Whether it’s smeared with a hearty helping of cream cheese, layered with slivers of salmon or crammed full of peanut butter and jam, sinking your teeth into a dense and chewy bagel is sometimes all you need to make all your cares fade away.
Luckily, fans of the baked-and-boiled are spoilt for choice in Riyadh, where whole restaurants have sprung up in honour of the roll with a hole – alongside familiar favourites from across the globe which knock it out of the park for best bagel spots to try in Riyadh. Get your hands on a giant tub of cream cheese, plonk yourself down and discover the best bagel spots to try in Riyadh.
Bagel Brothers
Wildly popular on Riyadh’s delivery apps but also offering a cosy sit-in area, Bagel Brothers brings the full range of classics (think cream cheese, smoked salmon and scrambled egg) but adds a whole host of extra options on its all-day menu. The labneh and zaatar one is priced at a very reasonable SAR11, while hungrier customers can opt for heartier choices like the antipasti bagel with sweet pepper, grilled zucchini, cream cheese and balsamic dressing.
Still not enough? Try one of the grilled beef burgers served (of course) inside a bagel – or opt for one of the office-sized sandwich boxes (12 mini bagels) to become your colleagues’ favourite co-worker. When it comes to the best bagel spots to try in Riyadh, you can’t go wrong.
Click here for the best bakeries in Riyadh.
Open daily 6.30am-midnight. Makkah Al Mukarramah Branch Road, As Sulimaniyah, instagram.com/bagelbrothersksa (9200 07634).
Bagel-O-Bagel
Take a bagel and slather it in herby tomato sauce, a mountain of cheese and all manner of toppings and you’ll have perhaps the ultimate in fusion baking – the pizza bagel. It’s a firm favourite at this best bagel spots to try in Riyadh’s trendy branches, with other filling flavours such as shakshuka and the “open garden” (cream cheese with seasoned tomatoes, cucumbers, dill leaves and sprayed with lemon) holding similar status on the menu.
All the house signatures are available as paninis if that’s your thing – but if you’re wholly committed to the bagel cause and are on the hunt for the best bagel spots to try in Riyadh, grab yourself a “bootlegger” panini crammed with beef salami, turkey mortadella, fresh mustard and house sauce. For the sweeter-toothed, dessert options include Nutella and peanut butter.
Click here for the latest coffee shops that have opened in the city.
An Nakheel: Open daily 6am-midnight. Prince Abdulaziz Ibn Thunayyan St, An Nakheel (050 576 6772). An Nada: Open daily 6am-midnight. Ath Thumamah Road, An Nada (050 429 8521). instagram.com/bagelobagelsa.
Bagel & Bread
Although half of the menu here is given away to bread-based options such as paninis and sandwiches, the spot also stacks up as one of the best bagel spots to try in Riyadh for heaping servings. They’re chunky, chewy and full of filling. SAR13 will get you a simple smear of cream cheese, while an even bigger bargain is the egg and cheese on thyme for just SAR12.
A combination we don’t see often, creamy brie with berry jam and rocket leaves, also must be applauded. Another favourite is the smoked salmon with capers, which elevates the rich fish through little pops of brininess. Like other outlets on this list, bagels are available by the box. Whether you decide to share with colleagues or keep them all for yourself is up to you.
For the best breakfast spots in Riyadh, click here.
Various locations including King Abdul Aziz Rd, Alyasmin, instagram.com/bagelnbread (011 450 6111).
Eric Kayser
Most recognised for his high-end patisserie and artisan bread, world-renowned French baker Eric Kayser also knows how to turn out one of the best bagel spots to try in Riyadh However, the menu is ever-changing, and you won’t always find them here, so it’s well worth putting in a call to one of the two Riyadh branches if you’re specifically searching.
Previous flavours on offer for the best bagel spots to try in Riyadh include sesame seed as well as vanilla, cinnamon and raisin, with a single serving sizeable enough to keep you full for the rest of the day. While you’re there, make sure to check out the colourful array of macarons, éclairs and fruit-filled tarts – rich, sweet and well worth the calories.
Click here for the best desserts in Riyadh.
Riyadh Park: Open daily 4pm-1am. Eastern Ring Branch Rd, Al Aqiq. Riyadh Front: Open daily 8am-1am. Airport Road, King Khalid International Airport. instagram.com/erickaysersa (056 748 1849)
Flour & Firewood
A casual café with an extensive breakfast menu that seamlessly morphs into an all-day dining setup. Flour & Firewood bakes up all of its beautiful bagels on the premises making it one of the freshest best bagel spots to try in Riyadh. While plain or everything bagels are available to take away at SAR5.75/6.90 each (they’ll comfortably last a few days at home especially if you’re toasting), you’re much better plumping for one with labneh and veggies straight from the oven.
The basic cream cheese option, meanwhile, is elevated with a scattering of olives and fresh tomato slices – an ideal side to the cheese platter with baked kalamata olives and tapenade. The spot also won the best breakfast in Riyadh 2022 at the Time Out Riyadh Restaurant Awards.
Click here for the top brunch spots in the Saudi capital.
Open Mon-Sat 8am-11pm. Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Rd, As Sulimaniyah, flourandfirewood.com.
Sadelle’s
The newest edition to Riyadh’s dining scene is Sadelle’s, and it’s likely going to give the best bagel spots to try in Riyadh some competition. Staying true to its New York roots, Sadelle’s is known for its bagels. Go classic and try the cream cheese bagel or the popular smoked salmon everything bagel. You can try them at the eatery located in the new Mansard Hotel.
Click here for all about Sadelle’s Riyadh.
Reservations only. Open daily, 11am-2.30pm (lunch), 7pm-midhnight (dinner). Ar Rabi, sadelles.com.
