Denny's Doughnuts and Bakery — Restaurant in Bloomington

A fellow Chicago-Polish transplant heard this was the place to go in Bloomington-Normal for bakery quality pączki. Having moved around for much of my life, it had been years since I had the pleasure, so I was excited to tag along and try out Denny's Doughnuts -- obviously, baked goods from Kroger won't make the cut here.

They have several options for filling (though if you want Bavarian cream, you'll need to come early -- they were already out by 10:30 on a Saturday morning). Raspberry, lemon, blueberry, and strawberry were still available, though. The strawberry filling was very thick and sweet, especially since the outside of the pączek was covered in granulated sugar; I ended up with an impromptu lip scrub by the time I finished it! Blueberry was covered in powdered sugar, so while my friend insists it was delicious, it still made a mess.

The raspberry and lemon appear identical, both coated in a glaze -- and that was the problem. While the lemon was personally my favorite (the lightly sweet glaze perfectly counters the tart lemon filling), I would have liked to get the chance to try the raspberry. However, the staff kept mixing them up and giving us lemon instead -- I only noticed when I brought it home for my spouse to try, and my friend just dealt with the pączek she was given since she only spotted the error after taking a sizeable bite.

Repeatedly serving lemon pączki when customers ordered raspberry is where they lost a star; otherwise, I found the baked goods quite enjoyable and at great prices ($1.40 total for a single pączek). I'll be back, and probably keep...

I'm a huge donut fan from St. Louis, and I stopped in on a road trip to Wisconsin to see how they are in Bloomington. I'm glad I chose Denny's! The woman the helped me at the counter was super nice and accommodating. She helped me picked out 8 tantalizing selections.

I ate the entire box during my drive! The pecan roll was the most outstanding item of the bunch, absolutely superb! The traditional old fashioned was one of the best I've ever had. The blueberry and chocolate iced sprinkle cake donuts were excellent. The blueberry one tasted like a blueberry muffin version of a cake donut. It was phenomenal! The carmel iced filled with white cream was sweet and most enjoyable.

The only thing out of the bunch I didn't enjoy was the apple fritter. Around St. Louis the common style is the kind that are chunky bits with lots of apples and crispy edges. Sadly, these were more a honey bun style lacking much apple, and it was really dry. I didn't finish that one. Don't let my opinion on that deter you from their other options, though. I just can't recommend the apple fritter.

I travel regularly to Wisconsin, and stopping and Denny's will definitely be on the itinerary on future trips. These were some of the best donuts I've ever had....

This place is great. It's one of those local places where you walk in and there are a bunch of old folks hanging out, which I consider a good sign. Old folks don't tolerate garbage food or bad service. 😂 And this is a great example. The donuts are consistently great; they're always evenly cooked and have a consistent taste & texture. They have a good variety of styles that you don't get at a "chain" like Dunkin or Krispy Kreme. They also have super friendly staff (some long-term, others new) that you also don't get at most chains. And the price is actually sane, unlike those other places.

You can of course get more than donuts. They usually have a few kinds of cookie, some cinnamon rolls, etc - all baked by someone who knows what they're doing and cares about producing a quality product.

Not the most convenient location based on where I live, but I'm never disappointed after making the half...