Bagel Oven Opens Bakehouse – Food Review

When you can’t spare the time to travel to New York City or Montreal to taste traditional Jewish style bagels, discover the new bakehouse in Thorold. The Bagel Oven is the place to pick up a variety of bagels and other foods. The Bagel Oven recently relocated from Beamsvile to their new Thorold headquarters.

I checked out the Bagel Oven grand opening event held on Friday, October 22nd.  Many local dignitaries and loyal customers attended their ribbon-cutting ceremony and steady sales continued through the busy day.   While standing in line to place an order, we learned that the Bagel Oven specialties are boiled in honey water.

Lox & Cream Cheese Bagel Sandwich

It was a pleasure to start the weekend with the Lox and Cream Cheese Bagel Sandwiches for my family.  ($10 each). 

This bagel sandwich is layered nicely with cream cheese, smoked salmon, lemon vin, pickled red onions, chopped capers, arugala, and toasted mixed seeds.

“Wow.  I enjoyed the unique combination of textures with the chewy bagel that is slightly sweet, creamy cream cheese and soft smoky flavoured salmon,”

Christina Carfagnini

My daughter Christina likes that the bagel was crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. Capers add a brininess to balance out the tartness of the pickled onions. She says the smoked salmon was a generous portion so its great to savour the flavour. For a wine pairing, she would pour a VQA Sauvignon Blanc to match this food.

My son Jon-Paul also enjoyed the salmon bagel sandwich.

These are the best bagels to grace my taste palate. Every bite was filled with a combination of flavours. Each ingredient complemented others, providing the best flavour and texture in a bagel that I ever tasted. So delightful I would recommend eating one for any meal of the day. It was absolutely mouth watering. Savory until the last bite because it was so well put together. Such a light, fresh and clean meal with a little bit of everything.

Jon-Paul Carfagnini

My wife Maria loved every bite of the sandwich. It was unanimous.  We all want more Bagel Oven sandwiches!

The Bagel Oven selection of grilled sandwiches include Reuben on Challah, Turkey Reuben, Roast Beef, Smoked Meat, Turkey and Salami, and Grilled Cheese.

Bagel & Challah Variety

Bagel Oven_bagels

We also picked up a variety pack of bagels to eat during the week, but unfortunately the dozen did not make it past the weekend.  Their bagels are available in sesame, poppy, mixed seed, or unseeded varieties.

We enjoyed all of the above.


As a simple snack , we ate some just plain, then a few more with cream cheese, and also toasted and smothered with butter.   The bagels proved to be the highlight of the weekend around our kitchen. Try the bagels with eggs for a nutritious, easy to prepare and low-cost breakfast or jazz them up with your favourite foods for a culinary experience.


As a bonus gift on their grand opening day, I was happy to receive their challah.  This special bread of Jewish origin is braided and I learned that it is traditionally eaten on ceremonial occasions.  So that’s a sweet thought on their grand opening celebration.


Steve and Jessica – Welcome Customers to Bagel Oven

Jess Bretzlaff, owner of The Bagel Oven runs the family business with her husband Steve.  The couple recently opened their new Thorold location, featuring a counter for customers to pick up sandwiches, soups, sides and desserts as well as a variety of bagels, buns, and challah breads.

The Bagel Oven’s new operation, 543 Allanburg Rd, Thorold South (near Lundy’s Lane, Highway 58 and Highway 406) simplifies their distribution service to numerous retailers across the Niagara Region and beyond

(Mahtay Cafe and Lounge, Upper Canada Cheese Company, Avondale Food Stores, Richards Fine Meats and Deli, to name a few.)

Overall, the Bagel Oven products offer a delicious blend of textures and tastes. By serving traditional Jewish bagels and breads, the Bagel Oven enhances the delicious diversity in our community. 

Now foodies in Thorold and surrounding areas have an opportunity to experience life’s simple pleasures by tasting authentic Montreal style bagels.   Find more information on the Bagel Oven on their website.