Verna’s Coffee & Donut Shop

This is the place that got me into donuts as an adult. I grabbed a bunch the morning of my wedding. They have true donut integrity and to speak ill of them is to disrespect The Donut Itself.
What the hell? IT’s closed? What? My review never went up?

DELICIOUS doughnuts. I’d recommend the old fashioned glazed (but save some for me)!

Before you even stop into Verna’s, your nostrils are immediately overwhelmed by the smell of freshly baked goods. Verna’s opens early and that is the best time to get all the goodies that are provided. The donuts are delicious and so are their cupcakes. The treats are consistently good, however the only thing that isn’t consistent are the store hours. It seems like every couple month these change, which can be quite annoying if you show up in the afternoon.

Simply the best donuts in the universe. Just be sure to get there early in the morning, if you want a full selection because they go fast!

Small no frills neighborhood donut shop. If you want a fancy sit down place this is not the place for you.
They have a large a selection of donuts/​other baked goods. If you are craving donuts that are better than dunkins, but not as fancy as union donuts, then this is the place for you. The prices also reflect that.

Donuts are awesome. But guess what? You are not doing me a favor by selling me donuts. Chill out!
(Doesn’t apply when the young kids are working the counter, they are nice).

I love stopping by Verna’s on the way home. Their stuff if tasty, inexpensive, and I think it’s a great community spot. I highly recommend them!

They beat Dunkin Donuts by a mile or more. This place is great, in terms of the donuts. I’ll travel way out of the way and pass 5 Dunkin donuts to get here.
Most everything else isn’t so great, but the donuts are heaven!
PROS: Freshly baked donuts are a delight. Lots of variety. Prices are really reasonable.
CONS: The place isn’t the cleanest. The counter people have been surly on more than one occasion, despite me going in there smiling and not asking for anything other than a dozen donuts. They seem put-​out sometimes, and I can’t figure out why.
OVERALL: Go take-​out a dozen donuts, as you will be hard pressed to find better donuts anywhere in Mass. Dunkin doesn’t even stand a chance.

1. The donuts are second to none, and the coffee is excellent, as are the breakfast sandwiches. Further, all of these things are more reasonably priced than Dunkin (in addition to being better). It’s the best of the genre.
2. There is no «Verna.» There was, but she died a while ago. I asked the last time I was there. The grumpy lady at the front is someone else. Not a charming demeanor, but you’re also only buying coffee and donuts from the woman, not talking religion and politics. I prefer her grouchy attitude to the artificially upbeat one of a barista.
3. The digs are basic because, again, it’s a cheap donut shop. They are not pouring over Intelligentsia coffee to the beat of the latest indie jams. You are not supposed to hang out there. You are supposed to buy coffee and/​or donuts and then drink it/​eat them. The lack of aesthetic is the aesthetic.
If you want atmosphere and customer service, go somewhere else.
If you want a killer donut, then this place is the all-​star local donut shop.
I stop here all the time for breakfast: 1 small hot coffee and a donut costs $ 2.75. It can’t be beat.

The best donuts around… period. The woman who owns the place is amazing…80+ years old and still going at it every day. She has more strength and energy than most young people I know. God Bless her and all of her hard work. It’s still paying off after all these years. Please support Vernas over that dump DD’s down the street. Oh and by the way… Vernas is better than that high end donut place in Union Sq too.

Very dry, bland donuts. I had high hopes for this place too. :(

What a sad little place. The first thing I noticed when I walked in was the smell. It smells old and dirty, not like a bakery that sells freshly made items.
Donuts are of the heavy cake variety. I don’t normally have an issue with this, but they all kind of tasted the same. The butter crunch did not even have a hint of buttery goodness.
The coffee tastes watered down and has no flavor. You might as well ask for hot milk water.
The older woman working there (Verna?) is very grumpy and not inviting. It seemed like she wanted people to get out as soon as they walked in. Her attitude is the one thing I can not look past.
Will not be back, I’d rather go hungry.

Wow is this place sad. Their donuts are a dollar each! And sadly as bad as a Dunkin’ Donuts if not worse. We had a raised sugar and a plain crueller — the raised donuts was dense and had a starchy chewy texture. The plain crueller was stale and poorly executed with close to no flavor.
NOT WORTH THE TRIP!

Yeah these are really good donuts. Verna was not the most courteous, and when I found myself to be the only customer in the store, she acted like I was keeping her from doing something way more important. This was my first visit, and she actually seemed super nice to the regular customer couple right before me. How quickly the tide turns.
Regardless, at $ 1 a piece, these donuts are well worth the trip. The heft of each cake donut is also like 2 normal sized ones. I got a couple chocolate honey dip and one butter crunch. The butter crunch was delicious but a tad too sweet. The chocolate was just right, with a great chocolate flavor, and the texture was so perfect and fine. Can’t wait til I’m in the area again.

As another reviewer said: «The chocolate honey dip and the butter crunch are out of this world.»
That is all — those donuts would get 6 stars if possible. Other donuts are also awesome, but more in the four star range. Must get here early to guarantee your flavor of choice.

The reviews are confusing bcz I found Verna to be an absolute delight! She told me to take a card and call to have an order set aside if I ever wanted to in the future. I LOVED that personal touch. If this was my favorite donut shop I’d be dancing in my seat. And at $ 7 for a half dozen? Munchies sufferers rejoice!
The donuts however? Sadly, I’ll pass. I ordered a pumpkin, coconut, cinnamon, lemon [filled] (I thought it was lemon flavored), butternut, can’t remember the last. Of all I preferred the coconut but the pumpkin wasn’t bad either.
Texture:
These bad boys are heavy and made for dunking. A little too heavy for me. One bite and your mouth is full. If you love cake donuts this is your place. They’re also a bit crumbly and the outer layer is crust-​like and you can taste a hint of the fryer.
The flavor:
Ready to sate that sweet tooth? These nom noms will fulfill your sugary hearts desire. I think the ratio is 1 cup of flour to 2 cups of sugar per donut. SWEET! (Perhaps too sweet)
Overall:
I’d come back for the coconut but will stick to my favorite donut place.

The doughnuts themselves were good.
I went at 730 on a Sunday morning and was the only one there. A couple of people came in while I was there to get coffee but otherwise it was really slow.
There were 8 varieties to choose from. I did not see the buttercrunch I was wanting to try, so I chose Cambridge cream, honey dip raised, honey dip chocolate, glazed jelly and a lemon stick. I also ordered a bacon, egg and cheese and a sausage and egg on a croissant.
The eggs on the egg sandwiches were awful. I watched them being prepared– they are made with precooked eggs and heated in the microwave. Unlike most aces that do this however, the yolks were left unbroken so after being microwaved they were chewy. With the contrasting rubberiness of the whites they were just… bad. I took mine off and just ate the croissant and sausage.
The croissant, on the other hand was amazing. Soft and flaky with just enough crisp outside and chewiness inside. These, I would buy on their own.
The donuts were just ok. There are a couple of places in Belmont that have a better selection and, because of the volume they do, are still warm at 730 am. To me, those are the places worth driving out of the way to.
If I lived close to Verna’s I’d probably go there, but I didn’t find anything special or spectacular about them.

The butter crunch in particular is absolutely wonderful, a lot of the raised donuts are very good, but some of the crullers and cake-​style donuts I’ve had were disappointing in that chemical aftertaste way that corporate chain donuts have. Overall, I may stop in for a butter crunch or honey dipped donut craving if I’m in the neighborhood, but I wouldn’t go out of my way.

Tasty doughnuts. Surly service. Dingy interior.
Their high ratings must be a testament to their doughnuts because everything else was simply lackluster.
I stumbled upon Verna’s purely by accident. Looking at the front, it’s a little difficult to discern that they’re even a doughnut shop because the exterior is very plain and dated looking. There are actually two entrances — one on the corner with an undistinguished looking sign above it and one on the side that leads to the sitting area. The interior is little better, just as plain and visually unappealing. It seemed very dark and unwelcoming, which is strange given the natural light coming through the windows. The walls were painted a muted orange and green, which did not complement the brown paneling. It looked like the seventies vomited all over the place; and not in that kitschy-​cute way.
Now, before anyone massacres me for being so critical of the aesthetics of this small, local institution, I want to say that I normally LOVE places like this. I love older establishments in the community because they represent part of its history; and, frankly, I’m quite keen about the friendly, old-​fashioned hospitality and service.
However, the service here is extremely lacking. The woman at the counter was extremely rude and unhelpful. When I originally arrived, I had intended to buy a dozen donuts; however, after seeing their limited selection, I decided to buy only a half dozen. I might as well have told her that I wanted to eat the soul of her unborn grandchild — her reaction was that visceral. Everytime I selected a doughnut, she’d take it and just toss it into the box. Her entire demeanor made me extremely uncomfortable and I couldn’t wait to pay and leave. As evidenced by the other reviews, her sour attitude is an ongoing thing.
The doughnuts themselves were quite tasty. I arrived around 11am and the selection was looking a little bare with only six doughnut varieties to choose from. It appears that the magic hour for new and freshly baked doughnuts is before or around 9am. If you’re a local business, they offer an early morning delivery service for your office or meetings around that time too (just call or check out their website for additional info). Anywhoo, they do bake and serve fresh donuts throughout the day, but it definitely varies by demand. I ordered three Jelly-​Filled Sugar Donuts, one Cambridge Cream, one Sugar Twist, and one Streusel. The Jellies and the Cream were yeast-​based doughnuts, while the Twist and Streusel were both cake-​like.
Generally, I prefer yeast-​based doughnuts because they’re fluffy and have more of a pastry/​bread-​like texture; I also prefer the light flavor. The Jellies and Cream were pretty good; not the best I’ve ever had, but good overall. They made for a fun snack that afternoon and a quick breakfast the morning after. The cake doughnuts were not my favorite. My boyfriend and I agreed that they were dry and excessively crumbly; and they didn’t taste very distinctive aside from their toppings/​coatings. Both tasted like those generic powdered doughnuts at convenience stores. Also, please note: as neither of us really enjoy cake doughnuts, take these critiques with a grain of salt. If you normally enjoy them, I’m sure your experience will be different from ours.
All in all, I recommend this place for their doughnuts (provided you get there early enough); but I probably won’t frequent them often because of their service.

So excited to have discovered Verna’s! Perfectly fills the gap between Dunkin’ and Union Square Donuts. Can’t stand Dunkin’ and Union Square is delicious but often doesn’t kill my donut craving with their somewhat out of the box donuts.
Verna’s is a good old fashioned donut shop. Nothing too crazy, at least not that I’ve tried. They just do a damn good job making the classics.

Butter crunch and chocolate honey dipped. All you need!
Their donuts are quite filling and has this extra crispy shell with a soft, moist center. It makes my mouth water just thinking about it.
I had doubts after reading reviews of the terrible service, but I had none of that. The staff were hospitable and kind enough to provide recommendations. It seems they do run out quick with all the traffic they get from locals and regulars of all ages.
They have a small sitting area but most just dine in and leave.
Get half a dozen for breakfast for the week!

I woke up at a reasonable hour and figured ‘Hey, I might actually beat the Sunday Church crowd today’! If you come in after church on Sunday, a lot of the good doughnuts are gone.
Value-​wise, this place is amazing. I got a half dozen doughnuts and small coffee for $ 7.50. Wonderful.
Now onto the doughnuts. I got butter crunch, glazed (honey dip it’s called here), jelly, chocolate honey dip, chocolate frosted, and a Cambridge custard.
If you’re comparing them to Dunkin, Verna’s blows them out of the water on both value and taste. That weird chalky aftertaste that sits on your tongue with Dunkin’s doughnuts I only found in their chocolate frosted doughnut. If you’re comparing Verna’s to Union Square Doughnuts (another amazing local doughnut shop), Verna’s doughnuts pale in flavor but win in cost.
Maybe it’s that their doughnuts are cake and I’m a yeast-​raised fan myself, but Verna’s doughnuts are, well, doughnuts. They’re not puffs of heaven, they’re not God’s gift to the deep fryer, they’re doughnuts. GOOD doughnuts, but if you want a real culinary experience, go to Union. Two doughnuts is the same cost there as a half dozen here, but there’s a reason for it, the Union ones really are something to write home about.
In terms of ambiance, Verna’s is one of the remaining vestiges of old Cambridge/​Somerville. Four guys come here each week to talk about golf and whatever interests them over coffee and doughnuts, nobody else, just them. It hasn’t been overtaken by hipsters yet (at least at 9am on Sundays) and it’s wonderful.