The American-born, bagel-obsessed Michael Shafran has been searching for a permanent site since vacating his Matraville cafe to make way for developers and he's found one in Darlinghurst. Brooklyn Boy Bagels is already a hit with staff at St Vincent's Hospital and the nearby Jewish Museum.

The Star Spangled Bagels were an immediate hit but with July 4 in the rear-view mirror, Shafran has rainbow bagels for punters looking for colour. Even a Brooklyn emigre doesn't live on bagels alone and there are also fresh pretzels, artisan bread, babkas and sandwiches.

"We've started simple with lunch for now," says Shafran. "There's a turkey club with streaky bacon, a pastrami reuben with sauerkraut, cheese and mustard, and a matzo ball soup that's made by my landlord's wife. She's a Jewish mum and makes dill-loving chicken soup and matzo balls to perfection. My own mother doesn't make them this good."

The former site of Dragon Den restaurant still has a few leftover interior touches, including a "great bouldering wall" at the entrance. "I'm scouring eBay for a good ape figurine,"  Shafran says. "Something to climb it King Kong style."

Mon-Fri 6.30am-3pm; Sat-Sun 7.30am-4pm

259 Victoria Street, Darlinghurst