As An Atlanta Native, This Is My Favorite Spot For Bagels In The City

While living in Athens, Georgia, I worked the line at a bagel shop under New Yorker Chip Clarke, who was the owner and chef. During my time at Ideal Bagel, he taught me everything from how to quick-pickle red onion for lox to how to safely cut open bagels and load them with a hearty swath of cream cheese. He knew exactly what a bagel should be: chewy on the outside and soft with a structured crumb on the inside. It was through that lens that I learned to love (and judge) bagels wherever I went. So, when I moved back to Atlanta, and my bagel cravings came calling, I stumbled across Emerald City Bagels.

Apart from a preliminary evaluation of the shop's online presence, the menu told me everything I needed to know. I'd been taught that sweet mix-ins have no place in New York bagels — with the rare exception of cinnamon raisin, perhaps. So, Emerald City's lineup of almost all savory or plain bagels alongside classic cream cheese flavors let me know this would be the real deal.

After only a quick glance at the all-too-familiar setup behind the case of schmears, and a few close-up photos of bagels with a chewy sheen and blistered skin under their toppings and seasonings, I knew Emerald City would be my best bet for a deliciously authentic bite. The look of the bagels laden with cream cheese, lox with pickled onions and capers, and even halved bagel sandwiches, instantly took me back to my bagel shop days, perched on a milk carton, trying different bagel and topping combinations during my break. And if you've never tried a sliced Honeycrisp apple with a slice of sharp cheddar toasted on top of a pumpernickel bagel, you should.

Opened in 2018 by Deanna and Jackie Halcrow, a mother-and-daughter team, the family-owned bagel shop has made a name for itself both in Atlanta as a beloved locally owned joint, but also by New Yorkers themselves at the 2025 BagelFest. Today, the original shop in East Atlanta Village still stands in all its Old World charm, while leaning into its retro atmosphere with an automat outside its second location along the Atlanta Beltline.

When you walk into either shop, you're immediately transported to a 1950s-style deli counter with staff in white coats and paper hats. Rich, mid-century modern accents like wood paneling, brass fixtures, and globe lights set the scene. Behind the counter, the wall is lined with baskets of freshly baked bagels, and the case is filled with ready-to-go containers of cream cheese and other spreads like hummus or avocado smash. It's as much a feast for the eyes as it is the senses as eggs, bacon, and pastrami hit the griddle for sandwiches. 

While at least one other Atlanta-area bagel shop, Bronx Bagel Buggy, makes true New York-style bagels, it's the convenient location, mostly purist flavors, and traditional schmears at Emerald City Bagel that stole my heart. Although there are tons of options and combinations to try, there's one order I always stick to. 

My go-to is always an everything bagel with veggie cream cheese. If, by chance, the everything bagels are sold out, a garlic, poppy, or onion bagel does the trick, too. While I like the umami flavors that blend so perfectly in their veggie cream cheese, I sometimes like to switch it up with the garlic herb cream cheese or even the green olive and pimento schmear, although both taste a little flat to me compared to the spectacular veggie cream cheese. There's something about a deli counter's hummus that I simply can't replicate at home, so I frequently pick up an eight-ounce container of it, too. 

At Ideal Bagel in Athens, we made pumpernickel (and even pumpernickel everything) bagels that packed a savory punch. While pumpernickel bagels appear to be a dying breed, and even more so the ultra-savory combination of pumpernickel everything, I try to leverage my order for maximum umami. One way I do that is by pairing my order with Emerald City's house-made celery seltzer. They offer other flavors (they've recommended I combine ginger and lemon basil), like citrus punch, cream, and black cherry. However, the earthy flavors of the celery syrup in the seltzer combined with all the right notes of the everything bagel and veggie cream cheese hit every salty, savory, and tangy taste bud perfectly. 

emeraldcitybagels.com