Vanilya

Great variety of maybe offbeat providers of cider, beer and wine and I think spirits as well. Fun place to explore your favorite type of libation made by boutique producers.

DELICIOUS, chewy bagels!!! I was in line at another bagel shop around the corner, but it was taking too long so someone in line suggested coming to Vanilya and I am so glad they did!! I had no expectations coming here, but these bagels hit the spot!!I am pretty critical when it comes to bagels and I loved how chewy/pillowy the bagels were. They were so satisfying to bite into! Although there weren't many options for spreads, I thought the veggie smear I tried made up for the lack of options! The cream cheese was smooth and the cream cheese to veggie ratio was perfect! Soooo good on a toasted bagel! There weren't any sweet spread options, so I split a fig and brie bagel sandwich with my friend. We got it on a zaatar bagel which was unique! I loved the spices on this bagel. The fig jam was really tasty, but the combination of arugula and brie and fig wasn't my favorite. That's just personal preference though because my friend really enjoyed the sandwich more than the veggie smear!

This place is so cute. I think these might be my new favorite bagels in Philly! They're fluffy, but crisp on the outside. The woman working the window was really nice too. I will definitely be coming back for more bagels!

Through the recommendation of a colleague, I contacted this place by e-mail during business hours. I got a response in 5-10 minutes- wow!! They didn't have what I was looking for for one of my event participants (gluten free and vegan). However, they were willing to share a recommendation with me. I think that is so awesome that they are willing to help out other local businesses if they don't do that kind of product themselves!By the pictures, this looks like a wonderful place to get a cake with specific art work.

Truly one of the best bagels in south Philly. They have my favorite bagel assortments and spreads. Decent prices and quality service. Their fig and Brie bagel makes me cry in happiness. Croissants are loved by my toddler. Husband and I always have their iced coffees and somehow it's never too watered down. Often a bit of a line on weekends, but it's usually fast and worth it! Vanilya also does take orders for cakes as well, which I heard is amazing according to friends. Huge plus that this place still doesn't window orders and pickups as it's easier for people with dogs or young kiddos in strollers to grab and go! So grateful of them.

Vanilya is truly a hidden gem of South Philly, specifically Passayunk area. Despite spending a decent amount of time exploring Passayunk Ave, my first discovery of this place was seeing it featured on a Tik Tok post of a Philly influencer. The video was comparing many highly-rated bagels throughout the city, and these ones were almost at the top of the list. More importantly, this influencer wasn't paid or sponsored to post any of the bagel spots in her video. To my surprise, Vanilya has no TikTok account at all; they have only an Instagram account with a small following. As a an avid enthusiast, I had this place high on my list of bagel shops to try out. After following them on Instagram for a bit, an even more exciting opportunity came about. The owners had started offering hands-on bagel making classes on Tuesdays, one of the days they don't have customer hours. The class enrollment form was easy to fill out and gave a brief overview of the class objectives, time period, and take-home product. The classes take place from 5:30PM to a littler after 8PM, allowing 9-5 workers to fits some baking into their schedules. The class is $80, and you take home a dozen of your own bagels. The $80 cost is actually much more affordable than many other cooking or baking classes in the area. I had signed up with friends, and I couldn't wait to see what this class had to offer.We arrived just around 5:30 on the day of our class. We were welcomed in by Bonnie, the wife of the couple that owns the bakery together. She was incredibly kind, welcoming, and accommodating. Our class consisted of 9 people, which she mentioned was a bit larger than their usual class size. While 9 people may not sound like a full class, the bakery is relatively narrow. It goes far back to the end of the building, but the width wouldn't be able to allow more than that number of people to be able to view Bonnie demonstrating the steps of the process well. Once we were all settled in, I was glad that everyone got a decent view of Bonnie giving instructions and demonstrating many steps. From start to finish, this class was great. Bonnie covered everything from the science of the flour and dough fermentation to the complexity of the kneading methods to the science of parboiling bagels. Her extensive details and explanation left little questions to be asked from us. Not only did she demonstrate and explain steps exceptionally well, but she also made sure to keep the class hands-on. Everyone participated in the initial mixing process, then proceeded to have their individual work station for their respective bagel dozen. I can't forget to mention that her husband did an incredible job assisting us, answering any additional questions, and offering hands-on help if we needed it. They both facilitated the process very well each doing their part to get to our overall bagel endpoint. Amidst the waiting periods of a few of the baking steps, Bonnie and her husband were very engaging and great to talk to. The small class size also allowed us participants to get to chat and get to know each other. Bonnie also put out several snacks, drinks, and baked goods for us to enjoy while we had waiting time between several steps. Seeing our creations come out of the oven as final product was the ultimate form of gratification. Nothing beats the smell of fresh-baked bread, particularly bagels. Bakeries across the Northeast have their specific steps and secrets to baking, but Bonnie's recipe hit the nail on the head. The bagels combined the very perfect balance that I look for in every new bagel I try: crispy on the outside while staying soft and pillowy on the inside. The density of the bagels was also perfect, giving that perfect bite that everyone desires in a good bagel. Overall, I have not a single bad thing to say about this bakery, class, or the owners. They did an exceptional job teaching this class. Bonnie provided great background and details on the complexity and implications of the steps, yet still kept the class very hands-on with us. It also had a very genuine "in the kitchen" feel. Many classes nowadays feel very commercialized and far-removed from the actual process of then baking/cooking being taught. This class had you take part and produce the results on your own personal dozens of bagels. The only steps done for us were the overnight yeast fermentation and the extended kneading on the professional spiral mixer that is almost impossible to do by hand. I'm so glad that I stumbled upon this opportunity; I will definitely be back bringing new guests despite taking it once before. Hands-down recommend this class to anyone with baking/food science/bagel enthusiasm.

Coming here was such a sweet treat recently! We came here on the weekend and tried some rugalech, a pastry with spinach and feta and the bagel special (which was tomato, pesto and mozzarella). The pastry was my favorite of everything we tried. It was flaky and light with a deliciously salty taste from the feta cheese. The bagel was okay, but I wouldn't come here for the bagels, since there are more specialized bagel shops that have better bagels. I'd definitely come again. They had many options and everything looked delicious!

Great Croissants and Chewy BagelsI went on a Sunday morning and ordered via the window outside. There was no sit down dining permitted. They unfortunately didn't have the Chocolate Almond Croissant at the time so I got the regular Chocolate Croissant instead. Friendly service, and I got my order very quickly. Everything was packaged very nicely; individually packaged items and the paper take-out bag has a cute design on it.Chocolate Croissant 5/5 - Nice and flakey. Crispy on the outside, soft and buttery on the inside. The chocolate tasted amazing as well.Bagel Lovers Assortment3.5/5 - Above average bagels. I personally don't like how chewy the bagels are, it feels almost like a jaw workout just to eat them. The flavoring is good though. I was originally going to review each of the flavors individually since it comes with 12 bagels and there are 6 flavors in total, but unfortunately I didn't get 2 of each flavor so I didn't get to try a whole bagel per flavor.Garden Veggie Cream Cheese4/5 - Very vibrant flavors from the veggies, and the creaminess and consistency of the cream cheese was really good.Jalapeno Cream Cheese5/5 - Amazing cream cheese. I'd recommend coming here just for the cream cheese if you have to. The cream cheese is creamy and has a nice texture to it. The jalapenos are well balanced. This cream cheese leaves you with a spicy aftertaste, but oddly enough the cream cheese aspect of it sedates the spiciness so it never becomes overwhelming. I love this cream cheese flavor and I'd definitely pick up some more if I ever visit again.Final VerdictI'd come back here to try out some of the other pastries and the bagel sandwiches, but I don't think I'd order the bagels by themselves again though. I'd 100% order some more Jalapeno Cream Cheese though.

Best bagels in Philly! And yummy pastries too! Get there early to grab what you want bc they are a small operation and may run out.

Grabbed a bunch of bagels and cream cheese (scallion + cacio e pepe). The brie & fig on a sesame bagel was decent. I definitely want to come back and try the following: bear sandwich + guava cheese handpie + other cream cheese (green olive and veggie and jalapeño).