April 11, 2026
Michael's been visiting Masses Bagels regularly with his run club and telling me, often, how much he thinks I'd like it. It took many months before we made use of an errand in Richmond to breakfast at Masses together on the way through.
The setting is a little stark, with brushed metal surfaces, concrete floors, and low-height backless seating. At least the staff make up for it in warmth! The bagels distinguish themselves by being wild fermented, and they're probably the thinnest, crispiest bagels I've experienced. There are also gluten-free bagels available (acknowledging the flour contamination risk), quark-based cream cheese and a cashew-based vegan alternative.
For eating in, there's an array of 'bagel tartines', most of which have a vegetarian option, and a few of which have vegan options. Michael loved the balance of the egg gribiche topping ($17), which is richly dressed, and cut through with gherkins, tarragon, chive and capers.
After considering the couple of sweet options (honey, peach and lemon verbena jam with quark), I swerved savoury and ordered the pickled green tomato ($18.50), which comes with parmesan cream, fermented hot honey and mustard leaves. The acidity of the tomatoes offset the bagels nicely, but the parmesan cream that I was eagerly anticipating didn't really shine through. My choice to drink an orange juice ($8) just dialled up the acidity further.
Masses Bagels wasn't precisely what I expected, but it was a nice time and I'm curious to try more. Given his frequency of visits, you'll be better off asking Michael for tartine recommendations in the meantime.
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Masses Bagels
5 Smith St, Fitzroy
Accessibility: There is a flat entry and clear path to the low counter. Furniture is a mixture of low tables with backless small stools and milk crates. We ordered and paid at the counter. We couldn't see any sign of a toilet.
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