Donut Bar in San Diego
The Donut Bar was our first target for sweets in San Diego, but, at 4:15pm on the Thursday we arrived there, they were already closed. A quick check on the hours mentioned 8am to sold out. What? First time I saw that besides at food trucks. Is it a way to create some sort of demand? I do not know, but what was sure was that we would go back as their menu looked really good, made of classic and innovative donuts. So we went back on our last day, at 8:45am thinking that, being a Sunday, lots of people would still be asleep. Wrong: there was a line from the moment we arrived to the moment we left. In front of the store was a Ferrari with the name Donut Bar on it. At that point I was thinking that business is pretty good for this place that started in 2013 and is now expending (if you miss going there, know that they are apparently also located at The San Diego Airport. Just in case...). We even saw Chef Santiago Campa distributing Cookie Monster donuts to kids in line and encouraging them to go in his car. Very nice indeed.
Ferrari at Donut Bar in San Diego
The menu at Donut Bar can be a bit overwhelming as they have lots of choices and you feel pressured to order quickly. But the only thing you would regret is not wearing stretch pants as some of these donuts are big. Like the classic or Homer’s donut, a yeast donut topped with pink cake batter glazed and sprinkles. Big but good: you do not want a doughy donut or a heavy donut and this one was perfect, not dry and airy, with enough glaze on top.
Homer’s donut at Donut Bar in San Diego
Homer’s donut at Donut Bar in San Diego
The second was the Boston cream, a donut filled with Bavarian cream and topped with chocolate fudge glaze. It was pretty good although I found the cream was not evenly filled in the donut. I should mention that it was not my first choice: I wanted to go for the maple bacon donut but was disappointed by the look of it (if you live in the NY area, check out the one from The DonutProject: it is sublime) and then switched to the one next to it. I finally regretted it a bit.
Boton cream donut at Donut Bar in San Diego
Boston cream donut at Donut Bar in San Diego
The last one was the unicorn donut, made with cake batter glaze, buttercream hair and chocolate ear and horns. Pretty good, but not as good as the classic. I think this one if more for the show...
Unicorn donut at Donut Bar in San Diego
Still, this is a fun place and I would go back if in San Diego, probably trying less classic donuts that time. However, they would be in NYC, I am not sure they would measure up with The Donut Plant or The Donut Project, but I found them better than Dough.
Enjoy (I did)!
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Donut Bar - 631 B Street, San Diego CA 92101
