Eltana

Small, but dense. This is the old style of bagel. Before the bagel machine was ever invented. Yep, the bagels are hand formed and you can tell. Rustic is the kind word I’m looking for (aka lumpy). At first I wasn’t sure. I thought they were a little too dense for my taste, but these bagels come into their own the next day. They hold up to age and toasting. Plus, there is a definite honey flavor from boiling in honey water (always a good thing). Toast one of these things and you’ll realize that Einstein’s/Noah’s, while fine in their own right, really shouldn’t be calling what they are selling bagels… round bread is what that is.

Located inside the Armory section of the Seattle Center. I have been to their Capitol Hill location. The bagels aren’t too bad. I wanted something a little more filling and healthier. Not to mention that the line ups were shorter and they take credit card. I had a salmon locks with cream cheese sandwich on a raisen bagel.

After watching the pride parade and picking up some swag my girl and I found that we were starving! To be honest, we only stopped off at this place because it was the shortest line out of all the food places. But it still took a really long time. Not too much of a complaint, though, considering how busy it was.
The bagels were good, not the best bagel I’ve ever had, but good. And size wise it was on the smaller end for me. But the saving grace was the cream cheese. It was delicious!
We both got the spicy garlic cream cheese and it was to die for. A lot of times I get something that says it’s spicy and it’s a little disappointing in the heat department, but this was dead on. It was one of the best spreads I’ve had in a while.
The guy who helped us at the counter was awesome! Super nice and polite.
If I’m ever in the neighborhood again and craving bagels, I’d probably give another try, but for now it seems like a one off

I haven’t been to Seattle Center in ages, and so was pleasantly surprised by the changes on a recent visit: lots of new and good choices in the food court. I was in the mood for a bagel, and I’ve enjoyed the bagels at Eltana’s main location in the past, so I got on the line.
The pros: the bagels are very good — chewy and flavorful. The spreads are good too — I went with a honey-​almond cream cheese that was tasty and not too sweet. My daughter got a salt bagel with tuna salad, and the tuna was very good, with capers and a nice dressing. The guys behind the counter were very rushed, but did take the time to be friendly.
The cons: there’s not much of a selection — a few spreads, a few bagels. I asked for a latte and was directed to a nearby Starbucks, which I wasn’t inclined to go to because waiting on one line is enough. I didn’t understand why the tuna salad was served on the side, rather than as a sandwich. And finally, the prices were a bit on the high side, although I realize that may be a function of the location.
If you’re in the Seattle Center and need a quick bite, and don’t mind the prices, Eltana is a good bet. If you are looking for a good bagel and are willing to make a trip, go to their main store, which has a nicer ambiance and better selection.

I love traditional bagels and Eltana makes delicious ones. This location gets fresh deliveries daily in the morning from the main location where they are baked. I have never had any service issues and I’m headed there now to grab the best bagels in town for breakfast. They are definitely not frozen as one of the other reviews accused. They actually sell day olds at the other location with a discount.

I felt compelled to write a review… because of my disappointment with the food and prices here…
First of all these bagels are too small and tasteless. We ordered a salt bagel with cream cheese, cup gazpacho that came with a bagel (I got everything bagel), and two drinks. These meager portions cost $ 17 and change… for absolutely nothing special. The menu did not make it clear that the so called specialty spread on my bagel wld add another few dollars to the price… I guess it was dumb of me not to make sure I just thought the spread no matter what it was would be included with the price when the bagel comes with the soup. I got hummus with carmelized onion. The real kicker was that it was so thinly spread on the bagel it was just laughable how much money I ended up wasting on this lunch. I warn others the portions vs the price just not worth it. The gazpacho was fresh tasting and good, the bagels were anything but.

Love the bagels here. They seem REAL to me and their fillings are brilliant. The sesame cookie they serve is my treat food. Coffee is good. Young people who work here are nice, and when I complimented them, they gave me a get a bagel free card for their main location in Wallingford.
This is my go to treat.
I am not a robo reviewer: I am a real person and I live on Queen Anne and work near the Seattle Center.

Saw all the other negative reviews, but I decided to take a chance anyway…
Extremely happy with what I got, not only cause the cream cheese and bagels are pretty damn good, but cause the customer service was excellent!
The guy at the till was extremely patient and helpful, letting me taste all the different spreads and talking to me in depth about them.
I ended up blowing $ 30 on cheeses and bagels. WORTH IT. If you don’t want your bagels toasted /​crisped, tell them not to leave it in the oven for too long. Simple!

I spend a lot of time at Seattle Center and until they remodeled The Armory, I pretty much refused to eat there. Eltana set up shop there for the grand opening.
I like the bagels here. I find the flavor and texture appealing. I do think they are overpriced for the tiny bagel you get. I would say in some instances, the bagel you get here is half the size of other places. Their bagels are hand rolled and from my perspective, that definitely makes a difference in the taste. I like the chewiness that you get from that technique. I also like the sweetness of the bagel which may have something to do with them boiling it in honey water. Of all the toppings, my favorite is the sweet honey almond cream cheese.
Other people have commented on getting a toasted bagel that turned into a crisp. That hasn’t been my experience and I actually think I’d like a crispy one. I have my bagels toasted there about half the time and the other half, just as is.
I wouldn’t go out of my way to eat here and for just a few dollars more I could get a better meal at Skillet Counter or for the same price, a whole pizza at MOD. However, I do choose them about 15 percent of the time I’m there because hey, sometimes I just want a bagel.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is what you call a disappointing bagel.

Try the habanero cream cheese if you want a little bite!

I’ve walked past this place a dozen times while at the Armory at Seattle Center and have always wanted to try it because I’m a bagel fan. Well so sad I can’t also say I’m an Eltana fan. Maybe these types of bagels just aren’t my thing but they were hard and little and not very exciting at all, I don’t get it.

Would you like a boiled and baked yeast dough that has been frozen, in which a poor attempt caramelizing said yeast dough via infrared radiating nichrome wire leaves the final product still in a frozen state?
And I question why is this shop using infrared radiating nichrome wire as a heat source, instead of combusting the natural structural tissue found in trees, as proclaimed by the advertisement and designation of this facility.

I saw the high praise that the Capitol Hill Eltana shop received on Unilocal,so I was excited to try this kiosk in the Seattle Center Armory. I must preface my review that I am from the east coast and spent some time in the NYC area, and I really liked the bagels there. The bagel I received here was nothing like the bagels I have from back home.
The bagel I got was extremely tiny (about three inches across or so). They looked like the size of the mini bagels you can get at Trader Joe’s. The bagel plus cream cheese spread came out to about $ 5, which is ridiculously overpriced for the amount of food you are getting.
The bagel was toasted too heavily so it became more of a bagel pretzel or a bagel crisp as others have said. I was munching on my bagel the entire time.
I opted for the spicy garlic cream cheese spread. The spread was indeed very spicy, so spicy that it masked the other flavors. Also, they put in way too much cream cheese so the bagel was oozing out from all sides and in the middle. It made eating very difficult to do!
I was so disappointed that I went and got another bagel from another place later in the day.

I don’t know where they get their cream cheese spread, but it’s so good. It’s the best I have ever had. I really really want some. In the summer I worked near by and I would get a bagel with cream cheese almost every day for a few weeks. I had to stop because they are a little expensive. It was hurting my wallet. It’s almost 5 dollars for one bagel and cream cheese spread. And their bagels are pretty small. I don’t think the bagels are nothing special. But like I said earlier the cream cheese spread is so good. If I was you… I would come here just to try the spread.

These are amazing bagels. They are the perfect size and the spreads are mouth watering. Just writing this review makes me want more! It’s nice to havea home grown Seattle businesses at the Seattle Center.

Today I had a craving for a bagel for lunch. After standing in line for a while I noticed the girl working (working alone) was taking orders, handling money, and handling money without washing her hands or using gloves before handling the food. So I left. Not sure if I’ll go back if that’s how it’s done there.

I’ll bump this up to two stars based on some feedback. If you are expecting an east coast bagel, this might not be for you. Try them out, but clear your mind of preconceptions of what a bagel is.
If your experience with bagels are bagel chips, you might like these better than I did. If you are looking for crunch and not chew.
They still are not for me. If you grew up in Seattle and have never experienced a bagel, you might like them.

A few weeks ago, Eltana opened up a kiosk at The Armory (formerly Center House) at Seattle Center. Eltana was one of the new vendors brought in to give more localness to a previously downtrodden food court area.
The Eltana location at Seattle Center offers bagels alongside items like spreads and coffee drinks. There is no actual baking of bagels here. Bagels are trucked in from the Capitol Hill shop. Even so, I like this location as it saves me from taking a trip up to 12^th Ave. It is also nice that you can get pie from Pie and cheesecake from The Confectional by walking just a few feet away at The Armory rather than going all over town to get these delights.
Picked up an everything and sesame bagel which were a buck each along with a small drip coffee ($ 2). These bagels are Montréal style and are smaller than New York style bagels. So they aren’t any good for making sandwiches. They are good for placing a spread on top. The bagels here are chewy and consistently tasty. I think the compactness of these bagels is the reason for its goodness. As for the coffee, it was actually a pretty decent cup of drip. Not sure who Eltana gets their coffee from.
I like this new location at Eltana as it is a good spot with plenty of foot traffic to get the word out on how good these bagels are to tourists and Seattleites alike who may not have thought to venture to the Capitol Hill shop for these wondrous circles.