East Park Donuts & Coffee — Restaurant in Nashville-Davidson

With a solid 4.45 rating across all user-driven platforms online (834 total votes and counting), the donuts at East Park have an impressive reputation. Those scores rank them among the top 15 highest-rated donuts in Middle Tennessee! Having eaten at the entire top 25 now, with this little cafe being my final stop, I can provide my impartial review.

Personally, I don't understand the lofty ratings. With numbers that rival the best in the business like Five Daughters, Fox's, and McGaugh's, the donuts here are surprisingly mediocre, especially at $4.24 per donut (including tax). Of course, I can't blame them with the price of ingredients these days, and there is obvious quality in what they do. It just didn't wow me.

Their Salted Brown Butter donut sounds incredible on paper! And it was incredible the way its sweetness contrasted with the coarse salt sprinkled on top, the gourmet English brand of Maldon salt, no less! But the dough was hard, perhaps intentionally or maybe it was just stale. It was difficult to eat and unenjoyable. The frosting is all wrong, almost overly sweet with the consistency of a thicker frosting rather than either a delicate glaze or the lighter frosting that's typical on donuts. I make a lot of flavors of frosting in my home kitchen which taste far superior to what I ate at East Park.

I will say that the Vanilla Bean Glaze was better, soft like it should be with a flavorful thin glaze. It still wasn't the doughy, airy texture that the top donut joints are able to properly execute, which is by no means easy. But this was a better representation of what East Park does than the Salted Brown Butter. It was a decent experience with excellent customer service, and anyone who stops by will enjoy themselves. So please go. But I don't see these donuts truly rivaling the best in Nashville, such a tough market when it comes to...

I really dislike having to write this review about a business that I have been a loyal customer to for years now but it has to be said. I had a completely unacceptable customer service experience this morning. I was the only customer in the store and I asked the gentleman working to please confirm that the donut I was purchasing was fresh. The last two times I purchased donuts, the chocolate cake donut was clearly not fresh. Having eaten these donuts for years, I can tell when something isn't quite up to par. Instead of simply saying, "I'm sorry you had that experience. That shouldn't happen. Our policy is to discard previous day's product" he doubled down and tried to invalidate my experience. He was short and completely unpleasant and just kept saying, "no, they are fresh every day". Another employee (female) stepped in and apologized and was totally professional. As I was the only customer in the shop, I decided to ask the gentleman why it was so important for him to invalidate the experience of a customer. He had no answer and became even more rude to me. He is clearly not cut out for the service industry because he took my request personally. Perhaps he was having a bad day. I get it. His complete unwillingness to just say the easy thing, "sorry that happened", was unacceptable. These are donuts. This is not important. The way you treat your customers is important though. If management is okay with their staff treating people this way, I won't be back. And to be clear, I didn't want a free donut (which I wasn't offered). All I wanted was an assurance that the product I was purchasing was fresh and a simple acknowledgment that my experience wasn't ideal. UPDATE: I was contacted by the Front of House Director and offered an apology. That was appreciated. They assured me that the employee would receive coaching. I hope that...

East Park Donuts & Coffee be a bright jewel hidden in otherwise a mundane world! This be a fine port for any sweet-toothed buccaneer or seasoned flavor raider lookin’ for high treasure.

They strike the rare balance, aye: treats fancy enough for the most seasoned foodies, yet hearty and honest enough that no casual sailor feels out o’ place. Prices be what ye expect from a trendy food harbor — fair enough for the bounty ye receive — but the vibe? Bless the stars, ‘tis refreshingly unpretentious. No sniffy landlubbers behind the counter here — only warm-hearted souls who welcome ye aboard with genuine smiles and warm chatter.

Mark me words: the fritters be the true prize of the chest. Each one a golden artifact of sweet craftin’, worthy of a bard’s ballad and a sailor’s hearty cheer. The fleet of treats sail through waves of pronounced flavors — from classic rings to wild specialty donuts — & they all stand tall and proud too, carryin’ their weight in flavor and joy.

The only squall notes upon these melodies of solid flowing waters? The café be cozy — & too cozy for the hungry crowds it draws — so the line oft spills into the streets like a school o’ hungry fish. But fear not: the crew runs a tight ship, and the wait be short, swift, and sweetly rewarded at the end.

Final verdict, writ in me log: East Park Donuts & Coffee be a must-treasure destination for any soul seekin’ a truly memorable treat in otherwise mundane realms. Drop anchor, brave the line, and fill yer hold with the finest fritters known to this side of the...