La Rue Doughnut — Restaurant in Dallas

I am following up on an earlier review to which the owner replied and then blocked me on Instagram after I tried to warn others of my experience with them. I used the preorder system to place an order for pick up the next day. The business could not and did not honor that order and then kept the tip when I asked for a refund. I think others have the right to know that, as I wasted an hour of my time just trying to pick up the order that wasn't honored and then had to spend more time chasing down the tip that wasn't refunded. The owner replied as follows to my review: "We bake throughout the day and nothing was completely gone we were waiting for fresh cookies to come out of the oven. We had an exceptionally busy day and have been producing as fast as possible. Nothing to do with selling out. Your tip can absolutely be refunded I think that is some form of miscommunication. Nothing to do with unethical business practices. I know the staff felt terrible but you were very quick to snatch your receipt away and treated them unkindly." You'll first note first that the owner didn't apologize. You'll note second that she can't dispute that what I said was accurate. I never said they were sold out, but said that rather than fulfill preorders, they sold items baked earlier in the day to other walk in customers. I was told what I had ordered would come out of the oven in 20 minutes--and of course, bakery items can't come straight out of the oven and into a to-go box as they need to "rest." So I was looking at a minimum 30 minute wait, which I simply did not have time for. Thus the refund. I am not sure what kind of "miscommunication" could lead to a refund that did not include the tip. If you as a business owner have not trained your staff how to process refunds of preorders you can't fulfill, that is on you. Your customers (now former customer in my case) shouldn't bear the onus of ensuring they received a full refund. The bottom line is that nothing forces your business to offer preorders, but if you do, customers have the expectation that they will be filled (or at the very least, they will be informed in advance if there is a problem before they waste their time driving to your business). This is the equivalent of a restaurant that offers reservations, gives a reserved table away to a walk in customer, and then expects the customer with the reservation to wait because they are busy. Finally, I am not sure how I treated your employee unkindly. I did not raise my voice, call her names, or "ask to speak to a manager." I explained that I was not interested in the offered substitutions and that I would not wait for what I ordered (and expected to be able to pickup). If I "snatched the receipt" that may have been because when I asked for a refund, the employee could not actually do that without making me wait even longer to check with someone else in the back (not sure the role of the person she spoke with). Again, that would indicate your employee training in insufficient, as there is no reason why an employee should have to check with someone else to process a refund when the order cannot be fulfilled. If the employee thought I was rude to her, I apologize as I tried to make clear to her that this was a business problem, not a her problem. As I stated in my earlier review, I have empathy for retail workers, and I truly do not believe it is her fault that the business could not honor the pickup time. But based on the owner's response to a warranted negative review and decision to block me from Instagram because I dared to share an accurate negative experience with the business, it is now clear that there is a problem at the top. Either stop allowing preorders or properly train your employees to fulfill preorders prior to walk-in orders. And authorize your employees to give refunds when clearly appropriate without wasting your customers' time, and train them that a refund means the whole payment...

It makes me sad to see the reviews on here - so much so that I was inclined to write my own!

I have to say, these are the best donuts that I’ve actually ever had, and this is coming from somebody who is really not that big of a donut person. I live about 25 miles away but every time I’m in Dallas, I always make sure to stop by. The donut texture is absolutely incredible, and honestly not like anything I’ve ever had before — and I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing pastries from all over the world.

The pastry shop at Carte Blanche used to be one of my absolute favorites (and sadly one of the only good bakeries in Dallas IMO), so I was so disappointed when I found out that they were closing. When they came out with the news that the owner was opening a donut shop, I was honestly really disappointed because again I’m not a really a donut person. However, they knocked my expectations out of the park.

While they absolutely are a little bit more expensive than your average donut shop donut, if you are a foodie and appreciate high-quality pastries, these donuts are worth every penny. I have also never had a bad experience with the service team here either. All in all, if you find yourself in the Trinity Groves area, I highly recommend checking them out 🍩🤤💫

My only request is for them to open a location out in the north Dallas...

I was one of the many fans of Carte Blanche before it closed, so I was eagerly awaiting La Rue Doughnut's opening day, which ended up happening on a weekend when I was out of town. Finally was able to make it out twice in the past month and got to try many of the different flavors on offer — so glad to report that the baked goods remain some of the best in town, especially our beloved cruller! The brioche doughnuts are pillowy and light and all the various flavors are super balanced and work well together. The only "sad" part for me is how often flavors rotate — wish I lived closer for the excuse to drop by more often.

The Elvis doughnut from October and the lemon pistachio brioche from the latest seasonal flavors were so good, as is the permanent butterscotch toffee brioche. Loved the cookie we tried in October as well. Even the gluten free offering is a wonderful texture and flavor! And of course the kolache is an absolute unit, super savory sausage with a lovely za'atar seasoned dough. Can't wait to stop by again soon to try the next round of...