The Kettle Black

By far the best bagels in philadelphia, along with some truly spectacular and unique pastries. Cannot recommend this place enough! Come early and be prepared to wait in line. The owners are so friendly and have high quality standards, as they do everything themselves, which is incredibly impressive. No seating and small interior, but cozy and welcoming. A must-eat location in Philadelphia!!

Stop by here on Friday morning to buy bagels as treats for friends in North Jersey. I was looking forward to taste the black bagel that I love so much, but the choice was sold out before 10:30 am. There was no line outside the store on Friday late mooring and easy to find a free parking spot for 5 min. Next time, I will definitely come earlier to grab my favorite bagels!

Delicious bagels and pastries! Stopped by around 9 am on a Thursday and there were some people in line but they kept it moving. The jalapeño cheddar pretzel bagel was amazing, soft on the inside and crisp on the outside. We also enjoyed the chocolate croissant. Prices felt reasonable for the quality. Not really any space to eat inside so definitely a good location to grab stuff to go. Recommend!!

My husband was the one who actually visited the shop but I was the one that enjoyed the food :) He got there around 7:40 to wait in line and was 3rd in line. We wanted to get their 4/20 special but $7 for a bagel and cream cheese was too much. What I ended up getting was the black everything bagel with scallion cream cheese which is $4. It was lightly toasted and warm. Next time I would ask for a double toast (not sure if they do that). What I believe is a normal amount of cream cheese is applied which might not be enough for some people but I loved it. The bagel was very flavorful and I would definitely get them again. There was a long line for at least an hour after opening on a Saturday. I think it's worth the hype!

I was in a hurry and would have preferred not to wait in line here, but it was worth it. An iced tea delivered a splendid rosemary flavor, albeit a lot of ice. I asked what "vegan lox" was, and it turned out to be a preparation of marinated carrots. The black bagel I got it on couldn't have been much more delicious, and between the freshly toasted flavor and abundant butter, I'm not sure I've ever had a better sandwich of this sort. Was the vegan lox worth the $4 charge? Was it a lot of food the money overall? No, but if you're after quality over quantity, you'll likely be as impressed as I was.

Wanted to try their bagels for a while.....We tried them twice....once on a Thursday to know that the charcoal variety is just a weekend special and next time on the weekend that we were going to be in that area. This is a pick up only place, no dine in.Bagels are fresh, tasty and the cream cheese spreads are yummy. We tried the charcoal plain, charcoal everything bagel, jalapeño bagel.The bagels are definitely not new york style dense and chewy. These are closer cousins of a roll. Nonetheless we like them and they were tasty, esp the charcoal ones.Coffee was strong and hot. So a definitely a must have with the bagels.

I absolutely love the Kettle Black. They're a small micro bakery right on 2nd st in Northern Liberties, which I believe is owned by a couple who are also the bakers. You're not going to get your standard NY bagel here. However, in my opinion they're better. They're lighter, a little more crisp and have a great toasty flavor. The "black" bagels are made with activated charcoal, which I think is really cool. The menu is small with a few types of freshly baked bagels and baked goods such as cinnamon rolls, croissants, sandwich bread and baguettes. They usually have a specialty cream cheese that changes, along with regular and dairy-free. You can also add things like tomato and cucumber to the bagels, but they do not have breakfast sandwiches. There also is not indoor seating, you can order at the counter and then wait for it to be prepared. They also have coffee and tea. The coffee is Peddler and it's great (I'm a coffee snob and I approve). I was a little sad when they got rid of their espresso drinks, my drink of choice is a café au lait, but I'll live! Kettle Black is hands down my go to place for bagels and baked goods in the area. Oh, and definitely get there early (before 9:30-10am) or they will be sold out!

Still the best bagels in the city. Brought them now to so many of my friends and family and they all agree. Everyone wants bagels from here. My faves are the charcoal everything bagel. They've got good big fluffy German style bagels but it's jusssst lacking the bear malty molasses crusty flavor but the bite is perfect. And I love the spicy honey mustard dip with it. Line starts right when it opens. Bagels only on weekends

I think this is a very solid neighborhood coffee and bread shop. I definitely am always excited to try a different place and was looking forward to my visit here today. As some of the other reviews mention, you have to get here on the earlier side or it is likely they will run out of items. They claim to be open till noon on Yelp, but they definitely run out of things before then. We tried two different bagels and one with the special of the day cream cheese (scallion, bacon and cheddar). The bagels were light and airy, not chewy like a NY bagel. I enjoyed my bagel and coffee, but with all the bagel places in the city, I don't think I'd go out of my way to return here unless I was in the neighborhood.

Pros- They have a variety of bagels to choose from. The cheese jalapeño bagel was so good! It stayed soft and fresh even the next day!- Reasonable prices for their bagels, I can tell they make them fresh- They offer vegan options!Cons- I wish they had a full menu posted! - I told the lady it was my first time and she didn't really bother explaining what was on their menu. She spoke so fast when I asked what kind of bagels they had. So I ordered randomly then overheard that they also had pastries?! I don't understand why they can't just post a menu for us to easily order from- No dine in, you can't even walk in and there's usually a line