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Holey Bagel
- Hours:
Mon-Sun 6 am - 3 pm
- Price Range:
-
$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
Julianne r. said: "Not only is their coffee really good, their service is outstanding. It really stands out that everyone who works there is friendly and fast. Without exception. Not sure what they are doing behind the counter to keep things running so…" read more »
84 reviews for Holey Bagel
Review Highlights
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"Also, great cream cheese and whitefish." In 23 reviews -
"...the bliss that is Holey Bagel's "Egg-Tasty" sandwich." In 7 reviews -
"They also have poppy whole wheat bagels which are great." In 2 reviews
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84 reviews in English
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Review from Jen H.
San Francisco, CA
12/12/2011
Yikes at all the Yelp snark... Holey Bagel is great, IMO. Not too many things better than a weekend morning stop at HB -- it's no-nonsense/quick (none of the fuss of brunch) and I've never had anything here that wasn't delicious. Their bagel selection is quite varied. I usually get the cheddar jalapeno or wheat (toasted. always) with their low fat veggie spread which is whipped and airy and has bits of carrot and green that look like confetti. BF loves the lox sandwich.
They have a stocked beverage fridge with juices and drinks as well as spreads and toppings to go if you're into Bagel DIY. There's also a little seating area with a couple of tables where you can get your bagel-y carb binge on. No frills but totally sufficient for me. -
Review from Joseph S.
San Francisco, CA
12/5/2011
I've been happy with Holey Bagel bagels for decades.
it's certainly not Ess-a-Bagel, but for me it has been
the best SF has to offer. But today I picked up a couple fresh
bagels there and found them distressingly soft, lacking the
hard crust that distinguishes boiled bagels from the soft toroidal
breads that Safeway calls bagels. I'm hoping this was just
a one-time misadventure, not a permanent change in their bagels.
They've also upped the price to $1/bagel; I hate to sound like
the old fart I am, but that seems steep for a bagel. -
Review from Johny X.
San Francisco, CA
11/26/2011
You could do so much better with a bagel place in Noe.
The best part of waking up is not Folgers in your cup, yet you give me no other option so I have to go to place next door for a real coffee.
The atmosphere is similar to a dirty basement. The bagels are decent. You're mailing it in, Holey Bagel. You can do better. -
Review from Mike D.
San Francisco, CA
10/29/2011 1 Check-in Here
Just OK. Jalapeno bagel was crumbly, tomatoes watery and blah, and the cream cheese had too smooth of a consistency. I chose the bagel store over the coffee shop bagel, but the coffee shop does it better.
Service was efficient and friendly. -
Review from Andria L.
San Francisco, CA
2/5/2012
Not a fan! I have been to Holey Bagel twice and both times received a bagel that was raw in the middle, very very disappointing.
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Review from Julia D.
8/8/2011
-Classic bagels
-Discounted bagels in the afternoon
-No nonsense
-Cold drinks
-Lox!
That's all! It's a keeper! -
Review from Kerry P.
5/7/2011
Best bagels ever. Period. I don't care what any of you say. The End.
PostScript: They taste especially delicious on Christmas morning...the only place open on all of 24th! -
Review from Josh F.
Oakland, CA
2/14/2012
our favorite bagel in san francisco (actually the entire bay area).. yum yum. especially with lox spread and orange juice!
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Review from Nicole Rynee B.
San Francisco, CA
8/14/2008
Oh Holey Bagel ... Let me count the ways I crave your carb-loaded goodness ...
+ I bless you for having a large selection of authentic and real "Jewish-friendly" bagels. We're not talking Noah's here my friend!
+ The great woman behind the counter was super friendly when helping me with my difficult order - I know ... I'm difficult at even the a.m. hours ... Sheesh! I'd like this shmear on this half and that shmear on that half - I'd like salmon here and tomatoes there ... You get it!
+ Take the bagel home and yummmm it's delish! -
Review from Nina J.
San Francisco, CA
2/17/2012
Friendly owners, fast service, super-fresh bagels with creative creamcheese options. I'm a regular buyer of a baker's dozen!
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Review from Rebekah T.
San Francisco, CA
3/1/2010
I come to Holey Bagel for freshly made bagels and cream cheese to go.
Mmm, I like a variety so I go with the Jalapeno Cheddar, Everything, Garlic and Plain. I love the cream cheeses, they are so creamy and whipped and I love then nice and cold and added to a toasty hot bagel.
Next time I'm going to pick up some of their lox cream spread, sounds really good and sometimes I just crave smoked salmon. -
Review from Miika m.
9/4/2008
Toasted Everything Bagel with Cream Cheese please.
After grabbing our usual cup of joe next door, we wandered in for the everything bagel.
This store is bare bones, simple, and efficient. No frills, fluffy lace setups or expensive interior decor that would up the price of a bagel. The schmears are inventive and good. I ordered plain cream cheese, but would definitely be happy to try out the honey walnut or strawberry next.
The coffee here is cheap, but don't except a barista. It is definitely as simple as stated in several of the reviews, but why compete with the neighborhood when you have coffee right next door?
It's all about unity ;) Like the jelly on top of the cream cheese on top of my everything bagel. -
Review from Melissa Y.
San Francisco, CA
10/12/2008
So disappointing.
Boo-urns, Holey Bagel!
Make sure to check out the rating details graph for this place. It's all over the place which makes me think that all the 5s are Californians who know jack shit about what real bagels should taste like. If you're a native Californian and you've never been to the East Coast, you shouldn't be allowed to review bagels or thin pizza. You skew the ratings in favor of CRAP. Stop it. For the LOVE OF GANESHA, stop it now. -
Review from Lisa T.
San Francisco, CA
1/21/2008
If you are planning to visit Holey Bagel anytime soon, the best thing on their menu is:
Lox Sandwich on an everything bagel.
Oh sooo good....so good.
Recommendations:
Lox Sandwich on an everything bagel
Sausage Egg Tasty on a plain bagel
Lox cream cheese -
Review from Pug P.
San Francisco, CA
10/7/2007
Hard as a rock, literally.
I could have killed someone with this bagel ( if it had dropped out of my hand ) it was burnt and heavy like a manhole cover.
I grew up on bagels, living in NYC.... this place.... sucks.
It is always sweltering in this place too.
Try Noe Bagel down the street - better than this joint.
Katz bagels off of Valenica are a pretty good deal -
Review from John S.
San Francisco, CA
2/10/2008
The good: decent bagels, decent prices, fast service.
The bad: horrible interior, kind of gross hummus, horrible interior.
The ugly: I ate at this place on the day I got fired from the only job I've ever lost in my life. But why would you care? -
Review from Bagelman D.
Lexington, MA
3/8/2011
Small mom and pop joint that knows their bagels. If a place has bialys then you know it is legit.
A few years ago I thought I remembered getting homemade tofu cream cheese. I was disappointed to receive the Tofutti store brand. There was an appropriate amount spread. An easy way to deal with too much of a spread is to order one extra bagel and scoop the extra off with that bagel.
The bagel itself is boiled, seeded both sides, and a nice golden brown crust. Decent size.
To date, this is the best bagel I have found in the city. -
Review from Christine G.
San Francisco, CA
9/9/2009
The bagels aren't the best ever, but there is a good variety. What bumps this place up a star for me is that they put the perfect amount of spread on my bagel. Not too little where I have bagel left over because I had to "steal" cream cheese from another part of the bagel. Not too much where cream cheese is oozing out of the center hole.
Just...
the right...
amount. -
Review from Abendigo R.
San Francisco, CA
12/29/2007
Wonderfully fresh bagels are available in the mornings, though a little pricey -- today I bought five and it came to $5.25. Can that be right? I didn't even toast them.
I have to admit, I'm also not a fan of the staff -- they're a bit haywire and once I saw one of the women scream at a rude customer, while I was a foot away from her.
Definitely not a pleasant bagel shop, but the garlic bagels rule in the morning, as they're boiled, and have a soft, chewy texture that a proper bagel should have. They're better untoasted than toasted I think, when they're done just right. -
Review from Courtaney W.
San Francisco, CA
5/14/2007
This is the best bagel egg sandwich I've had in the city. They don't have some weird egg mix -- they crack their eggs and nuke them fresh. Their bagels are good -- not the best in the world, but definitely better than anywhere in SF. And, despite contrary opinion, they are pretty cheap. My egg bagel sandwich is only $2.75. It fills me up and tastes so good.
I'm not promising that these bagels will move mountains; but they will make for a tasty breakfast. Just don't forget to ask them to cut your bagel. And go to Martha Brother's for coffee -- don't even try theirs. It will ruin your appetite. -
Review from Christopher S.
San Francisco, CA
7/16/2007
Decent crave-able bagels. I don't get too fancy with the spreads, and on occasion venture out into the "egg-wich" department for a quick protein boost. It's a nice walk and just a jump from the J for morning commuters. The diner style coffee even comes with little generic white cups. Fancy no? Decent yes!
I'd still say I prefer Noah's and well Posh bagel's are good too but there's something about Holy that keeps it in the running.Listed in: Noe Valley hood!
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Review from Maria F.
San Francisco, CA
10/27/2007
Nostalgia adds at least one star to this rating. This is the first place I ever ate in noe valley. I was checking out the neighborhood while apartment hunting. I came here for lunch and was very happy to have my bagel with hummus and vegetables. I then walked out of the place and simultaneously an elderly woman completely bit it tripping over the curb at the corner of sanchez and 24th. Within seriously a second there were four people that ran over to help her up before I could even move. This is how the charm of noe valley made me fall in love with it. It may be full of stroller pushing mothers and fathers and only have three bars, but it is so charming you just can't resist.
Back to the review- The bagels are good and the people are nice. I did notice that they closed on Columbus day early because they ran out of bagels- good thing i didn't come on that day. -
Review from Yvonne Y.
12/10/2007
I've only tried this place twice. Shame on them the first time and shame on me for coming back the second time.
Their bagels just don't taste fresh in the morning or in the afternoon. So stale I thought it was a utility for filing my teeth? They should change the name to Holy Crap Bagel instead. -
Review from Chad P.
San Francisco, CA
3/20/2008
I don't know why but every time I come here I always get stuck in line behind a noe mom shoving a stroller spending 15 minutes deciding what she wants like its Le Hip Creperie for Lame Noe Mommies Du Jour. It's a bagel shop. It sells bagels. Argh.
Everything, as far as I know, is baked on-site, from the bagel-rolls, to the bagel-thins, to the bagels themselves. For years, the only way I could kill a hangover was an Egg tasty -- and they are very, very tasty -- and a V-8. They make it with a microwave, but so what -- you use a cell phone too, dontcha? You're getting cancer anyway, so eat up. -
Review from Evan G.
2/25/2008
I've never done just the bagel thing here - I always get a sandwich, which seems to be Holey Bagel's forte.
The staff looks at you funny if you don't want your bagel toasted, though. That bugs. Don't judge, peeps. -
Review from A. E.
Henderson, NV
9/17/2008
Been a regular customer for many years... before Charles bought out the old Jewish couple, and before it was Noah's or Manhattan or whatever that was for a little while.
All the while I've seen/felt them nickle and diming to death... now I feel like I need to say something.
.95 cents for a bagel
.10 cents to toast it
Their hours now are sliced down... only open until 2:30 or so...
I have been ordering the same thing for years... and recently noticed (as the total went from $10 for lunch, to $13, to $16, now to $22.... that the sandwich I order is cheaper if I order it in pieces ... I asked the owner about this (I will list my sandwich below):
Bagel toasted
1 slice cheese
1 tomato
1 lettuce
1 mustard -which BTW is not listed as a condiment they charge for
1 cucumber
This sandwich according to them costs $4.45 (I will explain below)
They tell me that it is equivalent to the following sandwich they sell (the veggie sandwich) which is $3.85 + .60 for the cheese
1 bagel (toasted or not)
1 lettuce
1 tomato
1 onion
1 mustard
1 mayo
If I read their menu which lists the bagel at .95 + toasting .10 + slice cheese .60 + 3 veg @.50 that is NOT $4.45 (uh more like $3.15 which is a $1.30 diff)... when I asked about this the owner got very upset and said that it's not meant to be ordered that way and that the extra cost is for the "labor involved in making the sandwich"
Ahem... I understand escalating business costs however... this seems to me to be deceptive, as it is not listed as "alacarte" on the menu, just as "add vegetables to your sandwich".
Needless to say they still charge me $4.45. -
Review from David S.
7/4/2007 9 Check-ins Here
I'm not sure why people think they 1) not live in NYC and 2) real bagels. Especially in Noe Valley. This little shop is like any other bagel place in the city. Really. Several types of bagels and spreads (most spreads are kinda ick). And don't ever get the coffee.
However, the Holey Bagel does have an egg & cheese on bagel sandwich. They basically poach and egg in the microwave, melt some cheese and throw it on a toasted bagel. Will cost you 3 bucks (meat or veggies are pricey extras) and makes for a good quick breakfast (or an easy hangover helper). -
Review from Cynthia B.
San Francisco, CA
7/13/2007
Excellent bagels, better than Noe Bagel across the street. Also this is near Martha's so you can get a good cup of cawfee over there.
Holey Bagel is tiny but the bagels are good. Overpriced in general, no matter what you buy. it's Noe Valley, what do you expect?
Anyways, Holey Bagel ahs yummy bagels, better than Noah's. But I prefer Posh bagel over all of them. -
Review from Heather F.
San Francisco, CA
7/30/2007 1 Check-in Here
Very, very decent bagels for SF which gives Holey Bagel a solid 4 stars! No bagel place outside New York can ever get 5 stars in my book so this is about as good as you can expect outside my native NY. I've tried many "good" bagel places in SF (used to live in Russian Hill and frequent "the Bagelry" up there which was OK) but I think these bagels are tastier.
My new fave flave here is the whole wheat everything bagel - a bit healthier but the everything seeded goodness masks the taste of the whole wheat - awww yeah!
These guys must have some affiliation with the tribe because they import whitefish salad (which is fairly decent) from Florida - tastes close to what I remember from home - not too shabby. -
Review from Rebecca L.
San Francisco, CA
8/8/2010
The bagels are good and I love trying the interesting flavors of bagels and cream cheese they are always sampling. I usually stop here instead of Noe Bagel because it is next to Martha's Coffee.
But my staple at bagel places is bagel + egg + cheese. They microwave their eggs in a plastic tupperware instead of making them on a griddle. I eat them when I am hungry but as long as they take the lazy and carcinogenic approach they can't top 3 stars. Anyway, Noe Bagel does it too. -
Review from Amy L.
San Francisco, CA
3/7/2006
Pretty good fresh selection of bagels in Noe!
Times visited: 1 -
Review from Rosanna O.
12/21/2006
Fans of egg bagel sandwiches should experience the bliss that is Holey Bagel's "Egg-Tasty" sandwich. I order mine with bacon on an everything bagel 'cause I like my egg-sandwich nice and salty!
The people who work there are nice too! -
Review from Justin C.
San Francisco, CA
10/29/2007
This place is better than Noe Bagel, but not as good as Posh Bagels. Be prepared to spend around $9 dollars because you will get something to drink at Martha Bros. right next door.
It's just the Noe Valley way! -
Review from Martha Luz Q.
Union City, CA
1/3/2007
My first meal of 2007 was a fresh holey bagel with Tofutti Cream Cheese. It really brightened my morning; as the staff are quite friendly and quick! Great selection of bagels, and spreads, including non-dairy. Yum.
Its a bagel shop that feels like a bagel shop. Pretty no nonsense. Get Bagel inside, go eat bagel outside with the Martha's Coffee bunch. -
Review from Heather S.
San Francisco, CA
4/2/2010
Here's why I like going to Holey Bagel: the breakfast sandwiches. Bagel + sausage + cheese + egg = warm, breakfast goodness.
Their shop is very tiny with only a few small tables, which is why we usually get our food to go. There are plenty of benches in the surrounding area to sit and enjoy your bagel if you so desire.
The staff has always been friendly and the food has always been tasty. So, if you're in Noe Valley and you're looking for a filling breakfast on the go - stop in to Holey Bagel! -
Review from Jane D.
Daly City, CA
7/5/2008
Went here yesterday with the hubby and will *not* come here again! His garlic bagel was ok, but nothing special, but my sundried tomato bagel was unbelievably bland. AND they gave me plain cream cheese even though I said, multiple times, that I wanted garlic cream cheese- weak!
Bottom line- when the best part of my bagel breakfast is the Nantucket Nectar Pomegranate and Pear juice, it's time to find a new bagel shop!! -
Review from pedro w.
San Francisco, CA
11/14/2008
Just got a lox trim sandwich on a poppyseed bagel w/everything.
Really generous amound of lox. not that skimpy whisper of lox you get at Noahs.
Definitely would do it again! -
Review from Chad G.
San Francisco, CA
1/5/2009
These aren't bagels. At all. These aren't even close. These are baked break in a circle shape.
I am an elitist. I grew up in New Jersey, one of the serious bastions of bagelry and pizza making. But not so much I haven't found passable, if not great bagels since leaving the area. Noe Bagel up the street works, and Katz Bagels is phenomenal. Having a bunch of spreads doesn't make it a good bagel shop.
Having good bagels is the key, and a ton of places have trouble understanding that. Holey Bagel is case and point. -
Review from e p.
San Francisco, CA
1/17/2008
The quality's gone down while the price has gone up.
Anemic and $8.25 a dozen.
You're kidding me. Maybe it's the Noe Valley rent.
So we bypass all the Noe Valley baby carriages and drive 25 minutes minutes across town to the HOUSE of BAGELS for better bagels, 75 cents cheaper. -
Review from Quartknee K.
San Francisco, CA
7/19/2008
The service here is really bad even later in the afternoon when you're the only one in the place. The food was nothing special even if they manage to get your order right.
There's another bagel place that's better just a block west of here - I go there all the time now...
