Ideal Bagel

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 considering it used to not be like this. Like I said I love this place, just have been a little let down lately.

Ideal Bagels is everything. The bagels are perfectly soft, yet satisfyingly chewy — each one bursting with flavor. Every bite feels fresh and crafted with care. And don’t even get me started on the sandwiches… I could inhale one in under five minutes without a single regret. They’re that good. Their spread of shmear options is impressive — classic, creative, and all delicious. Whether you’re feeling sweet, savory, or spicy, they’ve got something for you. And beyond the food, the vibe of the place is just as special. There’s a little typewriter set out where locals leave sweet, funny, and thoughtful messages. It’s such a charming touch that makes this spot feel like home. If you’re anywhere near Athens, Ideal Bagels is an absolute must. 🥰

I enjoy coming here for a nice sandwich or a bagel. They also sell bread by the loaf. It is pricey but it is also good so maybe that evens out.

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 personal favorite is the salt bagel with sundried tomato cream cheese. The bagel sandwiches are delicious and there’s good variety in terms of the bagel options. There’s seating available inside and outside. Parking is somewhat limited if you’re driving, especially during peak morning hours. In a town with limited good bagel options, Ideal Bagel stands alone.

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 much reason to go here.

I love this place. Their smears are amazing. The bacon and tomato is my favorite!

Sad to say it but the bagel quality has really dropped off. I hear there is new ownership and I assume they lost their baker. They’re bagel shaped, but the similarity ends there, they are not chewy more like bread and I doubt they’re boiled. I’m really bummed these used to be the best bagels around.

They just make a great bagel here I got the lox with garlic cream cheese and the works on it ( capers tomato and pickled onions ) the staff is friendly and efficient. The lines can be huge so get there early. Either way if you go you will not be disappointed !

In Athens for the weekend and I was looking for some breakfast and this was only a mile from our AirBnB so I popped in!! I decided to walk there because that lot is tiny so do beware the parking situation! Popped in around 10:30 and I had to wait in line for about 5-10 minutes nothing crazy. I ordered an iced coffee and a Cadillac on their cheese of the day bagel. The coffee was delicious and strong. The bagel took another 5-10 minutes to be ready to go. It was so good! Cheesy, delicious and everything needed. It was the perfect BEC at a great price. Overall 10/10! Plenty of seating inside and outside as well but would anticipate a wait for tables.

Best bagels all of Greenville And I've tried them all Buy a dozen , cut in half, freezer

Super cute place to stop and grab a good bagel sandwich for you and the family! I believe the quality of the bagels and the cream cheese and all of the other food we had was great. I'm a sucker for a good bagel sandwich so I have high expectations when it comes to indulging in one ha! And I believe, although this isn't a five star restaurant in my opinion it is up there in regards of my rating. Will definitely be going back next time. I am in Athens, Georgia.

The best bagel spot in Athens hands down. My go to is a lox with sun dried tomato shmear. It's always packed in the mornings, but the service is so quick that I get my bagel in no time! It's also an awesome place to get bagels for a group of people or party. Many times I've gone to get 2 dozens of bagels with quarts of schmear and it was just snappy. Even though it was quick, the bagels were always made well.

Love love loved this little local shop. Looks like it could have once been a car garage but I'm into that. Adds to the aesthetic. Upon entering Sunday morn there was a bit of a line but they moved us along quickly. The inside space seemed pretty legit to sit. Lots of people enjoying their food slowly but a ton getting take away. I got a coffee and a bagel with cream cheese and egg (weird but don't knock it till your try it). The coffee is local and was delicious. They also have iced coffee which looked awesome but being on the brink weather wise (my cutoff for iced coffee is unofficially around 60 degrees) I was happy to pocket that info. The bagels are generously sized and fresh. So many flavors. I panicked and got the cheese of the day. I'm sure you probably can't go wrong. The veggie smear was a bit too carrot heavy for me but it had good flavor. Next time I'd try just a bagel with something like espresso or berry. Yum. Super friendly staff. Great prices. What's not to adore?

Staff was so friendly! This is one of my favorite breakfast establishments. The bagels are so fluffy and delicious. Very casual and cozy inside. Really love this place Athens wouldn't be the same without it.

Best bagels in Athens and great service too. I usually order Toasted Pumpernickel everything with Veggie Cream Cheese. The drip coffee is very good.

Best bagels in Athens. But be prepared to wait in a crowded line. Also, very little parking. If you're there when they open first thing in the morning, you should be fine.

Had a sesame bagel with jalapeño cream cheese and a medium coffee for $7. Cream cheese had a little kick to it and was good. Parking is a hassle because of limited space.

Delicious, fresh bagels with really great, low prices! Great coffee too :) We will definitely be back next time we're in Athens!

Great service with helpful employees. Good selection of bagels, coffee, drinks and offerings. Get there early for no waiting in line. Unlike some shops they will toast your bagel! Support a local business!!

Main point here is that is the best bagel place in town, and reasonably priced - hence the 5 stars. Good choice, fresh and most like the real thing in Athens. Very casual place for breakfast, lunch or brunch - all plastic utensils - seemed relatively clean. You order at the counter and staff was very accommodating and polite. We will definitely return.

Amazing bagels and bagel sandwiches! A must stop when in Athens. The best is the Elvis!

Great bagels and even better bagel sandwiches. Run don't walk here! Enjoy the inside counter and ambience (a bit retro). The variety of bagels, cream cheese, and sandwiches are nice. Go out on a limb and try their suggested sandwiches, they are all great (some may sound a bit weird). We usually get the Cadillac and Tupelo (sub cinnamon raisin bagel). And then one other bagel for 2 adults and a toddler. It's just the right amount of food but if you are hungry or eat a lot, grab 2 for yourself. Coffee is solid, not sure if go just for that, but good enough to pair with the bagels it you are on the move.

The bagels weren't as big as i was hoping but still good taste and would go back again

This is a cute bagel place in Athens!! Unfortunately at the time they were out of sesame bagels, but I decided to go ahead with an everything bagel. I didn't get any fillings this time as I'd heard so much about how tasty their smears were. I got the sun dried tomato smear and just like everyone said, it was delicious! However the bagels are kind of thin, like they're meant for fillings. Well priced for the portions we get. The ingredients are super fresh and our orders came out super quickly! Will be coming again!! -no indoor seating during COVID

Not sure how this place gets any good reviews! No one greets no one acknowledges you until you get to register! The place is FILTHY! This place wld be shut down in Txs for the lack of cleanliness! No one wipes tables or cleans anything! It doesn't look like any of the employees enjoy their job. Food was horrible! Not many bagel flavors either! I had a Gabby, roasted vegs w/hummus on Chibatta, it cost like 8.25$ had abt 2.00$ worth of ingredients! No real flavor! My husband had a bagel sandwich cheese wasn't even melted! Cost of that was too much also! We visit a Bagel shop in every City we visit and this by far was the Worst on all avenues! If you get to Katy Tx check out the Bagel Cafe best of any we've ever had! Really Need to clean this place! I know students don't look at cleanliness but it's an important thing in life!

Ideal is a classic, no frills, grab n' go bagel shop. The Everything bagel has great flavor and texture--crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside. Don't miss the lox. They have a few booths and tables inside and several tables outside. They also turned an old TV into a trash can, which is pretty cool.

Best NY style bagels and schmear in Athens, GA hands down . My go to is the Cadillac and I change up the bagel depending on how I'm feeling that day. Staff is super chill and friendly! Their coffee is really freaking good too! 10/10 would recommend! Hit 'em up!

Ordered a bakers dozen to go... I love the hipster vibe of the place and the furnishings. I bagged up the bagels to freeze and eat over the next couple of weeks. I popped one in the toaster while I was bagging them up. I would say I am not a huge fan of them... I found them to be smaller than the average bagel in circumference than most bagels and the texture was not pleasing... like a tire. I can't help but think the baker had a bad day. Not the way I like to spend $15.

Decent holdover as far as a bagel spot goes and well priced, but it's not my Jersey bagel shop, you know? Love their build your own options! Lines move pretty quickly and parking can be tight but it is worth it when the craving hits.

Closed and no idea of future opening your app was not up to date on this one Hope this helps

So it's a one star for me. If the bagels are fresh why can't you order a bagel with cream cheese and eat it without being toasted. Some bragged it was like a New York bagel but honestly it's more like a grocery store New York bagel. No hard outside with super soft gooey inside that makes a New York bagel a New York bagel. It's just too dense and the homemade cream cheese lacks flavor. I really wanted to like this place but it just didn't work out.

This is my absolute favorite restaurant in Athens. Not only my favorite breakfast spot, but in general my favorite restaurant. I have withdrawals from their food and don't even get me started on the INCREDIBLE staff! They have never been anything but excellent to me and put so much dedication into making such quality food. The Cadillac is my favorite but I can be tempted with a Tupelo as well. They also have killer sandwiches with fresh breads too! Im from Atlanta and still have yet to find a better bagel place and trust me, I've searched far and wide for the best bacon, egg, and cheese bagel out there. Trust me, it's here. Don't leave Athens without stopping by and don't be worried if you see a line, they are super speedy and efficient in getting those hot bagels in your hands!

Service was great! Lox bagel excellent! Fresh loaves of bread awesome! Great bagel place!

I get the Lox on Sesame once a week and look forward to it every time. So refreshing and fresh. 5/5 everytime

Bagels or ok at best run down restaurant overpriced coffee. Then if you manage come by when the decide to show up. Have been by several times and they have the same sign up as being closed so good luck but not worth the 25 min drive. I'm done with them.

I really enjoy stopping here every time i am in the Athens area. The bagels are fresh with a small selection of choices. I enjoy the smoked lox with cream cheese and capers bagel . They have a nice selection of spreads and a few sandwich choices. Small seating area available along with coffee, teas and other beverages. In the midst of the college scene Ideal Bagels gets busy at lunch and early breakfast hours. Employees have always been friendly and service is fast. Take out or eat in. Worth the stop if you have a hankering for a good bagel.

Best place to get a bagel in athens!! On weekends, especially game days, the line is super long - but it still moves relatively fast. Expected to take your bagel to-go on a busy weekend. I LOVE the Cadillac on an everything bagel and I get it every time. It's delicious. Also, there iced coffee is very good and they have lots of options to put in it. The vibe of this place is also just awesome and casual. Perfect for college students.

I've never had a bad thing here. Between the gabby, córtese, and an everything bagel with sausage egg and cheese, you can't go wrong. I go here probably around once a week. The bagels are a bit on the smaller side but they are a perfect size for a breakfast or lunch. Also if you only come here for breakfast TRY THE LUNCH SANDWICHES THEY ARE TO DIE FOR!!!

Can't believe I'm just now trying this place, wow.... staff is friendly and efficient and the food is awesome. I highly recommend - 10/10

Love the access on the skirts of UGA campus. Private front door parking lot. Awesome breakfast sandwiches. Easy and quick to navigate driving in for a UGA football game. GO DAWGS

Popped off the highway and grabbed a House fish with smoked salmon & a Cadillac. Both were awesome. Bagels are smaller and dense, but have good chew and taste. Shmear was tasty and well seasoned. Maybe best of all, order was well packaged for a to-go order and was easy to eat in the car. Kind service & an awesome vibe inside. Parking is on the smaller but worth it!

They weren't too busy when we came in, only had about a 10 min wait in line. The food came out fairly quick. I had the Cadillac on an everything bagel with the jalapeño garlic cream cheese. It was delicious--the cream cheese, well cooked egg, thick bacon. My only complaint is the bagels are tiny. So needless to say I was still hungry after the tiny bagel sandwich.

so yummy and fast. sausage egg and cheese with herb cream cheese on a cheese of the day bagel.

IDEAL IS NOT CLOSED!! Shame on yelp. It's open and better than ever. Welcome back, Ideal! So happy

Pumpernickel everything w/fish spread was delicious I moved here from NY last April and was craving this and thought I'd give Athens a try. Right up there with NY/Long Island bagels! Cute place with good vibes too

There's no way the people who said these bagels are too chewy have ever had a real bagel before.

Yum!!! Our family doesn't like to go to the same restaurant twice on a trip, because we love to try new places. But it was we all were determined to go both Saturday and Sunday morning! Cream cheeses are homemade, and these are not your grocery store bagels. So many choices and combinations possible. Husband enjoyed his Cadillac, and ordered it both times. He subbed an extra piece of bacon for the egg and added a smear. We also tried the lox, everything bagel, garlic bagel, salt bagel, jalapeño garlic smear, and bacon tomato smear. All was good! Would definitely return!!

Amazing babe shop. I got a breakfast sandwich with pastrami and side of fruit. The bagels were delicious and I bought 6 more to take home.

Bomb.com!!! Perfect little hole in the wall that packs some serious deliciousness. Everyone is super nice and very efficient. Highly recommend this hidden gem in the center of the GA Bulldogs empire.

it was so amazing i had this cheese bagel and all the cream cheese was delectable. if ur in athens try it.

I have no idea why this place is rated so highly. I came here for a nice brunch on a sunday and was greeted to a line wrapping around the entire seating area. That seemed to bode well- if there were that popular then surely I was in for a treat. I ordered the cadillac with an everything bagel instead of the onion it was supposed to come with. First of all, it took an insane amount of time to order. Each person is taking about 5 minutes to order their breakfast, and there were about 10 people in front of me. Wayyyy too much waiting. Not to mention the seating area isn't great. The tables don't get cleaned by anything so they're going to be dirty, it's small, and honestly it looks run down. I get Athens loves hipster styling but did anyone even try to make this place look nice? Once my food finally came, my boyfriend and I couldn't help but laugh. Each of our sandwiches was about $5.00 and it was TINY. I mean about the size of the palm of my hand tiny. This is what all these people were waiting on?? WHY. The food tasted fine but I have no idea why everyone is talking about the "superior ingredients" here. I mean, the bagel was good but really, completely forgettable. And then I also had bacon and an egg and some cheese which was fine? But absolutely nothing different than what I could make at home (and a home I could actually make it decently sized, just saying....) The coffee was good, but not really anything special. So the food wasn't bad but I would not go back to this place because the portions they give you are so tiny and spending $16 for coffee and an average bagel that will probably leave you still hungry after eating is really not ideal.

Perfect bagel spot! Quick, cheap and delicious!! Highly recommend if you're in a rush and need a little something or just wanting to grab a bagel. 10/10

I got the multigrain bagel with egg & pepper jack. It tasted great with a nice kick, I only wish there had been a little more filling of bagel and cheese because it was super thin compared to the thickness of the bagel. My friend got a bagel with the smoked salmon cream cheese, and it was a healthy serving. Great price for a quick & tasty breakfast!

Let me start off by saying that we went in on a Sunday after gameday. Needless to say, the place was packed. But with a 4+ hour trip back home, a good bagel breakfast sandwich would help hold us over the entire way. So we waited. Then waited. Then waited some more. Once we finally got to the front to order. The ordering process was pretty efficient. I noticed as I got to the front that you could order the Cadillac (bacon, egg, and cheese) with smoked sausage instead. That was right up my alley. I also opted for the garlic bagel over the onion. Seating was difficult with the line winding all throughout the small space. We finally found a couple of two tops (group of 4) right next to the line. Once again, not ideal to have people hovering as you are trying to eat. But no fault of the restaurant. In fact, good for them being so popular. Once we got our food, I was famished and would have eaten my hand if I had to wait much longer. The bagel was 5 stars. The fillings of the sandwich were 3 star. The sausage wasn't great and neither was the egg. As the star system on Yelp says, they were A-ok. So averaging out these two, I came up with 4 stars. I would come and get a bagel here again. But I may not wait as long as we did.

Ideal has a nice atmosphere, decent COVID adaptations, and decent cream selections but their bagels are not great. I've been here twice, hoping they were just having an off day, but the bagels disappointed the second time around, their small, too dense, and very chewy. Just not a great bagel recipe.

This is definitely my favorite breakfast/ brunch spot in Athens! It's simple and delicious- no frills, no crazy expenses... just good food. I'd venture to say it's pretty popular with a lot of other people too because there's usually a huge line, but don't worry! It usually goes by fast. Whether you get a table is another story (perhaps it's time for a bigger location??) I love the specialty bagels they have and can never resist getting a lox bagel from here. Their drip coffee is also very good and always piping hot, which is very much so needed when I'm trying to wake up in the morning. Out of all the brunch spots in Athens, I think this one is the king of quality food at a reasonable price.