{"id":33725,"date":"2023-12-13T16:17:51","date_gmt":"2023-12-13T22:17:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saucemagazine.com\/places\/best-new-restaurants-2023-no-2-bagel-union-17337392\/"},"modified":"2025-07-21T09:02:12","modified_gmt":"2025-07-21T09:02:12","slug":"best-new-restaurants-2023-no-2-bagel-union-17337392","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saucemagazine.com\/places-2\/best-new-restaurants-2023-no-2-bagel-union-17337392\/","title":{"rendered":"Best New Restaurants 2023 \/\/ No. 2 Bagel Union"},"content":{"rendered":"

By any measure, the gold standard for bagel making is the New York method: simmering a ring of flour, yeast and malt-based raised dough in hot water, then baking it until shiny and glazed with a chewy interior texture. Given the large number of New Yorkers and Jewish people who have settled here over the years, St. Louis’ relative paucity of traditional boiled-and-baked bagel bakeries has always been a mystery. <\/p>

After Pratzel’s Bakery closed in 2012 and the Bagel Factory closed in 2022, local bagel lovers have mostly had to endure frozen brands or fluffy bread-like simulations trying to pass for the real deal. But just when we thought we’d never eat another salt or onion or tzitzel water bagel, we’ve seen four new retail bagelries launch in the metro area in 2023 alone. Our favorite is Bagel Union<\/a>, at the corner of Big Bend Boulevard and South Elm Avenue in Webster Groves. Co-owners Sean Netzer and Ted Wilson do for the modest bagel what they did for fresh baked bread and superb pizza and sandwiches at Union Loafers Café and Bread Bakery<\/a>. Netzer and Wilson are obsessive about their bagels \u2013 their research for Bagel Union took them to New York City, where they drew inspiration from visits to favorite bagel shops including Shelsky’s<\/a> and Absolute Bagels. <\/p>


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cherry crunch bagels at bagel union Credit:<\/span> izaiah johnson<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>


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With over 10 types of bagel and a minimum of five varieties of schmear at any given time, Bagel Union will satisfy even the most ardent bagel snob. The classics are present \u2013 onion, salt, egg and plain \u2013 along with the expected everything, poppy seed, whole wheat and sesame seed bagels. Then there’s the tzitzelnickel, a rolled-in-cornmeal pumpernickel bagel inspired by tzitzel rye bread, a St. Louis classic that Pratzel’s Bakery in particular was renowned for. For a couple bucks more, there’s a cheese bagel featuring a rotating combination of cheeses (Chihuahua and cheddar, for example), available daily at 9:30 a.m. Three non-savory bagels are available: cherry crunch, blueberry and carrot. Bagel Union sources plain cream cheese from Sierra Nevada Cheese Co.<\/a> \u2013 they use this as the base for other flavors like scallion, veggie, lox and jalapeno. Great coffee is a must with great bagels; locally based Coma Coffee<\/a> roasts a blend of single-origin beans exclusively for Bagel Union.
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the staff at bagel union Credit:<\/span> izaiah johnson<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>

Several bagel sandwiches and spreadable salads round out the menu, including the taste bud-tingling Iggy sandwich with hot-smoked salmon, scallion cream cheese, Passenger Foods<\/a>‘ chile crisp, and cilantro salad on tzitzelnickel (or your choice of bagel). If you like Union Loafers’ smoked beet sandwich, the Goldie Lox is for you: It pairs smoked golden beets with cream cheese, pickled shallot, dill and lemon oil. Chicken, egg, spicy tuna, and smoked trout salads are perfect with any bagel you choose. <\/p>

After years of playing second (or 10th) fiddle to New York bagels, St. Louis is boiling and baking its way toward a bagel renaissance \u2013 and Bagel Union is leading the way. <\/p>


<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By any measure, the gold standard for bagel making is the New York method: simmering a ring of flour, yeast and malt-based raised dough in hot water, then baking it until shiny and glazed with a chewy interior texture. Given the large number of New Yorkers and Jewish people who have settled here over the 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As a side gig, he has a day job.","url":"https:\/\/www.saucemagazine.com\/author\/michael-renner\/"}]}},"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/saucemagazine.com\/places-2\/best-new-restaurants-2023-no-2-bagel-union-17337392\/","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Best New Restaurants 2023 \/\/ No. 2 Bagel Union","url":"http:\/\/www.saucemagazine.com\/places-2\/best-new-restaurants-2023-no-2-bagel-union-17337392\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/www.saucemagazine.com\/places-2\/best-new-restaurants-2023-no-2-bagel-union-17337392\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saucemagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/bagel-union-webster-groves-st-louis-best-new-restaurants-lg.webp?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saucemagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/bagel-union-webster-groves-st-louis-best-new-restaurants-lg.webp?fit=1900%2C1069&ssl=1"},"articleSection":"Best New Restaurants","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Michael Renner"}],"creator":["Michael Renner"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Sauce Magazine: Intelligent Content For The Food Fascinated","logo":"https:\/\/www.saucemagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/cropped-sauce-magazine-logo-color-Katrina-Behnken.png"},"keywords":["bagel union","home feature"],"dateCreated":"2023-12-13T22:17:51Z","datePublished":"2023-12-13T22:17:51Z","dateModified":"2025-07-21T09:02:12Z"},"rendered":"<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"wp-parsely-metadata\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"headline\":\"Best New Restaurants 2023 \\\/\\\/ No. 2 Bagel Union\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.saucemagazine.com\\\/places-2\\\/best-new-restaurants-2023-no-2-bagel-union-17337392\\\/\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.saucemagazine.com\\\/places-2\\\/best-new-restaurants-2023-no-2-bagel-union-17337392\\\/\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/www.saucemagazine.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/12\\\/bagel-union-webster-groves-st-louis-best-new-restaurants-lg.webp?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/www.saucemagazine.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/12\\\/bagel-union-webster-groves-st-louis-best-new-restaurants-lg.webp?fit=1900%2C1069&ssl=1\"},\"articleSection\":\"Best New Restaurants\",\"author\":[{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"name\":\"Michael Renner\"}],\"creator\":[\"Michael Renner\"],\"publisher\":{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"name\":\"Sauce Magazine: Intelligent Content For The Food Fascinated\",\"logo\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.saucemagazine.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/07\\\/cropped-sauce-magazine-logo-color-Katrina-Behnken.png\"},\"keywords\":[\"bagel union\",\"home feature\"],\"dateCreated\":\"2023-12-13T22:17:51Z\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-12-13T22:17:51Z\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-07-21T09:02:12Z\"}<\/script>","tracker_url":"https:\/\/cdn.parsely.com\/keys\/saucemagazine.com\/p.js"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saucemagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/bagel-union-webster-groves-st-louis-best-new-restaurants-lg.webp?fit=1900%2C1069&ssl=1","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1633,"url":"https:\/\/www.saucemagazine.com\/places-2\/bagel-union-in-webster-groves-replicates-the-success-of-union-loafers-cafe-and-bread-bakery-17367860\/","url_meta":{"origin":33725,"position":0},"title":"Bagel Union in Webster Groves replicates the success of Union Loafers Cafe and Bread Bakery","author":"Sauce Staff","date":"August 1, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Co-owners Ted Wilson and Sean Netzer have replicated the success of Union Loafers Cafe and Bread Bakery with this on-point Webster Groves bagel shop. A bite of the generously seasoned everything bagel with lox schmear (made using Sierra Nevada Cheese Co. cream cheese) confirms the kitchen knows its way around\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Places"","block_context":{"text":"Places","link":"https:\/\/www.saucemagazine.com\/category\/places-2\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saucemagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/bagel-union-loafers-webster-groves-st-louis-best-sauce-75-lg.webp?fit=1200%2C668&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saucemagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/bagel-union-loafers-webster-groves-st-louis-best-sauce-75-lg.webp?fit=1200%2C668&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saucemagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/bagel-union-loafers-webster-groves-st-louis-best-sauce-75-lg.webp?fit=1200%2C668&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saucemagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/bagel-union-loafers-webster-groves-st-louis-best-sauce-75-lg.webp?fit=1200%2C668&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saucemagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/bagel-union-loafers-webster-groves-st-louis-best-sauce-75-lg.webp?fit=1200%2C668&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":33235,"url":"https:\/\/www.saucemagazine.com\/places-2\/3-new-bagels-shops-leading-st-louis-bagel-boom-17337098\/","url_meta":{"origin":33725,"position":1},"title":"3 new bagels shops leading St. Louis’ bagel boom","author":"Meera Nagarajan","date":"June 26, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"For nearly 50 years, the Bagel Factory, a tiny, cash-only spot in Creve Coeur selling bagels and bagels only, was a St. Louis bagel landmark. When it closed last year, a void opened in the retail bagel scene (though there are plans for the shop to reopen under new ownership).\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Places"","block_context":{"text":"Places","link":"https:\/\/www.saucemagazine.com\/category\/places-2\/places\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saucemagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/bagel-union-webster-groves-st-louis-lg-2.webp?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saucemagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/bagel-union-webster-groves-st-louis-lg-2.webp?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saucemagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/bagel-union-webster-groves-st-louis-lg-2.webp?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saucemagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/bagel-union-webster-groves-st-louis-lg-2.webp?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saucemagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/bagel-union-webster-groves-st-louis-lg-2.webp?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6728,"url":"https:\/\/www.saucemagazine.com\/places-2\/first-look-bagel-union-in-webster-groves-17332870\/","url_meta":{"origin":33725,"position":2},"title":"First Look: Bagel Union in Webster Groves","author":"Iain Shaw","date":"January 19, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"View of the shop front at Bagel Union in Webster Groves.Chicken salad bagel sandwich at Bagel Union in Webster Groves.Smoked golden beets, cream cheese, and pickled shallot and dill on tzizel-nickel at Bagel Union.Open-face bagel sandwich topped with salmon roe, cream cheese, pickled shallot and dill at Bagel Union.Everything bagel\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Places"","block_context":{"text":"Places","link":"https:\/\/www.saucemagazine.com\/category\/places-2\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saucemagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/bagel-union-webster-groves-loafers-st-louis-01.webp?fit=795%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saucemagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/bagel-union-webster-groves-loafers-st-louis-01.webp?fit=795%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saucemagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/bagel-union-webster-groves-loafers-st-louis-01.webp?fit=795%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saucemagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/bagel-union-webster-groves-loafers-st-louis-01.webp?fit=795%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":33844,"url":"https:\/\/www.saucemagazine.com\/places-2\/first-look-bagel-union-in-webster-groves-17338548\/","url_meta":{"origin":33725,"position":3},"title":"First Look: Bagel Union in Webster Groves","author":"Iain Shaw","date":"January 19, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Bagel Union, the long-awaited bagel shop from the team behind\u00a0Union Loafers Caf\u00e9 and Bread Bakery, will have a soft opening with a limited menu at 8705 Big Bend Blvd. in Webster Groves on Sunday, Jan. 22, at 8 a.m. The shop will be fully up and running within a week\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "First Looks"","block_context":{"text":"First Looks","link":"https:\/\/www.saucemagazine.com\/category\/topic\/first-looks\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saucemagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/bagel-union-webster-groves-loafers-st-louis-lg.webp?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saucemagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/bagel-union-webster-groves-loafers-st-louis-lg.webp?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saucemagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/bagel-union-webster-groves-loafers-st-louis-lg.webp?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saucemagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/bagel-union-webster-groves-loafers-st-louis-lg.webp?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saucemagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/bagel-union-webster-groves-loafers-st-louis-lg.webp?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":13939,"url":"https:\/\/www.saucemagazine.com\/places-2\/st-louis-bagel-game-is-in-development-heres-where-to-find-them-17333325\/","url_meta":{"origin":33725,"position":4},"title":"St. Louis\u2019 bagel game is in development \u2013 here\u2019s where to find them","author":"Adam Rothbarth","date":"July 3, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"\"There are no good bagels in St. Louis.\"\u00a0 St. Louisans hear that all the time \u2013 especially from people who don't live here. Not only is that statement wrong, but the argument against it has become even stronger recently since a number of local restaurants and bakeries have started testing\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "People"","block_context":{"text":"People","link":"https:\/\/www.saucemagazine.com\/category\/topic\/people-topic\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saucemagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/bagels-st-louis-lg.webp?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saucemagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/bagels-st-louis-lg.webp?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saucemagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/bagels-st-louis-lg.webp?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saucemagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/bagels-st-louis-lg.webp?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saucemagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/bagels-st-louis-lg.webp?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":35854,"url":"https:\/\/www.saucemagazine.com\/places-2\/3-new-st-louis-area-places-to-try-this-month-17342472\/","url_meta":{"origin":33725,"position":5},"title":"3 new St. Louis-area places to try this month","author":"Liz Wolfson","date":"March 23, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Bagel UnionFew restaurant openings have inspired as much anticipation as Bagel Union, the Webster Groves bagel shop from the team at Union Loafers Cafe and Bread Bakery. There is good reason for this: The bagels are delicious. The boiled and baked bagels boast fluffy interior texture and chewy crust available\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Bars"","block_context":{"text":"Bars","link":"https:\/\/www.saucemagazine.com\/category\/topic\/bars\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saucemagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/bagel-union-webster-groves-st-louis-lg-3.webp?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saucemagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/bagel-union-webster-groves-st-louis-lg-3.webp?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saucemagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/bagel-union-webster-groves-st-louis-lg-3.webp?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saucemagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/bagel-union-webster-groves-st-louis-lg-3.webp?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saucemagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/bagel-union-webster-groves-st-louis-lg-3.webp?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saucemagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33725","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saucemagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saucemagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saucemagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/61"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saucemagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33725"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saucemagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33725\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saucemagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33735"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saucemagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33725"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saucemagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33725"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saucemagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33725"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_collection_taxonomy","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saucemagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_collection_taxonomy?post=33725"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_collection_section","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saucemagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_collection_section?post=33725"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saucemagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_spnsrs_tax?post=33725"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saucemagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=33725"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}