Schmear Bagel Parlor - 12th St

I've been coming to this Schmear Bagel for years on weekend visits to Philly. It's always been a good, consistent bagel. I get an "everything" with regular cream cheese, and my girlfriend gets a pumpernickel with veggie schmear. On a recent visit, the bagels seemed different, maybe smaller and with less seasoning on the everything and fewer veggies in the schmear. Might have been an off weekend. Either way, it's the best bagel option I've found in Center City.

This is a location close to the convention center, but very fast and reasonably priced! The options are amazing for the different schmears and bagel types to pair them with. The staff also seemed super personable and collaborative. I ended up with the rainbow bagel and caprese schmear, and it was BEAUTIFUL. the schmear was incredibly flavorful and gave off the vibes of a pizza cream cheese, which paired deliciously with the rainbow bagel and made for a gorgeous photo. I will absolutely look forward to returning here to try more bagel combinations!

The gluten free bagels are great! This was super close to the hotel we stayed in, and I didn’t have a bad order at this place.

Great place mostly because of the staff! Bagel are good but the people who work there are all great. Always nice food comes out quick especially considering how many people are ordering. Saw the manager the other day dealing with a rude customer kept his cool more than I would have done. Very good bagel great staff

We’ve been a fan of Schmear since they took over Philly Bagels, and think it’s an overall improvement. But the last few times I’ve gone to pick up bagels from them, they’ve messed up our order. My wife is lactose intolerant and she always orders vegan cream cheese, so it’s been disappointing to get home and find out her order is wrong. And it sucks when it happens more than once. We both understand that mistakes happen, but we contacted the company through their website, and they never responded. Hopefully they can do better with quality assurance, but until then we’re going to try some other places.

The place blew me away. Got a bagel w/lox. Probably the best bagel I’ve had outside of NYC— this is in the same league as Absolute Bagels on the Upper West Side. But here they take credit card, and the lines aren’t as long. Also they have vegan cream cheese, and it’s excellent.

This Schmear location consistently puts out great bagels. I know when I go there I’m going to get a great bagel with great spread, and never walk out annoyed - which is huge. Today I was a lunatic and came in three minutes before close and the bagel was still great as was the service. Thank you

As someone who has an abnormally high tolerance for salty food, the salt bagel here was unfortunately difficult to get down. I was chipping off salt chunks and it still was an absolute assault on my mouth. Terrific cream cheese, and I wanted to like this, but my god, order the salt bagel with EXTREME caution

They have a great vibe, friendly staff, and a good selection of regular bagels. The fans have plenty to enjoy as others have said. However, it's not worth a trip for the gluten free diner or a picky foodie. The French toast bagel had me excited the whole way there, but it was a bland doggie bagel with cream cheese. That gluten free bagel recipe needs a lot of development. Otherwise, I would recommend it.

Honestly, their bagels are pretty good. It's a really small shop that has a few seats but if you're coming in for a bagel and a coffee, this is a good place to go. Their sizes of their bagels are pretty decent compared to the rest of the ones in Philadelphia and they've got a lot of spreads.

After late night dance party this bagel hit the spot! Service was fast and friendly. I was in and out in a flash . Bevels were fresh and crusty and chewy/ I got the Pen spread - lox and cream cheese mix - and they put a nice portion on my bagel that was tossed just tight. Love the bagels a super convenient location to my hotel.

Tired of microwaved, barely toasted bagels, I found this tiny gem. A small, functional space with a couple places to sit and eat. However, this is more of an order, grab, and go spot. I ordered online from the train. I was greeted upon entry, but wasn't asked about my order until what felt like a few minutes later. They were pumping out orders though, so I'm not complaining. My bagel was delicious and toasted perfectly. Cold brew with brown sugar cream, yes. Everyone was pleasant and wearing gloves!

Was in the city for a convention and was looking for a breakfast spot close to our hotel. Found this cute little bagel spot, with an interesting spin, basically like a chipotle but with bagels. The place was swamped, and it did take a while, but they were super friendly about it, and they were pumping out orders fast, there were just too many for them to handle. I got the lox with an addition of white fish salad. Being from Jersey, the bagel itself was average, but fresh, it needed more lox mixed in with the cream cheese, but the white fish was yummy.

Fast, friendly and convenient. Decent bagel with fun menu options. Prices are fair. Has the Philly roll and it was fine. Nothing amazing, and a little more fishy than I thought it would be (I do like lox, so that didn't really bother me). Fam had plain bagels w/ cream cheese and were content. The place wasn't busy and the employees were super nice! For a quick breakfast at a fair price, do it!

Solid bagel, I mean as far as Philly bagels go. Got an everything with vegan cream cheese. Bagel could have been toasted a bit more, but there was a decent anount of everything seasoning and plenty of cream cheese which was not too thick and not too runny, just right. The bagels tend to be on the smaller side and the $4 price was reasonable, as was the only $0.50 extra for vegan cream cheese. Service was quick and friendly.

They don't advertise the many varieties of gluten free bagels nearly enough (IMHO). Almost all the bagel bases are available as GF which was a welcomed surprise. They offer can't-remember-the-name local boutique brewed coffee, too. I made the tame/lame choice of getting the lox and cream cheese (Penn) bagel for my first visit and has me wanting to try their more unique signature options. Wishful thinking: really wish they offered a breakfast egg/bacon type option but alas they do not. Also: theres swings/ open table seating right outside the door in the "alley," -- appreciated given Schmear's interior is efficient (v. small).

This is a fantastic option for breakfast and really convenient if you are staying at the Hilton Canopy hotel directly across the street. The bagels a fairly big and I like how they blend any toppings into the cream cheese so it all stays out. Yum!

Small shop, great service, no seating. I ordered the Penn for $6 on an everything bagel (choice of bagel included) and I enjoyed it. Price-wise, it made sense how much (or how little) salmon was in it. It was chopped salmon mixed into the cream cheese. I enjoyed the bagel itself as well as the amount of cream cheese, I just wish there had been more salmon. Not sure if there's an option to pay for extra salmon but I like my lox bagels with plenty of salmon so I might try that tactic out in future! My friend got the Philly which is lox with Wasabi and soy sauce. She thought it was salty, but to be fair, with a Wasabi and soy sauce mix into lox which tends to me salty, I'd expect a salty bagel. So be prepared, if that's your style, go for it!

Great breakfast spot. Quick. Tasty. Great service. Make sure to get the bagel toasted.

It was like I never left NY! The bagels were really good. They pack on the cream cheese real thick. Sis got lox and cream cheese while I got the tomato/basil cream cheese one. Loved it! I would have gotten the spicy one but I was trying to not eat too much spice that day lol. I kinda regret it now but regardless, come get your bagel fix here!!

The Schmear It on 12th Street has really gone down. The people that work in there now make horrible bagels! I feel as if I'm being cheated when I pay $8.10 for a bagel that is not covered with cream cheese. I keep giving them a chance but I'm through with them.

Decent bagel, gets the job done. Everything bagel had good flavor to it. Good location

Bagels are very good and the workers are always so nice. Wait times are normally pretty quick even when they are busy.

Great Bagel place to grab on the go in the early morning! Every order was made really fast and all the staffs were really friendly and attentive. The place is quite small to sit down since the register is right next to most of the seat, but when the morning rush is done, it's not so bad to sit inside.

I feel like Schmear is a funny word, hehe. But it's used a lot here. We stopped by because my friend was talking about craving a loaded lox bagel, and I had a feeling this was a place that could give him the fix. It was! We ordered two loxsmiths. It's more than I would usually spend on a bagel but it was what we were looking for. The staff were very friendly and we were able to hang out on some bar stools. It's more of a pop-in type place.

I haven't had a bagel quite as good as their French toast bagel . It bagel is topped with subtle amounts of bananas , strawberries and ofcourse cream cheese . The bagel itself does have a taste reminiscent to French toast and was just really good. It was probably better to not toast it rendering it softer than the toasted version. I also had their lox on everything and that too was very good even though they are very light handed on the lox . This is a small ish restaurant that has seating for about five people . I'd recommend coming here if you want a quick breakfast meal and want to avoid long lines and wait times such this can be a good option although you'd be limited to bagels .

Came here on a Monday around 8:30am and had a pleasant experience. The staff were friendly and helpful. I see from the other Yelp reviews that people are liking it! We found the place because we had been eating the donuts across the street and liked the Schmear It menu. We got the Penn on an onion bagel which was delicious ($6). It comes with cream cheese, chopped lox and your choice of bagel. They did not skimp on the chopped lox, the cream cheese was the perfect amount - not too much where when you bite in it all falls out, and not too little. There were also tons of crunchy onion pieces on top of the bagel. I would give it a try and the prices aren't bad!

Bagels get 4 stars, although - they're toasted by default? My inner New Yorker just died a little. Service was fast and friendly. However, coffee was very burnt. Time to find coffee elsewhere!

I've never had bagels so perfectly customized to my taste!!!! And Majaya!!! Wow!!! Her pleasant personality, off the chart good service and kinds to visitors is SUCH an asset to this company highly recommend to start your morning here!!!!

Philly is definitely not known for their bagels and I've been disappointed by many places here, but I gotta say this is the best bagel I've had in PA. I tried the loxsmith on an everything bagel. This was lox cream cheese with cucumber tomato and scallion. So delicious!!

Turkey Avocado on an everything bagel will be in my dreams forever! Very helpful and happy staff.

These bagels were delicious and fresh. They're generous with the fillings of your choice. The staff was very nice and the orders came out quick. Perfect place for a satisfying breakfast. I definitely recommend coming here if you're in the area. The salmon was very tasty and fresh.

Love this bagel spot! We are only a couple blocks away and this place is easy to pick up from. Husband loves all the lox options and I love all of the fruit/veggie options. On this particular pickup, I tried the stuffed french toast style bagel with strawberries, bananas, walnuts, cream cheese and syrup on a cinnamon raisin bagel. I missed that big creamy hit of cream cheese though (syrup seemed to take over) so next time I am going to switch it up and get the french toast bagel and forego the syrup! This place never disappoints. Go try a bagel!

Great staff very kind and fast. Bagel was mid tho. French Toast style bagel w French Toast Bagel for the order. To put it plainly, the bagel was flavorless and the cream cheese with mixed in old & over ripe bananas from the below counter fridge and somewhat cut strawberries didn't do anything to make it better. Ate about 1/4 and wanted to find some birds to feed it to rather than chuck it. Missed mark.

The yummiest bagels ever!! I love the vegan cream cheese and the cozy atmosphere! My only suggestion would be to make the veggie pieces bigger!

Good place for a bagel. They offer a few different types of bagels, spreads and mix ins. I wasn't wowed by the bagel or my choice of mix in. The staff is friendly. I wish they had a full menu in store. I wish they had more coffee and cold brew options.

This bagel spot is amazing! They accommodate gluten free and vegan very easily. They also have a super cool concept where instead of adding your toppings one by one on top of your bagel, they mix all of your ingredients into a custom schmear. You end up with a well mixed schmear, and every bite is the perfect bite. They are generous with the portions too - it's a thick schmear. This is probably the coolest bagel spot I've ever been to in America. I recommend it to anybody I know traveling to the Philly area! Wish they would come to California!

What a cute new addition to Market East area of Philly. They have a variety of bagels and cream cheese, including vegan cream cheese. If you're looking for a great bagel spot, this is it. I would love if they had more variety of bagel sandwiches with eggs and protein, but that is just my preference. Can't wait to go back and try different varieties of bagels and cream cheese combos.

I love a good bagel and this was that. Very tasty and satisfying breakfast. They have lots of different kinds of cream cheeses and bagels.

So happy to see a new bagel place open despite covid! Schmear It has a huge menu that I'm sure I'll eventually work my way through, but I started with a classic: everything bagel w/ cc. It was done perfectly! Flavorful, dense chew, and very filling. Will definitely be back!

Friendly staff with a lot of bagel creations. Fresh bagels and it's amazing. Try the Nutella on French toast

Unclear what this yelp page is about, but I think its the new brick and mortar store in center city which unfortunately just opened before COVID and then re-opened again recently. An excellent experience! Came here around 1130 on Saturday morning for breakfast/lunch. Not an overwhelming number of options but they all sound great! My friend had the coffee which she raved about for quite a while (They serve Rival Brother's coffee). I had a strawberry banana smoothie with Nutella which was excellent. Not watery at all and also not super sweet. I also had a loxsmith bagel which came with lox and some other delicious things mixed in with cream cheese on an everything bagel. It was just simply perfectly done! Nice toasted bagel. A good amount of cream cheese but not too much either. Staff was super nice and helpful to us. Service was quick. Do wish there was a bigger waiting area given the whole covid thing but you can easily wait outside and watch for your order to be ready. Hopefully will be back many times to try their other bagel sandwich flavors which all sound magical.

Small, mostly takeout bagel place; a few seats, but I'm not sure I'd ever try to eat inside, would be a bit too crowded with the line to order and wait for pickup. Friendly service, and I didn't have to wait too long for my bagel and coffee. The proof was in the flavor, however; the bagels, cream cheese, and chopped lox was absolutely delicious. Not overpowering, super fresh tasting, and just the right amount of all the ingredients in a very well-made bagel. Definitely will return when I'm back in the area.

Cute bagel place!! I'm always in and out. But the people there are friendly and I never get a bad bagel.

Sooo Delicious ! Great cream cheese options, not a ton of bagel options though ! Quick service & overall great spot !

Worst coffee in Philadelphia... potentially the United States. Also very cheap on how much cream cheese they give you.

Was excited to try their bagels today, and I built my own schmear with cucumbers, lox and red peppers. What I didn't expect was to bite into my bagel and crunch down on something hard...a piece of red plastic, larger than the red peppers. I was lucky I bit down on it and pulled it out of my mouth before I swallowed it. The manager was nice and refunded our entire order, but this was not a great experience. I've eaten a lot of bagels in my life and never encountered something like this before. Hopefully they do better in the future.

I walked it and was immediately greeted with a warm welcome. After I told them I was here to pickup and told them my name they asked my if it was the right location because the name didn't match the order they had. After showing them my order the nice lady said i ordered to the wrong location but quickly asked me what my order was and made it for me there instead. Better customer service than chick fil a