Ugly Bagels has arrived in Wellington. It is the brain child of Chef Al Brown and originally from Auckland. The great thing is, that they have built an oven inside their new premise to make and bake their bagels instead of bringing them down from Auckland. There is not a lot of sitting space here only two benches as the oven takes most of the space and a bench outside. Coffee they serve her is Havana, which is the roast that Al Brown uses in all his eateries.
Clover
I decided to come here in the morning before work, just after 7am. There were already people inside eating and seeing what these bagels are like. The Bagel I ordered was covered in Marsh’s Central Otago Clover Honey and toasted. The honey was really nice and smooth and tasted like caramel and with the toasted bagel it was very nice.
Naked Bagels
I ordered two naked bagels as I am was going to have them for work at lunch. However, they did not have any, as they were cooking gluten free ones at the time. So the guy instead told me to just take a bag of four sesame bagels free of charge, which I was happy to do. Once at work I just had them by as they were but toasted, and i was very impressed. They are different to New York bagels which are chewy, these instead were less chewy. They were crunchy one the outside and soft in the middle. They also had a bit of sweetness in them. Overall a nice bagel.
Flat White
I was pleased to see they were serving Havana coffee. The flat white was nice, but not as strong as I am use to. I wonder if their barista is actually from Wellington as it tasted more like an Auckland flat white, which is not as strong.
Yodi
Pastrami, habanero mustard, grilled swiss, topped with a pickle
I went back another day to try one of their bagels with toppings. I love how they split the bagel in half and then each side has filling on top. The bagels are grilled before filling goes on top which makes the bagels crunchy on the outside and chewy in the middle. The pastrami was very nice and had a good flavour. The cheese they use is also really good and they grilled it again, which gives the cheese a really nice texture. The pickle on top is a very nice addition. Finally the mustard is slightly sweet but brings everything together. Overall I was very impressed with the bagel.
This is a great addition to the Wellington scene. I am not sure about their coffee skills and if it is up to Wellington standard. However, the bagels are great and they have really good customer service. I will definitely go back and see what else they do with their bagels.
Website; Best Ugly Bagels
Trencherman's Travels 