Cartems Donuterie

I’ve tried almost all the different donuts and I find it too sweet, especially the icing. It’s too bad because then I could have enjoyed the flavours without the annoying saccharin. When I first had them last year I found it was less sweet and the Earl Gray donut, which is my favourite, no longer has that strong tea flavour. It was barely noticeable. Guess I’ll have to make my own now or go to Timmy’s.

The store was very open concept. I ordered two ring donuts. They were very well made donuts. Light moist airy. The flavors I ordered turned out to be less than desirable. I ate two bites from each then threw them out. Maybe I’ll try something more traditional next time. I might return.

A few short months ago, Cartems Donuterie expanded to a second location in the 103-​year-​old Ashnola Building just over the hill on Main Street conveniently located a couple doors down from Brassneck Brewery.
The new Cartems offers the same artisanal, handmade (sometimes vegan) doughnuts in a great open space.
The special pumpkin cheesecake (enjoyed with my usual Americano) doughnut had a light flavouring but hearty filling making for a scrumptious treat. Serving Elysian Coffee (and also Earnest Ice Cream for dessert), the coffee is up to the usual par.
It’s a brightly lit café with plenty of natural sunlight coming in and high ceilings. The soft wood décor is subtle yet inspirational. The second Cartems location is another solid addition to the almost caffeine saturated neighbourhood.

Yes, its all true! They are all good.
There were three of us so we each got a different donut.
Cinnimon — it tastes like you are eating a nice cake but its a donut
Maple Walnut — lots of Walnut, which is what I like.
Apple Pie — Its a donut stuffed with pie, what more do you want.
Its a nice place for very expensive donuts. Personally, if I was going to pay that much, I would rather have cake from a patisserie.

I finally stopped by the Main Street location after hearing all the hype. I was excited to see what it was all about. Cool place and a nice girl behind the counter. I got 6 donuts which was $ 18. Spendy at $ 3 a donut. Unfortunately I wasn’t impressed. Not at all. I got an apple fritter, vanilla, earl grey, salted caramel, s’mores and a triple chocolate. They were so greasy. Disgustingly greasy where there was actually oil dripping down my hand when I took a bite. Soggy with grease. I ended up throwing them away as my husband wouldn’t eat them either. Yuck.

Interesting (and great tasting) donuts. The coffee selection is a bit more limited but still solid. A good donut and coffee combo in a hip setting.

I had high expectations for Cartems, but I was a bit disappointed.
I got the classic donut — and it was SO greasy. Their frying oil must not have been hot enough because the batter absorbed what felt like ¼ cup of oil. It was gross.
5 stars for customer service though. They gave me another try, and so I got the vanilla fritter, which really wasn’t spectacular. However they did give me a fresh classic which tasted a lot better. Moral of the story — get them when they are fresh!
Cool storefront, great customer service. More of an experience imo.

The variety of donuts are unique for sure but the freshness and flavour are lacking and don’t stand out. I found the donuts to taste a bit regular and not fresh tasting (even if perhaps they were indeed fresh). Perhaps it’s the consistency.
The vegan donuts are a bonus for those with particular food requirements, but if your craving a donut, I feel that other establishments do a better job especially for the price. Cartem’s has a big price tag attached to them. To their credit, they do use locally sourced, organic ingredients so you can justify the price that way.
perhaps I am a traditional donut loving girl longing for the boring and common donuts from the good old days.

I went when they just opened up shop. However, all they had were a limited selection of donuts. I couldn’t get their Earl Grey or Salted Caramel. I think all I was left with was a regular old fashioned. It was okay. I am not giving it any higher than 3 stars because I haven’t tried their other donuts. The fact they didn’t have any in store was disappointing.

Amazing donuts!!! Service was amazing as well. Girl at the counter let us choose a donut to try at no cost because it was our first time there.
SSSSOOOOOO DAAAAMMMNN GOOOODD!!!

After two attempts of catching them before they close and failing… I finally got in on the weekend and I opted for the Special donut — apricot (pieces of fruit) and «mousse»? filled donut. I suspect they used unripened apricots because it was a little sour and bitter which did not go well. The mousse inside did not complement the apricot at all. The donut itself was fresh, well risen, not oily and well done. $ 3.75. I recommend the staff know what the are talking about. Can you learn to distinguish a curd from a cream, and mousse etc? OMG! I just could not get a straight and clear answer. When your customer asks what is inside the donut, explain it well and confidently please! Didn’t have coffee or tea — pricey $ 3 and up. Water available self-​serve which is nice.
Creamsicle was a July special only :(

This should actually have a 3.5* review. Cartem’s second location is simple. They do doughnuts. They do them well. They do coffee. They do it A-​Ok. Let’s start with the doughnuts. WE had their bacon maple. Solid choice. Huge slices of bacon for doughnut area. maple flavor blends well, so not an overdoes of either, a solid balance. The chocolate glaze. Eh, nothing super special, but I do like their generous … sorry very generous helping of the glaze. Timmy’s should take note. That’s how its done. The blueberry fritter is also done very well, crispy and full of blueberry goodness. Lastly (and my favorite) is their honey parm. What an awesome blend of flavor, the sweet savory is in great balance and by far the best they got! the coffee… well i mean its coffee, i’m not super experienced with the stuff, but it wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t special either…

* Overhyped *
I don’t get it. I first tried Cartems’ donuts when they got started making them at the at Woodland Smokehouse commissary (
) before the fire there. I didn’t enjoy them then, and never bothered tracking them down when they opened near Gastown.
But they have continued to be popular and spread, so I had to try this new Main street location.
Service staff was really disorganized behind the counter — all sorts of confusion over a set of offerings that are fairly straightforward. It shouldn’t be that hard to sell donuts and coffee to people.
I ordered the raspberry compote special donut of the day and an espresso. The donut ($ 3.00) looked good on the rack, but was a major disappointment. It was stale. As if it had been made a day before. Oh, and the raspberry wasn’t raspberry. Unless raspberries have become strawberries in the alternative Cartems’ universe. I mentioned it to the staff and they said, «Oh, they must have sent over strawberry instead.» WTF? «They?» «Sent over?» No response to the staleness issue? WTF??? No offer to make things better? Fail. Photo:
The espresso was no better. They had absolutely no shot pulling skill at all. I’m guessing they are grinding too fine and stopping the shot too late. It was extremely bitter, with almost no crema, and had black patches. Terrible shot. Photo:
So combining the premium pricing with the wrong donut flavour, it being stale, the espresso being poorly pulled, the confusion behind the counter, the terrible customer service follow-​up, this all adds up to an overhyped poor value, and I don’t see myself giving them another try anytime soon.

I very much enjoy the donuts they make and I love the other location but this one seems to have lost some of the charm. I think it is 100% down to the quality of the staff. They seem only there to have fun for themselves and aren’t passionate about the product (at least in a way that is obvious from their customer service). Also disappointed that their coffee here is not pour over like the main location. I am paying $ 3 for some regular coffee? That seems a little silly.
Please do an overhaul on the staff here and bring it back up to the grade of the other location.

Mega Meh. Seriously. How difficult is it to hire someone who can offer a genuine smile and a kind word to someone who’s being asked to pay $ 4 for an average, dense donut? Hell, I’d even settle for a reasonable facsimile of gratitude and kindness. Is it more important to look the part of being a too-​cool-​for-​school hipster than to actually deliver an inviting experience to us mere mortals? Don’t roll your eyes when we ask what the special donut is. It’s not my fault there are 4 different looking flavours labelled as such and it’s too exhausting for you to write out a separate card for each one.
Donuts are supposed to make people happy. Sorry we inconvenienced you with our hard earned money. We won’t make that mistake again.

[Defibrillator Dounts 2]
If you’re at all health-​conscious, this isn’t the place for you. After a few of these, you’ll likely develop diabetes and have a heart attack at the same time.
I found myself here one sunny Friday afternoon to pick up a dozen as a birthday cake replacement. They’ve got a simple case with about a dozen options — most have a vegan or vegetarian variant. Since I enjoy meat, I went with one of each non-​veg option. (Shared among 10 people of course!) My favorites were the cinnamon brulee and earl grey. Their «special» donut turned out to be a strawberry daiquiri which was also pretty good. For something different, do the Whiskey bacon.
My only real quaff with Cartems is value. Sure, the donuts are bigger and heftier than your average Tim’s but at $ 3.50 a pop ($ 36 per dozen), it’d better be the Ferrari of donuts.
I also spied a fridge full of Earnest ice cream jars. OHMYGOD! If i were heading home afterwards, I would’ve bought a ton.
The staff here are friendly and the ambience is laid back and trendy. Parking is a bit of a pain as all the surrounding streets are permit-​only residential.

My best friend found this on Main on the way to walking to Malkim bowl for the Levitation Music festival. I could not believe my eyes when I saw that there was a location right on Main! Both my calories and wallet are going to be compromised… in a good way. The store is aesthetic and simple. When we walked in they didn’t have much selection left in the case, however, they did manage to have some gluten free selections off counter. My best friend and I split a honey Parmesan. Sounds odd on paper, however, OMG this was an amazing balance of sweet and savory. The lady at the til was super sweet and friendly. She laughed at my cheesy jokes. Prices for a GF donut was $$ at 3.75 which is why this is a sometimes treat. This location also carries Earnest Ice cream… another dangerous and addictive situation.

I think I have an unnatural attachment to these donuts. Perhaps it is because I went so many years without a donut due to having to maintain a gluten-​free diet. Whatever the reason, these donuts are amazing. I was beyond elated to find out a new Cartems had moved so close to me. They are delicious and delectable and maybe even diabolical since I can’t seem to stay away. They have many gluten-​free flavours and they even serve coffee from Elysian and ice-​cream from Ernest. It doesn’t get any better than that! A far as the prices go, you definitely get what you pay for.

It is pricy for a doughnut and it is dangerously addictive!!! don’t expect your regular doughnut from tim hor.
It was not too oily and not too sweet. Just right.
Also, I had it with their ice mint strawberry tea, which was very refreshing for a hot day. I will ask light on ice and no sweeteners next time tho.

A welcome addition to the neighbourhood. Glad I no longer have to go downtown for my fix.
Picked up a dozen to take to a BBQ and they were the perfect way to end a great meal around the pool.
I picked out a few flavours I hadn’t tried before but never got my hands on them as they went fast. Will have to come right back for a personal supply.