Perched on the corner of Commonwealth Street, Brooklyn Hide Bagel Bar brings NYC's signature bake to the streets of Surry Hills. They're all that's on the menu, with fillings ranging from classic cream cheese and jam combos to crab omelette. Grab one to go, or sit by the window of the grunge-chic space. A liquor license is on the way, but for now it's all about quality tea and coffee with beans are a special blend by Little Marionette, and leaves from tea craft.
Surry Hills isn't short of cafes; however one thing this bustling suburb has been missing is an actual, authentic bagelry. Enter Brooklyn Hide Bagel Bar, the master work of Matthew Forsdike. The space carries industrial-chic well – seeing that it's channelling Brooklyn, the graffiti mural and exposed brick feels appropriate, not clichéd. Counter seats with high wooden stools break up the floor; nab a place by the window and you could almost imagine being in the backstreets of NYC.
A bar with a coffee machine lines the left hand wall, with a special blend of beans created by leading Sydney boutique coffee maker Ed Cutliffe of Little Marionette. An open kitchen buzzes away down the back. You may not think bagels need much in the way of kitchens – a knife, a breadboard, a fridge maybe. But Matt has injected some of his fine-dining background into the menu. Sticking to the traditional principles of boiling, not baking, the bagels come in a range of flavours, from plain, to blueberry to ‘everything' (and gluten-free, too!). But aside from the classic fillings, expect new-school variations such as ‘China Town Omelette', with blue swimmer crab remoulade, fresh herbs, chilli, crispy garlic and XO sauce, ‘Harlem' with gumbo chicken, or ‘Soho', with poached salmon, pickled shallots and hummus. For me, the ‘Upper East Side', a poppy seed bagel with a thick smear of cream cheese and blueberry jam, is a very good reason to get out of bed in the morning.
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