bf swears by it. I also got a HUGE chocolate chip cookie once which was good too. The bfast sandwiches are great for a breakfast that will fill you up but not soo much that you can’t eat lunch.
Now a review of the service… I think its great! I was bummed to see that a reviewer below seemed to think the staff at this place discriminated against her and her bf based on the way they dress. Between my bf and I we have been here a dozen plus times alone, together, in work clothes/​uniforms/​casual you name it. The service is always consistent. The cashier may seem a little hipster-​y to you, but that doesn’t mean he judged you based on your outfit… sounds like he’s the one that got judged. Anyways, he is always consistently efficient and helpful. He’s not trying to be your best friend lady. He might not strike up a convo, but I mean… this is a busy bagel shop. Anyways before we became «regulars» I’m pretty sure he never recognized me but I’ve always left happy. And I am a regular now (even though I don’t know the cashier’s name still, sorry!) and can confidently say, the entire staff is fantastic. They must love what they do!

These guys are so unpretentious, they’re just making bagels and serving them up to hungry customers. And they’re good! I need to try the breakfast sandwich one day.
Pro Tip 1: If you ever get a chance to try their blueberry (not on the menu, only available some days when they have extras after wholesale), get it. that is, if you like the sweet bagel.
Pro Tip 2: Getting a bagel there will get you a side of bagel chips, which are very tasty. They don’t throw them in the bag when you get it to-​go!

The bagels are boiled and made with a sourdough starter. They have a somewhat chewy crust and dense crumb inside (
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I preferred the firmer texture with the bagel toasted (
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Fairly good East Coast-​style bagels with a certain thickness, density, and chewiness to the consistency that you just can’t find at bagel chains here on the Best Coast. The spreads and bagel sandwich offerings are quite yummy too, although they can get spendy pretty fast.
Some of the reviews do correctly note that service can be somewhat detached and laissez-​faire, for lack of a better word, plus they’re not exactly set up to handle high volume. Nevertheless, if you’re a bagel purist, you’d be hard-​pressed to find anything better here in the Bay Area.

Excellent; finally got around to trying them with a ½ dozen purchase for home consumption. I like that they aren’t puffed out like Noah’s where you can’t fit them in a toaster. Great consistency. Nice staff. If you can’t make it till later, you can order ahead in case they sell-​out.

5 stars because their «Best in the West» is the best bagel sandwich I’ve ever had, ever.
Overall atmosphere is laid back. I can tell a lot of regulars come here. I’ve seen posts about a lack of friendliness, but it hasn’t bothered me. The main cashier just seems like he’s trying to get through the line as quick as possible, which I’m all for.
I would recommend this place time and time again.

There’s not much to say — quality bagels, decent enough menu options and very chill, kind service! My friend pointed out that the owner was in the back, making and moving bagels, which is always a good sign in terms of how the business is run. I enjoyed my bagel sandwich with coffee and I’d definitely come back.

Breakfast of champions. Don’t sleep on the cappuccino’s! Hot cocoa isn’t on the menu but they’ll make you one! And it’s yummy & the froth is creamy and melts in your mouth. In Jack London Square you must try this spot out :)

2 stars: one for overall setting (very clean and neat), another for plate presentation.
I would have given this place 3 more stars if the cashier had better customer service. It’s the hipster guy just to be clear. Lose the attitude! :) Accompanying my boyfriend for a small lunch/​snack, this cashier seemed so annoyed that we had come here to eat. We came around noon with about 3 – 4 people ahead of us in line. No smile or small talk. Small talk doesn’t really matter, but the least you could do is smile at your customers.
A gentleman in a suit whom I assume was a businessman, had placed an order after us and I was so astonished by the cashier’s change of emotion and skill in his customer service. Perhaps the businessman was a regular? It doesn’t matter. Every guest/​customer should be treated like «a regular». Let me assure you, my boyfriend is a very easygoing and approachable guy, as he too is a businessman and deals with clients on a day to day basis, but I guess that doesn’t matter to this cashier if you’re a customer dressed in a t-​shirt and jeans.
P. S. I did not pay attention to how the cashier dealt with the customers before us, but I’m glad to see my fellow Unilocalers for this particular location agree that customer service is not very favorable here.

Bagels are very good this would be a great place if they Gave free coffee/​ice coffee refills like lungomire and every other coffee place does I don’t understand why they don’t!
I have been here 2 times they do not make blueberry bagels! Bummer. The guys working the counter are very nice I live right next door to this place and never came here once u until 2 days ago. My neighbor came with me he said he like lungomire better with there FREE refills
although I reminded him that lungomire has a horrible management system in place and does not want customers who have bicycles. The café there is awesome though!!:)
This bagel place also has VERY SMALL coffee cups for some reason and they don’t have soy milk

I don’t know how «authentic’ they are to east coast bagels but i do know, they are delicious on its own and in a sandwich!
Co-​workers and i indulged in their Housemade Corned Beef sandwich: swiss, sauerkraut, 1000 island dressing… initially, i was going to ask for it without the dressing but it was good as is! Added an avocado for $ 1.00. A little pricey but definitely worth the freshness of the sandwich accompanied with a pickle and peppered bagel chips. I thought it was a nice size but i guess people are expecting some beast of a sandwich which it is not.
Staff welcoming, friendly, small space with a few tables to dine in. I will definitely return to try their other breakfast/​lunch sandwiches as its worth the stroll from downtown… YUMMY!

Delicious authentic bagel sandwich with eggs and bacon is the way to go. This makes a delicious breakfast to start the day.
Every time I go to this place, it is always busy and packed with people standing in line ordering those delicious bagels. I must say, their poppyseed bagel is amazing tasty.
Conveniently located one block from Jack London Square with plenty of street parking.
Give this place a try, I bet you’ll want to thank me afterwards. Cheers!