Donut Bar
Cinnamon Roll
Blueberry Pop Tart “Big Poppa”
Blueberry Meyer Lemon Cake
Maple Bacon Bar
Vanilla Cream Bar with Chocolate Glaze
Red Velvet
Triple Chocolate
Samoa
Vanilla Glazed
Chocolate Glazed with Peanuts
Snickers – Peanuts, Chocolate, Caramel
Twix – Peanut Butter, Caramel
Fresh off an Orange County shutter reportedly due to inflated real estate rates, an import from San Diego intended to replace O-Face Doughnuts which recently closed in Downtown Las Vegas for reasons just the same, it was during the soft-opening that a stop was made at Donut Bar, the friendly manager and his team all-but giving away product – a total of three purchased by myself and a friend yielding a total collection of sixteen.
Having myself already visited the San Diego location, parking a serious issue for good-yet-expensive goods that failed to wow in the same way as Sidecar, Blue Star or Stan’s in LA, arrival at Donut Bar Las Vegas shows little to have changed from the space’s previous occupant aside from paint on the window and coffee replaced by Stumptown the prices are equally as aggressive while a general lack of seating remains.
A bit picked over at 1:45pm on Saturday, the Fritter gone but a dozen novel options including cake, raised and Specials all accounted for, service at Donut Bar takes a page from the youthful kids at O-Face and currently using a few staff from sunny SoCal to educate cashiers as well as customers the knowledgebase and readiness speak to experience coupled with a Turn-Key location, though the quality of fried dough will certainly need some tweaks.
Taking the goods elsewhere to eat, conversation about everything from music to the local dining scene spanning across two-plus hours of small tastes, a first look at Donut Bar’s raised options speaks of sharable portions that may help to soften the $3/each pricing and with a soft center somewhere between Brioche and Angelfood the texture shines in the setting of several glazes, classic candy bars no doubt playing a role in several of the variants.
Clearly needing some time to adjust to the desert with items featuring cocoa powder, both the triple chocolate and red velvet far too dry to be enjoyed, additional cake options were hit-and-miss in terms of consistency, the Blueberry Meyer Lemon unfortunately tasting as though it comes from the same mix sold for 69-cents elsewhere while the Girl scout themed Samoa was far more toothsome, perhaps as a result of coconut oil that several local Vegan bakers use to retain moistness in their cakes.
Not really shocking anyone with Maple Bacon Bars in 2016, the Vanilla Cream-filled Long John equally yawn inducing but more tasty overall, Cinnamon Rolls kept under warming lamps fail to hit the same highs as nearby Glutton or other artisans like Mothership or CRAFTKitchen despite a similar price per portion, the signature “Big Poppa” appropriately compared to “Fair Food” by a youngster joining in our tasting, the added jelly almost admitting that the Pop Tart alone is nothing but a gimmick and nowhere near the quality of jams, creams and compotes made daily at O-Face.
TWO AND A HALF STARS: Recently seeing a growth in diversity as relates to donuts, nearby Pawn Donuts and Coffee sourcing better from Donut Mania while Real Donuts on Charleston fares slightly better in texture at less than half the price only half a mile away, one hopes that Donut Bar received a more favorable lease than that which doomed O-Face or their OC Location…or at least that they have some tricks besides freebies to help bolster their branding before they are too far out of the gate.
RECOMMENDED: Snickers, Twix, Vanilla Cream Bar with Chocolate Glaze.
AVOID: Triple Chocolate, Red Velvet.
TIP: Open 7am Until they sell out…or give them all away…#BestDonutsInTheWorld for those who don’t get out much.
WHAT THE STARS MEAN: 5 World Class, 4 Excellent, 3 Good, 2 Fair, 1 Poor
http://www.donutbar.com/lasvegas/