Destination Donuts

Bang for your buck: ²⁄₁₀
Quality: ⁶⁄₁₀
Service: ⁷⁄₁₀
Ambiance/​Location: 7.5÷10
Overall: ⁴⁄₁₀
Had the butterscotch sea salt donut. The flavor was lacking, but the donut itself was delicious. Way overpriced and hipster for what it was though. Columbus has really grown in the artisan donut scene, and Destination Donuts will get blown out of the water by other, much better options.

Who doesn’t love a donut? Especially the giant, brightly colored, frosted ones at Destination Donut. While they’re visually pleasing, on the flavor front, I was a bit disappointed. First off, their dough leans towards being bread-​like, similar to Portland’s Blue Star which is cool with me. As mentioned earlier, their frosting and glazes weren’t as flavorful as I expected them to be. The Dueling Vanilla (Madagascar + Tahitian) tasted no different than your typical glazed donut. It was extremely hard to taste any hint of vanilla flavor, let alone the TWO kinds of beans that were used.
As for the other flavors that I tried, this «less than expected» experience became the norm. For me, the best donut that I had was a strawberry jam stuffed one. Where the donut hole was filled with strawberry jam and topped with almonds. For me, these donuts are more of a feast for the eyes than the stomach.

If I’m going on a trip and there’s a well known donut shop, you bet I’m stopping by.
These are HUGE donuts but they’re super fluffy and delicious and the flavors really come through in the glaze.
Knocking a star down for how pricey they are :/​understandable, but it’s not the most budget friendly for a college student.

Mouthgasm. Being a healthy registered dietitian, my savory-​sweet adventures are rare, but nonetheless epic. I have high standards due to their infrequent nature. Destination Donuts is delicious enough to make me question the plant-​based fare I dedicate my life to.
First I tried the Maple cinnamon roll. Each bite was pure joy. A heavenly cloud of pastry, a sentimental hybrid of a rich maple donut and a simple homemade cinnamon roll:
fluffy, moist, delectable, maple-​ey delight!
Then I tried the Samoa. This brought me to tears. It was rich in chocolate and deep in flavor with distinct coconut and caramel layers. Each flavor was pure and separate but going together magically. Again, the texture was a heavenly cloud. Just like the cinnamon roll.
I almost regret eating here because it is now consuming my thoughts. It’s like a forbidden love… I will resist you as long as I can, But until my destination is donuts, I’ll be dreaming of you…

I kept going by this place and it smelled so good! I finally decided to try them. I can’t say I’d go out of my way to go back again. I’ve tried the chocolate covered and the chocolate didn’t taste like real chocolate, but more of an imitation flavor. I’ve also had the vanilla and salty caramel which actually tasted similar and the cherry covered. I kept waiting for one of them to blow me away and it never happened. They are big and fluffy, but not much taste. They are okay.
I’ve also noticed that the people working are typically not too friendly or just sort of «matter-​of-​fact».

While the donuts are delicious, the owner is simply unresponsive when it comes to catering requests.
I emailed several times, called, Facebook messaged and even stopped in the store! Only to never even get a response. Shockingly terrible customer service if you ask me.
What a disappointment after having my heart set on their donuts for my wedding «cake»!

Totally mowing down on a white chocolate pretzel covered donut right now… gotta’ go… this donut is calling my name! Love love love!

I have a confession, I no longer could just keep walking by and not having one of these delicious homemade goodies! So I got 3 to go– my lil man would have been so upset with me for not sharing! First off-​my mom use to make homemade donuts and nothing compared to them, so I never ate them from anywhere else because it was always a disappointment! I use to help her make them as a child and biting into one of these brought back some amazing memories! The donuts are huge! And not at all tough! There is no over mixing in this batter! It is truly perfected! The icing is not overwhelming, it is the perfect combo of sugar and flavor! It’s thin not thick! I got the Butterscotch, a cherry almond large donut hole, and the blueberry lemon! By far the blueberry was my favorite!!! Biting into them was heaven! Not chewy, and was worth every single calorie I ingested! I won’t be just walking by any more!
I love the staff too! Completely sweet, energetic, and helpful!
*tip-​it is first come first serve! They don’t stock up! So you know you are truly getting a super fresh delight! They constantly change out the flavors too! You see them, don’t think you can come back in a little while to get some! Chances are they won’t be there. I’m speaking from experience! Tried that last Saturday and completely missed out!

I was innocently strolling through North Market when I was suddenly thunderstruck by the sight of these pulchritudinous pastries. Though I wasn’t really even hungry, my eyes overruled my stomach and I immediately ordered a chocolate-​covered donut with big chunks of bacon on top.
Unfortunately, the taste was a little bit of a let-​down. It was super fluffy, but it just lacked the flavor I was expecting… Neither the chocolate nor the bacon really came through. Ultimately it just didn’t live up to its potential.

Visiting North Market and came across this «Destination» donuts…
Plenty of line and when you walk by you can easily understand why… The donuts just look so plump and juicy.
We had to try it… Got the butterscotch smoke sea salt and lemon blueberry. Took a bite of the blueberry first… Surprisingly not as sweet as it looks. The dough is nice and fluff with a chew.
Now the butterscotch was crazy… The smokey flavor you get from the sea salt will take you into this taste bud venture. Smokey buttery salty then sweet then salty and back to buttery then smokey… If I lost you don’t worry just take a bite and you will understand.

I quote from my review back in 8÷2÷2013:
«This pop up shop should be a permanent shop. :)
I wish she had more flavors available at once I’d get a whole dozen!!!»
Both of these wishes came true! This little pop-​up is a pop-​up no more! A real store front that I can visit again and again without worrying if I will miss them or not. They also have so many donuts that I could get two dozen! :)
The $ 3.00 donuts have not changed in quality, and are worth every penny. Locally sourced and made. Vegan options. Delicious donuts. I get one every other week or so!
Keep on being awesome!!!

How have I not been here? We go to the North Market once in awhile, of course, and have walked past before. Maybe already stuffed? Maybe headed to Jeni’s for sweets? Anyway, today we stopped. The donuts are made fresh, and displayed right by the aisle. We chose double vanilla and raspberry/​hibiscus. The doughnuts themselves are a middle ground between «light and airy» and «caky.» I like caky, in general, but these were somehow airy and dense simultaneously, so I was happy. The raspberry/​hibiscus frosting was subtle but very satisfying, and real. A nice splurge.

Sorry if this is harsh, but I’m not a huge fan of Destination Donuts. I am very happy for them that they have a permanent spot at North Market now, and I enjoy walking by and drooling over the perfectly glistening donuts, but every time actually buy one, it never tastes as good as I hope for. The donut to frosting ratio is pretty bad in my opinion (I need more frosting!!!) and the flavors are more gourmet than what I would like to see out of a donut. The last time I was there I actually saw a child crying because they didn’t have «the sprinkle kind» of donuts. Sorry kid, no sprinkles here… I will say that these are more filling than your average donut, but that’s probably because they’re twice the size and they’re basically a loaf of bread with a smear of glaze on top.
I feel terrible for hating on one of Columbus’ most loved local businesses, and if you’ve never had one, by all means try it out, but these donuts are just not for me :(

Jolly Rodger used to be my favorite place for doughnuts. Not anymore. I am so in love with Destination Donuts. My favorite, hands down, is the raspberry lemon. Nummy, nummy. And they are so big, just one doughnut is perfect for dessert!

This is a 2.5 star.
I don’t get the hype, I just don’t.
The toppings and flavors and really good indeed. Lots of choices and exciting combinations of flavors. Chocolate ganache and raspberry ones are my favorite.
However, their donuts is more like a piece of, ugh, bread. They are very chewy because they are so doughy and thick. I feel like I can eat the parts with no icing like a dinner roll and the top layer as dessert. I personally like donuts light and fluffy and melt in mouth. So this is a meh to me.

Than critique, I’ve written much more.
For some, all this bio will bore.
If that would be you,
Then to read the review,
Just skip down to paragraph four.
So when I was growing up, donuts were always the kind of treat that I could take or leave. They weren’t cookies; they weren’t ice cream; they weren’t brownies. I’d eat them if Mom or Dad brought them home and I was expected to, but they didn’t call to me. And when I became a stereotypically body-​conscious teenager, I stopped eating them because unlike with greasy pizza and French fries, the enjoyment-​to-​calories ratio was not in their favor. Then, as an adult, I cut out about 95% of the eggs and dairy I used to eat, and donuts were among the things I didn’t even have to think about missing.
Destination Donuts were the ones that made me rethink this whole approach to donuts.
I began having them at One Line and elsewhere (Luck Bros. maybe?) because I like to try out whatever vegan options I can find at coffeehouses (not all flavors are vegan, but these places usually have at least one flavor that is). And because, well, they’re more economical than PattyCake. And something strange happened. They stopped simply being that thing I grabbed for a recharge. I started looking forward to them. For the first time ever, I was craving donuts. I know that some percentage of it was the novelty of a vegan donut. But back when the Annie’s brand made boxed vegan mac and cheese, that was novel, and they were definitely not good. Destination Donuts are good. Very good.
After having had the donuts at these other, erm, destinations, this past week was the first time I’ve gone straight to the source. I love being able to walk up to the counter and ask, «Which ones are vegan today?»
In this case, the answer was, «That one,» that one being the Dueling Vanilla donut flavor. There were also donuts with chocolate on top and a pyramid of cranberry somethingorothers. I resisted getting more than one (didn’t want to spoil my dinner) and felt like I was making off with valuable booty as I skipped up to the upstairs seating with my snack and a cup of Stauf’s tea.
Destination’s donuts are rich and tasty no matter where and when you have them, but fresher proved to be fluffier. What more is (or was) there to say but «Nom, nom, nom»?

I have to give Destination Donuts credit — Columbus does not have a great selection of donut shops. Yeah, Buckeye Donuts is a staple. There are a few other small bakeries with decent donuts, but Destination Donuts has inventive flavors and a great location in the North Market.
I’ve tried many of the rotating flavors here, but sadly, I’ve been let down by many of them. The Lemon Blueberry was the biggest disappointment for me. I ate the entire donut hoping to get any lemon flavor, but it never happened. Not even a subtle hint of lemon. The blueberry flavor wasn’t very strong either so it tasted like a plain donut with a small amount of blueberry glaze. The Buckeye had a delicious and creamy peanut butter filing that wasn’t overly sweet — I really enjoyed it. Dueling vanilla tasted like a regular glazed donut with a vanilla glaze. Peaches & Crème was okay, but I wouldn’t buy it again for $ 3.
The donuts are very large and could easily be split with another person. All of the donuts are really beautiful sitting in the case too!
I’m not going to write off Destination Donuts because they have rotating flavors and maybe I haven’t found *my* donut yet. Right now, the donuts are just a-​ok.

THE BEST donuts I’ve ever had. I recently drove down to Cincinnati to visit a friend and took a pit stop in Columbus and discovered the north market. As soon as I entered from the back door I walked into long line of people waiting for amazing looking donuts. These donuts were so good I went back on the drive back home. The icing wasn’t overly sweet or hard just perfect. The donuts were prefect too. Airy, spongy, not thick… just, perfect. Definitely worth 3 doors a pop. I am going to Columbus again this weekend just to get these donuts! Red Hibiscus is def the best one!

I had the blackout (chocolate ganache and oreo crumb topping). The topping was good and the donut itself was ok, but the donut was massive (at least twice as high as a normal donut) and as a result the frosting: donut ratio was too low. It was not unpleasant to eat, but was massively overpriced at $ 3. Nice location in North Market, an awesome indoor food hall in downtown Cbus.

Vegan donuts? OMG DELISH.
Creative flavors? POW.
Bacon or maple sausage? Oh yeah.
A Buckeye (must have in our city)? Indeed!
The Donut Queen reigns SUPREME in our town, friends!
AMAZINGLY DELICIOUS, fair prices and exceptionally crafted. Not to mention, an opportunity to support a local small business.
Win-​win for all of us!
I’m so glad I don’t live too close or if weigh a zillion pounds.
Enjoy!
:-)

First time trying a donut at Destination D. Quite tasty! I had the chocolate bacon donut… Or Bacon chocolate. Either way, they had me at Bacon. It was like biting into a pillow of baconey/​chocolatey Goodness (excuse the spelling;)) Look forward to returning real soon! Delicious!

I’m not a huge fan of donuts generally, but these are a-​maz-​ing. Big, pretty, gourmet and simply delicious. Definitely an indulgence. If I remember correctly, I’ve had the maple bacon, mango peach ginger, blueberry lemon, and raspberry hibiscus. All were fantastic. They can get a bit messy to eat, but it’s so worth it. I also like that you can see them making the donuts in the back — so many vats of pretty colored glazes. Highly recommended!

Best place to eat donuts in this town ! They have a new flavor just about every day so it’s just another excuse to go often.
The ladies that work there are always super nice too, I enjoy seeing them. You can tell they make their donuts with lots of love.

8÷4− Couldn’t leave Columbus without making a stop here. Even now, two month later, I can still remember the moment of silent bliss I had after my first bite into one of their valencia orange donuts. Girl at the counter was very helpful in egging me in the right direction of getting an additional cinnamon roll. I really liked the glass display windows of Destination’s booth… really convenient that they’re on a corner too… that way you can not only see all the prettiful fried goods, but also the process of them being made (hopefully I’m not the only one that silently ‘oooohs’ at things being fried/​glazed, lol).
But yes. Back to the donut. The streaks of chocolate glaze was just enough to give that hit of dark chocolate, but really the standout flavor was the valencia orange. Definitely didn’t taste like the overly cloying/​fake sort of orange flavoring you get in mass produced sherbet. No, this was a lot lighter with notes of something… more citrusy? organic?.. than the generic «orange». Delicious!

I was drooling when I saw these donuts. They looked so good and they were huge! The Nutella donut definitely caught my eye!
As we walked around I knew I had to try a donut from this place. We walked back around and all the donuts were sold out.
So we watched and waited and until they made more. My friend and I were so excited to try these donuts. As soon as we were able to order them we did! I immediately started to eat my donut. A gentleman stopped me and asked where I got the donut from because it looked so good. It was still warm too.
I do have to say if you are going to try a donut from here, get the glazed donut. The chocolate and whipped cream was over powering the taste of the donut. It actually took away from it. I ended scraping off the whipped cream and wished I didn’t get the chocolate dipped one. I couldn’t taste the donut part.
As my friend ate her donut she said the same thing. They were good but I would get a glazed one next time for sure.

I went here for the first time last week and got the smoked sea salt and butterscotch donut! It was very interesting because it was sweet and smokey flavors. There donuts are pretty dense for a yeasted donut. Not to mention HUGE which is a great thing for $ 3. They have a variety of vegan and non vegan donuts. I also had the raspberry hibiscus and it was fruity and sweet. I really enjoyed it. The dueling vanilla is also good and you can taste the real vanilla bean! I had the almond and strawberry jam one, also very delicious. The most recent one I had was the nutella bomb! That one is a chocolate overload. Make sure you love chocolate and have a glass of milk ready! All were delicious! My favorite was probably the raspberry hibiscus but I still have a lot to try!

This bakery has a pretty fantastic spot in North Market, plenty of potential customers walking by. And, shoot, spotting those scrumptious treats, how could one not be drawn in. Since I had come to the market for lunch, I was craving savory, so I got the donuts to go. Red raspberry, Lemon Blueberry and a simple Vanilla.
The first round, the next morning, I should add, I tried the Red Raspberry. This one’s all about the icing. It tasted so real — like eating freshly picked berries from a u-​pick farm. Incredible! Unfortunately, the donut itself wasn’t quite what I was hoping for. Good taste, but rather dense and drier than I care to indulge in.
Second round? Vanilla, on my way out to work. Forgot the milk again :(Also a bit on the dry side. I’ve come to the conclusion that these babies should be bought one at a time, and eaten pretty much then and there.
The Blueberry Lemon is still awaiting it’s fate. I’m gonna try my darndest to get ahold of some milk for this one. I’m torn though. While these discs are higher quality than other bakeries, I’m not so sure I can look past the dry, so-​so flavor of the dough. Kudos to the icing, but that’s not enough to real me in for these expensive pups.

I simply can’t live in Columbus without trying these famed donuts. The donuts are nice, made fresh right in front of you and sizeable. They also have some very interesting flavors. That being said, I’m not a huge fan of their yeast-​based donuts. The raspberry habiscus was ok, but the frosting didn’t work well with the donut. It was almost as if it was too thick to mix with the donut in your mouth or the dough was too dense… Or both. I tried the mango peach with vanilla cream yesterday, and that was pretty good! Because it was a filled donut, it didn’t suffer the same density issue. Wish it had more of the mango peach flavor though. For $ 3 a donut, I want it to be perfect!
I do love their fry cakes though!!! (I think they call them nibblers?) I had an apple cider one last fall and couldn’t get enough. I’ve also had a lavender one and it was AMAZING! What’s more is it’s a buck less than a regular yeast-​based donut! So if you’re going to splurge on one of these, go for the fry cake.

These donuts are completely amazing! I have had the white chocolate pretzel, apricot pistachio, and raspberry twice. I LOVED them all! The raspberry is my husband’s favorite — it’s fantastic, but can get a bit too sweet for me… my favorite is the white choc pretzel… this place is defintely worth a try!

We had the Blackout which was covered in Oreo crumbs and makes this donut 100 times more delicious. The donut is quite large, definitely not one of those tiny krispy kreme ones so it’s shareable between 2 people.

I’m so happy that Destination Donuts has a permanent spot now in the North Market. Happy for them and happy for the fact that when I get to North Market late, the donuts won’t already be gone.
Prior to me waking up early on Saturday to go get some donuts, I’d only tried DD’s cinnamon-​sugar donut, and it was nice and fluffy and pretty damn big. This is how all their donuts are I’ve come to find. When I got to their stand just after 9 am, they had about 6 different flavors out, plus a sour cream donut hole. I ordered one of each, so I’d have a better grasp on what I’d want the next time I was here.
I don’t remember the names of everything I got, but I’d say my favorites were definitely the Raspberry Hibiscus, and this butterscotch one I had. The Dueling Vanilla, Macadamia Nut, and Lemon Blueberry were also pretty tasty. One was covered in a chocolate icing that I wasn’t a fan of.
These donuts were super light and fluffy and stayed that way pretty much all day. I think my only gripe is that they’re pretty cool when you get them or at least mine were. I like donuts every which way, so it wasn’t a big deal, but I was kind of wishing for them to be a little warmer.
If you’re trying to cut weight like me, stay away; otherwise, stuff yourself silly. I usually stay away from donuts, but after seeing some pictures earlier in the week, I had such a craving and couldn’t hold back. I’ll definitely be there again, but it may not be for some time.

I made a quick stop here after visiting Hot Chicken Takeover. I was glad I made the stop as I partook of a delicious Bailey’s Cream donut. It was a perfect dessert for my meal. The donut was decently fluffy and not too dry. It was a little drier than my favorite donuts but that happens when they have been sitting for awhile. The cream on top was great and the little currents of Bailey’s kept me satisfied.
My only negative is the $ 3 for a donut when I can get a really good one that might be a bit smaller for $ 1.25 at a local Hilliard place. Sure they don’t have Bailey’s but they have one just as good. I know I pay for the Gourmet ingredients so I can’t fault them. $ 3 seems like the going rate in most cities for the gourmet hipster donut craze. They do have Mocha nibbles for $ 2 if you want something smaller and cheaper. I split my donut with my wife and I am glad I did as it was pretty big.