Seattle's Hey Bagel named best bagel on West Coast at industry event

Apparently, Seattleites aren’t the only ones who love Hey Bagel.

Last weekend’s BagelFest West in Los Angeles honored Seattle baker Andrew Rubinstein for having the best overall bagel and best sourdough bagel at its trade show Sunday.

Rubinstein, the founder of Rubinstein Bagels and the owner of Hey Bagel in University Village, said he knew placing would be difficult since California has become a major bagel hub.

“I was nervous the weeks before,” he said Thursday. “I was worried I would be embarrassed.”

As the emcee started listing medal winners at the sold-out Audrey Irmas Pavilion in Koreatown, Rubinstein initially didn’t hear Hey Bagel mentioned and feared he would fly home empty-handed.

Turns out the festival saved the best for later.

“Best bagel” is arguably the biggest prize at BagelFest West, which features multiple categories like best sandwich and schmear of the year.

The judging panel of “bagel aficionados” and culinary professionals picked the top bagel based on each entrant’s plain bagel, unadulterated with any toppings, using taste and texture among the criteria. Hey Bagel beat out runner-up Hank’s Bagels of the San Fernando Valley and third-place Boil + Bake from Costa Mesa, Calif. (Rubinstein’s plain bagel also won the blue ribbon in the sourdough category.)

Started in 2019 in the Bushwick neighborhood of New York, BagelFest is a trade show that expanded to California this year as BagelFest West. Its target audience is industry professionals and bagel fans who want to sample different styles.

To the uninitiated, Hey Bagel opens daily from 8 a.m.-6 p.m. in Seattle, featuring six different standard bagels and some rotating specials like its pumpernickel bagels and bialys. Hey Bagel also makes a dozen schmears.

Even though Rubinstein cranks out 180 bagels every 20 minutes at his U Village shop, he often can’t keep up with lines that spill out to the sidewalk. Many come for his everything bagel and the bialy with caramelized onion jam and Gruyere.

Expect an even longer wait now with this “best bagel” nod. If you aim to skip the lines, Tuesdays through Thursdays are the slowest days. The shop is often packed on weekends and even Mondays.

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This story was originally published April 17, 2026 at 6:39 AM.