Credit: Photo by Huge Galdones
Like many Chicago-area natives of a certain era (the 1990s), most of the bagels I encountered as a kid were doughy, ring-shaped behemoths formed in the automated kitchens of national bagel chains. The baking scene in Chicago today tells an entirely different story. Chi-town might not have the bagel credentials of New York City or Montreal, but in recent years it has emerged as a formidable bagel town in its own right. A new generation of bakers is turning out hand-rolled, freshly boiled and baked bagels with snappy crusts and chewy insides worthy of their cream cheese and lox. Several of them are also giving the Jewish “roll with a hole” a Chicago variation, incorporating flavors that highlight the city’s rich cultural diversity. Here are today’s can’t-miss bagel spots in Chicago.
01 of 06
Holey Dough and Co.
Credit: Photo by Chandler Austin Photography
Holey Dough’s New York-style bagels are difficult to score — made in small batches and sold exclusively by pop-up — and absolutely worth the hunt. Owner Jake Rubin does not mean to be elusive. He’s an accountant by day, so his baking time is limited. The bagels he does bake up are the real deal: hand-rolled and kettle-boiled with ethereally crisp crusts and soft, fluffy insides. Rubin favors tried-and-true bagel flavors: plain, sesame, everything, onion, and garlic. His specialty giardiniera cream cheese, which comes loaded with the pickled vegetable relish typically served on Italian beef sandwiches and Chicago-style hot dogs, is truly next level.
02 of 06
R&A Sourdough
Credit: Photo by Rachel Beltzman
R&A Sourdough co-owners Rachel and Adam Beltzman began baking with sourdough in 2020. As with many contemporary bakeries born from a pandemic pastime, they parlayed their passion project into a brick-and-mortar destination in 2021, serving some of Chicago’s most sought-out bagels. Their chewy sourdough beauties are rolled, boiled, and baked on-site in classic (plain, sesame, everything) and creative (cheddar jalapeno, oats and honey) flavors. They also offer a variety of sandwiches including the Windy City Salami which layers salami, muenster cheese, and sliced onion in between a halved bagel.
03 of 06
Rosca
Credit: Photo by Neil John Burger
This Pilsen-neighborhood bagel shop opened in late 2025 and quickly made waves with its sourdough bagels made from freshly milled wheat berries and infused with Mexican-inspired flavors. Chef and owner Felix Zepeda’s bagels have satisfying snap and pull, and are abundantly seasoned with flavors like red mole (with mole paste kneaded directly into the dough), Mexican everything (topped with dried lime, ancho chilies, cumin, garlic, onion, and sea salt), and cinnamon raisin churro (dipped in butter and coated with cinnamon-sugar). Even the lox at Rosca are cured with hibiscus flowers, imparting a beautiful purple-red blush to the salmon.
04 of 06
Steingold’s Bagel & Nosh
Credit: Photo by Huge Galdones
Following the success of his contemporary Jewish delicatessen, Steingold’s Deli owner Aaron Steingold opened a bagel-centric companion eatery across the street from Wrigley Field in 2024. With crackly crusts, bouncy interiors, and a liberal approach to seasoning, Steingold’s bagels have quickly become a popular pre- or post-game snack. Two can’t miss pairings include the OMG Bagel (onion, mustard seed, and garlic) schmeared with hot giardiniera cream cheese and the cinnamon maple sugar bagels with honey-vanilla cream cheese.
05 of 06
The Onion Roll
Credit: Courtesy of The Onion Roll
Established in 1954, a stone’s throw from Chicago city limits in Oak Park, this Jewish delicatessen is known for its melt-in-your-mouth corned beef, matzo ball soup, and lox omelets. In 2022, co-owners Ryan Rosenthal and Igor Russo expanded their empire to include handcrafted, New York-style bagels baked on-site. The three-day fermentation process and traditional boil-and-bake method produces bagels with shiny crusts and chewy interiors. The Onion Roll excels at time-tested flavors like sesame and pumpernickel. Don’t miss the rosemary and Peruvian salt bagel or “The Onion Roll,” which coats an egg bagel with dehydrated onion and poppy seeds.
06 of 06
Tilly Bagel Shop
Credit: Courtesy of Starchefs
The sourdough bagels at this South Loop-based shop (with an outpost in Fulton Market) don’t try to compete with New York. Instead, co-owners Hannah Tillett and Mike Banaszak are on a mission to define the soul of a Chicago bagel. The naturally fermented dough at Tilly’s Bagel Shop produces bagels with blistered, bubbly crusts and springy centers. And they are not afraid to play around with creative bagel flavors like a cacio e pepe bagel (with parmesan and black pepper) and the aptly named Chicago bagel topped, Windy City hot dog-style, with a trio of seeds (poppy, mustard, and celery) along with dried onion, dill, and giardiniera seasoning.
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