I wish I could give this place more than 5 stars for their ube donuts and friendly service. The lady there is absolutely lovely, and the donuts are addicting. The«worst» thing about this place is that they are right underneath my apartment, so I can’t help but indulge :) Will be visiting this place tomorrow. And the day after that. And after after that.
Andrew W.
Rating des Ortes: 3 San Francisco, CA
Rainbow Donuts is a fast place to pick up morning donuts for the office or a large breakfast sandwich. Coffee is adequate. The fun part of Rainbow Donuts is the colorful array of donuts you get with a box of a dozen. The donuts are fresh and fluffy.
Olivia D.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Concord, CA
I love donuts. Possibly my favorite comfort food. Ever. Donuts are very key to my life. So trust me when I say: this is one of the best donut shops in the Bay Area. Ube donuts and blueberry donuts in one place — doesn’t get much better than that!
Brittany H.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Berkeley, CA
Out of this world. I dare you to bite into a key lime cake donut and not close your eyes and moan with pleasure.
Jennifer P.
Rating des Ortes: 3 El Sobrante, CA
I picked up a few dozen to treat my coworkers, but I only tried the glazed ube out of the assortment I picked. Of the few folks that commented on them, they enjoyed them. I thought the ube lacked flavor. It tasted like a regular donut. Don’t get me wrong the texture was moist and light so points for that, but I felt that there was a lot more novelty and a lot less substance going on here. I will probably return and try a few regular donuts, those looked better than your average donut shop. Extra credit: 3 dozen cost me about $ 30! Less than $ 1 per donut
Brandon Y.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Santa Cruz, CA
Dude, even my healthy kitchen buddies went crazy for these donuts. Walked up to the place myself a few days ago and threw down a couple bucks(as cheap as a dollar a donut). Can confirm those heavenly halos indeed came from this place, and they don’t even burn down your wallet. Oh, the colors I could get! Go nuts for deez donuts!
C B.
Rating des Ortes: 4 South San Francisco, CA
I was skeptical at first because I’ve been spoiled eating Rolling Pin donuts in San Bruno my whole life, but I must say«Yes!» to Rainbow Donuts! The donuts are delicious and are a perfect compliment to their fresh coffee. Had the Ube donut for the first time and I highly recommend it! I even asked if the Chocolate Bars had custard in them, and the cashier said, «They don’t right now, but I can definitely put some in there for you!» That’s surprisingly great service in a town not known for it.
Gabby T.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Dublin, CA
I have been going here since I was in middle school(I am in my second year of college) and they have always been the little hole in the wall that no one sees. Great place. A dozen for $ 10? Very nice. They are super helpful, especially since I’m indecisive and they help chose which can be popular
Sagruilla P.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Berkeley, CA
No lie – you can find donuts of every color of the rainbow. From kelly green frosting to purple ube cake, you can fill up a box of a dozen donuts, each a different color. This pink box will make you the star of your office and will cost you less than a dozen dollars. A few options are vegan, which is surprising since this is an old-school establishment. Coffee is in pots on an electric burner, one orange-rimmed decaf. A TV shows the news. Lotto tickets tempt you at 7am on a Tuesday – if you win, would you still go into work to deliver those donuts?
Dani P.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Castro Valley, CA
Ube donuts. Who has ube donuts? You don’t have to sell anything other than ube donuts to get five stars from me. I love you guys. You rock.
Caitlin C.
Rating des Ortes: 4 New York, NY
An impressive assortment of donuts still left later in the day. And a solid mixture of classic staples and creative convictions. Better yet, at 5pm my donut(chocolate frosted cake with sprinkles) was still soft and moist as if it had been purchased at 8am!
N S.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Berkeley, CA
This is my new favorite donut place ! I got the ube and raspberry filling donut(soooo good). And it was super cheap ! For both I only paid 2.55. I would come here everythime I have a donut craving:)
Hilda Z.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Oakland, CA
Never judge a donut shop by it’s location. I came upon Rainbow due to Unilocaler’s raving about the ube donuts. As I sat at my desk at work I counted down the minutes until lunch. Before leaving I called to confirm they had a few ube’s in the shop and then hustled over. I purchased a few ube and blueberry glazed. Fast forward to post lunch… and I was the hero of the day! Rainbow makes unbelievably moist treats, and a great variety of flavors that honestly you must be gluten intolerant to not like them. *cash only*
Aaron M.
Rating des Ortes: 5 El Cerrito, CA
As I get to the front of the line I hear new-guy working the counter say«I think we’re out of glazed donuts» to the woman in front of me. What? How is that possible? Before 9am on a Friday?! I scramble quickly for a backup plan. Picking up a dozen before a Friday morning staff meeting makes for happy coworkers. Unilocal steered me right, the Ube and Blueberry cake donuts are both EXCELLENT. The color and texture of the ube is out of control awesome, and the blueberry manages to stuff a surprising amount of flavor into a small cake donut. Speaking of stuffed, they hand filled the custard bars to order, which is nice, I know for sure I won’t get home and find out they grabbed the sad custard-less bars by mistake. As I order the 4 bars, kid behind me says«ah no! he snagged all the bars!». I tell new-guy to put one back for my fellow donut lover. Enjoy kid – pay it forward.
C V.
Rating des Ortes: 4 San Francisco, CA
Place looked a bit sketchy on the outside, but it was daylight and I needed a sugar fix. The vegan cake donut with strawberry frosting and the maple yeast tasted freshly made and delicious. The coffee pots looked like they needed a good scrubbing. I can’t have donuts without coffee, so I chose the cleanest pot to serve myself.
Beryl W.
Rating des Ortes: 5 San Francisco, CA
The ube donut is amazing. 5 stars just for that, and the lady behind the counter was super nice too! She threw in a few donut holes with our order :) I’m coming back again just for the ube donut.
Tina R.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Daly City, CA
My coworkers and I came here because of a donut craving that came out of nowhere. We bought a dozen donuts for about 10 bucks, which is a pretty good deal compared to other places. They’re so soft and slightly moist. It doesn’t leave a rough feeling in your mouth. They are pretty sweet too! So far, my favorite is the blueberry-glazed one! The lady who was behind the counter was really nice and awesome. She was super patient when we took our time to decide the donuts we wanted in our dozen. Plus, she apparently threw in a few donut holes in our box as a suprise and didn’t tell us. How sweet! Definitely coming here the next time i have a donut craving!
K W.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Oakland, CA
Fresh coffee starting nice and early, and at an affordable price. I like that you can get your coffee before paying, so if they’re busy at the counter you don’t need to wait. I recommend drinking the Regular or French Roast – due to popularity, these are made fresh most frequently. Decent donuts in some fun varieties, from classic flavors to bacon/maple & ube. And if you go towards closing time, they’ll throw in some for free. :-) The croissant sandwiches are tasty, and a good value for price. Friendly, unpretentious vibe. No fried food, tho they still advertise it on the window.
Marck N.
Rating des Ortes: 3 Emeryville, CA
After noticing at Bbowl West the blueberry fritter, I had to try it. I headed to Rainbow donuts on the rainy Sunday to get this prize. I was able to purchase the last one. Yes. Yet, it did not appeal to me. I found that it did not have enough blueberries. I prefer a lot of fruit in the middle of the fritter. But the blueberries were all scattered in the batter. The fritter was also too sweet with the sugar glaze. I like sweet, but it was too much for my taste. This place needs a revisit to try the other donuts, when I am in a donut mood.
Andrew C.
Rating des Ortes: 3 Oakland, CA
Got a two piece fried chicken combo with biscuit, one side and a soda. Selected thigh & leg. A sign says they fry fresh, but I guess not to order as I saw my pieces being picked from under a heat-lamp which I didn’t see when I first entered. Chicken looked good in the basket( ) The crust was very flavorful with a slightly spicy seasoning mix. The meat was very juicy, but as a whole the fried chicken was quite greasy. Some adjustments in the cooking time /temp and this would be a top-notch option. The mac & cheese is more like cheese soup with some macaroni in it( ). Again, flavor was good, but one of their other sides like cole slaw or potato salad would have been better as I wasn’t in the mood for soup.
