I tried Nottingham's new bagel shop and couldn't believe the queue

Yahoo

01-03-2025

I thought my plans for a quick lunch were scuppered when I saw a line of people spilling out onto the pavement at the new Bagel Project shop in Nottingham. The only time I see a long queue these days is when something's being given away.
That wasn't the case here in Carrington Street. There was a queue because it's popular. A trio of office staff in front of me were contemplating whether they'd have time to sit in or should they take their food back to the office.
As I joined the end of the queue, another group of four came along, with one talking about the best ever salt beef bagel they'd had in London's famous East End Brick Lane. One of the bagel shops there is open 24/7 so demand must be huge.
READ MORE: Nottinghamshire's best garden centre to open new 98-seater coffee lounge and bar
READ MORE: Nottinghamshire Wetherspoon pubs to hold 12-day beer festival with new 'superb' selection
I can't remember when I ate my first bagel - I think it must have been when Bagel Nash opened in Nottingham's Wheeler Gate around 2013. Fans, myself included, were dismayed, when it closed down five years later when the lease came to an end. For me it was RIP the cheese and jalapeno, my favourite of all the breads.
If you've never had a bagel and don't know what it is, think a breaded version of a doughnut ring. The roll with a hole originated hundreds of years ago in Poland. I never knew, until delving into the history that they were created in the 17th century in response to anti-Semitic laws preventing Polish Jews from baking bread.
Jewish bakers got round the restrictions by boiling the dough before baking it. Two hundred years later when Polish Jews emigrated to America, they took bagels with them. Many settled in New York, the mecca for bagels today.
But enough of the history lesson. Back to The Bagel Project. The independent business opened in Carrington Street at the beginning of February, making it the third site alongside Hockley and Sherwood. Located just down the road from the HMRC's Unity Square office block, the city council's HQ Loxley House, Capital One and the courts, most of the customers look like professionals other than one or two students.
It seems I've hit peak time. I clock the time as 12.18pm and I count around 13 people ahead of me in the queue plus another four or so waiting to one side to collect their takeaway order.
I'm an impatient queuer and for one second, contemplate going somewhere quicker but I talk myself out of it. I don't mind waiting as in this case, when the time is being taken for something to be freshly made rather then lackadaisical workers.
The line started to diminish fairly swiftly thanks to four staff and the owner working their socks off behind the counter. Soon it was my turn at the till.
With six house bagels and five speciality fillings, the likes of chicken, prosciutto, smoked pork belly and vegan-friendly hash brown and avocado, there was plenty of choice. I've previously had smoked salmon and cream cheese and salt beef so I ruled those out and ordered the All Day Breakfast for £7.50.
The server wrote my order on the wrapper and my name (a bonus point for spelling it right). I don't think they take cash but I was using Apple Pay so it wasn't a problem.
Most of the seats were taken but there was a sofa and coffee table free or a two-seater table against the wall as seen in the picture below, taken on a different day at a quieter time.
While the sofa was more tucked away at the side of the long counter, I though the latter would be more practical for eating. I like what they've done with the surroundings, which used to be ØKENDE coffee shop. The stripped back brick walls and wooden flooring give a rustic feel while while foodie slogans on the wall remind us why we are prepared to wait. I do say things I shouldn't when I'm 'hangry'.
Around 20 minutes after I first joined the queue, the tea (English breakfast £2.50) I've ordered is brought to the table and a minute or so later my name is called out to collect the bagel off the counter. Even before I've fully unwrapped it, there's that alluring breakfast aroma.
Let's start with the bagel. I'd asked for the 'everything' one, topped with all the flavours of garlic and onion flakes, salt and sesame seeds. Instead I've been given sesame seeds but in hindsight it probably worked out for the best as it didn't detract from the breakfast flavours.
The bread itself, made down the road in Sherwood, has a good chewy interior and holds up well against the fillings. It's impossible to eat a bagel delicately so you might as well get stuck in and be prepared to get messy - it's the only way.
Inside it's stacked with a lovely herby Lincolnshire sausage (the best), a rasher of smoky bacon and a perfectly cooked fried egg with a runny yolk, all under a blanket of Swiss cheese. The delicious smoky homemade tomato sauce added a kick and the finely cut slices of red onion added sharpness. A warming, hearty lunch, I can confirm it was worth the wait.
Getting close to 1pm, the queue had dwindled and it looked like most of the office workers had returned to their desks. Give it another 15 minutes and I wouldn't be surprised it it began all over again.