Sidecar Doughnuts & Coffee — Restaurant in San Diego

The donuts were delicious, but the customer service was horrible. They were not stocked with napkins or knives, which was annoying since we were eating there, but that was the least of our concerns. We met my sister and parents there, and we were the last to order. By the time we ordered they were out of a couple of donuts that we wanted, and they said it would be about 15 minutes. The women working in the store acted really annoyed with any questions we had, and were not friendly at all. Instead of giving me the donuts that were available, they put the whole box behind the counter to wait for the ones they were making. My 3 and 5 year old were very sad because all of their cousins were eating donuts and they didn’t have any. I went back in to see if I could get the two sprinkle donuts out of the box, and they did get them to me, but were pretty put out by the request. A few minutes later I could see the two donuts we were waiting for had been restocked, and I stood there for another 5-10 minutes while the employees just ignored me. Meanwhile, the rest of our family had completely finished their donuts. I finally went to the back and asked an employee to get me the donuts, since I could see they had been sitting there for a while, and the employees who had been rude to me continued to ignore me even though I was standing right in front of them. I think the employee I asked was in charge of making the drinks. She helped me and apologized. The real kicker came when we loaded into the cars, and my disabled father realized he had to go to the bathroom. My mom went back to Sidecar to see if they had a restroom he could use (we were parked in the handicap stall right outside and my father can’t walk more than a handful of feet without a wheelchair or motorized scooter). She said every employee within earshot laughed at her when she asked if they had a restroom, like she had just told a hilarious joke. She said it was pretty awkward for her, but she just thanked them and left. I honestly don’t remember the last time I had such rude, snobbish, and unfriendly customer service. I try to give the company a chance to respond in private before posting a negative review, but my email to corporate was ignored, and I never even received a response from them. I don’t plan to give them any...

Donut Series, Part 2 Sidecar Donuts was referred to us by @donuthunting (“The Godfather of Donuts”) and for good reason. Somehow they have managed to elevate their creations to a level that transcends the typical donut experience. You can just forget about sifting through stale offerings here since they produce new batches every hour.

Ordering was a bit of an ordeal, but that had nothing to do with the attentiveness of the staff (who were great). Our ordering issues were the direct result of our indecisiveness and FOMO was clearly a complicating factor. It is important to note that 4 of their donuts are made only once per week, so plan your order accordingly (Malasada—Mondays; Twist Tuesday—Tuesdays; Cinnamon Roll—Wednesdays; Apple Fritter—Fridays). When you do place your order they are placed in what reminded us of a corsage box.

The consumption of our donuts seemed completely uncomplicated. That experience seemed primal in nature with the lines of whom ordered what becoming blurry and individual territories needing to be established and reestablished repeatedly. Thankfully all relationships remained in tact and no significant injuries occurred. 😉

We sampled the “Maple Bacon”, “Malasada”, and “Choc-A-Lot” and although they were each unique unto themselves, they did all have some common threads. Their flavors were each decadent and none of them were burdened by that heavy “something’s stuck in my gut” post eating experience. One of our Review Team Members actually viewed them as more accurately falling within the cup cake family than the donut one.

While the reason to visit is totally about the donuts, it’s worth noting that the coffee was also good.

Vegan and gluten friendly options are available and if you download their app you’ll be rewarded with a free donut.

And that’s…Henry’s...

If you have not tried Sidecar Doughnuts yet, you can not even say you like doughnuts, because you have never truly had one, until you try Sidecar. Sidecar was established in 2012 and make the freshest doughnuts you'll have. The nice part is they switch out flavors so there is always something new to try. They also always have a vegan option as well as a gluten free option. They also do cinnamon rolls on Wednesday which is awesome and Apple Fritter Friday which is unreal.

My parents love doughnuts, but my parents are old school, so we are talking about the grocery store doughnut back in the 80's style doughnut. I dropped off Sidecar a few weeks back and they were blown away! I'll be honest, doughnuts are my least favorite dessert. I would take ice cream, cupcakes, cookies and doughnuts would be last. However, after trying Sidecar, they stole the #1 spot in my cheat meal list of desserts and my heart.

Every single cheat meal I get includes a Sidecar doughnut now. Highly addictive!

You'll also notice celebrities IG stories sending each other Sidecar, not as part of an endorsement, but because they are that good! The doughnuts are made fresh and are constantly being made due to the high demand, there is almost always a line (order online to avoid the line). Once you bite into it you realize this is not your ordinary doughnut. Think of it this way, it was like shopping at Sears my whole life, and someone had me walk into Nordstrom's, that literally the difference in quality and flavor. Sidecar is the Nordstrom's of doughnuts.

So fresh, packed with flavor, and no feelings of guilt afterwards. Please go, and when you do, order an extra one for me. Jk... but really...

IG Tip: Their boxed doughnuts are very photo worthy. No filter needed, and you'll also notice some funny art...