Kevin G.
Yelp
Primrose is familiar to me. I remember seeking this place out because in 2019 they were doing some summer pop-up spots, and being the adventurer that I am if I keep hearing about something, I need to check it out. Some guys were selling their bagels at spots I go to already, so I dove in. What I was met with was the idea of Toronto having their own star bagel. NYC has theirs, Montreal has there's, so maybe these players were here to showcase their version, which almost seemed like an amalgamation of everything a good bagel is. I just remember having some good ass bagels. The End.
Fast forward to now, and I finally make my way to their brick and mortar to really investigate. The game becomes different when you have a storefront. You are now a member of the community, and you reflect said community. If the spot hits, then that neighborhood now becomes a neighborhood with a bomb bagel spot. If it doesn't, then it fades away and that same neighborhood was never remembered to begin with. Heavy, right.
I got the rock salt bagel, and buddy did I nail the order again. It's shiny and crunchy on the outside, and dense and chewy on the inside. Look at it. You can see it in the picture. I rip the thing in half and it's still stretching for dear life. That's a trooper right there. Ok, wait. Not dense where you're leaving teeth marks in the thing. Dense as in you're not biting into pockets of air. It's got a tooth feel to it. Strong bagel, in my always correct opinion.
Let's not confuse ourselves here. This is not a cheap bagel. It feels a little strange to pay $14 for something I can cop at Tim's for like 3 bucks. So let's call it exactly how it is. It's an expensive fucking bagel. But I get it and eat it and it doesn't feel like I overpaid. Here's why.
I got the Lox & Sås on a rock salt bagel. There's some heft to the bag when I get it. Promising. I take it out, unfold the paper, split the thing in half, and I'm happy. It's dense and packed with things that I want. The bagel is not light and it's not fluffy. It's good dense, and it's savory to the taste. Reminds me of fresh bread. It's stuffed with lox, scallion cream cheese, capers, dill, and mustard sås (think mustard that's sweet and savory). The lox is smoky and delicious. There's a lot of it too, so the price is starting to justify itself. The scallion cream cheese with the capers and dill is refreshing, and it's the perfect pairing with the lox. You guys know what I'm talking about. You have smoked salmon with dill and capers. They nailed it. Mustard sauce rounds it out and it's the Primrose look, which I liked. OH, and the rock salt bagel with shards of salt that explode with each bite. The bagel is the seasoning too. Damn.
It's still $14. There's a lot going for it. I truly did love the bagel, and I would get it again. Maybe in a few months because I'm not trying to drop $14 all the time on this, but definitely let's run it back. The menu is extensive, so I'll for sure try more things, but just that this offering from Primrose made me happy. You've represented your neighborhood well Primrose. I'll be back even if I do have to ball out for it.