The Kosher Providore

Tucked next to a synagogue in the leafy suburb of Menora, you’ll find The Kosher Providore – a tiny bakery and shop that, for more than 20 years, has been quietly making superb bagels for a dedicated (predominantly Jewish) customer base.

The secret that’s kept people coming back? Boiling the bagels before baking them – a key step that gives a bagel its crusty, chewy exterior and dense interior. Gilad Davidowitz, who co-owns the bakery with his mother Desi, is proud of the result: an exceptional traditional bagel in a variety of flavours. There might be plain to savoury flavours like onion, sesame and poppy seed, and sweet blueberry bagels.

It’s not just the bagels that are worth a visit: the braided challah bread and rugelach (Jewish pastries slightly similar to a chocolate croissant) are wonderful. In the run up to Jewish holidays, the bakery produces seasonal specialties, which might include tightly rolled blintzes and feta pastries to celebrate Shavuot, and hamantaschen (filled shortbread) to eat around Purim.

But the showstopper has to be the babka: a compact bundle of deliciousness, swirled with either chocolate or cinnamon. The Kosher Providore’s babkas are so popular that you have to call days in advance and put your name down to nab one.

There’s no delivery so you’ll have to visit the shop for pick up – a good chance to browse the shelves and relish the baking aromas.