Two best friends recently swapped their house for a premises, their oven for a kitchen, their table for a counter and their dreams for reality.
Ever felt like something was missing? Before the arrival of The Bagelry we just felt like there was something missing in Liverpool. We can’t really explain it, there was just a certain hollow to us as we navigated our way through the labyrinth of the city. Burgers were covered, gin was most certainly covered as was tapas and craft beer. What is it? It turns out that it was bagel-shaped as the void was filled the second we found out Liverpool would have a beautiful little boutique shop dedicated to bagels and much more.
In 2013, good friends Rhonda and Nat, came to the sad realisation that there were hardly any decent bagels in Liverpool. Rather than complain they took it on themselves to perfect the world of bagels and make sure lunch time offerings in Liverpool would never be the same. After starting off making them in their home with traditional recipes and cycling their bagels to local independents, they now have their own premises in the beautiful China town, right next to the arch and are boldly going where no bagel has gone before with flavours, combinations and ingredients that’d make Mary Berry need to sit down.
An array of beautiful green and red tiles surround the building. The rest of China Town is bright, neon-lit and in your face but this little shop doesn’t follow suit. It’s reserved, minimalist and simple. They’re letting the bagels talk for themselves. The centre-piece to the room is a hand-made bagel rack that show off that mornings bake. The early bird catches the bagel so be quick, before they sell out. Now let’s get down to the important stuff; the bagels themselves. If you’re afraid of flavour, look away now. There’s black forest bagels, cinnamon raisin bagels, blueberry bagels, salted jalapeño bagels and beetroot bagels. The menu is saliva-inducing and ranges from a salt and pepper French toast with oozing cheese and a homemade ketchup to brioche with a dark chocolate ganache that goes sublimely with one of their original coffees. The menu is perfect for vegans and veggies alike as the menu is meat-free but trust us, even the most carnivorous is going to walk away happy.
As much as it is about the bagels, it is also much more than that. Through rain, snow and on the occasional sunny morning, they have delivered these bagels by bicycle to local, independent coffee shops and cafés. Through sickness, flat tyres, broken ovens and the occasional mental breakdown they have survived to tell the tale, granted, with a few extra grey hairs and some well-earned wrinkles along the way. The hard work doesn’t finish there and this isn’t the happy ever after at the end of the book. This is the a new chapter, a new beginning and an exciting addition that’ll fit in Liverpool’s independent scene quite nicely.
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