Scone Spy: Oh we do like our tea beside the seaside... and Largs cafe The Bagel Basket is the ideal spot

Bagels really are the underdogs of the bread world.

Not as hip as sourdough. Not as healthy as pita. Unlike a baguette, you can’t put it in the basket on the front of your bike and cycle along a cobbled street whistling La Marseillaise.

Or is that just me?

Regardless, bagels are bulky beasts compared to their bread buddies.

They tend to be enormous and contain so many calories you could swim the Channel after eating one.

Or you could just chuck your bagel in the sea and use it as a crude flotation ring.

“Bagels: better for swimmers than slimmers” is a line you can use for free, Bagel marketers.

Anyway, Scone Spy loves a bagel, so it was with great anticipation that I descended on Bagel Basket, in Largs last week.

Perhaps I’m reminded of the sea because we’re in Largs, and the walls of Bagel Basket are suggestive of the dark blue of the ocean. I was looking forward to this, after several recommendations from people and, frankly, bagel or not, this is one of the top cafes in Largs, which is a bit of a west-coast tourism hotspot.

Following a warm welcome, we plonk ourselves down at one of the tables.

A few pictures hang on the walls, one of which is of old Largs from back in the day.

“Bagels (beygls in Yiddish) are a ring-shaped bread,” reads the laminated menu, “with a dense texture (from being poached in boiling water).”

Scone Spy likes being educated, and isn’t against more helpful information being included on menus.

Along with a tea, we plump for a bagel – obviously – with salmon and cream cheese, while my dining companion fancied a portion of chilli chicken goujons.

All good, here.

This family-run café really does know what it’s doing.

While I enjoyed my bagel, my companion described their goujons as a “taste sensation”. I told them to leave that sort of over-the-top language to me.

Anyway, my bagel was a taste sensation. I really wish I’d ordered another one to take with me.

As for the scones, they seemed fresh out the oven…melt-in-the-mouth and brimming with fruit.

It was almost difficult to finish a scone after eating an enormous bagel – almost.

A few cyclists wander in and pick up sweet treats to go, perhaps before tackling the Haylie Brae climb out of Largs.

Like I say, I wish I’d followed their advice and bagged another bagel for the road.

Of course, those who stop into Bagel Basket might be on their way to or coming from Millport on the ferry.

And, if you do take a bagel, it might just come in handy if you fall overboard and have to swim for it.

The Bagel Basket, Main Street, Largs

Welcome

Friendly and accommodating, plenty of seating inside and out. Disabled access and dog friendly. 9/10

Location

On main street but great for watching the world go by. 9/10

Scones

Lovely. Laden with fruit, with plain and savoury options. 9/10

Scone Spy: Oh we do like our tea beside the seaside… and Largs cafe The Bagel Basket is the ideal spot