Just like many other restaurants, Beauty Bagels is a victim of the pandemic, but unlike some it survived by converting into a Wise Sons instead. I had not gotten to review the old Beauty Bagels previously, but that was one of my favorite places of all time - I ate there regularly - and indeed the old beauty bagels was my best bagel of the SF Bay Area, as it blew Boichik Bagels out of the water, so this review is a comparison to the old and the current Wise Son's rendition. I have already given this multiple attempts to see if Wise Sons can get their quality back up, but it is really no longer the same Beauty Bagels unfortunately. Bagel Quality - This is a huge loss. Gone is the springyness of the old formula - and the new bagel tastes similar to something you find in an average bagel shop - sorry Wise Sons, you should not have gotten rid of the Wood Fired oven. The insides are not just as chewy and springly, and just feels more like regular bread now, and feels more dense than before. As for the bagel seasoning, that also feels weaker. My favorite bagel used to be the Salt and Pepper, but every time I had it (over 4 different visits) it was sure consistently lacking. I barely tasted the pepper and salt popping out in the mouth, and i could have fallen for an almost plain bagel instead. Visually I do not see much pepper on it like it used to. Salt and Pepper bagel is something I would not even bother with anymore. Fried Chicken Bagel Sandwich - The coleslaw smothered in way too much sauce, and the color is completely more red then in the past. The fried chicken meat itself tastes a lot blander. There seems to be something lacking, maybe less seasoning or sauce or something, but it felt like bagel + chicken + coleslaw thrown together without any adhesion - kinda like an album with random songs listed together, but what is worse is that the songs are not even really hits. This item is the biggest disappointment from the old Beauty's Bagel - where I considered the old to be equal to Bakesale Betty's chicken. Mushroom Breakfast Sandiwch (+greens) - The egg did not have enough taste as it was moderately seasoned. Gone are the packed flavors of the egg, and now it just seemed really simple tasting. The spinach portion is also vastly reduced too. Overall it seems like its a little better than something a non-cook bachelor can make on a weekend. The color of the egg is just more pale yellow than the golden yellow color of the old item. Smoked Trout - This one had the same insides as what I remember before, and granted it doesn't require a lot of cook time I would expect there is not that much variation. But again the bagel itself is not anything special. But if I want a smoked Trout bagel, I might still come here. For a bagel sandwich experience (with emphasis on the sandwich itself) i would not come here again, I'll would just head to Saul's in Berkeley instead, which I had thought it has a taste way closer to the old Beauty's Bagel. For plain bagels I might still come here as its taste per cost is still better than Boichik. But really I never came out here before the pandemic for plain bagels anyways. Oh and they no longer have some items like the garlic bagel, egg salad sandwich or Shashuka, or specials.... read more

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I try to make it here early before they're out of everything [bagels]. The bagels here are some of the best in the area. Crispy on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside when it's fresh! I made it a point to try this place since my favorite bagel shop closed a while ago - RIP authentic bagel company. I've tried a few bagels and bagel sandwiches here, with the classic on an everything bagel being my favorite. It has smoked salmon, cream cheese, onions and capers. The smoked trout salad sandwich is a close second. Service is good. You order at the counter and seat yourself and it's always been smiles here for me. I think the cream cheese they sell here is a bit pricey so I usually just get bagels to go and buy cream cheese at a nearby market instead. Parking is also kind of difficult in the area. read more

A few years ago this was a hot new place. Went there recently and got disinterested service, very high prices and most importantly -- a completely bland, tasteless bagel. It was a classic salmon and cream cheese, nothing experimental... how hard can it be to get that right?! read more

Wouldn't recommend this place, got an everything bagel with scallion cream cheese. Bagel was completely hard, old, and not toasted. Scallion cream cheese was delicious but bagel was terrible. read more

Wise Sons - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Oakland, California

Something is up, and it isn't just the prices. The bagel this morning wasn't merely slightly tough or chewy, it was like super crusty so much that you can't eat the bagel sandwich while keeping ingredients inside. Hard. Dense. What happened to light and fluffy? I'll ask for a softer type next time and try again.. it's a tough market too, no blame but documenting, inflation is here. I am glad they are at least trying to keep prices reasonable. read more

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Beauty's wins out of default, which is kind of sad, since it diminishes that bagels are actually very quality. But they win out of default since there is honestly zero competition; they are legit the only spot in Oakland & Berkeley for quality bagels. So you must endure the lines, you must endure the somewhat overpriced fare for these delicious, Montreal style bagels. A heads up: you can only walk away with 2 dozen. We were planning a brunch soiree for my son's birthday, and upon confirming times, I saw in small print, 2 dozen max per person. It ended up working for us, but I would have been very disappointed if my guest list was larger and we wouldn't of been able to have just my husband go pick up. How I love thee bagels, tho. They are a little meatier than Montreal bagels, but not as meaty as NYC bagels. I know both very well, as a New Yorker for 10+ years and just visited Montreal last month (and picked up a few dozen at St Viateur). You can't go wrong with poppy, ever. Their bagel sandwiches are a bit on the pricier side, but this is the Bay and again, only game in town. You have the traditional breakfast sandwich options with egg and lox and smoked fish, but they also have deli meats and fried chicken. I've only gone breakfast, and they're good, tho, so you pay for what you get. If you're like me, whose childhood was made up of bagels on the weekends, holidays and more (I worked at a bagel shop in high school), you do what you have to do even if that means $$ and lines. read more

What a major disappointment when I received my Fried Chicken sandwich with no BEET SLAW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! As I say, if it's not broke why fix it???????????????????? You ruined a perfectly delightful sandwich by switching or substituting the BEET SLAW with what tasted like regular store bought coleslaw!!!! It changed the whole flavor of the sandwich to a much less desirable taste. It was just blahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!! Beet Slaw was the main ingredient and the other stuff was an addition which made the sandwich. Truly hope the BEET SLAW comes back. read more

I love bagels...on this day I tried a classic lox bagel from Beauty's and Noah's to compare. I ordered on doordash for pick up and the process made it really quick! It was right on time, since I had shared my location for this pick up purchase. The flavor in the lox bagel was more pronounced in Beauty's. Just the right amount of smoked salmon, onion, and capers to add depth. The everything bagel was way too hard, though. Inside of it wasn't chewy and the whole bagel was just really hard to bite into. Not sure if I would come back :/ read more

Wise Sons - Classic Lox - bagel was really hard but flavor was good - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Oakland, California

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Went here on a Sunday before heading to the airport on a weekend visit to the bay area. The location is perfect right next to the BART station. It seemed very popular on a Sunday, but the service moves fast and it did no take long at all to get food or find an open table. There's a poster of Charles P. Thompson, the original inventor of the bagel. Don't fact check me on that. I ordered an everything bagel sandwich with smoked turkey, swiss cheese, and jalapeno jam. I also got a second sesame bagel with lox bread because I love bagels and I was hungry. I liked the breakfast and the atmosphere a lot, but the bagels weren't anything special to me. Maybe it's the Montreal style bagel, but it wasn't as delicious as I was expecting. But don't get me wrong, it was still very good and if I lived in the area I would probably grab the $5.50 day old bagels from time to time. I almost forgot - I also had a latte and it was delicious! read more

Wise Sons - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Oakland, California

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across from the surgery center on Telegraph it's a Wonderful place to be hanging out... friendly helpful staff !!! great bagels !

I want to update my review because I realized a bagel supposed to be a bit hard and chewy. Going to Western Bagels in LA got me used to soft bagels (very good bagels but ). I've been back several times. The service is always freindly and quick. The shop itself is super clean with seating inside and out. read more

Beauty's Bagel Shop, I'm a Jersey girl but I'll give Montreal bagels a whirl. Turkey sammie on salt and pepp something hearty for my SF schlep. Bagel, WOW, soft and chewy Swiss cheese, generous and gooey. The pepper so fine, a steady burn, delicious bites at every turn. My dumb little rhyme can't convey how good my bagel sammie was today. I'm a bagel snob, many don't pass the test, but Beauty's, you are among the best. read more

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Showed up around noon and they have no flavored bagels for sale. Aren't y'all a bagel shop???

I'm sorry to say this place is coming off my list of great Yelp finds. It's a shadow of its former self. Before "la pandemia" I went there every few months. I went there yesterday and had a bad experience: --The cashier was nearly incapable of ringing me up. I kept saying I wanted 6 poppy, 6 cinnamon raisin, and 6 salt and pepper (always my favorite at this place, and the reason I would return), and he didn't understand why that didn't equal one dozen. After saying "my bad" a few times he finally charged me correctly. --When I got home and looked in the bag, I found I had received sesame instead of salt and pepper. --I read that the bagels are no longer cooked in a wood oven. Now they're no better than Noah's, which cost a lot less. They aren't awful but sadly I can't recommend this place anymore. read more

Had a LEO, lox, onions and eggs. They used carmelized onions and added cheese. NO! Just use regular chopped onion and no cheese-too sweet this way, it's not desert! read more

This place had lines out the door but honestly I don't know what the hype is about? I ordered a traditional ham cheese and bacon on a salted bagel, as per the suggestion of my cashier. My friend ordered the goat cheese omelette and also the fried chicken bagel sandwich. Nothing blew my mind. Even the star of the show, the bagels, it felt small and chewy and hard but not in a satisfying bagel kind of way. I had to douse my sandwich in some of their hot sauces to make it even remotely gratifying to eat. The jalapeno sauce is bomb.com! Overall, I'm not impressed by the bagels here and although they are hipster bagels I didn't think they were the bees knees. read more

We ate breakfast here twice in 3 days. Food was delicious, had Lox and cream cheese on a bialy- great flavor with capers and red onion. Also shared two of the egg sandwiches. Coffee was great (Stumptown). Not fancy, but you go for the food, don't you? read more

Let me preface this by saying I'm not a huge bagel person. My friend lives in Oakland and recommended Beauty's. We got there around 10am on a Sunday. Since we went on a Sunday around brunch time, I was worried there would be a long wait due to the brunch rush. Thankfully, this is not your typical popular overcrowded brunch place. There was a line but it moved quickly. Finding seating was not an issue as I originally thought. I got the mushroom omelette, which has cheese, mushroom, spinach, and caramelized onions. This dish also comes with a bagel with cream cheese - I got a cinnamon raisin with honey cream cheese - and a side salad (arugula). The side salad wasn't anything special but I ate it all anyway. I LOVED the omelette, it was right up my alley and I loved the flavor the caramelized onions added. It was cheesy, but not oozing cheese every which way like some places do their omelettes. The bagel itself was good, but not amazing. But maybe that's just me (see disclaimer above). It had a lot of extra cream cheese that I squeezed out. I'm really glad I got the omelette dish because that was my favorite part and I got to try out their bagels. Additionally, I saw they have day old bagels you can buy to take home for $5.50. This location is also very close to a BART station (MacArthur) read more

Wise Sons - Mushroom omelette (mushrooms, spinach, caramelized onions, cheese) - comes with your choice of a bagel and cream cheese and a side salad - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Oakland, California

I finally had the opportunity to get some delicious bagels and pastries from Beauty's and I was so pleasantly impressed that I urge all denizens of foodie-dom to go and see for yourselves. The everything bagels were a hit with yummy salmon cream cheese, and so was the tasty chocolate Babka with crumb cake like texture on the edges. Deeeelish! I also had a fantastic pour over coffee that was every bit as good as what I tasted there. Staff is also attentive as the little shop was humming with orders! Imagine if this place was a full on deli restaurant? I would eat more (damn my gym pass - I will have more Babka)! read more

Wise Sons - Everything Bagel with salmon cream cheese and garden cucumbers - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Oakland, California

Purchased a dozen bagels + 2 containers of cream cheese last weekend. My first thought after receiving my bag was...why are the bagels so cold?! It was 8am and they had just opened an hour ago. I appreciate that they bagged the cinnamon raisin bagels separate from the everything/plain, but that's the only positive from my trip. The bagels were cold, dry, and hard. Now that I'm reading some of the recent reviews, I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who was disappointed :( read more

Weekday morning visit was very quick- no line and prompt service. Was my first time trying the bagels and I found them to be extremely tough to the point it hurt my jaw. Because of that I can only give 3 stars Also remember to feed the meter. I saw the whole block of cars got tickets! read more

Visited recently to check them out post merger with Wise Sons. The Montreal style bagels are no more, but the more standard offering is great quality and tasty. Sampled their veggie sandwich on sesame and liked it quite a bit. The bagel is very sturdy, so limber up those jaws. Good COVID measures, but order ahead to avoid a wait! Parking in front is very limited due to some interesting traffic management, so park nearby down the street or around the corner. read more

I stopped in this morning because I live in the neighborhood and I had not been in here before. I was walking my dog last night, but I came across the cute exterior. I was driving between jobsites with my dog and I thought I'd pop in. I ordered coffee everything bagel sausage, egg, and cheese breakfast sandwich, and had a glass of water . Well, not only was the staff very nice but the food was excellent. One of the staff members was kind enough to offer a treat to the dog and another one popped out for a second when it slow down just to talk about dogs. Anyway, I'll be going back and I appreciate the great service and good food. Thank you. read more

This place is located where it's not so busy but the food was great! Decided to pass by on our way home and would definitely come here again! Everything was fresh and customer service was great! read more

Wise Sons - Got the mushroom bagel and my sister got the egg and cheese bagel - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Oakland, California

Ordered the Lox bagel for my friend and a plain bagel for me. It was my first time ordering after my night shift. The person taking my order had asked me if I wanted the lox bagel open or closed I did not understand her, so I asked for clarification. She was not very friendly and seemed annoyed that I did not understood what she said the first time. I received my order to go and I felt she was a lot more friendlier to the next customer when she called for orders ready. I gave 3 stars because I felt she lacked customer service with me and I was treated differently. My bagel was very good. read more

It's been a while since I've been here and my memory of the food was better than it actually turned out. I ordered the classic bagel sandwich again (lox, cream cheese, capers, red onions) on an everything bagel. It was very dry, the red onions and capers weren't very flavorful so I don't think they were very fresh, and the bagel was hard and chewy. I don't think my bagel was fresh or toasted before they made it. I paid $15 for one open-faced sandwich and for the quality I received, I was not satisfied. I probably won't be coming back anytime soon. Also they are now open 7 days a week. I think they used to close Monday but things seemed to have changed since Covid created new dining restrictions. read more

Wise Sons - Menu & other offers - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Oakland, California

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Bagels and Love: First of all, Beauty bagels has the best bagels in the entire country. As a former New York resident, it's even better than the famous New York bagel. Be aware, they're so popular that they frequently sell out. So be sure to call in the morning to have them set aside your favorites. I also want to write a shout out to Vincent and Hattie. for their kindness and compassion, in addition to excellent customer service. I was having a real difficult day. Until I felt their Bagel love. Highly recommended read more

I'm such a fan of lox and bagels.... Or just bagels. Beauty's is really popular in Temescal and I was in the neighborhood with a little time to kill so I dropped by. They have indoor and outdoor seating and I opted for inside since it was a little chilly. They have big windows with a lot of light so it was really nice to enjoy my food with a view. When I walked in it smelled a little funny, not sure how to describe it but it was only slightly off putting and I was fully committed to the lox after seeing the menu outside. I liked the option they had for a closed or open sandwich, one had more lox, YUM! I got open faced lox on a cheese bagel ($15) and an order of deviled eggs that came with 2 halves.l ($3). My total was $21 and some change, a bit pricey. I'm a huge deviled egg fan too lol. The lox were really good, lots of capers but too much red onion. Perfect amount of smear though The deviled eggs were okay. They were hard like they had been refrigerated over night. I liked the taste but I'm a texture fan so that threw me off. Overall, it's a cute place and the food is decent. If I was in the area I'd stop by to try a breakfast sandwich but I think I'd rather grab a lox sandwich from Noah's just a few blocks away! read more

These are contenders for the best bagels in the Bay. They also make a fine NY style bialy. When I ordered a dozen and asked if it was a baker's dozen (13), they first said no, only 12, but ended up tossing in 2 extras! Their bagels keep and freeze well, so you can skip the Sunday morning crowd. read more

The beauty isn't just in the bagels at this small shop. Busy on a Thursday morning at 8 am. I can only imagine the lines on the weekends! Everyone loves a good carb load but carbs in a sandwhich form is even better. Had the breakfast sandwhich with free range egg/cheddar and added the chicken scrapple. So glad I added it because it made it that much better. I was expecting a larger bagel but it wasn't that bad since the egg and chicken scrapple were bursting out of the sides. The bagel would probably be half the size of a regular bagel and thinner. But it's still pretty good. That chicken scrapple was tasty and added a crunch. Service was good at the counter and the employees were constantly cleaning/tidying up the self serve areas. Water/utensils/jams/hot sauce is on the side. Only 2 blocks away from Macarthur bart station. I can see myself getting a weekly sando from here. read more

Wise Sons - Plain bagel with egg/cheddar/chicken scrapple - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Oakland, California

Very busy place, seating is difficult to come by unless your timing is right. I wouldn't recommend more than a group of 4. My shakshuka had a alot of flavor. For people who are unfamilar, it's a tomato based stew that comes with an egg baked on top and usually bread but here, it comes with a bagel of course! Great flavor from the shakshuka and good enough portion for me. My mother got one of the omeletes, the one with goat cheese and it was goat cheese heavy so prepare for that flavor and richness if you order it. I think I would come back but more likely for pick up. read more

Wise Sons - Shakshuka - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Oakland, California

Great food quality and service! Was not busy at the time I went, but the shop seemed very chill and a nice spot to enjoy your meal. read more

Wise Sons - Mushroom, egg, spinach breakfast sandwich - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Oakland, California

Idk about this place anymore. It seems like everyone who used to care about the place left I went by there the other day and got sent back w some weird combination of things on my sandwich. When I stopped back in to get it all sorted. The fix was just to haphazardly toss thing together uncooked. Also hearing them being upset that I'm asking for a fix. Bruh, you're at work lol not at the crib trying to watch your favorite Tv program. Idk man. I'd rather just support LEE's at this point. Y'all really dropping all the balls here. read more

I wished that could give zero or minus star. I visited Oakland this week and this terrible bagel shop was the worst meal that had. Miguel took my order; And took 30 minutes for them to make it ready. I just ordered everything bagel with cream cheese. Tomato and smashed avocado. See the picture what else they added; onion, smoked salmon and wired green balls.... everything tasted disgusting. I recommend to open your order and check your order. Bagels also were not fresh. Anyway... If you want to throw your money in trash, this will be the best place. read more

Wise Sons - Worst Bagel ever - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Oakland, California

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I had the Shakshuka which comes with a buttered bagel (https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/beautys-bagel-shop-oakland?select=0LRXW_ZC_QHuDRn9IjTUPg). It's described as a tomato stew with onions, peppers, and za'atar (https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/beautys-bagel-shop-oakland?select=E-xwYh-wOcM7MrGLD0az6w) and while I liked the flavors I wanted more "sauce" to it. The eggs were over poached a bit and were runny on top (https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/beautys-bagel-shop-oakland?select=bN1e97_nLetTyKAP68EEXQ), but hard cooked on the bottom. Probably more stew would have helped reduce the cooking on the bottom ;-) The coffee they serve is a bitter 3rd wave blend. Not sure who supplies the beans, but it's not my style. read more

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Since I was in the neighborhood I thought I'd stop by and grab some bagels and a sando for the road. Beauty's has always been my favorite since they opened many years ago, and I'm happy to report it's just as delicious as ever despite ownership change and changes to the bagel recipe. The original owners Blake and Amy are still a part of the business, and I love the expanded menu offerings like chocolate babka and latkes now that Wise Son's has joined the fam. Team members were great about taking covid-19 precautions - everyone wears a mask, they have hand sanitizer available. You order at the door and wait outside. Despite it being mid-morning and there being a line, they prepared my order super quick! I had a breakfast sando on an everything bagel and took a half doz on the road with me. Eggs and cheese were perfection, great portion size for the price. The bagels I took home are sooo delicious too! Sooo seedy on both sides, the everything bagel is to die for. I love the mix they use and that it includes caraway and fennel. Very well rounded savory flavor. The bagels taste mostly the same they always have, they're a little less "crusty" in a good way, compared to when they were wood fired. I appreciate that Beauty's retired the wood fired oven, for both their team members working there and for the environmental impact it has. What I love the most about Beautys and what always keeps me coming back is their values. They're upstanding folks who support other local businesses and their community, I know everything they do comes from the heart. You can taste it in the bagels! read more

Wise Sons - Everything bagel fresh out of my toaster! Super seedy just how I like it! - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Oakland, California

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This place just consistently has an amazing bacon egg and cheese (I like it on a poppy seed bagel). Not many places can do it like New York City, what this is close. read more

I've been to Beauty's many times before Wise & Sons took them over and they were awesome. I didn't expect the same bagels or same anything except bagels; but today's experience was terrible. I just came back with a truly average taste and quality-wise bagel sandwich that cost the same as the previously awesome Beauty's sandwiches. The menu has been blahhed down and there were hardly any customers. Worst of all was the cashier who really should not be interacting with customers. She couldn't even be bothered to tell me which bagels were available - she just waived at the bagels that were all the way to my left and totally unsee-able from the cashier. WHAT THE EXACT HECK IS THAT? How rude. read more

I really wanted to like this place, as it's local and I heard good things. But here is my honest review: $30 for 2 breakfast sandos is extremely overpriced. Barely any smoked salmon in my lox bagel. The bagels themself were not soft! They were hard and unenjoyable--and salty. I was shocked. Felt like a day or two old bagel! And they bagels were small! Boichik bagels is a much better choice in Oakland--Nice, big, fresh and fluffy. Also, the way my bagel was made....the capers and onions were falling out. Wouldn't it make more sense to put those toppings on the cream cheese so they can stick? read more

Well, luckily this location remains open. I drive a few extra miles to get my hands on these bagels and I previously avoided this location due to its long line prior to Covid, but with a pick-up only menu now, the line is a lot faster and shorter. As far as bagels go, it's not an east coaster but it's chewy and delicious in a west coast kind-of-way which you won't find in the East Coast ;). An additional plus for the super good cream cheese they have here and for being so generous in the coating of their bagel toppings. read more

Wise Sons - This is how my 12 year old daughter fixes hers up. - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Oakland, California

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