Parkland picnics just got a hole lot better – O Bagel arrives in South Bank
Brisbane’s bagel obsession just rolled a little further south. O Bagel has opened its second Brisbane store at South Bank, with crowds already turning up to check out the Gold Coast-import’s viral offering. This spot is slinging fluffy bagels with bold fillings alongside coffee, iced teas and creative cold-brew mixtures.
When O Bagel first landed in Brisbane back in 2022, people took a minute to come around. Bagels were a known commodity in Brisbane and the city was in the early stages of a massive sandwich boom, but it still took half a year for foodies to catch onto what the Gold Coast-born outfit was bringing to the table.
“Elizabeth Street wasn’t that busy at all until about six to eight months after we opened,” recalls Nick Jang, who co-owns and operates O Bagel alongside Henry Kim.
When locals did stop and take notice, O Bagel quickly became a buzzing lunchtime go-to for many. The shop’s firm-yet-fluffy bagels – commonly seen filled with an eye-dropping amount of structural-integrity-busting ingredients – not only captured taste buds, but algorithms. Pretty soon, the script flipped and the O Bagel team found itself struggling to keep up with demand.
“Eventually people started to realize that we were there and, with Instagram and TikTok, we became really popular,” says Nick. “We’ve had lots of tourists visiting over the past two years, to the point that we felt that we needed another store around the CBD.”
On New Year’s Day, Nick and Henry lifted the lid on O Bagel’s second Brisbane location (and fifth in Queensland) over in South Bank and, this time around, the community responded immediately. A line could be seen weaving from the entry and customers were spotted ferrying bright-red bags filled with bagels to sunny perches near Streets Beach and the South Bank parklands.
Located at the southern end of Stanley Street Plaza, O Bagel’s shiny new 45-seat outpost boasts a crisply minimal aesthetic that is suffused with warmth, with a neutral-toned palette contoured by red-tile accents – a style the team has sought to replicate across its newest locations.
“When we started our fourth store at Oasis Shopping Centre on the Gold Coast, we decided we wanted our brand to look like we are all the same chain,” says Nick. “But at the same time, every single location has its own character – Broadbeach has its beach vibes with the palm trees and Brisbane’s CBD has that city life.”
“We saw the potential of South Bank – the place is perfect for locals and tourists. The areas and green spaces around the lagoon, any space that’s empty is O Bagel seating – you can get a beach towel and have a picnic nearby.”
At a time when menus are getting louder and more complicated, O Bagel’s success has come from consistency – doing the basics exceptionally well and doing them the same way, every time. Those familiar with O Bagel’s menu will be pleased to hear that the bagel offering is here in full, from the crowd-pleasing staples to make-your-own options.
If visiting for the first time, we suggest starting with the hits. If it’s early in the day, you can’t look past the G’Morning, which is loaded with maple bacon, easy-over egg, hash brown, American cheddar, parmesan aioli and sweet-tomato relish.
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Should you arrive around lunchtime, your best bets are the Drop The Beef (slow-cooked barbecue brisket, chipotle sour cream, fior di latte cheese, house barbecue sauce, rocket, jalapeno and onion) and the Classy Lox (48-hour-cured salmon, soft-herb cream cheese, baby capers, tomato and red onion). There’s simple schmears, too, if that’s your thing – the truffle cream cheese is our pick.
Beyond bagels, O Bagel has garnered a reputation for its beverage menu, which is anything but simple. Caffeine lovers can swing through for a cup of Single O coffee, while sippers seeking something fancier have a suite of signature drinks to try. Think house-brewed hibiscus iced tea, strawberry matcha topped with a cloud of strawberry foam, Spanish brew lattes (cold-brew coffee with condensed milk) and the tiramisu cloud crowned with sweet cold milk foam.
In the end, O Bagel’s appeal lies in a careful balance Nick describes as “ordinary, but unordinary.” Familiar flavours, given a little kick and just pushed far enough off-centre to feel special – executed in a way that keeps Brisbane lining up.
O Bagel South Bank is now open – operating hours can be found in The Directory.