What should we know about Open Bagels?
Whether it’s more innovation or desperation, we’ve seen pivots aplenty in Dublin’s cafés across the last few months, as the city’s scene struggles to keep pace with climbing costs and changing tastes. Network is the latest to shake things up, scuttling its previous All Good Wine Bar for Saturday bagel bar, Open Bagels, instead, serving from 10am until sell-out.
What should we have?
There are six loaded bagels, and boy are they loaded. Our eyes widened as decomposable containers of piled-high half rings passed by our kitchen-side seats, more like a mountain of chilli chips than the waistline-watching specimens elsewhere about town.
The bagels themselves are beautiful - the Network team developed them under the mentorship of fatbaby Bakes, the native New Yorker whose frustration with the lack of proper bagels in Ireland led her to set up a home micro-bakery. Her lessons have been well-learned; crisp bronzed crusts are flecked with tell-tale blisters and gloriously chewy to the bite. Those who’ve dismissed the humble bagel off the back of O’Brien’s and its ilk should be first in line here for a taste of the real deal.
Our favourite was the 'Lil Spice', liberally smeared with labneh-thick cream cheese and chunks of avocado, topped with peanut rayu and pickled onions and radish. Sharpness and spice cut through the richness of the avocado and cheese, soft and creamy textures playing off the chewy dough. This could be the next avocado toast. Any scepticism we’d had at the €12 price point vanished at its substantial size; that it’s this good is the cherry – rayu – on top.
'The Traditional' is true to its name, a solid, safe bet that satisfied if not set our senses alight in the same way. Generous slices of smoked salmon rest on more of that thick-set cream cheese and beef tomato, sprinkled with capers and dill. It's a classic combo for good reason, and if you’re in for old comforts this is the one.
'It’s Our Jam' wasn't our first choice for dessert (the 'Jack of All Trades' with peanut butter, jelly and fried banana was unavailable when we dropped in) but it was a strong second choice. The menu promises seasonal fruits on top of cream cheese with passion fruit and honey, and if the sour-sweet tang of these strawberries and blackcurrants are anything to go by they’re sourcing them well (despite November not exactly being berry season) – this could be a fun one to watch evolve each month.
The one damp squib is a point of service - even sitting in, the food’s dished out in takeaway boxes. Proper bagels need proper knifework to cut through the chew – these are, blissfully, too big to bite – and the chore of cutting in a crammed container dampens the mood. Bring out the plates.
Why should I go?
If the general trend of the café scene in 2024 has been toward plugging gaps in the market at a cross-section of quality and value, Open Bagels seamlessly slots in near the top of the pile. Come ravenous, or willing to share, and see what the NYC fuss is all about.
Open Bagels
39 Aungier Street, Dublin 2
