Bagel Factory

Bagel Factory is a bagel takeaway on Long Acre, one of the main routes running through Covent Garden between the piazza and Leicester Square. The brand started a few streets away: the first Bagel Factory opened on Endell Street in 1997, with a bakery in the basement and a shop on the ground floor. The Long Acre branch brings the chain back to the neighbourhood where it began.

From that single Endell Street shop the company has grown to more than 50 outlets across the UK and Ireland, most of them at major travel hubs. The format has stayed the same throughout: bagels filled to order at a counter, built for people who want food in hand rather than a table. The company describes its bagels as super fresh, and regular favourites include smoked salmon with cream cheese and the Salt Beef Melt, alongside a build-your-own option from the filling selection.

A bagel shop in Covent Garden for breakfast and lunch

As a bagel shop in Covent Garden, the counter covers the whole day. Toasted bagels with jam or honey suit the morning trade, while the filled savoury combinations take over at lunchtime. Bean-to-cup Lavazza coffee, snacks and chilled drinks round out the offer. Bagel Factory is also vegan friendly and received a PETA Proggy Award after launching its vegan bagel, so plant-based customers are catered for rather than squeezed in as an afterthought. A loyalty app lets regulars pay and collect rewards.

What to expect on a visit

Expect a quick, counter-service stop rather than a sit-down meal, with trade at its busiest around the morning commute and midday. The shop is a short walk from Covent Garden Underground station and sits among the shops and offices that give Long Acre its steady footfall. It is one of several takeaways in Covent Garden worth knowing for a fast lunch, and if you are heading towards the Strand, B Bagel offers another take on the freshly baked bagel on the southern edge of the district.