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Delancey-Essex Sts (F, J, M, Z)
Grand St (B, D)
Tue-Sun. 6:30 a.m. - 6:30 p.m.
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Look, I had high expectations of this place coming after seeing them featured on the 'Food Network.'
So, right off the bat, they had a high ceiling to meet. Were they better than Dunkin Donuts and other chain spots? ABSOLUTELY!
Were they above than average? YES!
Would I go back to get some? YES!
I didn't think the Tres Leches was that great though.
The custard filled donuts though are stellar!
The owner of this place is a genius businessman. Affecting a sort of direct outlet type of decor costs virtually nothing and yet it's still an effective theme.
Serving a completely unremarkable food somehow gives the illusion that it's a specialty store. It's no more special than KK and DD. Yet, it's about $3 for a doughnut with a lingering greasy mouth feel [not unusual for doughnuts, I'm sure] and with no extra delivery of the fancy flavors? Meh, still, I have to admit that concept is still kinda genius, because it was the most I've ever spent on a doughnut.
Personal note: why would you want to eat a creme brulee in a doughnut form?
I'm not a doughnut person and fried food makes me thirsty. (And I need to check under my bed every night for monsters but wait, this is not about my issues)
But but but.
Doughnut plant donuts are goooood. Not just good, but goooood, you get it? Like mmmgooooodmmm.
Now a donut's a donut, you might say. Come back and talk to me after you've tried these babies, is all I'd say to that.
Creme Brulee - It really does taste like a - wait for it - Creme Brulee! Yummy vanilla custard filling with a crunchy caramelized coating on the little donut top. Very innovative. Very delicious.
I also tried a couple of cake donuts. These tasted like - wait for it - cakes! The tres leches (with a delicate piping of condensed milk inside that made it nice and moist) and the blackout (chocolate with chocolate and chocolate) were both good.
I got the hot chocolate too. Now I don't know about you, but I don't like random cream formation of the hot chocolate being stirred right back into the container. Ugh, please.
Service very friendly - these folks clearly are happy to be working at this place (also read as I am sure they get tons of free donuts everyday!)
Go early, they run out of doughnuts pretty quickly. Cash only.
After 300 reviews, what more could I really say? Oh, yes this.
We arrived to New York at 8am. Sat in traffic for 1 hour. Had driver swing by Doughnut Plant en route to Hotel in LES. Ran out and ordered 10 donuts, ran into Jewish bialy place 2 doors down to get a bialy, hopped back in car and b-lined to hotel. Kindly shared a Tres Leches donut with the bellhop.
Welcome to NYC! Gotta love it and gotta love Doughnut Plant. PB&J, Creme Brulee, Tres Leches, cake or yeast, love me some donuts.
I've heard a lot of famous people talk about the moment in their life when they realized what they wanted to be. You know, maybe Jimi Hendrix walked by a guitar store and saw a Les Paul hanging in the window and decided he was going to be a rock star.
I never had one of those moments and it always kind of bummed me out. Then I ate a tres leches from Doughnut Plant and it hit me like a wave.
Right there I realized I wanted to be a guy who eats doughnuts.
Not professionally or anything, but actively. And thanks to Doughnut Plant, I can do that. Obviously, I don't need to hype this place up anymore than it already has been.
Just go and enjoy being human for once in your miserable life.
You're Doughnut Plant? Hi, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Roderick and I have been coming here for about a week now. I figure I better introduce myself, because in about nine months I will be giving you my first-born. Yes, even though my child will be a masculine child, I feel sacrificing the continuation of the A. family name in exchange for half a dozen tres leche donuts is worth it.
Do I care that for about 3 dozen donuts from Dunkin' Donuts, i can only get six tres leche donuts? Of course not. According to my trusted adviser Gordon Gekko, what's worth doing is worth doing for money. And Doughnut Plant can have my money, no problem. So I will gladly pay 12 George Washingtons for six tres leche donuts.
I cannot forget the chocolate blackout donuts: chocolate donut with a little cream in the middle, topped with chocolate crumbs. If I ate any more of these, I think I'd be replacing Heavy D as the "overweight lover in the house."
And for the autumn, they added a pumpkin spice donut. I swear, if you dunk it in a hot cup of coffee, you may start walking funny because of the instant orgasm it will give you.
All I know is that you will not have a bigger smile on your face as you're walking out of Doughnut Plant.
Any donut that has just come out of the fryer and is hot and gooey is going to be good no matter where it's from. but what happens after that donut spends an hour or 2 cooling off...most donuts dramatically lose their appeal and their fried goodness.
The test then for a truly amazing donut is whether it can sustain its moistness, deliciousness and friedness even after a couple hours.
Doughnut Plant passes that test. My g/f and I went and were kind of disappointed when the tres leches and creme brulee donuts we got were not hot and fresh. But one bite into both swept away any disappointment we had.
The creme brulee was a creme-filled yeast donut about 1/2 the size of all the other donuts but wow, the texture and taste were spot-on. It had the crisp glaze texture of the outside of creme brulee and then the creme filling was the vanilla-y creme you would expect. a truly genius donut.
The tres leches was a cake donut and i expected it to be tough and dry since it wasn't warm. BUT no, the donut was lecherous- somehow they infused the cream with the cake so that it tasted almost as soft and chewy as a yeast donut.
All in all, doughnut plant can match its hype.
After watching Bobby Flay's throwdown with the tres leches donut last year, Donut Plant has been on our radar for some time now.
Well, we finally had them and they were good, but I found the creme brulee and the coconut cream were actually better!!
Yes, $3 a piece probably qualifies these as America's most expensive donuts, but it's worth trying once. The coconut cream had a nice glaze and coconut slices on the outside, but the best part was the creamy coconut filling in the center. This one was my favorite.
The creme brulee was a tiny little donut. It had the crispy burnt sugar (just like a real creme brulee) on the outside and the inside was filled with a nice creamy custard. Please note: I took one bite and all the filling shot out from the bottom, ruining my pants :**( Haha, so eat with caution.
The tres leches was good, but I found it to be a little dry. Where's my black coffee when you need it??
So expect a nice sugar high and keep your nice bitter coffee handy. Trust me, you will need it!
Holy God, this place is amazing. It's probably SO out of the way for most New Yorkers, but I assure you, it will be totally worth the trek. (In all my years living in NYC, I don't think I've even been down that way before!)
Because of its location I haven't gone too many times, but when I have, I pretty much buy as many doughnuts as I can carry... which means I'm practically eating doughnuts all day long. But hey, there will be worse ways to go out (when my inevitable coronary comes along). I say all this b/c I don't even know half of the flavors I'm eating when I get them home. I do know enough to say that the tres leches & the PB&J donuts were pretty spectacular. And as for the whole yeast doughnuts versus cake doughnuts thing, I don't have a preference-- I love them all! They're all God's children! (But okay, maybe the yeast ones win out just b/c they're pretty unusual.)
Part of me wishes this place was a hell of a lot closer to Midtown, but the other, more practical health-conscious part of me is glad it's tucked all the way down on the Lower Lower East Side or whatever the hell that neighborhood is called.
These donuts were absoeffinlutely delicious.
BF and I drove around for over an hour to find parking. Cursing out tourists walking with no regard to the red lights. Cursing out cabbies that pulled over with no regard to me being behind them. Cursing out NYC for its lack of legal parking. And finally stealing a parking ticket from another car (we put it back as good citizens) in order to run into this effin store for their donuts.
We saw the prices and muttered OMG WTF. Then both walked out with 2 donuts each. Me: Creme Brulee and Pumpkin Spice. Him: Coconut and Vanilla.
All I can say is WOW. It was worth all the cursing and stress and circling and money.
COME HERE.
(If Homer J. Simpson wrote my review of Doughnut Plant)
"Ohm! Ohm! More! More! More!...."
Okay, remember that episode of the Simpsons, Treehouse of Horror IV when Homer J. said he'd sell his soul for a doughnut? Cue shot of Homer hooked up to a contraption that fed him doughnut after doughnut, after doughnut, after doughnut...
I don't eat doughnuts that often, maybe once in a blue moon often. Why, you ask? Because there are a lot of crap doughnuts out there that cause my stomach distress. But there are times when I temporarily forget the pains and give in and have a doughnut anyway. This was one of those times...and I was more than pleasantly surprised.
When I in this part of the city one fine weekend morning I wondered in my head (like Homer does so frequently) 'Why is there this huge snaking line outside of Doughnut Plant? What's it for??' I stopped and said, "They have to be good. Let's wait and get some."
They offer yeast and cake doughnuts, none of which are made with eggs, or artificial flavors or trans fats. I had the blackout and a glazed and a couple bites of a yeast doughnut, a jelly one. Nice, fresh, cake-y, definitely not heavy or oily...Aaahhhh. My taste buds were doing a jig.
And you know what? No stomach issues. These doughnuts must be magical.
I am with Homer J.
I would sell my soul for one of these doughnuts.
I am going to be a little different from most of the reviewers here.... the donuts were needlessly sweet. OMG.. after a few bites I could not eat anymore, and I don't care if you gave me milk to chug it down. Don't get me wrong the few bites of the Creme Brulee and the Tres Leches donuts that I had were wonderful.
The donuts were very unique, especially the creme brulee with the sugar crust, since when do you see that on a donut? The filling was sweet and the crust had some bitterness which was a nice touch.
I am gonna leave this short and simple, if you enjoy an extremely sweetened donut, this is it, you found your calling, but if you want something less sweet like sweets found in say... Japan, you will be in for a shock.
I am glad I went and tried the two donuts that I did (btw I ate only half of each) but I don't think i will be going here anytime soon.
I knew we should have gone earlier!!!
All they had left was apple/cinnamon and creme brulee.
The latter was superb!
Okay, I may be killed for saying I'm actually NOT a fan of Doughnut Plant. I know, I know. But honestly, it was way too sweet. like excessive. I have a sweet tooth but I really couldn't hang.
You know that feeling that you have when you overeat? And you're like, "God I hate myself. I wish I didn't do that."? That's pretty much how I felt after 2 bites. I tried two donuts - the super chocolatey one (recommended by the guy at the counter) and tres leches. If you like just a classic frosted donut, you're gonna hate this place. I think it may have also been hyped up too much so hopefully I'm lowering expectations for anyone who is going to go in the future.
Call me Plain Jane, but gimme a dunkies any day.
This place is my best friend and my worst enemy. The first time I went, I brought home three delicious magical doughnuts (meyer lemon cake, meyer lemon yeast, and tres leches cake) and immediately after consuming the last one, I went on a month-long sugar diet cause of the guilt.
Today I finally allowed myself to go back and I felt okay after inhaling my vanilla bean yeast doughnut. Actually, I regretted not buying more than one but I think it was destiny that they were already out of the pumpkin and the carrot cake by the time I got there.
Pretty sure I'm getting up early tomorrow morning to buy out the pumpkin doughnuts.
I have been wanting to go to this Keebler elf-like factory since I moved to the neighborhood a few months back. But for some reason, I deprived myself with the excuse, "Those will make me fat..."
Two weeks ago, I gave into my temptation and tried the seasonal flavor "Pumpkin." The plant offers it in either a cake or yeast option; I went with the classic yeast. I had every intention to have only a few bites and toss the confection. But my first bite felt took me into such oblivion I could not stop eating. Before I knew it, I had devoured the ENTIRE doughnut (which is huge). Damn it!
I am glad I dismissed my original excuse as BS and treated myself. And I cannot wait to try their better known flavors such as creme brule and tres leches...
WTH. WTH is wrong with you people at Doughnut Plant. Why did you make something so right, yet so wrong on my hips? You make me curse you each time I get on the D train and travel 1 hour to eat three of your orgasmic treats in one sitting.
This is a love hate relationship.
OMG. If I were not Christian, I would worship the holy creme brulee donut. In fact, I think after my first bite I lifted it up towards the blue sky and rejoiced. I will never eat another Krispy Kreme again.
Creme brulee: YUM.. but that's only if you like creme brulee. Real vanilla beans... it's the real stuff inside. Real deal. The top tastes just like a creme brulee burnt sugar topping.
PB and J: It's square like a sandwich and tastes just like a pb and j. I believe this particular time it was strawberry.
Apple: It's the cakey kind. Nothing that special.
Vanilla Bean: Good, but it's just a normal glazed donut... perhaps a little larger than the normal size.
5 stars for the creme brulee donut.
if this place was near me in LA, I'd gain all my weight back very quickly.
Its addicting. After one bite, we went back for more donuts.
I'd also be broke since its about $3-$4 a donut.
Its such an interesting taste. It a donut that tastes exactly like the flavor its advertising but, a peanut butter jelly sandwich donut really just tastes like a peanut butter jelly sandwich thats been deep fried...
It's really yummy! I love their creme brulee doughnut and chai tea. I need to go back to try the other flavors. They get sold out fast too. Last time I went at 3:30ish and I could only get one doughnut because they didn't had enough for everyone.
It is a bit far out. I only go when I go to work in Chinatown. It's a good 10 to 15 walk from the Grand St subway stop. My blog got a full review on this place.
- creme brulee donut was good and had a real creme brulee glaze on the top
- tres leches donut was the best!
- coconut donut was just ok...too big and too coconut-y
- all of the donuts were very sweet and i usually do not like cream/jelly filled donuts but these were are pretty good
Leaving the city, I had to stop. My kids wanted it. My neighbors kid never had it. "Go, my first born son" I slid him a twenty. I want a Creme Bruele. He comes back, sorry. They do have peanut butter and Jelly. I tell him to get two as well as Devils food.
I bring my wife in the burbs a NYC treat. Everyone is happy. ahhh.. Heaven.
After my family has been hearing from me about Doughnut Plant, We decided on stopping by before… Read more »
Good donuts and very friendly staff. I like that their square filled donuts don't have a big glob of jelly in the middle. It all stays nice and balanced in each bite. The creme brulee was also nicely done, velvety custard with lots of vanilla.
Overall they were tasty but didn't top out on the deliciousness meter. I'm reserving that fifth star until I can give the tres leches a try for myself.
Totally hidden in an unexpected location. The store is very simple and OLD. However, their doughnuts are great and they use only fresh and or organic ingredients.
It is slightly on the pricey side. Each doughnut is $2 and above. We got the Black Out and Strawberry Filling Doughnuts and they are very good and pretty big.
I am glad to be able to come to this historic doughtnut place.
It was worth the wait and the tres leches is the best doughnut I have ever tasted. Mind-blowingly delicious is one way to describe it.
Still have the blackout, PBJ, Chocolate to try, but one bite can change your views and you'd be dunkin' others in one of the city's many overflowing trash depositories.
They ran out of the Creme Brulee, but I'll be back. Willis was here.
Doughnut Plant is what doughnuts should be... perfect moisture/texture, great size, excellent flavor options... I don't know what more you could possible want from a doughnut. In my opinion, Doughnut Plant is to doughnuts as Magnolia Bakery is to cupcakes!
The Creme Brulee doughnut is straight out of heaven- the doughnut has a hard sugar top with the creamy-creme brulee as the filling.... truly, words cannot describe the joy that you will experience while eating this doughnut... in fact, I almost want to say that I enjoy the creme brulee doughnut from Doughnut Planet MORE that actual creme brulee....
Also very note worthy is the Apple Cinnamon doughnut, which has actual pieces of apple in the cinnamon glaze!
The pumpkin seasonal flavored doughnut was also quite yummy... but the others were stronger. Next time I go, I will try the black out (essentially "death by chocolate").
I actually drove WAY out of my way just to visit this place. it was really worth it. I LOVED the cake-like donuts. I brought them as a gift to my brother's house but was sorry that I didn't buy them for myself. Yes, they were alittle expensive but we're not talking a whole lot of money. I saw some other great food deals on http://www.nyc-visitor....
Long live donuts!!
I'm very glad I walked over here for a doughnut this weekend. I waited in the long line in the cramped little bakery...patiently waiting my turn to order the infamous tres leches doughnut. When it was finally my turn, I ordered one and walked outside. The very first bite I took, I quickly jumped the gun and started to think that this was not living up to the hype....but quickly it hit me. Oh my god. I took another bite. It was so delicious. The cakeiness, the creaminess, and the "just right" amount of sweetness. As I walked down Grand St. back towards Chinatown I almost ran back to grab another one... Could easily be the best doughnut I've ever had.
I miss you already Doughnut Plant.
Yummm!! I don't really even love donuts that much, but this place was awesome. The tres leches was incredible.
Crème Brulée Doughnut- I really hated sharing this. Next time I'm going to get 10 and eat them all by myself, covering myself in shards of torched sugar and slowly licking the cool, creamy, vanilla speckled custard off my fingers and mouth. All by myself!
4.5 stars actually:
5 for originality.
5 for delivery.
4 for space and price.
The donuts they carry are all quite enticing and very tempting. I ordered the creme brulee, blackout, and tres leche. I LOVE creme brulee, and I'm glad that I LOVED their donut interpretation. It was on the smaller side, but I thought it was a necessity to capture the perfect balance of taste, donut, and creme. My friends liked the blackout and the tres leche, but I think we voted the creme brulee to take the gold.
The space is very limited on the inside, so if its crappy weather, don't expect to bring in a large group. It's also the most I've ever paid for donuts, but what isn't more pricey in the big apple. I thoroughly enjoyed my experience here and would recommend it to anyone looking to try something new.
After witnessing an epic breakfast pastry battle between the owner of this establishment and Bobby Flay on the Foodnetwork, it became a goal of mine to taste the doughnuts of Doughnut Plant.
However, I have a thing about venturing downtown. Really about going anywhere in the city just for the purpose of picking up something. I have no problem if I'm going down to hangout, but I don't like running down and then rushing back up to catch a train, hoping whatever food it is will survive the trip back to Long Island.
So, needless to say, I was overjoyed today when my boss brought in two boxes that said "Doughnut Plant" on top. I asked her if she had bought the Tres Leches Doughnut I had heard such wonderful things about, but she claimed ignorance. But then I saw it. I didn't really know what to look for, but when I saw this doughnut I knew it was Tres Leches.
I reached in carefully, picked it up, took a bite...
DOUGHNUT HEAVEN!!!!!!!!
Nothing will top that today. Nothing.
I once had a transcendent doughnut experience here. It was their fall doughnut, the pumpkin spice, and I almost got run over as I was eating it walking down Grand in a daze. All the other doughnuts are excellent, but I can't wait for that pumpkin spice to come back.
Did you know they're international? They're all over Tokyo. I can't tell you how excited I was when I found one. Lots of soy, sesame, and green tea flavors. Good, but not quite as good as the original, at least to my Western tongue.
Why am I not eating one right now?
After a long and rather costly cab ride, we finally got there. We were a bit taken a back when we arrived at their store. Cleanliness was definitely questionable and store appearance needs a lot of facelift for a lack of a better word.
For a tiny doughnut store, the signs and displays were not bad. The gentleman behind the counter was rather a rude. Their doughnuts were unbelievable though. I had the regular Vanilla Glazed doughnut which was delicious. Fluffy, light and perfect ration of sweetness. My husband savored every single bite of his square shaped Strawberry Jelly doughnut.
Even though the doughnuts were delicious, we were not sure if we would come back. They really really need to work on getting their store in shape to get in more business. Botox will not suffice, maybe a reconstructive surgery would help to get us in their door again.
These desserts are HUGE.
They are in a category all by themselves. They are all organic. But unlike many organic products the taste is more flavorful.
Mark Israel doesn't use jam. He uses fresh fruit in his "jelly" and other fruit flavored doughnuts.
They aren't too sugary like most doughnuts out there.He also uses real organic chocolate not the fake stuff other places use. The chocolate flavor is really intense. I don't have a favorite. I like them all.
I only allow myself a few per year. They are highly caloric. That is their only down fall. They are three times the size of any donut on the market. Too bad I don't get free doughnuts for my review!:)
I had some of their cake donuts in an underground mall in Toyko and was unimpressed, but this time, a friend steered me towards the creme brulee doughnut. I was completely convinced that I was being ripped off at first because I think that I paid somewhere around $3 for a something that was the size of a doughnut hole. But when I bit into the crispy creme brulee shell and tasted the vanilla cream, I was immediately hooked.
Cupcakes be damned, the next time I'm in NYC, I'm bringing a box from Doughnut Plant back to SF.
Worth the walk. Worth the wait.
If you don't know what to order...you have to try the creme brulee donut. Although round, chubby and small (no, not me damnit!), this donut is done with such delicious precision, accurate flavoring, and sugary delight.
I tasted another one which was a combo of maple/hazelnut and almonds. Extremely yummy, will post pictures soon.
You won't be disappointed.
This place is very cozy, but you are instantly five again as you wait in line to buy one of the delicious treats spread at the counter.
Really if you have not been here then you don't know what a really donut should taste like. These decadent creations are amazing and will not let you down.
Donuts are about 2.25 each but it is worth it. Everything is made on location and the staff is friendly and always try the special. If you like chocolate then the blackout donut is a must.
They make things like this?!!!
this place is outrageously yummy, but I can only have like 10, since I'm trying to watch my weight....
...first timers are suggest to get one of every flavor and split it amongst the group..it's definitely a treat!
Owiee my tooth!
We heard of this place from watching Bobby Flay's Throwdown. It was a pretty funny show because the baker didn't really want to do the show, but he did it anyway since they were already in the middle of shooting. They won, so it ended all good! We finally had a chance to go give it a try! MmMmm...great donuts, irresistible and fancy toppings, and good chai lattes! Good deals, tasty, and good service! Small shop, not a lot of seating, busy, so brace yourself, come in, get your donutS, get out! Awesome tres leches donut, amazing crème brulee! We actually got to see the guys on TV...heheeh it was pretty cool! I really miss this place dearly!!!!! I haven't had any donuts like that where I live.
Neighborhood: West Village
Category: Donuts
Neighborhood: Lower East Side
Category: Bakeries
Neighborhood: Lower East Side
Neighborhood: Williamsburg - North Side
Category: Bakeries
Neighborhood: Lower East Side
Category: Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt
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