Sidecar Doughnuts

Super hipster donut spot!
Great atmosphere to just kick it and enjoy a donut and cup of coffee!
The donuts are quite delicious, though it is pricey for a donut. My fiancé had the cinnamon donut and I had the huckleberry. I was a bit hesitant to get the huckleberry flavor since it’s a uncommon flavor for a donut, but the staff was so so nice and accommodating and had let me try a piece first before I made my decision.

Wow. This place rocks my world. I am so glad they don’t have one in Copenhagen because I would definitely go here every day! The maple bacon donut was out of this world and I also tried the cinnamon donut that reminded of fall time in Michigan.
A bonus for coffee drinkers. They have almond milk and soy milk! I love all the different kinds and wish I had room for the butter donut and the blood orange donut, and the violet donut…

Friendly quick service, gorgeous hip donut shop.
The most you’ll ever pay for a donut, but worth it.
Small batches, ensure your donuts are nice and fresh.
Waited an extra minute to have a freshly prepared huckleberry and let me just say, wish I had gotten two!
We ordered a variety of donuts: vanilla twist, chocolate nib, salt and butter, shaker lemon pie, cinnamon crumb, and huckleberry.
Raised glazed vanilla twist was fluffy sweet vanilla-​y perfection.
Overall glad we had a special occasion to get these lovely donuts for.

Finally had the chance to try Sidecar since I always tend to miss it whenever I’m in Orange County!
I was super ecstatic to have found out they opened one a little closer to me that way I don’t need to travel all the way to OC. Definitely saves me the trip! They have a wide range of unique flavors to choose from. I’ve been eyeing the Huckleberry flavored doughnut for the past few years and honestly… it wasn’t my favorite BUT the texture was really good. It tasted really almond-​y… I don’t particularly like Almond flavored stuff. I also ordered the banana foster! To my surprise, it turned out to be my favorite. Definitely coming back to try different flavors especially the cinnamon crumb!
Service was very friendly! Can’t wait to be back. Also, their vanilla latte paired greatly with their doughnuts! Until next time.

God loves LA that’s all I can say.
Please bring the Meyers Lemon asap!!!

As a student of the American doughnut market, Sidecar has been at the top of my list of places to try. Finally had a chance on a 5 day trip to California.
Sidecar knows what they’re doing. Their doughnuts are fantastic. Particularly the cake, and most specifically the Butter and Salt. Also loved the Cinnamon Crumb, Bananas Foster and Huckleberry.
The freshness is evident in each flavor. I know because I tried 10 flavors in 2 days. In a row. Because it’s that good.
Coffee bar is impressive, and their voluminous staff knows how to get you what you want.
GM was extremely friendly, and this place is running like a well oiled machine. Excellent work, Sidecar!

Seriously, what can I say. Probably the best donuts in the OC area. But they aren’t just your ”typical” donuts that you get from Dunkin or Yum Yums. And I’m sure they would be offended if I even compared them to those establishments.
These donuts are high quality and for a good reason. They’re just so moist and the flavors are so inventive, creative and yummy.
There can be a line out the door most days, but it goes by fast. If you go towards the closing hour, watch out — it’ll be SLIM pickings.
My go to is the HUCKLEBERRY and the Madagscar Vanilla twist. They also throw in a seasonal favor here and there.
While you’re there make sure to add a Vietnamese Iced Coffee with your order!

After walking from the Santa Monica Pier to Venice and back, I felt like I earned a donut or two or three… LOL. Actually, my wife and I shared the huckleberry and bananas foster. I loved the huckleberry. It reminded me of a cross between blueberry pancakes and vanilla cake. The bananas fosters was also great, not enough of the banana cream though. My wife tried a donut hole and she said it was a little greasy. These are not your «corner donut shop» donuts. We paid 8.50 for the above. Was it worth it? Probably not, but they were very tasty.

My goodness. If you’re looking for a gourmet donut experience, I beg you to come here. The Huckleberry was fabulous and excited all my taste sensations. It’s crispy yet the inner dough was gently soft. Sweetness came from the hints of huckleberry and the decadent purple gaze. The Choco O Lot was amazing too. Fluffy, soft, and it melted in mouth without hesitation. Perfect complement with coffee.
Prices are steep, but priced accordingly because of the quality. Came on a Sunday morning and wait was about 10 minutes. When you walk in, you can smell freshness of fried dough and quickly notice worker-​bees cutting dough, frying dough, and adding the various flavors. It’s quite a transparent operation.
Parking can be a pain, but I managed to find parking on Wilshire. There’s a paid lot in the back. I’m in Santa Monica every week, so this is a must stop for me.

Items Selected:
New Years Cake — Vanilla Cake, Silver Jimmies, Madagascar Vanilla Bean Glaze
Persimmon Cake — Persimmon Cake, Brandy, Candied Ginger, Sultanas, Persimmon Glaze, Maple Sugar Roasted Pecans
Brennan’s Bananas Foster — Raised Ring, Muscavado Sugar and Dark Rum Bananas, Roasted Banana Cream
Salty Caramel — Raised Ring, House Caramel, Jacobsen Sea Salt
Choc A Lot — Raised Chocolate Ring, Callebaut Chocolate Glaze, Cocoa Nibs
Saigon Cinnamon Crumb — Saigon Cinnamon Cake Doughnut, Sweet Glaze, Cinnamon Crumble
Country Ham & Eggs — Raised Doughnut, Poached Egg, Benton’s Ham, House Made Basil Hollandaise
Buttermilk Drop — Buttermilk and Nutmeg, Sweet Glaze
Fortuitously «discovered» during a trip to Costa Mesa years prior, the inconvenience of driving to the area really the only reason every visit to Southern California has not returned to Sidecar Doughnuts & Coffee for another handcrafted treat, it was with great anticipation that the GPS was programed to Santa Monica en route to El Segundo, the first expansion of the artisan purveyor of fried rings only a few minutes out of the way.
Far more modern than the original Stipmall storefront, an airy space at 631 Wilshire Boulevard mere seconds from the Pacific, Sidecar Doughnuts & Coffee II takes a similar approach to doughnuts as its older brother and with bakers clearly visible cracking eggs, rolling dough, and hand forming each of a dozen options the only «problem» is deciding where to draw the line as the ever-​changing lineup is boundless in temptation.
Assuredly not you Grandpa’s place for pastry, doughnuts all hovering around $ 3 with some priced north of $ 5, servers at Sidecar are mostly of the friendly 20-​something beach bunny variety but exceedingly pleasant and efficient despite «everything is yummy» answers regarding favorites… though in reality that answer did prove appropriate.
Eventually proving incapable of limiting the order to a half-​dozen, a total of six rings, one filled, and a tangy little Buttermilk Drop tallying $ 26, it was at an outside hightop in front of Mendocino Farms that treats were unboxed and indulged in, four still warm-​to-​touch including the lightly sweetened yeast pocket containing a runny free range egg, ham and pleasant notes of basil.
Impressed by the steady stream of traffic, a rare sight at 7:15 on a Sunday morning anywhere around LA, bites were next placed in the airy circle glistening with housemade Caramel and flakes of Sea Salt before turning to the «signature» chocolate-​on-​chocolate-​on-​chocolate equally light despite its bittersweet decadence, a Bananas Foster tribute to it’s New Orleans origin featuring a similar yeastiness beneath a boozy bounty of seared fruit and cream.
Turning attention to cake, admittedly my doughnut of choice, one would be hard pressed to name a better take on the crunchy cinnamon classic than this aromatic version topped in glaze plus adherent streusel, the toothsome January special celebrating 2016 dialed up by metallic sheen and sprinkles for texture while the Persimmon base studded with Golden Raisins and candied nuts was so elegant it could have been served with cheese and wine.

Yum! It feels like LA is being taken over by fancy donut shops, but I’m perfectly okay with that! I’ve only had Sidecar’s super delicious malasadas from their Costa Mesa location (NOTE: they don’t have them at the SM location, sad!) The bf and I came down to SM one morning and decided to try out Sidecar’s other donuts and their coffee. We got their signature huckleberry almond donut, guava glazed and the vanilla bean twist. I was most excited to try their huckleberry, but sadly, I don’t like almond or almond flavored things, so it was no wonder that I didn’t like the donut :(I’m also not a fan of cake donuts. The guava one was super guava-​y and delicious and the vanilla bean twist was perfectly fluffy and went well with the coffee.
Love their outdoor patio area, perfect to sit there on a sunny morning and stuff your face with donuts. Park in any of the nearby public lots or one of the many meters nearby. Bathrooms are shared with Mendocino Farms next door.

I really wish they had a spot in the Bay Area. Then again, may be not because I’d probably be tempted to come by often.
They have this gluten free chocolate donut that is to die for! Seriously the best donut that I’ve had that’s gluten free. It doesn’t even taste like it is gluten free. Most gluten free donuts I’ve tried fall apart immediately. They also taste like cardboard so I refuse to waste my calories on that. One of my best friends flew up a donut for me from LAX! It was seriously one of the highlights of my day. I haven’t found a place quite like this here in the Bay Area.
What I love about this place is that they try to make donuts «healthy» by not having preservatives. They also go the extra mile to make gluten free donuts. I love this place! Of course, being healthy comes with a price tag. These donuts aren’t your standard pricing you’re used to at your local mom and pop shop. Expect to pay more for the quality. Perhaps it is also for their rent since it is in Santa Monica!
My best friend and husband’s favorite flavors are the huckleberry and the bacon donut. For the gluten free folks I’ve only tried the chocolate and one other flavor they had which wasn’t memorable at all. Stick to the chocolate! You won’t be sad about it. Promise!

After seeing the pics and reading my fellow Unilocalers reviews of this place I instantly hit Bookmark!
I don’t eat donuts often but when I see places like this that clearly show they put alot of effort into making them extra special then it’s worth checking out. Especially since there’s nothing like this place where I live worth raving about.
Yes the donuts will cost you a little over $ 3 BUT it’s still worth giving it a try if you want a little something different.
I’m a sucker for a maple donut especially with bacon on it! This was warm, pillowy soft, and melted in my mouth as I took a bite. The bacon was slightly smokey and still had a slight crunch to it. Salty and sweet are a match made in this heavenly treat. I’m glad I ordered two so I could have one the next day! Don’t judge lol.
The huckleberry was also delish! I’ve never had anything huckleberry but the pretty glistening color captured my eye. This tasted similar to blueberry but with a slight tartness to it yet sweet, but not overly sweet. Very different but worth a try! I loved it.
The bananas foster didn’t hold up very well once I got it home after traveling a few hours. That wasn’t a smart move on my part because the bananas turned mushy brown on me. The donut itself was good but if you get this one just eat it right away!
My friend ordered the chocolate one and they served it fresh out of the fryer to her with all that chocolaty goodness melted on top. Oh Lawd is all I can say after trying a piece of it! Get this one!
I’m happy to have knocked out one of my hundreds of Bookmarks in LA, and I say definitely give this place a try if you’re in the area.

Absolutely loved these donuts! Every bit is filled with fluffy, flavorful, delightful, sweet glazed goodness. This is what dreams are made of!
So far I’ve tried the guava, new years cake, and salt and butter donuts. I loved all of them. The guava has guava glaze and is super sweet and flavorful. It tastes just like guava, which is amazing and super original. The new years cake is just sweet and everything you could want from a donut. It’s fresh and soft inside, but crisp and glazed on the outside. My favorite was the salt and butter donut. It was the perfect combination of sweet and salty. The outside was perfectly glazed and crisp, and the inside was soft/​fluffy and sweet.
I’ll be back for MORE!
The staff there were friendly and very accommodating to my nut allergies. Note: the huckleberry donuts are made with almond extract, so definitely not nut free! The staff knew about the ingredients in their fancy/​delightful donuts, and cautioned me about which ones to avoid. They also put up with me as I contemplated eating each individual donut and never seemed annoyed at all!
Although this location is pretty busy, it’s still super fast. There’s never really an actual line to wait in. And there’s nice outdoor seating too.
Also, this place has a nice convenient parking lot right behind it!

When a place is pumping out doughnuts every hour, and the flavors are creative but not ridiculous, how could you not have a five-​star doughnut shop? I’d heard about Sidecar’s operation for a while but never made it down to Costa Mesa to check it out. So happy they opened in Santa Monica. I’ll be there a lot.
Breakdown:
#1 (tie) — Cinnamon crumb cake — an all-​time favorite as a kid (from Winchell’s) and this one was insanely awesome. And that’s whether it’s warm or room temperature.
#1 (tie) — Maple bacon yeast/​raised — everyone’s making one of these but no one’s doing it better.
#3 — Butter & Salt — love the nuttiness of the browned butter and the perfect amount of salt on top
#4 — Vanilla Bean Twist yeast — simple, classic, delicious
#5 — Huckleberry — fruity and yummy
#6 — Gingerbread cake — spicy! And loved the little stars in the glaze
Now, don’t let the rankings make you think any of them were bad. They were not. But I had to prioritize. I did go to the Costa Mesa shop a few days later and got the Southern Gentleman and Apple Fritter and Lemon Thyme. Lemon thyme was my favorite of those. But everything there is a win. Nice people working there too! (Big shout out to Jon!)

$ 3 donuts… Better be good right? This new location from the original Costa Mesa location is a great additition to this part of town. I’ve had Sidecar Doughnuts a few times and honestly didn’t care for it enough to drive down to Costa Mesa. They were okay at best.
We figured it was worth trying the Santa Monica location just to see if it was any different. I reconginzed the similar doughnut flavors with the exception of the haupia malasada. Served warm, I wish I could eat a dozen of these. It’s a sugary Portuguese doughnut made popular in Hawaii. Haupia is coconut jello type dessert also from the Islands. The version here is more of an Americanized version that’s vanilla based custard with coconut flavoring. Good, nonetheless no matter what you call it, but different. If you’ve had haupia malasadas from Hawaii or place I’ve had in Vegas, there’s definitely a difference.
The apple fritter was just okay. It looked more like pretzel doughnut. Lacked apple filling and the robustness of a true apple fritter.
Good thing about this location is that there isn’t a long line like the Costa Mesa location and there’s a front patio with bench and bar seating for people watching.
As long as this location as fresh and warm haupia malasadas or whatever you wanna call it and service is good, this place gets 4 stars.

Donuts excite me. Especially ones that are baked fresh by the hour and warm when you bite into one! We both were looking forward to consuming these fattening bits and satisfying our sweet tooth. You could smell the deliciousness before walking inside, and the cooling racks were full of golden brown beauties. I was already rubbing my greedy hands together, wanting to nibble on each donut before me. Sure enough, the staff offered us samples of several donuts, making our final choice easier. We had a bite of seasonal Gingerbread that had dusted snowflake shapes on top (cute!), and the butter+salt. Wowza, butter+salt tasted like cake!
Huckleberry was the winner and one of the house favorites. I caved and also threw in one buttermilk hole for my inner fat kid. You can’t go wrong with a classic! It was $ 1.50 for the little thing, but when in Rome! We parked outside on the little patio bar, and cut the donut up to share. That Huckleberry was a surprise with the tart berry flavor and the bits of berry inside the warm dough. Plus the color of this donut is gorgeous — making the experience that much more enjoyable.
High five Sidecar, you tugged our heart-​ahem-​fat kid strings.

Finally the wait is over! I’ve been wanting to try this place for some time now, but the Garden Grove location is a bit too far and out of my way. The new Santa Monica location is definitely an excellent spot and within reasonable driving distance.
It’s located next door to Mendocino farms on Wilshire Blvd/​7^th Street in Santa Monica. The shop itself is small, but offers some nifty outdoor seating. As a word of caution, Sidecar specializes in specialty, unique doughnuts vs. traditional glaze twist. Similar to Blue Star in Venice and a caveat of specialty doughnuts is that they command a premium, price tag $ 3-​$ 4. Worth the price and calories? You betcha!
The donuts are freshly made and some still hot from the fryer, they literally go out fast. New batches are constantly in motion, drenched in luscious sweet glaze and ready for consumption. For those who can’t decide, samples of all their donuts are available to try.
Our taste buds final tally landed us a half dozen order — pumpkin fools, maple/​bacon, (2) huckleberry, honey cake, and butter salt. The doughnuts were fantastic! The dough was moist, soft and the frosting were not overbearing. The flavor profile of huckleberry was excellent, bits of real berries embedded in the dough and glaze. Nice balance of sweetness and tart. The maple bacon though commanded your full attention. The maple glaze was spot on delicious, glistening and ample morsels of bacon bits was all she wrote, totally devoured in 3 bites. For the holidays, the pumpkin fool was another wonderful offering. The whimsical name is a bit misleading. The only fool is those who skip the opportunity to try it. Simply divine! Forget the pumpkin pie this Thanksgiving and have this instead. Both the honey cake and butter salt were terrific as well.
Along with heavenly crafted doughnuts, refreshing coffees are finely brewed here. My latte was refreshing and decked with fine barista artistry.
All I can say is Sidecar’s doughnuts lived up to the hype and did not disappoint. Friendly, helpful staff and service is what you can expect too. A great addition to Santa Monica. For tourist, make sure to add this to your first stop before seeing Santa Monica Pier.

The best donuts in Los Angeles.
Made fresh, bold flavors, and perfect in every way.
I love that this OC (Costa Mesa) donut mecca, opened in Santa Monica.
Parking might be an issue in this area. There’s valet parking in the back or metered, street parking.

I’ve been eagerly anticipating their grand opening for months now. And finally… it’s almost here! I’ve not let distance keep me away from their Costa Mesa shop, but given the choice no question I’d rather head to Santa Monica. This shop is bigger than the original, but there’s still no seating inside. That’s a good thing as it’ll get too crowded and you wouldn’t want someone’s ass in your face when you’re munching on a doughnut. But, there is a fair amount of seating outside.
For the past week, Sidecar has been celebrating its impending grand opening by offering a variety of free doughnuts. Two flavors would be announced the night before on Instagram and those two flavors would then be available the following day from 7 – 9 am. I went twice. I see that at least a couple of people have complained about the instant availability of their desired flavor, but come on folks… These were free doughnuts! The wait for these doughnuts could’ve been insane, but instead the staff kept churning out fresh batches as quickly as they could, even sometimes offering small sample bites. You should check out the line at their Costa Mesa shop. The bagging may have been a bit hasty sometimes but again, these were free doughnuts!
I, for one, am so excited. Their OG flavor — HUCKLEBERRY — was even more amazing than all the other times I’ve had it. I couldn’t have asked for a fresher, still hot, doughnut. Their CHOC A LOT was a chocolate lover’s wet dream. Come November 17^th, it’s on.