Every college town and lake town needs a great bagel shop, and Bagels & Cakes is Geneva's. Operating out of a no-frills storefront at 476 Hamilton Street, this place has won back-to-back FLX Finest Gold for Best Bagels in 2024 and 2025, and if you have ever wondered whether a small-town bagel shop can compete with the real thing, the answer here is yes. They hand-roll and kettle-boil their bagels — a detail that matters enormously — and the result is rounds with the right chew, the right crust, and the right density that separates a genuine bagel from a bread ring.

But the name says it all: this is not just bagels. The cake operation is serious. The famous Strawberry Layer — white cake layered with real strawberries and topped with fresh whipped cream — is a local celebration staple, available in sizes from 10-inch rounds up to full layers serving 50. They also do a chocolate layer with chocolate whipped cream and fudge, lemon layers, traditional cakes, cupcakes in flavors from red velvet to German chocolate, cannolis filled with sweet ricotta cream, cream puffs, and an entire dessert bar menu (brownies, s'mores bars, Hello Dollies, snickerdoodle bars). The smoothies earned Silver for Best Smoothies in 2025.

The catering side of the business is equally developed, with both casual pickup options and full-service event catering for everything from bridal party breakfasts to wedding receptions. Bagels & Cakes serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner, offers dine-in, takeout, delivery, and online ordering, and has the kind of devoted local following (over 4,100 Facebook likes, 2,400+ check-ins) that tells you everything you need to know. This is where Geneva eats in the morning.