About Celestial Bagels
This is more than a bagel- it is our family’s weekend tradition.
Slow mornings, fresh bagels, hot coffee, and a rich cream cheese schmear shared around the table.
After trying every local bagel and still craving something more, we had only one choice- bring the true New York bagel experience into our home, and now to yours.
Celestial Bagels was born from that craving. A desire for bagels that are properly chewy, deeply flavorful, and made with the time-honored methods that define real New York craft.
We handcraft authentic New York-style bagels for the Lisbon and Cascais community. Each batch is slow-fermented, kettle-boiled, and baked to achieve the signature balance of crust and chew.
We believe good bagels begin long before the bake. Time, temperature, and fermentation are treated as essential ingredients, not shortcuts.
Our bagels are delivered at local meetups or directly to your home, frozen at peak freshness. This freeze model allows us to preserve quality, reduce waste, and give you the flexibility to enjoy a bakery experience on your own schedule.
Simply toast, schmear, and savor.
For us, bagels are more than food. They are ritual, connection, and a way of bringing people together around the table.
Founder Bio
Celestial Bagels founder, Erika Evans
Celestial Bagels began with a simple ritual for our family. Slow weekend mornings, fresh bagels, hot coffee, and time set aside to actually enjoy food.
My work is shaped by more than 20 years spent in owner-operated restaurants led by chefs who held high standards for their craft. I learned in kitchens where ingredients were thoughtfully sourced, processes were respected, and experimentation was guided by curiosity and care for both people and planet.
Those environments instilled in me a deep respect for product and patron alike. Food was handled with intention. Waste was minimized. Each ingredient was treated as something worth honoring and keeping.
These values continue to guide Celestial Bagels today, including our freeze model. By freezing bagels at peak freshness, the life of a slow-crafted product is extended, waste is reduced, and customers have flexibility without compromising quality.
My path to the bagel bench was also shaped outside the kitchen.
Before founding Celestial Bagels, I worked as a massage therapist and Pilates instructor. These years grounded me in a holistic understanding of the body and how it responds to nourishment, rest, stress, and care.
Massage taught me the value of care, touch, and restoration. Pilates taught me precision, alignment, strength, and balance.
I bring that same presence to the workbench today. Dough is handled with care. Fermentation is given the time it needs. Nothing is rushed.
Preparing food for others has always been one of the ways I express care. Cooking and baking are not separate from my wellness practice. They are an extension of it.
Throughout the building of Celestial Bagels, I have also been completing a Bachelor of Science in Health Education. My academic work has developed alongside the brand, informing its philosophy and deepening my understanding of food as more than sustenance. It is nourishment that supports physical wellbeing, emotional connection, and shared experience.
As a health educator, I approach nourishment through a broad lens that includes digestibility, satisfaction, and emotional connection to food. Slow fermentation supports gut comfort. Quality ingredients provide sustained energy. Food is also culture, pleasure, and shared experience.
Celestial Bagels reflects the intersection of my experiences in food, bodywork, movement, and health education.
The goal is simple. Make honest food with care. Share it in a way that supports both nourishment and enjoyment.