Shortstop Coffee & Donuts

I stumbled upon this place while looking for N2, which happened to be next door! I had to make a decision ice cream AND donut? Should I allow myself the extra indulgence? I saw people going in and out and I decided what the heck, might as well try it since I’m here. Unilocal reviews were good so I figured I could add in my own review.
The shop was close to closing so a lot of the flavors weren’t available. I really wanted to try the earl grey and rose, but sadly, no such luck. We settled on the Peanut Butter Caramel and Chocolate. I don’t know what I was expecting, but I was expecting something along the lines of something very moist, doughy and airy if that makes any sense. Those are the type of donuts I’m used to here in NYC.
This donut has more of a cake consistency. If you are not a fan of cake-​y donuts, you won’t like this. I admit I was in the mood for what I described above, moist and doughy, so I was a bit disappointed at first. After a few more bites, I decided I liked the donut. The peanut butter + chocolate flavors were delicious and if I ever find myself in Melbourne again, I would gladly eat this again. It’s a bit heavy so I would suggest sharing this with someone and splitting another flavor.
The shop itself is bright and has a lot of light. It’s very welcoming and the workers are very friendly. They gladly explained to me all the different flavors (that were still available) and were very patient with me. There aren’t a lot of seats so this is more of a to go place.

Stumbled across Short stop coffee and donuts trying to decide on a place for lunch. Didn’t intend to get a donut before lunch but the staff were so friendly offering us sparkling water on arrival when we were just ‘looking’ to see the variations of donuts there were on offer. We had our eyes on the crumbed walnut and maple donut .also the matcha one. Loved the walnut and maple one ! The matcha one tasted good too but it was more of a cake donut.

Mercy. The peanut butter caramel & chocolate donut that I had here today (okay, I had two of them) was the best donut I have had in years. YEARS. And the best donut I’ve had in Australia, even. The consistency was very cake-​y, which is my bag when it comes to donuts, so if you’re not into that then maybe you won’t be wowed like I was (am) — but they had I think nine different types of donut to choose from today (others included plum; a walnut maple concoction; Earl Grey & rose; matcha; others I didn’t bother looking at because you had me at peanut butter okay Short Stop?!) so maybe the texture varies too. Worth a try! Definitely worth a try.
The shop front is really lovely, with a big natural finish wooden bay window you want to sit in if you don’t feel like perching outside in the alley. Also the alley location is perfection. The staff are the sweetest kids and will hook you up with some soda water if you’re sticking around. This place really reminded me of a vegan donut shop in Bushwick (Dunwell Donuts) that I go to way too much when I’m in New York, except that it’s a bit slicker than Dunwell and not vegan.
Happy days, Sydney kids — I’m told they’ll soon be opening a store at Barangaroo! Outta my way!

What a tease. Row upon row of amazing looking donuts, I have the mid-​morning munchies and I’m trying to be good. I dropped in for the coffee, not temptation!
So, quick summary, coffee very good, donuts far too delicious. I think this will be hard to beat for a caffeine and sugar fix, but if you’re in need of some healthier alternatives you might be a little disappointed. Put it in your occasional treat list, unless of course you have superhuman will power. Which I don’t

I insist on dragging my colleagues all the way to short stop donuts today. This is the first time I have visited the actual shop and it was beautifully bright and welcoming.
The guy behind the counter was so patient answering all our questions and tolerated our indecisiveness! We finally ordered our donuts and when I asked my colleague whether his red velvet was good he said, «No. It was amazing!»
I got a dark chocolate and peanut butter donut which at first was a bit sweet, but I soon realised it balanced perfectly with the slightly salty peanut butter cream in the middle. Yum.

I love coming here & smelling the most unusual beautifully presented donuts in Melbourne, Whether it be early grey or rhubarb for example they are just a couple of the donuts that are available it really is somthing special.
Service is always fast the donuts are so fresh sometimes there still a little warm which I really enjoy, The barista is always cheerful & makes a beautiful mocha chino.
This place has come from humble begins with just a stall to a thriving business with a large customer base that it is today, why not treat yourself to a little slide of heaven next time you are in Melbourne CBD you won’t regret it.

Definitely worth swinging by this beautiful store at some point! The crullers are the winners in my opinion, though I’m keen to go back soon to try more out. These guys are worth a follow on Instagram too for lots of drool worthy snaps, plus they often post when they’re sold out or selling discounted donuts!

This place is amazeballs! The donuts are all made in store and they have boutique flavours like Elderflower & Lime, Peanut Butter etc. I went for the good ‘ol vanilla (I’m a purist on a first visit) and it was great! Yummy icing and you could see the real specks of vanilla bean. Excellent coffee too. Donuts are $ 4.50-$ 5 and coffee was $ 4. Bargain!

Short stop is listed as one of melbournes top places to get a Cronut…
Alas, they don’t make them…:-(

Being a fairly new resident of Melbourne, I was quick to realise that donuts are making a comeback here! Or maybe they never left and they’ve just been fancied up! I was also quick to learn that the guys at Shortstop have built themselves a fairly decent rep for delivering the goods in the donut world — so what was I to do but go and check this place out for myself?!
I have to say that although the time I spent in the shop was rather limited (even for someone like me who struggles to make decisions between tasty treats, I knew that any decision would reward me with a donut delicacy which made things that little bit easier), it was so great! Given that I was spending below $ 5, the customer service I received was THE BEST. Restaurants, coffee shops, anywhere really could take a leaf out of their book as I was greeted immediately, welcomed into the store and time was taken to give a description of the products on offer by one of the fabulous staff, despite the fact that they were relatively busy. This does not mean that other customers were left waiting however as there was ample staff to deal with everyone.
There was also the option to come in, order your donut (and coffee) and get going with your day for those that had even less time to spare, but personally, despite the fact I was already late back to work from my lunch break, I welcomed the opportunity to find out about how their products were made, what each tasty option entailed and personally view some of the magic in action behind the glass.
I ended up deciding on a maple glazed number and it was so damn tasty! I have to say the highlight was the experience I received in store, and the doughy deliciousness I got to eat once I tucked into my donut back at work was an added (and fabulous) bonus.

So I’ve heard a number of mixed reviews about Shortstop but personally, I cannot fault it.
I have come back here a number of times and have never been disappointed. It has become one of those shops in the CBD that everyone seems to know about and with good reason. These guys take doughnuts to a whole new level. I look at the variety and think «how did they even come up with that?». Nevertheless, the food is amazing and simply a must-​try. Coffee is from Market Lane, so you know you’re in good hands.
Try it out.

Best doughnuts in Melbourne.
End review…
Ok I guess I should write a bit more.
Service is always fantastic. Always greeted with a smile, always polite and helpful.
Fit out is hipster of course. Bright, white tiled walls, polished concrete floor, light timber tables. Big window so you can watch the doughnuts being made fresh.
Coffee is by Market Lane and consistently good.
The actual doughnut dough is so good. Buy a supermarket doughnut and try it next to shortstops and you’ll understand how important good dough is, and fresh dough.
They keep some of their flavours seasonal, like only using oranges when they are in season. The flavours are interesting and not sickly sweet.
And Friday is peanut butter day with 3 different peanut butter based doughnuts.

There’s nothing like going on an afternoon donut hunt while you’re on vacation. Unilocal led me to Short Stop shortly before closing on a weekday.
Earl grey and chocolate peanut butter were the flavors remaining, so I snatched up one of each, half noticing that the $ 4.50 (AUD) price tag is more expensive than gourmet donuts in the States! Yowza!
Overall, happy to have tried these, but the donuts were slightly greasy (read: leaves residue on your fingers and napkin), especially the chocolate peanut one. That was unexpected.
Earl grey had a nice glaze to it, rose petals, and tapioca-​like inclusions inside. Definitely a special treat.

Tucked away behind Elizabeth Street in a little side street stands the only reason I go to Uni on a Monday morning. Shortstop’s donuts are fresh, fluffy, light and sooooooooooo delish you feel as though you could eat 20 in one sitting and still be up for another round. Although they aren’t the cheapest on the block with ⁷⁄₁₁ on Elizabeth St playing host for the all famous Krispy Crème, Shortstop is well and truly worth the couple of extra bucks, not to mention, the staff who work there are quite easy on the eye.
Coffee is also very good!

Ok, after another (big) excursion on my birthday, during which I sampled 4 of their donuts, I’m re-​reviewing Shortstop and unfortunately, dropping my score to a 3(and a half maybe).
The honey and sea-​salt cruller which I had the first time was delicious, as last time, but quite oily. I like oily (it’s a donut, duh!) but this was almost oozing liquid as I chewed it. Definitely passed the Simpsons’ window test for fried foods. The others were all pretty good but not exceptional, I found the lemon and lavender filled donut a little cloying, lacking the acidic kick I was hoping for. To me, a shop focusing on donuts (with premium prices at $ 4 to $ 5 per donut) should really be blowing me away.
I’ll probably be back again when I’m in the area (sugar junkies gotta sugar) but I won’t be diverting my plans to get here, and I’m still on the lookout for a specialty donut shop I can be monogamous to.

Donuts have always been around in Australia but it’s either been a choice between cruddy cinnamon sugar plain donuts or those mouth burning jam filled hot donuts from the truck. Sure we’ve had a few crappy donut outlets along the way but nothing really good. Krispy Kreme came along with the promise to change that but all we got was a mess of artificial hyper sweet diabetes inducing mediocrity. Nothing special and by no means impressive, KK was only a little bit better than any other option around.
I did in fact notice quite a while back but it never really clicked in place. After missing a few opportunities, I finally made it down and eagerly ordered two donuts, not realising that one donut alone is quite enough. The chocolate glazed with Vanilla filling was very opulent and sweet, which left the second, a rose and early grey left alone for a while so I could burn off all the energy from the first to have the second. $ 4.50 for a donut in a re developed part of the city, Short Shot is underneath a huge apartment building, that not so long ago used to be a parking lot.
If you manage to get a donut after 1:30pm, that’s good, if there’s no queue, even better, and if there’s no space inside, well that’s impossible as it’s always busy. Well worth the mission and what a donut should be; more like a mini cake, with soft fluffy texture and not a torrid stodgy bread like creation doused in high fructose corn syrup.
Get on down.

When it comes to donuts, I do not profess to be an expert. I’m not really a donut kind of girl, as I prefer savouries over sweets. But who can resist the absolute perfection of Shortstop?
Everything here has been considered and carefully assembled. From the coffee selection (Market Lane) to the variety of flavours and textures in the donuts, right down to the interior design of this store that is just aching for a feature in Monocle magazine. It’s all beautiful. Even savoury lovers like me can be kept happy with less sugary options like the matcha and black sesame donut that is scarcely sweet.

At approximately 4 dollars a donut, you should expect to get what you pay for. This are delicious gourmet donuts that have a unique twist to them. This is nothing like what I have ever tried.
I tried out the earl grey and rose, Australia seasalt cruller and my favorite was the vanilla bean glazed donut.
My friend’s childhood friend owns this place and said that he is keeping up with the demands of what the people what. It was a crazy start for his business but he’s there and ready for it. Originally a barista at a coffee bar to successful entrepreneur.
I might just have to savor these donuts from afar and watch my friends eat these donuts. Best gourmet donuts you could ever ask for. Enjoy it with your delicious cup of coffee!

I love that shortstop offers an order service, get your drool face on at home and avoid embarrassing yourself when you walk into the store.
Sutherland street is like the «red light» district of dessert, get your naughties on from shortstop and pop in next door to the raw dessert bar if you need to ease off the donut guilt.
My favourites from shortstop are the peanut butter jam, cinnamon sugar and sea salt curler.
The earl grey which I have been dying too try tasted a tad too dry and too fragranced. The curler which looks like a rounded churros was awesome, with sea salt that makes it surprisingly even better (how did we ever eat these without sea salt?) though looks small for the price we paid.
The cinnamon sugar is a safe bet and the rhubarb was lovely.
Shortstop is good, but with so many competition in town it would be nice to see maybe the curler (which I think is Shortstop’s hero) more and improved (size, price or flavour?)

Divine, delicious doughnut nirvana is found here. Take some time out of your hectic schedule and bask in the heavenly light that is doughnut creationism. From small things great doughnuts grow.
The small café has been thoughtfully created to ensure optimum pleasure for the client. Wide, open space with a lot of soft light. Small tables for those wanting to bask in the calmness of creation. Along the wall there is standing bar to enjoy coffee and watch the pastry fairies conjure up wicked treats.
The staff are friendly and mildly timid, as they still flutter about to find their feet. In all fairness it’s day two and the goods are literally walking out the door as fast as they can make them. The shelves look lonely but not from lack if doughnut creation, but sheer popularity from the masses.
Within 5mins of walking in and ordering a small chest full and a coffee the mid morning coffee break office workers started to flow in. Moments later there’s a line out the door and doughnut restrictions are enforced. Supply and demand my friends. All the way along the staff are icing, filling and brûlée-​Ing and chatting to devoted fans.
This really is a place to relax and take your time to enjoy the small pleasures in life. Like a peanut butter jelly doughnut!