Vincent Van Doughnut — Restaurant in St. Louis

Might not be for me.... *Before I share, I will preface this by stating that the clerk I interacted with did mention that they looked very large today so I'm curious if maybe something went wrong with this batch. Maybe because I was super excited to try these or the hipster look and locale or the appearance of the donuts.... but I was super let down. Tried an assortment from blueberry cheesecake to chocolate chip cookie dough to cookies'n'cream to maple bacon (the one I was really looking forward to). Overall, the donut itself was very thick and heavy in texture and tasted more like sandwich bread than a donut. The donut was very bland and almost seems intended to rely on the heap of toppings. (The wife and I cut donuts in to quarters so we could sample all the flavors we got. Washed with a lemon drink in between for fresh flavor each time) Some notables: The Chocolate Covered Chocolate Cake: described to me as a chocolate old fashioned style donut (old fashioned sour cream is one of my favorites). I'm not really sure what it was that I ate but I didn't feel like it was a chocolate cake. The donut was thick and bland with a hint at wanting to be chocolate. The toppings were kind of an overload of chocolate that my chocolate loving wife struggled to even really identify how it tasted. Just tasted off. The chocolate chip cookie crumble and the cheesecake cookie crumble: these both had a brown sugar crunchy topping (I think) that is the only topping that actually compliments the thick and bread donut. It provides some sweet to compliment it with some texture to break up the thick feel in your mouth. These two I didn't really mind much and would consider having again. The Maple Bacon: 😭 I was super sad when I got into this one. Like most people, I love me some bacon. I'm a chubby dude and have tried bacon all different ways. Not my first go at a Maple Bacon donut....so I was excited because it's bacon and Maple topping.....perfect compliments. Hoping it would handle the donut texture (I save best for last)..... the Maple topping never really came through. I was left with an overpowering burnt bacon taste. The bacon was not visibly burnt anywhere so I'm curious if I got a late batch and the early batches had burned the grease and the flavor carried. The burn taste really took over the entire donut. I will repeat it is very possible I caught an off day as I have a friend who swears by their light and fluffy donuts but for now I won't be back. The price is a little steep for donuts but worth it if I had been satisfied. Prices will vary but I paid about $45 for a dozen donuts (the 12th was free with purchase of 11). The place looks amazing inside with a very hipster feel to it. The service was super friendly...

My story with Vincent Van Doughnut was one of tragedy and love, in two parts.

I am not from St. Louis, nor do I currently live there. I do, however, travel to STL a few times a year for business. So, one evening, before going to visit a client the next morning, I decided to find the best looking donuts in the city online so I could bring them a box. I arrived at approximately 8:15 only to find they were already nearly sold out. They had 3 total donuts left and about a dozen donut holes and some biscuits, feeling defeated, I hung my head and vowed to try again the next day. Despite leaving town that same next day, I knew I needed to indulge before I hit the open road back to Texas (and yes, the donuts kept well in the car, and believe it or not I didn't eat the whole box on my 10 hour car ride).

So the next day, knowing this place apparently rivals the Blues in popularity, I arrive at 7. I was fortunate enough to get a glazed, cookies and cream, and a couple blueberry cheesecake and maple bacons. Much to my sadness, and not surprise, the lemon lavender was already sold out which was arguably #1 on my list of what I wanted to try. Long story short, I will be back! Not just to try that, but to get all the ones I already mentioned as well as a few others, because this place is absolutely divine.

The donuts taste as good as the shop smells, and that's saying something. Despite the enormity of the donuts, they're incredibly fluffy and not even the least bit dry. The flavors are on point and are very evidently made with love.

I didn't get the names of the two women that helped me out from behind the counter, but they were both incredibly kind, welcoming, and friendly.

My key takeaway from this delicious emporium, is if there's a flavor you're desperately wanting to try, I highly recommend getting there when the doors open, or at least close to it. You won't be upset...

There are a few things to consider that may make people’s experiences here better. 1) yes the donuts are $4, BUT two people could easily share one. 2) these are desserts more than they are breakfast (unless you want a super sweet breakfast). 3) Go EARLY to get access to more flavors, otherwise you’ll have to time your arrival to a new batch. I’d say go on open or around 9.

Keeping this in mind, the donuts are great. My boyfriend LOVED his peanut butter chocolate and Black Forest cherry donuts. Pictured are mine, which are the blueberry cheesecake and chocolate chip cookie doughnuts. They were both good, with a dense enough doughnut to hold up to all the toppings. I would say that the cookie dough scoop had an odd taste to it, but it wasn’t off-putting enough that I didn’t eat it, it was just maybe not immediately recognizable as a standard cookie dough flavor. They also held up well in the refrigerator and then microwaved until warm. I recommend, especially since I was only able to eat a quarter of each doughnut on my first try!

The only super off-putting thing to me, was that the lady making the dough for the doughnuts was not wearing a mask. Other than that, the cashier was friendly. Ultimately, I’ll definitely be back for the intriguing flavors, but others should not go in expecting standard breakfast donuts. I feel a lot of the bad reviews had the wrong expectations...