A block away from Washington Square Park, among jazz clubs, cocktail bars and Lipton Hall, sits Sofia’s Bagels and Gelato. The humble West Fourth Street shop, decorated with string lights and an idiosyncratic red-and-yellow-striped sign, has been open since October, serving both F train commuters and residents of NYU’s Greenwich Hall on their morning walk into campus. But don’t let its humble environment fool you — the restaurant is home to a chorizo bagel so spicy you’ll forget about the New York cold. 

Sofia’s Bagels and Gelato is the newest addition to the Sofia’s franchise, which includes several similarly affordable spots such as the casual Italian restaurant Sofia’s of Little Italy, Sofia’s Bagels and Kitchen in the West Village and Sofia’s Gelateria just a few blocks down. Now, menus intermingle as Sofia’s Bagels and Gelato brings a breakfast favorite and a sweet treat staple to Greenwich Village.

Though its menu does include breakfast platters and other sandwiches, the real focus of Sofia’s Bagels and Gelato is combining the local chain’s beloved items in one place. Better yet, students looking for a meal — and a dessert — don’t have to break the bank to get it. Sofia’s offers a 20 percent discount and rewards program for NYU students and faculty, and specialty bagels for $10. The restaurant hosts a unique blend of NYU students, tourists and residents of the Village, according to Cristofer Mata, the location’s general manager. 

“Most people are becoming regulars now,” Mata said in an interview with WSN. “People that live right upstairs or right next door, they come in and they say, ‘Oh, now we have a bagel spot closer to us!’”

Even in the face of rising costs and shortages, Mata told WSN that Sofia’s intends to keep its doors open and prices low because of the community created. And the customers keep coming back, especially for fan favorites, such as the Chorizo Bagel. This popular choice is a plain bagel with whole slices of chorizo sausage and jalapeño scrambled into eggs, with a drizzle of chipotle sauce. The spiciness of the meat, combined with the jalapeño and sauce, gives the bagel the kick it needs. However, it is a little dry, and could stand to benefit from the rich creaminess of avocado in contrast to the sandwich’s texture.

Another popular option is the Sofia’s Bagel, which boasts smoked salmon, tomatoes, red onions and scallion cream cheese, all packed onto an everything bagel. The red onion was a bit overpowering, though — the combination of everything bagel seasoning and the scallions in the cream cheese already lent the bagel the savory flavor it needed. 

The store also offers a wide range of flavors of gelato made with ingredients imported from Italy, including latte and stracciatella. Though the stracciatella flavor was a bit too milky, its texture was creamy and not watered down, unlike other stracciatelle in the NYU area. Also, in traditional stracciatella fashion, Sofia’s drizzles rich, fudgy chocolate into the gelato, which is then frozen to create crunchy chocolate flakes.

All of Sofia’s food is served in a one-room shop decorated with colorful wall paintings and simple tables, which gives it a cozy, homely feel. At the end of the day, Mata isn’t there just for the atmosphere and crowd, but also to uphold his business’ status as a community breakfast staple.

“[Our goal is] to satisfy the customer, and to have them have a reasonably priced bagel with extraordinary flavor,” Mata said.

Contact Mia Shou at [email protected].