Donut House

I drove from San Jose to try the Salteñas, and they were AMAZING!!!
call ahead, they take 25 min to cook, if you call they are ready when you arrive

Full disclosure; I haven’t yet been to the brick and mortar business. I hope to, though. It would be worth a «road trip» to RWC.
I have, however, tried those marvelous saltenas! Oh, they wonderful! Anyone remember Jose’s in Palo Alto (closed in the late ‘90s)? These are similar, if not better. Hallelujah!
Best of all, the ladies who work here are so polite, patient, helpful and friendly. I had such a pleasant experience ordering from their food tent at the Dia di Los Muertes celebration in RWC this past November.
For me, being treated kindly is equally if not more important than the quality of the food. Here, each experience is top notch.

We had their beef and chicken saltenas for the first time. Both were tasty and exotic. We’ll be back!

This place is wonderful and the woman helping me was so sweet. When I first moved here, I stopped by one morning at 5am to get a few donuts. I didn’t realize it was cash only, and after talking about just moving and how much I liked the area I felt terrible to realize I only had my card. I told her I would be right back and I was going to go to the ATM next door and she smiled and said «welcome to the neighborhood, take the donuts on me, I insist» wow. That was so incredibly sweet! Mind you, these donuts are better than Krispy crème or anything in between!

Awesome donut selection with great prices.
Also their breakfast croissant sandwiches are good, and the coffee is well-​priced too.
It’s cash only, so come prepared! Otherwise they do have an ATM to withdraw cash

You don’t have to be from Bolivia to enjoy these savory meat pies but they are the REAL thing! My father is from Bolivia and these «saltenas» are authentic and delicious — just like the ones you would eat midday around the square in Cochabamba. Beef is my choice but they have chicken too. They also sell «cunapes» — the Bolivian version of Brazilian cheese bread. Yum! The owner, Carmen, is very accommodating and lovely to deal with.

The salteñas are delicious as good as in bolivia!!! The donuts are also always fresh and yummy. Customer service is excellent!!!

It was 11am on a Saturday. I just left after walking in to an empty donut shop, as in EMPTY OF DONUTS. They said they had «sold out» of the only product they’re required to have.
This donut shop had no donuts, so they get no stars.

I’ve had these salteñas 5 times and each time they have been delicious!
My brother said I have to try the donuts next time because they are also amazing!

good texture, nice and soft. Very pleased with the taste also but wouldn’t drive all the way there for it.

Who knew this place was known for their salteñas (Bolivian empanadas)? It’s misleading since the name of the store is Donut House, but everyone actually comes here for the empanadas instead!
They are frozen though so I think it takes awhile for them to make it for you. We actually ordered some frozen ones (and some donuts) and brought them home. You have to put the empanadas on a greased pan (with parchment paper) and bake at 400 degrees for about 20 – 25 minutes.
The inside of the empanadas is quite interesting. It’s meat (beef or chicken) along with peas, potatoes, spices, and olives! Olives! Who knew?
The empanadas were really good. I like these kinds of pastries. They’re quite savory and two of them by themselves is enough for a good meal. The inside contents were totally not dry at all.
I didn’t think the donuts were anything special (I would prefer Krispy Kreme) so definitely go here for their empanadas.

My boyfriend & I came here purely for the salteñas. Unfortunately for us we should have called before we came so they could cook the salteñas. We ended up waiting because we went there with the intention of getting them. They were incredibly nice & friendly & before we left they double checked that we knew how to eat them correctly. The actual salteñas were soooo good, we regretted only getting 4! We will definitely be going back!

We are regulars here! It is within walking distance of our house, so that is a huge plus. Carmen is very sweet, they make the donuts onsite, and she always gives my son some extra donut holes for free. The donuts themselves are pretty good and very reasonably priced. There is outside seating for warm sunny mornings.
Only downside is she often runs out of donuts. My husband’s favorite is a maple bar and there have been a number of times when she has run out of them (at various times on Saturday or Sunday mornings).

I’ve been here a handful of times on the weekends to pick up bagels for me and my husband. Usually it’s a pretty straight forward experience, but after today, I doubt we’ll be going back. The reason why I’m giving them 3 stars is because they knowingly gave me two burnt bagels, and then instead of acknowledging they did this, they were surprised that the bagels were burnt.
When I say burnt, large parts of the bagels were charred black. Not dark brown, but black. If it was dark brown, then I wouldn’t have said anything. Also, when you’re spreading cream cheese on the bagel, I’m not sure how you can spread it without looking at the bagel? Also, one of the other employees saw it was burnt and tried scraping off the burnt bits. The owner came over and said she would take care of it. By taking care of it, I thought she would toast new ones, but when I checked the bag while I was walking back home, I saw she had just spread the cream cheese to hide the burnt parts of the bagel.
She did replace the bagels after I brought them back and showed her the burnt areas. I am surprised they would even let any customer walk out the door with these charred bagels. The people who work there are nice, but after this, I can’t help but feel really disappointed with them. Normally I would give this type of experience 1 star, but I’m going to be fair and give them 3 stars based on prior experiences. I will not be returning though.

Delicious donut. It’s in a mini mini mini strip mall. We beat the closing time (was not aware of businesses closing at 3pm, but it’s hours were early too!). Great chocolate donut and glazed donut.

I just had Carmen’s Scrumptious Saltenas! If you haven’t stopped by this place, you really need to try them! They are a little spendy @ $ ³⁄₁ — but very tasty! The crust is delicious and the filling is sooo yummy! Before I left the shop, Carmen explained how to properly eat a Sultena (Eat it like a taco — do not cut or juices will leak) It has just enough of a spice kick to it. I tried the 1^st and was planning to save the 2^nd for lunch but I devoured the 1^st one and then went straight for the second. I will DEF be coming back for more of these bad boys! THE BOMB!!!

.the.WALL. And that’s a major compliment. (Ok, that was just a terrible pun) Just an unassuming donut shop, you say?
Well, let me tell you, you MUST get their salteñas! (aka empanadas). These blow any of the empanadas I’ve had (even Filipino ones!) out of the water! Yes, they’re a little pricey at $ 3/​pop but they’re so worth it. My absolute, hands-​down favorite is their beef, but the chicken is amazing and so is their veggie too. But be warned! They can be spicy… oh…wait for it… droool. Speaking of drool, they can be a little messy because they’re juicy. But don’t be ashamed if you’re slurping that goodness up! (Apparently, I heard in Bolivia, that’s totally kosher).
Ok, besides that, some things to note — cash or check only (I know, who takes check now a days?) and their donut holes are a nice dessert afterward. Also, if you want them baked, call TWENTY minutes ahead and they will have them nice and toasty for you.

I finally went to Donut House after I keep passing by on El Camino Real for years. I feel like I found a place that I can keep going for years from now on. I love going to this kind of independent owned stores. I’m happy that I found this store.
Pros:
— really nice, friendly people — A cute old couple runs the shop. They make you feel like you are visiting your grandparents’.
— inexpensive (Donuts’ prices are from 90c to 1.80 or so.)
— good donuts — basic ones but good ones
— delicious Saltenas — It’s all handmade by Carmen from scratch. (beef, chicken, and vegetable Saltenas) Although the inside is very juicy, the crust keeps crispy. The right amount of spice and seasoning. $ 3.00 seems little expensive but it takes a lot of steps and ingredients are all fresh. So it’s a fare price.
— I love the retro looking logo with the Donut character!
Cons:
— Saltenas are available only on Friday morning between 7:15 to 10 AM. I was there before 9 AM today but it was sold out already. But Carmen was very nice and she baked one for me this morning. (Call 20 min before you go there on Friday so she can bake those in advance.)
— Even donuts are very popular and get sold out fast. (It was National Donuts day today. So there are only 12 donuts and some donut halls left when I got there before 9 AM.)
— They don’t make any more donuts nor Saltinas once it’s sold out.
— They fry donuts from 9 PM to 4 AM. So you will never get the hot ones. But Carmen told me that if you go there at 4 AM, you will get hot cinnamon rolls. 4 AM.

Donut House was an unexpected surprise (in a good way)
donut and med. coffee for 2.40, only at he donut house.
french roast out, cashier made offer to make new pot. i said: «that’s ok» went for the hazelnut instead, best i’ve ever tasted.
donut was the cake kind. moist, with coconut-​like topping very tasty with a sweet overtone.

I’ve been having a craving lately for donuts, specifically an apple fritter. I rarely, if ever, crave desserts so I’m not sure what’s up but I did have a killer original glazed at Stan’s Donut that probably started this train of thought (and craving).
While Bob’s Donuts in San Francisco is the most frequent mention for apple fritters, I was looking for a closer option so stumbled upon the Donut House in Redwood City.
They open at 5 am and the popular selections often sell out, so it’s not entirely fair to try them later in the day, but I was hopeful.
They had apple fritters in stock and I preceded to order one. As I waited in line, a fellow customer raved about the Saltenas and had to leave as they are supposed to be pre-​ordered by phone due to their preparation from scratch and 20 minute ready time.
I figured I’d wait for one as I tried the apple fritter and enjoyed a milk. The owner was a bit surprised I wanted to wait. I guess most people are in a hurry, but today I wasn’t.
The apple fritter was average. Large and plentiful in size, it was cold from having been made much earlier. The crust wasn’t too sweet but the downfall is that there really wasn’t enough apple. Not my dream apple fritter so I guess I’ll have to keep looking.
Luckily, the Saltena was another story. Freshly made and piping hot in 20 minutes, the Saltena was about the size of a small dinner roll. I made the mistake of only ordering one. The crust is perfect. Buttery rich and just the right thickness. The inside is filled with minced meat, olives, potatoes and spices. Best of all, it’s moist and filled with the juices from the ingredients. The owner showed me how to eat it so I didn’t spill the precious cargo and also shared that it took her a year to perfect the buttery rich crust.
Overall, the Donut House Saltena blew away the similar El Porteno empanadas I had at SF’s Ferry building.
Serendipity. I came looking for an apple fritter and found a great Saltena instead.
Donut house accepts cash only.