I’ve lived in Richmond since 1999, but only in the past 7-ish years have we started to see some decent bagel shops opening around town. I’m a Jersey-born bagel lover who’s had my fair share of tasty dough rings around the tristate area. I’m not an expert, but those are my bona fides. Here’s my current Richmond, VA bagel rankings, highest to lowest (not for fidelity, but rather just how good they are for texture, plain flavor, etc.):
- Julio’s - I’m lucky enough to live super close to this place, and their coffee bar is excellent, but the bagels themselves edge out Chewy’s just a bit. This is probably down to preference in flavor. But it’s an excellent sourdough base making for a bagel that’s delicious even when it’s a plain one without any schmear. I think they could stand to stretch them a little more so there’s a discernable hole, and I hope they someday add poppy seed, but these are reliably delicious bagels with solid flavor, served warm.
- Chewy’s - Like I said, I think it’s just preference that this is in the #2 slot, but it’s no criticism. These are fantastic bagels where the passage of time and cold fermentation is evident, and the shop is actually quite a bit faster at delivering your order than Julio’s. Nothing like the speed of a NYC or NJ bagel shop, of course, but pretty good. They have a much bigger selection of bagels and schmear options as well, so if that is important to you (which I’m sure it could be) this may be your spot for the best bagel/toppings combination.
- Nate’s - The folks who run Nate’s are great people and, full disclosure, I’ve known them for some time. But their bagels aren’t what they used to be. When they first opened they had a skilled bagel roller and they were cold fermenting their dough for at least 24 hours. But it became clear that, as demand and their popularity surged, production and throughput increased in priority at the expense of flavor and texture. Where Nate’s still performs is with their sandwiches: properly loaded like a Northeastern breakfast sandwich ought to be, with bonus points for offering pork roll, egg, and cheese (perfect with a poppy seed bagel). The softer texture of their bagels actually serves sandwiches well, yielding more easily to the bite so as not to squish all the filling out the sides.
- Baltik’s - Man, I dunno. I’ve had these from a package that I bought at Union Market in Church Hill, more than once. They were pretty tasty! But then I’ve also visited the shop in the Southside to get some “fresh”. That’s in quotes because my salt bagels were kinda tough. They didn’t look overcooked, but something was off. Despite plenty of visible salt the bagels had little flavor. I’ve heard folks rave about this place, but I don’t see it. They’re fine.
- Sunday Bagel - The only reason these are so low on the list is because I think they only qualify as bagels because of the shape. I feel like they misunderstood the assignment here; this is what happens when you make some decent bread and shape it into rings rather than recognize that texture is an important part of what makes bagels distinctive baked goods. It’s my understanding that they’re in the process of opening a brick and mortar shop, so I’ll have to revisit once they’ve stabilized.
- Cupertino’s - These are okay. I think they’re kind of a baseline for what I’d by in a grocery store in New Jersey. Points to them for offering the first passable bagels in the Richmond area that weren’t Einstein’s or Panera.