Beigel Bake
— Beigel Bake on Brick Lane is an institution. During the day, you’ll meet office workers and tourists looking for their lunch. In the evenings, it’s boozed-up pub crawlers curbing their hangovers and peckish cab drivers at night or hip youth that just fell out of the nearest club. If you’re looking for a sample of Londoners, look no further than Beigel Bake.
Their bagels bring people together; everyone I know has been there. The bad reviews on Yelp are usually from tourists from New York or people who have lived there. Beigel Bake makes the chewy polish-style beigels, not the soft bagels with the big hole you might know from New York.
Line up in an orderly queue, shout your order across the counter, pay, pick up your food and leave. This place is too busy to exchange fleeting niceties or discuss the weather, at least most of the day. Get them with salt beef and pickle, cream cheese and salmon, or Nutella if you must. I’ve been coming here for years and never left disappointed.
