Popup Bagels
Popup hands the bagels over hot, pulls the cream cheese cold out of the fridge, and gives you no knife.1 You tear and you dip, standing on Thompson Street.
Why go
Popup Bagels started as a backyard pop-up in Connecticut and the name stuck after the shop stopped being one.1 The bagels are smaller and browner than the New York standard and they are shaped and baked behind the counter through the day, so the bag you carry out is warm.2 There is no seating and no sandwich list.
Order this / avoid
- Order: a bag of three or six from the walk-in line, hot, with schmear on the side.2
- Order: a dozen if you are feeding a room, and pre-order it online rather than queueing.2
- Avoid: planning a lox-and-capers breakfast here. They will not cut it or fill it.2
What locals & experts say
- Robert Sietsema and Nadia Chaudhury, Eater NY, updated 2 March 2026: this is
a physical store that seeks to redefine what a bagel spot can be... Still, it's worth visiting if only to expand bagel horizons.
1 - Carina Finn, The Infatuation, 7 July 2023, rating it 7.5:
they do make some of the best bagels in the city, which is impressive considering they started out as a backyard popup in Connecticut.
2 - Bryan Kim, in the same publication's current bagel guide, has cooled on it:
their product remains good but lacking in flavor, and the no-individual-bagels schtick is getting old.
3
Good to know
- Doors: more than one Popup Bagels trades in New York. Eater says other locations followed the first. The shop on this page is 177 Thompson Street.
- Booking: none. Pre-order a dozen online or stand in the line.
Jeff's take (his words)
- Note: "Bagel rec from bagelfest"
Verdict
should-visit — Try one bag before you build a morning around it. This is a format, and whether you like the format is the whole decision.