Sbrocco’s Donuts and Espresso — Restaurant in Charlottesville

Alright I’m gonna need to take a minute to sing a loud song of praise for these folks.

The TLDR: if you buy two things, it should be the vanilla bean classic glazed donut and the Apple fritter. You will not be disappointed, and there is no other bakery in town who provides anything like what I just tasted.

The Praise:

Visited them today for the first time when they were dealing with a fairly catastrophic (temporary) payment system issue, and rather than rush me out they instead provided me with great service and the whole crew handled it all with grace. The donuts and sweets are in a variety of sizes, so whether you are looking for something small to get through the mid morning slump, or an apple fritter the size of your face, they have you covered.

Okay on to the value and quality. Having worked briefly making pastry at a high end-bakery, I know that right now is probably the hardest time to do this kind of work. In the era of social media, the pressure is on to put out something new enough to build a client base, yet familiar enough that you don’t paint yourself into a corner.

Then there’s managing fluctuating prices of flour, eggs, butter, and lately also vanilla beans (it’s like printer ink prices for them bad boys). If you want to make quality pastry that tastes good, has variety, and yet is sizable enough to compete with other options, you are going to be in a stress point.

Then there’s the fact that the humble donut has a bit of a PR problem with today’s discerning and increasingly health conscious consumer. The UVA students are themselves picky, and the townies are skeptics still burned by the loss of the late great Spudnuts.

None of that was enough to stop these brilliant bakers from launching Sbroccos, and thank GOD for that. What I just tasted was on another level of greatness. Perfection in flavor, subtlety and also elevation of familiar flavors (a ganache glaze that’s not too rich!! A vanilla donut that tastes like real vanilla beans!!) its classic donuts but also a totally fresh take at the same time.

So I implore my fellow Cvillians, students and townies alike: Take a day off from your GLP-1, tell the run club you’ve got your newest post workout meet up, do a stupid tiktok dance with an Apple fritter, order a Boston cream donut for your office mate whose lunch you “accidentally” ate yesterday, buy a dozen for the nursing staff at UVA cardiology, deftly pair a chocolate cake donut with an obscure local wine, just for the love of god do not sleep on this place.

If Sbroccos does not succeed it is because we as a town have failed to recognize greatness when it parades down our street. If this place doesn’t make it, then may we be rightfully banished to ten years of nothing but crappy chain restaurants and whatever nonsense hunter smith is going...

There was a long wait for the second day since opening (as expected; not an issue). The free sample while waiting was much appreciated. I also very much appreciated that the entrance and exit were separate doors.

The ordering process was a little wonky… you tell them what you want, you get charged, and then they gather the donuts afterwards. I would much prefer to tell them my selections as they fill the order, and then have them tabulate the total and charge me last. There were a few things they were out of that I didn’t know until after I ordered, which resulted in me paying for things that I needed to substitute out instead of having the option to omit them.

The donuts themselves were of mixed quality.

The chocolate cake and chocolate yeast donuts were my least favorite. The chocolate just seemed too heavy or chalky. Hard to pinpoint the exact issue.

The apple fritter was probably the best apple fritter I’ve ever had. Very good.

The sour cream cake donut was great. Loved the tang from the sour cream.

The yeast donuts were disappointing overall. They were a little denser than I would like and didn’t really have a crispy exterior.

The cake donuts were better, but also didn’t have a crispy exterior. It felt more like eating cake than a fried product.

I wish there were better flavors like maple or some sort of berry icing like raspberry.

Overall, it’s not a bad option for Charlottesville (not many good donut options here), but it’s pretty middle of the road as far...

Today, we had the pleasure of visiting Sbrocco’s Donuts and Espresso, the newest pastry shop to hit the Charlottesville scene. Our team picked up an assortment of three dozen donuts, including their specialty apple fritters, crumb cake, and cinnamon rolls. And let me tell you, the excitement was real!

We were celebrating our office manager, who hails from Toms River, New Jersey. After biting into one of Sbrocco’s apple fritters, he said, “This is the best apple fritter I’ve ever had.” Our entire team couldn’t get enough—silence filled the office as everyone indulged in their treats. Every bite was met with expressions like “Wow, these are incredible!” and “These are the best donuts I’ve ever had!”

Sbrocco’s yeast donuts were absolutely delicious—soft, fluffy, and perfectly balanced. The homemade iced chocolate donut was pure joy. As for their cake-style donuts? Moist to perfection, with just the right amount of sweetness. Their specialty treats like the apple fritter and cinnamon roll really stole the show, showcasing the shop's dedication to quality and flavor.

We can’t wait to return and try some of the flavors that were sold out today—if they’re anything like what we had, we’re in for a real treat!

The entire Snowknows team gives Sbrocco’s a giant 5 out of 5 stars. In fact, we’d even rate them 10/10 or A+! Without a doubt, Sbrocco’s is the new best of Cville when it...