Ideal Bagel
815 W Broad St B, Athens, GA
Crema's Take
“Ideal Bagel is an Athens institution beloved for its generous, creative toppings and genuinely great vibes—regulars rave about house-made flavors like jalapeño garlic cream cheese that justify a return visit. While the bagels themselves are solid and consistently fresh, what keeps people coming back is the warm staff and the sense that this independent spot genuinely cares about getting the details right, even if the execution wavers occasionally on the fundamentals like cream cheese spread.”
What to expect
Classic coffee drinks done right. A slow-sit spot, good for meetings. Pastries and light food on the menu. Family friendly.
Google Reviews
Bagels: 4/5, Toppings: 5/5, Smear: 3/5 Best bagels in Athens hands down, but not the best bagels I’ve ever had. The toppings and price were the redeeming qualities. You can tell they’re fresh, but they’re very dense bagels. I think they’re boiled, but I’m not sure. Boiled…
I love this place and have gone here for years, but the last two times I’ve gone in I haven’t been impressed. The past two times I’ve gone in they have barely put any cream cheese on my bagel. If I’m paying almost 10$ for a bagel I feel like I should get a little more than this…
The staff are great, the vibes are amazing. The food? Even better. This was my first time trying the jalapeño garlic cream cheese and wow, I was scraping my plate for every last of it. 10/10 MUST TRY PLACE
First, a message to the owners of Ideal Bagel — Please start serving/carrying Choco Pronto’s coffee! You have such a fantastic local coffee roaster literally a few streets behind your store! Please support local Athens coffee roasters. Second, Ideal Bagel is really good! My…
The bagels were just about ok; not that great. The balance of flavors of the house fish bagel I ordered was off. But it was still edible. On the whole, if you’re really craving a bagel and would be happy with anything that is an approximation, this is good. Else, I don’t see…
Crema Reviews
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