This New Yorker misses his bagels, and this place hit the spot. No crazy library of bagel flavors, just the stalwart standbys (perhaps a sweet bagel such as cinnamon raisin would be appreciated to pair with their sweeter cream cheeses).
I got an open faced lox sandwich in an everything bagel, and boy was it a doozy. Excellent crust, soft inside, great flavors. The bagel seasonings on their flavors are dense, like a coat of armor, not a few piddling poppy seeds.
The fig and honey cream cheese I had was good. Weekday late morning, barely any line.
Ted Arthur
Sep 26, 2023
5
Best bagels I’ve had outside of the north east. Lox sandwich was worth the price due to quality ingredients. Staff was friendly. The coffee was good not great but who cares, the bagel was fantastic. Hoping they hire more staff and have more days open so I can eat here more often.
Jeff
Sep 3, 2023
4
Isaac's bagels are the best around (coming from a northerner). I know they have the potential to be 5 star because they were when I used to have them delivered to my house. I stopped in the store to grab a bagel but was quite disappointed that for the price I got a bagel that was the same size as one you would get in a package of mini lenders bagels from the grocery store. This wasn't the case when they used to deliver. I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt since their store is new and hope they can improve this.
Jackson B
Sep 1, 2023
5
Truly the best bagels I've had in Durham. Their everything bagel with Sichuan chili cream cheese is a perfect quick breakfast.
Caution: if you're out for a walk in the surrounding area, you may be drawn in by the amazing smells of fresh bagels drifting downwind.
Joel Abrahams
Aug 30, 2023
5
The best bagels of all of Durham. I got the crease cheese and lox on an everything bagel. The ingredients, the balance of flavors, the portion size, the amount of spices added, everything is in balance. No single ingredient additionally added (capers, onion, or cucumbers) are overwhelming and help create a tasteful and amazing sandwich
Caitlin Barrett
Aug 20, 2023
5
Best addition to Durham in a while. Everything is good. Everything. Try the lox on an everything bagel with Sechuan CC. Life changing.
And don’t skip out on the pastry case. The babka is amazing but the real star is the chocolate chip cookie. How is it so good?!?
When the weather gets cold, definitely grab a bag of homemade marshmallows, and pop them into your hot coffee. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Millie Kwan
Aug 14, 2023
4
There is a lot of chatter around Isaac's Bagels so we had to come find out if the bagels measure up. I will affirm that I agree with J. Kenji Lopez-Alt's opinion of bagels in his recent July essay on bagels (The Good Bagel Manifesto) on the Serious Eats website where he describes the essentials of a good bagel. Isaac's starts out well with crisp, crackly crust and the great amount of toppings. The everything seasoning is very garlicky and is very nice (could use a little more pretzel salt) and the other bagels have tons of topping! Then things kind of fall off a bit from the manifesto: the interior is too fluffy to the point that there is not really a hole in the bagel where it should be compact and chewy. Overall a very good bagel, but not perfect. I will say that the pastry is very good too so would try this as well. Very good overall but will try to come on a week day since the line was crazy on a Sunday morning.
Bryan Perlmutter
Aug 6, 2023
5
The soft opening was fantastic! Great bagels and sandwiches! We will be back (probably just earlier to beat the line)! Friendly staff! 10/10 would recommend
Ness Shortley
Jul 9, 2023
5
Absolutely the best bagels I’ve had in years (and I used to live in New Jersey). The everything bagels are absolutely packed with flavour. Every bagel I’ve had from Isaac’s has been delicious.
