If you have a bagel-shaped hole in your stomach, make haste to the brand-new O Bagel in Southport. You’ll find the sizeable new space at the end of the Smith Collective precinct, overlooking the grassy park area. The sun-dappled venue boasted immediate appeal for the trio, who were on the lookout for a centralised bakery that could handle the volume of baking required to keep each of the outposts stocked daily. The new site ticked all of the boxes from the production side of things, but there was a question as to whether there would be the foot traffic down that end of the precinct. The line out the door on the first day of trade quickly quashed any lingering questions, with that whole corner site bustling with bagel seekers and coffee sippers.

For those who are new to the O Bagel experience, it goes like this – you choose your bagel base from the selection (plain, sesame, poppy seed, spinach and cheese, blueberry and everything), all of which are hand-rolled, boiled and baked daily. Then comes the fun part. Opt for something simple, such as the Easy Avo (avocado, whipped feta, spinach and tomato) and add on extras including a hashbrown and bacon, for example, or leave the flavour pairing to the experts and select one of seven seriously next-level sandwich selections. Meat-lovers will salivate at the sight of the Big Mama (salami, wood-smoked ham, Swiss cheese, rocket, tomato and seeded mustard mayo) and if you’re feeling a little fancy, the Classy Lox is your guy (48-hour cured salmon, soft-herb cream cheese, baby capers, tomato and red onion). If you’re in need of a little pick-me-up, O Bagel serves Burleigh’s Two Amigos cold brew, which you can enjoy with coconut water or with caramel and oat milk, as well as a refreshing peach iced tea.

Check out O Bagel Southport’s opening times at our Stumble Guide.