Banook Bagels, Peckham

Restaurants

16 Jan

Our Rating: ★★★ | ££££ - The best bagels we’ve had since NYC (How we rate restaurants)

We love bagels, and after spending a month in New York City, arguably home to the best bagels in the world, we completely fell for the thick, doughy, chewy kind. Every morning revolved around the same ritual: heading to our local spot for a bagel with a generous schmear and lox. It became routine, comforting, and something we still think about often. We have even written before about New York bagels and the history behind them.

Since coming back home, we have tried plenty of bagel places around London. Some have been good, and a few have come close, but none, even those from hyped-up bakeries, have really scratched that itch. That is, until today.

For the first time since New York, we found a bagel in London that genuinely made us nostalgic for those mornings in NYC.

Banook Bagels was founded by Ashley and Dave, who set out to recreate the kind of bagels they loved by blending inspiration from both New York and Montreal, right here in South London.

Their bagels are hand-rolled, boiled, and baked, exactly how we like them. Thick, chewy, and properly substantial, without the oversized hole that so often leaves you feeling short-changed. They describe their style as a little bit New York, a little bit Montreal, but fully South London, which feels spot on.

What started as a lockdown project slowly grew into something much bigger. They secured a site in a slightly out-of-the-way corner of Peckham, initially baking mainly for wholesalers. As word spread and more people started turning up just for the bagels, it became clear there was demand on the retail side too. That led to the opening of a small space next door to the main bakery, giving customers a proper place to order and enjoy them.

One of the nicest touches is that while you are waiting for your order, you can watch the team hand-rolling the next batch right there. It adds to the experience and makes it clear just how much care and effort goes into every single bagel.