Gryfe’s Bagel Bakery

100 years to get these bagels taste this good. Fresh even until the next day when you pop it in the oven.
I am not a fan of bagels until the day my very pushy better half brought me here a decade ago and we never leave here without a dozen.
5am stop overs before a trip to the cottage can secure breakfast for champs with over easy eggs on these carby delights.
Oh and a crew of hard working people that work at this joint is the key ingredient to a successful, on time, always fresh brown bag of doughy goods.
The place looks like it started as humble beginnings, and then the owners decided to keep it the way it is, so you get decades of history each visit.

The place showed a lot of promise for a good bagel spot. I got a half dozen and a couple of challah rolls. I would certainly go back for the challah — delicious. They have a variety of baked goods which appeared to be delicious.
In terms of being a good bagel place — they were more like rolls with holes. If marketed as a roll, I would not have a problem with them — quite tasty… in fact, I ate two on the way home just straight up [they’re also not particularly large]. A bagel is supposed to have a hard exterior with a super chewy interior that, if you so chose, you could ball it up to a mass so dense that if you threw it at your sibling it would prompt at least a complaint to mom or dad. [I promise this never happened during my New Jersey upbringing.] Bagels at this place had neither a particularly resilient exterior, nor a chewy interior. They were too much like a roll. As I said, they are delicious baked goods, but they’re not bagels in my opinion or experience.
…and so we soldier on in search of great bagel places in Toronto.

The best bagels. Worth the drive from Mississauga on a Saturday morning. Get here early and bring cash only! I highly recommend grabbing a dozen challah as well. All freeze well so stock up!

The absolute best bagels I have ever had in Toronto. My family has been going here since before I was born — and the store’s traditions date back to the early 1900s. Even though we moved away from the area about 14 years ago, once in a while, we still make the trek to grab some bagels, pastries, and mini pizzas from Gryfe’s.
There is nothing like a Gryfe’s bagel — especially when you eat them fresh in the early morning. While they ship them to some Toronto grocers such as Pusateri’s, Bruno’s, and the Kitchen Table, they’re still the best eaten right out of Gryfe’s bagel shop on Bathurst.
Gryfe’s has a long history in this neighbourhood and, through the years, their quality has stayed the same. It’s a classic Toronto stop for many — from police officers to old-​time fans and it’s even been mentioned in fictional books where the story takes place in Toronto.
They’re the perfect bagels and with the combination of chewy, light, fluffy, and soft, and classic options such as poppy seed, flax seed, sesame, and multigrain (to name a few), you can’t go wrong with one — or a dozen ($ 7.20/dozen). Eat them plain or eat them with something else — but I can guarantee that you’ll be coming back for more.

The BEST bagels, anywhere!!!
You can’t eat just one!

This is the bagel I have grown up with. It’s hot, warm, just melts in your mouth for the first 24 hours after there made. These are the best bagels in Toronto.

I literally eat half a dozen of these bagels in one sitting. Delicious golden round morsels from heaven. Best in the city.

These bagels are okay but not great — a bit on the small side. I was really expecting a better tasting bagel from the reviews.

Worth a trip to the ATM for this cash-​only bagel bakery. In addition to great bagels they also make an excellent bagel pizza.

Amazing Bagels!

I wanted to give this a FIVE but the lady working there was rude. She thought we were Filipino and started talking to us in their language. I’m sorry that I didn’t realize you were addressing us, but don’t treat us any less because I don’t speak the same language.
Anyway, the bagel is still my favourite even when compared to Montréal’s. Gryfe is sooooooooo soft and flavorful. To me, that is. Gryfe’s has a subtle touch of a sweet and salty in the bagels. St. V on St. Viateur in Montréal needed butter to make it taste good. Please don’t hate me for liking Gryfe over St. V. I’m sure my taste buds are not the same as a person from Montréal who prefers the bagels there.
The line is almost always fast if nonexistent. It’s very close to Baycrest Hospital. Parking can be tricky if can’t find one on the streets, in front of people’s houses. There are a few metered parking, but you really won’t be inside for more than 3 minutes.

My grandmother lives down the street from Gryfe’s so I have been coming here my entire life, I recently moved to a condo up on Wilson Street.
Literally, one of the top 10 reasons for moving to the area was to be close proximity to Gryfe’s. It is the best bagel I am aware of in my 30 years on this earth.

This bakery is fabulous! We got a dozen bagels in a variety of flavours, and a couple of pastries /​danishes — one was cheese, the other blueberry. The bagels were delicious just like that with nothing on them! And the pastries were wonderful.
I would definitely go back!

Gryfe’s is such a low-​key looking place that doesn’t even look as though it’s open.
If it weren’t for the help of you fellow Unilocalers, I would have driven by without even glancing over at Gryfe’s. But that would be a mistake. You see, Gryfe’s has the best bagels I’ve had in Ontario (Montréal really does have some damn good bagels). The store is real tiny and its a cash only establishment
They sell a variety of bagels like poppy, sesame, cinnamon-​raisin, etc. They also offer some sandwiches but that’s only on the weekdays. I’ll never be able to grab some on the account that I’m always working. They have some pizzas that they sell 6 for $ 5 or $ 1 each. They are small pizzas though so it’s not much, but they did look appetizing.
We had the good fortune of having our bagels come right out of the oven when we ordered our dozen. Into the big paper bag they go, but they didn’t last long. The great thing about these bagels was how crisp the exterior were, while the inside was soft and warm. The reason I would rank Montréal bagels higher is because those were always a bit sweeter (some cooked in honey water), but this bagel was more savory than anything and is the perfect vessel to slather some cream cheese or throw some meats on.
I will be coming back every week now just to grab these bagels here. I shared with my friends, so I don’t know how they hold up throughout the week, but if it’s even halfway decent, it’s worth your money.

I have to admit I don’t frequent this area often — and driving around Bathurst looking for Gayle’s it certainly didn’t look an area that would be home to city-​renowned bagels. Older commercial building which have seen better days line the streets. Looking left you see some closed up shops, looking right much of the same.
Or maybe I was just in a mind-​altered-​movie-​state during TIFF weekend.
Any ways, even on a Friday afternoon Gryfe’s had a few customers in line, each ordering a dozen of whichever types of bagels they had on hand. When they’re fully stocked, there’s about a dozen varieties, although they’re all fairly traditional choices: sesame, poppy seed, extra poppy seed, flax, everything, cinnamon raisin, plain, etc. Soft, fluffy and airy, these bagels are pretty good if you’re into that kinda thing. They’re $ 0.60 each or $ 7.20 a dozen.
That being said, I personally enjoy bagels with a it more chew and texture to them (like Montréal style bagels), but regardless, the carb-​monster inside of me made yet another appearance when I picked these up, as I quickly devoured two bagels and an apple turnover. I can certainly see why folks like the bagels, IF they like the soft and fluffy variety. They also toast up pretty well, which adds some good texture to it and is much more down my alley. The apple turnover ($ 1.15) was good, though the apple filling could have used more cinnamon.
They ran out of their $ 1 pizzas by Friday afternoon, since they’re closed on Saturday and don’t want to bake more in case they don’t sell out that night. Great to know that everything here is fresh!
If you do come here, I’d suggest you do not come on a Friday afternoon, as a lot of their bagel varieties and pizzas are sold out.
I’m giving it 3 stars mainly because I’m simply not a fan of the softer, fluffier type of bagel, but they’re good, all-​in-​all.
Great friendly service, definitely a neighbourhood joint.

*Cash only*
Hands down, the best bagels that I’ve ever had. They’re totally worth my 40 minute drive from the East End. They defrost really well (using the microwave), and toast evenly.

As a bagel fan, I had to check this place out after seeing it on the Best Bagels lists. The store itself was small and simple and dark. They didn’t open any lights and just allowed the natural light from the window to come in. If it weren’t for the Best Bagels list, i might have never come into this shop even though I am a Bagel fanatic. In today’s day and age, packaging, interior décor, display means everything right? Well, not if you are on every single Bagel List and you’ve been around long enough to prove that you are the real deal.
The verdict on the bagels: they are so fresh and tasty. I bought two dozen and finished two or three on the drive back home. Since they are on the «smaller» side, I wouldn’t say I had three bagels at once. it was more like one and a half? (so I tell myself that) and since it was so fresh and warm, it was really hard to resist. Especially because of all that traffic that hindered me from getting home fast enough so I could have some distance between me and this seducing bag of carbs.
Now that I’ve tried them, I can totally understand why they are on every bagel list in Toronto.

I went pretty far out of my way to try the bagels here based off Unilocal reviews. The flavor was very enjoyable, I had both a sesame and Flax seed bagel. Though I enjoyed my bagel, I couldn’t help thinking it was more like eating a burger bun than a bagel. Strangely enough, my second bagel I took home actually lasted into the next day!
Apparently I should have tried the pizza? I was greeted with, «Hello you want pizza or bagel?»
Heads up– They are strictly cash only, this place is a quick run in and run out joint, and they don’t shmear your bagels for you on weekends…

I generally stick to a low-​carb diet, but I’d have to say Gryfe’s bagels are my kryptonite.
I’m not sure what makes a Gryfe’s bagel so magical.
Being baked in a wood oven?
The sesame seeds?
Their funny non-​symmetrical shape?
Fresh from the oven, they are crispy but oddly light, fluffy, and airy for a bagel.
The bakery is always busy but it’s worth the wait.
I would eat two bagels in the car with nothing on them as if they were potato chips.
And yes, I have bought a tub of Western cream cheese in the bakery and I have made my own cream cheese bagel-​wiches outside.
Even after living in Montréal, there aren’t any bagels that can compare to Gryfe’s.
I prefer to have them from the bakery, but I’ve picked them up from Daiter’s as well. There was actually a Japanese take out place at RBC plaza in the downtown core that sold them.
They have mini-​pizzas, which are pretty tasty too.
Gryfe’s is my favourite bagel place in the city.
I wish I could have a bagel right now.

Was told to pick up 8 dozen bagels from Gryfe’s for a Goodbye Party at work. From the exterior, it looks outdated and a little depressing; however, as soon as I entered the store, I was quickly greeted by the friendly staff. You can see the staff in the back preparing the various bagels. I was second in line at 7:00 AM and within a few minutes, the line extended to the entrance. People really like their bagels! When it was time to pay, I understood why so many people were here… for 8 dozen bagels and 8 tubs of cream cheese, I paid $ 80.
Back at the ranch, I had the sessame bagel with cream cheese … if it just wasn’t so rich with calories! Anyway, it was my Friday treat so guilt bye-​bye.
Yay, I’m a fan.
Remember, cash only.