Whenever I would visit my home to New York my primary mission would be to devour as many real bagels as possible with a strong sense of urgency knowing that I would not be able to find them in my regular day-to-day life in Madrid. That has been the case until now.

I learned of Mazál Bagels via word of mouth, this new establishment opened in Mid-January. I jumped at the opportunity to interview its founder, Tamara Cohen from Philadelphia, to showcase her inspiring pivot from English Teaching to baking and entrepreneurship.

Tamara originally arrived in Madrid as many of us do, to teach English via the Auxiliar de Conversacion program back in 2015. Upon realizing that Madrid was lacking in the area of authentic pumpkin pies at Thanksgiving, Tamara filled this niche by selling homemade pumpkin pies and other baked goods to the international community, taking orders at first via social media and later a website devoted to her craft called Bruja’s Bakery. 

After the Thanksgiving influx of demand came to an end, Tamara contemplated other products that she could bake that would appeal to her audience year-round. With her creative spark ignited, she became a self-taught bagel baker, selling bagels made at home three at a time in the toaster of her tiny Madrid apartment. Tamara thrived in the digital space, releasing bagel-themed content to social media to garner visibility. Demand for her bagels skyrocketed and her small-scale operation quickly became a full-time job. This permitted Tamara to step away from the teaching sector to focus on her passion for gastronomy. 

As an American Jew of Sephardic origins, Tamara was eligible for and proceeded to obtain Spanish nationality via the Law of Return after a complex three-year legal process. Now a citizen of her adopted country, Tamara set forth to expand her baking operations by opening Mazál Bagels in Madrid’s Chamberí neighborhood. Her storefront is equipped with a proper commercial kitchen, enabling the production of bagels in larger batches to satiate the masses with comfort food.

The origin of the name Mazál is that Tamara wanted her business to have a name that was easy to pronounce in both languages while holding cultural significance. “Mazel” is the Hebrew word for “luck” and mazál (spelled with the accent) is the Sephardic pronunciation of the word. 

Tamara wants to make it very clear that true bagels have a long fermentation period and are then boiled and baked. “Bread with a hole in it is not a bagel.” As an ambassador of Jewish gastronomy, Tamara’s bagels are crafted with love, and the sandwiches she prepares are built with precision, with their presentation in mind.

I sampled an everything bagel, served with lox, capers, onions, and plain cream cheese. This bagel’s texture and flavor lived up to my expectations, outshining any competitors whose works that I’ve sampled here in Madrid or during my time in Paris. 

Mazál offers the following cream cheeses: Herbal with dill and parsley, salmon, chive, and honey cinnamon nut. Her bagel selection includes sesame, poppy seed, plain, everything, and cinnamon raisin with daily special bagels such as jalapeño cheddar, onion, garlic, pumpkin, gingerbread, and blueberry.

There’s a learning curve as Spanish people have heard of this product, but are yet to try it themselves and don’t know how to properly eat it. Recently I had a customer come in and for a pan con tomate on a bagel. I wasn’t offering this but it sounded like a good idea. I would like to find creative ways to blend the bagel with Spanish gastronomy.

As I sat in the freshly opened shop, many joyous anglophones entered, thrilled to savor Tamara’s culinary gems and Spanish people passing by would peer in to see what all of the commotions were about. Tamara would charismatically explain to curious locals what this niche foreign product is, in a flawless Spanish accent,  which can be attributed to her Madrileño partner who played an instrumental role in navigating the red-tape of opening a business.

What became clear was that at Mazál Bagels, Americans, local Spaniards, and the international community can gather in an environment where they can feel at home.

Mazál Bagels

• Website, Facebook, IG: @mazalbagels
• Address: Calle Alonso Cano, 30
• Metro: Alonso Cano / Ríos Rosas

Bagels were a staple of my life back home in the outskirts of New York City—the inaccessible status of bagels was the only demerit against Spain in an earlier draft of my “Should I Move to Spain” pros & cons list. I’ve craved them badly during my time abroad, to the point where I have even asked my closest friend from home, Jake, to allow me to witness his consumption of authentic bagels via Skype. Bagels are a foreign concept here—whenever I’m describing them to Spanish folks, they can’t visualize the distinction from a donut or roscon de reyes. 

However, due to Madrid’s growing American expat population, I held out hope that opportunist business owners would step up and fill the circular void. The ensuing investigation had me scouring the city, running down every lead and pressing on every underworld connection. These are my findings: I strongly advise purists to manage their expectations when sampling imitations of such an esteemed snack from the old country.

So here, my friends, is a list of Madrid’s bagel joints. In true form, I’ve saved the best bite for last…

1) Restaurante Olsen — Calle del Prado 15 (CLOSED DOWN)

The pursuit began with a rocky start for me and my friend Julie. Although the servers at Restaurante Olsen, a Scandanavian restaurant near the Prado, were kind enough to give us their leftover “bagels” for free, they weren’t at all what we were hoping for–in fact I would go as far as to call these circular bread sticks an abomination of nature.  This restaurant, which has since closed down, established the precedent low standard to which the ensuing specimens were held.

2) La Bicicleta Cafe — Plaza San Ildefonso, 9

This popular hipster cafe in Malasaña has a few bagel sandwiches under the display case by the bar. They’re a bit too dry (and expensive) for my liking. Served with arugula and jamon, this sandwich might as well be served on any other type of bread.

3) La Libre — Calle de Argumosa, 39

This cafe/bookshop in Lavapies offers a broad variety of tostadas, one of which is called “El Larson.” The bagels are imported from England and kept frozen, served to diners with cream cheese and lox and little bits of avocado. Due to its status as the bagel most accessible to me within my barrio, this is my default when the craving overwhelms me. Although not as crisp as I would like, it does the job adequately. The added sesame seeds are indeed a pleasant touch.

4) Mür — Plaza Cristino Martos, 2

A large and comfortable brunch spot, Mür offers an 8.50€ euro “American” breakfast entailing a toasted bagel sandwich with cream cheese & lox, steak fries, and a cup of coffee. This location earns points for its product’s toasty crispness and presentation but loses points for its small size. The first bite is accompanied by the familiar crunch sound.

5) J&Js Books and Coffee — Calle del Espíritu Santo, 47

This popular expat bar/English language bookstore swiftly cornered the market with their vast selection of homemade bagels. The only known establishment that manufactures bagels from scratch, it is apparent that they have a concise understanding of both the product and the expectations held by the consumer. Their offerings are flavorful, especially when served fresh during their weekend brunch. The pictures below document the process in which their bagels are produced.

Have I missed anything in my investigation? Feel free to share the details of any other Bagel providers in the comments section!

Also check out our series on Madrid’s best cafe-bookstores!

Round 1

Round 2