Kaplan’s New Model Bakery

Best rye bread in the world! We just moved into the neighborhood and was delighted to re-​discover this bakery. When I first moved to Philly in 1976 I was introduced tot the rye bread by my local corner store. I moved away years ago and frankly forgot about the delicious rye bread — but now I can eat it everyday! Perfectly chewy/​crisp crust and wonderfully moist inside… the best for sandwiches and toast. The challah is also wonderful… just finished some French toast I made with it… and the bagels are great, too! On top of all this deliciousness the people who work in the store couldn’t be nicer! If you’re in the area be sure to drop in!

I’ve been here on numerous occasions and definitely plan to go back for a long time. The rye bread is pretty good, although it can fall apart on sandwiches after a few days (I guess that’s what happens when you get decent fresh bread). The problem is, the small rye is way too small for sandwiches. I wish they just made the length of the bread shorter, but kept the overall slice size the same on the various breads. The challahs are decent and the bagels are okay. I wish I knew what was baked on site vs. off-​site. I see a delivery truck bringing in food in the mornings, so they definitely don’t bake everything on site. One major complaint I have is that I have definitely seen one of the employees go outside for a smoke and then come back in without washing her hands or using gloves. Not good.

Love this place. The bagels, cream cheese and everything else are delicious — and cheap. They sell Russian-​style black bread. It’s always staffed with tough, wisecracking ladies who clearly love working together. Never leave me, Kaplan’s New Model.

The woman behind the counter was a little rude and the cookies were very stale. VERY.
The challah bread was good — but kind of expensive I think… Over $ 5 for a medium sized loaf…

Best rye bread in town. Always stop in for a loaf or two when in Philly. Great prices, friendly staff.

Like many have said, the rye bread is crazy good, sweets and prepared spreads are good, bagels are decent by NYC standards (which means outstanding for Philly). One thing I’m not as impressed by is the knishes. they seem really salty and dry to me. But they are cheap and hit the spot if you’re in a certain mood.
The atmosphere is great too. As someone who grew up in a place where Jewish food was still pretty exotic, seeing a construction worker roll in and shout «lemme have a coffee and a hamantashen» just makes my day.

They’re breads, knishes, and spreads are really good but the bagels aren’t anything too exciting. They aren’t chewy they are just dry and dense.

I’m not sure how this place rated so high. I work three blocks away and because they are so close we have multiple times picked up pastry for our morning meetings. Unfortunately very time the pastry experience is quite different, don’t get me wrong they make pretty decent stuff. You would just have to make sure you purchase it hot from the oven as I don think I have ever had anything fresh. What a waste and it looks like it could use a good cleaning.

I haven’t tried many of the breads but in my opinion I would only come here for the pastries. The bagels were just ok but the pastries and cookies were on point! The only thing that really stinks is their hours. They are hardly ever open when I’m passing by.

The best rye bread you will find! They have seeded and not, as well as marbled. Delicious. and they cut it right in front of you. They have a lot of other breads that look fantastic, and a bunch of baked goods. Apple and blueberry turnovers are amazing as well.
My grandmother used to get her rye bread here and it was always a thing of mystery… until I got myself there. Awesome place, definitely check it out.

A cute little bakery I stopped in to get bread the other day. Nice service, and tasted great!

My review is for the pastries at Kaplan’s. Whatever you do, do NOT buy the eclairs or biscotti. I was in a pinch and needed to pick up some pastries for afternoon coffee. The eclairs were filled with hyper-​sugary buttercream frosting. What? I was really disheartened to be serving my guests a slightly stale and crispy version of an inverted grocery-​store cupcake. The biscotti was stale indeed, but lacked any flavor other than what I can describe as «floury». The last thing that I purchased that was a saving grace was the poppy seed babka, which, of course, we all agreed that my grandmother’s was better.
I hate giving bad reviews, but the pastries here just aren’t up to snuff. I’ll definitely be back to try their rye bread and egg bagels, though.

My girlfriend and I get a Challah every Friday for Shabbat, we are so happy we discovered this place. Until we found it we got supermarket Challah, but nothing beats a freshly baked delicious Challah from Kaplan’s and the prices by size are very reasonable. I highly recomend it for any baked goods.

When I relocated from Brooklyn to Philadelphia I thought a decent bagel was a thing of the past. After hearing good things about Kaplan’s bagels I finally made my way there after 2 long years of whining.
The bagels are decent. The flavor is good and they’re as fresh as they can get… but… they’re a lil soft for my taste. Still world’s better than any of the other shitty bagels I’ve had in Philadelphia. The bread, on the otherhand is out of this world. I also enjoyed the few cookies I got.
If anyone knows where the bagels are PERFECT (and i’m a harsh judge)… please inform me.

I have to agree with a couple of the other reviewers: the rye bread is out of this world.
If you have no other reason for stopping at Kaplan’s, do it for the rye. Oh, and the cranberry muffins are quite possibly the best I’ve ever tasted. They’re moist with a slight hint of lemon, and not overly sweet. Muffin snobs, rejoice! Kaplan’s are delicious!
The pumpkin bread is tasty, too. So tasty, in fact, that I only got a couple bites of it before my boyfriend scarfed it down himself. (Insert some fist shaking here. Grrr!)
So, folks … Muffins and rye bread! You want! Skip Sunday brunch and do it up at home, courtesy of Kaplan’s.

Most of the things in this bakery are just average. However there is one reason that I stop here every time I go through Northern Liberties and that is for the rye bread. It may be one of the best rye’s in the city.

aside from the baker constantly smoking butts outside with perhaps the dirtiest t-​shirt I have ever seen the bread is pretty decent, esp the challah bread. But the bagels are not good especially the wheat ones which taste like play-​do. the pastries are old half the time, anyone know where I can get a good bagel around philadelphia? I miss nyc bagels…

Cute Jewish bakery on the corner. Its a small bakery with loads of delicious baked goods along with different kinds of bread. What a selection of cookies by the way!

I love this place. It’s a little Jewish bakery on the side of a corner. You walk in, and there’s a small counter with lots of scrumptious food items. I always stop here because they have the best rye bread. The danishes are amazing, and they feel like they weigh 5 lbs. The people here are also extremely helpful and nice. I would definitely check it out if you’re near by.

Kaplan’s doesn’t do a lot, but they do their thing very well. Rye bread, challah, knishes, all served up with the sort of report you’d expect from a real neighborhood Jewish bakery.
I’ve heard that Kaplan’s is a glatt kosher bakery; you may want to check on that, as I can’t say for sure.
Aside from that, you’re looking at a pretty selection of cookies and sweets. As I’m writing this, it’s around Purim time (springtime holiday on the Jewish calendar), so make sure you pick up some humentaschen, these triangular, fruit-​filled cookies, which are supposed to represent the triangular hat of a character in the Purim story — a guy named Hamen, who was sort of a jerk (and that, I believe, is why we eat his hat.)