Balena Bagels

I am by no means a bagel expert but I do love them, and even more importantly my wife and toddlers love them. There is just something different about this place and their product. This is not going to be yet another comparison to NY/NJ bagels because I have no experience in that realm. According to my wife, they more than hold their own in that regard. There are a couple reasons why they are my favorite in western PA. First off - when you pull the bagel apart, the is a sort of crackle like an old AM radio coming through. The crunch/chew ratio (I just made that term up) is at a perfect level of homeostasis. In terms of their varieties, I am particularly fond of the asiago, but I have a long way to go before I try them all. They have what appear to be several robust sandwich options, but I try to get in and out quick there because I usually have my three-year-old hanging off my leg and the space is not conducive to three-year-olds (That's a "me problem"). Another clear winner for me is their scallion cream cheese. I make sure to get a full container of it so I can continue to use it to bless other sandwiches once my weekend allotment of bagels is depleted. A couple of caveats - I am only in the Castle Shannon area on Saturdays around 10:30a. Sometimes at that time they are completely out. I recommend getting your fix early. IMO, this is something to be proud of on Balena's end. I find Castle Shannon "claustrophobic" in nature, and space both inside and outside the store is tight - another reason to get in early. Parking is extremely tricky, but they are very conveniently located for "T" riders. My hope for Balena is that they someday outgrow the space and have to move operations to fabulous Bridgeville (selfishly, I know). I think they are well on their way. The product absolutely slaps and brightens my day and is worth the rigamarole to get there and acquire it.

I am a local and have been to Balena 10+ times. Love the store & the staff is always super friendly. Bagels are great. However a few months ago I realized that the $2.20 for the schmear is an absolute joke. I’m pretty sure it is one person on the staff who is the issue but don’t want to publicly dox. This morning my girlfriend wanted to get a vegan schmear - they need to relabel it as a dusting if this is the serving size they instruct the staff to apply. A 1st time customer would probably not become a 2nd time customer with this output. Love Balena but this is a huge detractor.

Love that we have a great bagel shop in the area! Pros: delicious bagels, nice staff, cute little shop that is tight but I kind of like it - it feels like you just popped into a little bagel shop in NYC and it's always bustling Cons: sell out very early, I wish they could up supply a bit sometimes for demand. Parking is tough, but worth it if you know you can actually get a bagel! Also they only have American cheese for sandwiches. I'd love to see cheddar or provolone or an alternative to American - I can't eat American so I don't get the sandwiches but I would!

Umm what?? Excuse me?? We have bagels this good in PA? In Pittsburgh?? In the south hills?? How? This would give Montreal a run for their money. Pigeon bagels in the city is vastly overrated (with a line down the block, but no line here!!). See those bubbles? That's proper fermentation. This is a real, proper bagel. The texture is immaculate. I am shocked that we are so spoiled to have this place. I see other reviews notice they are good too, but I honestly worry they'll go unnoticed by the folks in the south hills (no offense to us). Although, I worried about Anthos for the same reason and they are a huge success too, so perhaps not! But I selfishly hope Balena can open a satellite in the city that can help sell volume for them. They'd make a killing if they could set up shop in that zone between CMU and Pitt.... I would get them every day.... Anyway, I'm raving about these bagels to everyone, especially folks I know who take transit. It's a teeny stroll from the station!

Pretty good bagel selection- reminded me of Pigeon bagels. They may actually be associated with them. Unfortunately we came for bacon egg and cheese and they were out of bacon. Nice selection of interesting cream cheese flavors.