Brunch at Bagels & Beans

​Whenever I ask one of my classmates where I can grab a quick but tasty bite to eat in between classes, the answer I usually get is, "You should try Bagels and Beans!" 

​However, despite its obvious popularity, I was still reluctant to eat at Bagels & Beans Café. For starters, I'm not one to go with the crowd - especially when it comes to food; secondly, I've never really understood bagels or felt the urge to try them out. Nevertheless,  it's exactly where I ended up one chilly Saturday afternoon...

Some members of my group from film class & I had just had a successful filming session and were happy with what we'd accomplished that day, so we decided to treat ourselves to a warm meal. As luck would have it, one of them suggested that we eat at Bagels & Beans Café in Leiden - and so we headed there.
It was love at first sight for me! 😍
​I fell in love with the cozy interior of the café, but also liked that they had the option of enjoying your meal outside - when the weather conditions permit it. And to top it all off, I enjoyed my meal there so much that I came home & told my housemate, Olivia, about it. Soon we were making plans to try out the branch in the Hague.
A few Saturdays later, we headed there for brunch. 

​The Bagels & Beans Café in the Hague is smaller than I expected it to be, but just as cozy as the one in Leiden. It was full when we got there, and it took us a while to get seats at first. But  a few minutes later we were seated, and began browsing the menu.

​​Bagels & Beans - as you have probably guessed by now - serves bagels accompanied by either hot or cold drinks. Not only do they have a selection of bagels to choose from (white sourdough, whole wheat spell, sesame sourdough, oathie, everything sourdough, tomato, prana & cinnamon raisin), but they also have a variety of things you can have in your bagel - including vegetarian options, and both sweet and savoury fillings.

I decided to have what I'd had at the brunch in Leiden - seeing as I'd enjoyed it so much .i.e. hot chocolate with milk chocolate chips (as opposed to dark chocolate chips) & a Tosti (oven grilled, young matured cheese with Livar ham, tomatoes & chives served in a sesame bagel). Olivia had a Tosti as well, but opted for a Tomato bagel instead, and a cappuccino to go with it.

Bagels cost between €4 - €10, depending on what you'd like to have in yours, and drinks cost between €3 - €5. The café also serve salads for about €10 each, and yoghurt and porrdige for between €5 - €7. If you prefer to make your own bagel sandwich at home, you can also buy some bagels-to-go from the cafe.  One bagel costs as little as €1.50, while you can get a batch of six for €5.70 or pay a bit extra (€9.30) for gluten-free bagels.

Shortly after placing our order, our meals arrived. Thankfully, the bagel was just as good the second time round as it was the first; and I'm happy to report that Olivia enjoyed hers just as much as I did. ​​😊

​We were eager to try their sweet snacks, too, so we ordered dessert afterwards. Olivia had a blueberry muffin & I had a slice of cheesecake. Their sweet snacks are also reasonably priced. You can get a coconut macaroon for as little as €1.95, while the cheesecake I had cost €4.25. The other sweet snacks fall within the same price range. By the time we were leaving, our bellies were not only full but also happy. 😋
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So, it turns out following the crowd every now and then isn't such a bad idea - especially in this case. Bagels and Beans lived up to its expectations and I look forward to eating there again.😉​

For those of you who would like to try it out, too, their opening hours are:
Mon - Sun 10:00am - 5:00pm

- ✗O✗O.