Sesame Bagel
Sesame Bagel
$2.25
Wood-fired Montreal-style. Sesame, multigrain, or plain — slice your own at the station.
Wood-fired · Self-serve · Kitchener
Wood-fired bagels and honest baking. Every morning.
Wood fired Bagels, Fresh pastries, scones, loaves, and a self-serve coffee station. Grab what you want, make it how you like it. We'll be here.
We're strange at Victoria. Come find out why.
Self serve, do it your way.
There's no counter to line up at. No one to take your order. Just grab what you want, make it how you like it, and sort yourself out. Here's how most mornings go.
Grab your bagel
Slice it yourself at the bagel station and drop it in the toaster. Dress it however you like at the spread station — cream cheese, peanut butter, butter, jam.
Pour your coffee
Self-serve from the pump dispenser. Add cream, milk, a hot cocoa packet, whatever you want. Lids and sleeves are right there.
Keep a running total
Every item has a price tag right next to it. Add it up as you go — it makes things easier for everyone.
Pay your way
Drop cash in the lockbox and walk out, or head to the front to pay by card. Staff can help you tally if you need it.
From the oven
The oven stays lit all morning.
The fire goes in before the sun comes up. By the time you're pouring your first coffee, the bakers have already made two or three trays and the oven is at full heat. Every bagel is boiled first — that's what makes them chewy and dense instead of bready — then seeded, laid six at a time on long metal peels, and slid into the fire. You can watch the whole process from the counter. The wood smoke, the rotation, the rhythm of it. The bins get filled and emptied until around noon, sometimes later if the morning is busy.
Every morning
Six steps, one oven.
01
The dough
Mixed and portioned before the café opens. Each ball is rolled to size by hand.
02
The shaper
Each ball goes through the shaper — a machine that rolls it into the ring. Takes a second. Looks satisfying every time.
03
The boil
Before the oven, every bagel goes into boiling water. This is what makes a Montreal-style bagel chewy and dense instead of bready.
04
The seed
Sesame, multigrain, or plain. Applied while the bagel is still wet from the boil so they stick.
05
The peel
Six bagels at a time, laid on a long metal peel and slid into the wood-fired oven. You can watch this from the counter.
06
The oven
Wood only. Lit before sunrise. The bakers spin and flip the bagels, then pull them out into the bin when they're done. Then start again.
"Best bagel in Kitchener. I'm in every Monday before work and I've been doing that for three years."
— Regular at West Ave
"I love that I can make my own coffee exactly how I want it. And the jalapeño cheddar scone is something else."
— Kitchener local
"Watching them load the bagels into the oven on those long paddles is worth the trip alone. Then you eat one."
— First-time visitor
A taste of what's in the cases
Jalapeño Cheddar Scone
Jalapeño Cheddar Scone
$3.75
A little heat, a little cheese. One of the most popular things in the case.
Fudge Brownie
Fudge Brownie
$3.25
Dense, not cakey. Made fresh daily in-house.
Butter Tart
Butter Tart
$3.00
All-butter crust. Plain or with pecans.
All-Butter Croissant
All-Butter Croissant
$4.50
Made fresh every morning. Properly laminated, properly buttery.
Wildberry Scone
Wildberry Scone
$3.50
Mixed wild berries, crisp edge, soft centre.
Lunch. Weekdays 11:30–2, weekends 12–2.
We serve hot lunch daily — a tight menu of melts built with fresh meat, cheese, and vegetables. Every melt comes with chips or fries.
Skip the line — pre-order your melt online before you head over. We'll have it hot and ready.
Pre-order Lunch →A few photos from the café
Two spots in Kitchener.
West Ave — The Original
We're strange at Victoria.
175 West Ave, Kitchener, ON N2G 1R9
Open daily 7am–3pm
Get directions →
Ottawa Street
Ottawa St S — open since day one.
50 Ottawa St S, Kitchener, ON N2G 3S7
Open daily 7am–3pm
Get directions →
When the weather's right
The fenced patio out front opens up in warmer months. Umbrellas, a bit of shade, and a good reason to linger over your coffee instead of heading right back to work.