The Golden Donut

This is absolutely the best café in the neighborhood.
Golden Donuts still preserves the authentic café feel. People actually sit to drink coffee and eat. The view from the café window is beautiful and fun to look through. Chairs are comfortable and the smell of fresh pastries that are baked in the back fills the café. Yes, they have a real bakery in the back and make the donuts right there. The donuts here are also most affordable because they’re made right there.
The donuts are actually very delicious. I’ve never gotten a donut here I didn’t like. Of course they also make delicious sandwiches.
Additionally, as someone who drinks a lot of coffee daily, I love how Golden Donuts always has at least three varieties of coffee. It is always strong and tastes great. I don’t know how to describe it but the coffee tastes like the coffee I make at home sometimes. The big chain cafes nearby have coffee that always tastes burned.
Finally I want to add a very important detail. know that other cafes provide wifi. This café does not and I am very very happy it doesn’t. Thank you! I am very sick and tired of cafes where all the seating is taken up by young hipsters playing on their laptops. They take up 2 or 3 seats and stay at the café for hours. For example Starbucks or royal grounds which are closest two cafes pretty much never have any seats because someone takes up the tables for many hours.
The ladies who work here are also very nice and always smile at customers. It’s always a pleasure to buy something. It also feels like a local small business «mom and pop» café. I am pretty sure the man who makes the donuts in the back is the «pop».
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Does it deserve the moniker of «golden» donut? I dunno about all that. Some of there were golden brown, if that’s what they mean. Otherwise, let’s just say that it’s a terrific neighborhood bakery with donuts, coffee, and all the things you’d like to see at a donut shop from the sprinkles down to the cinnamon.
This tidy spot is right on Geary, and as I spend a decent amount of time in this neighborhood these days, I’ve got to say that it’s comforting knowing that it’s there. That anytime I get a hankering for a donut I can make my way over to pick up a crueller, or an old fashioned (one of my faves) or perhaps a chocolate raised (middle of the road).
I love knowing that I’m just a matter of blocks away from something so delicious, and warm, and wonderful, like a donut, and I can grab a few to share with family for breakfast in the morning. Though family did protest, they did gobble them up in the morning, and not slowly.

The sweetest woman ever owns this place and gave me free donuts to bring by for my roommates :)
The chocolate glaze was my fave and not at all oily like many donut shops in the richmond

A neighborhood classic. I’ve been stopping by here, once in a while, since high school. (GWHS c/​o ’04!!!) I generally go for a dozen donut holes and one or two donuts. Very friendly, non-​pretentious shop usually with only local visitors.

Had to write a review after the sweet lady at the counter gave us two free donuts! My boyfriend and I could smell the donuts around the corner in the parking lot behind the shop and we couldn’t resist going in to check it out. It was near the end of the day so I didn’t know what to expect from the quality of the donuts but we decided to order a half dozen anyways. Our total came out to be under $ 7 and the lady ringing us up gave us two free donuts as well! The donuts were pretty big, not too oily, and not overly sweet! My favorite was surprisingly the cinnamon crumb and my boyfriend loved their maple donut. Just a warning– it’s cash only!

I am moving out of the country in one week. I decided it was time I dropped in to buy a donut. I’ve lived here for 14 years and never walked in. I’m also that one person running by every day giving people inside a look of disdain as they gorge themselves on oil and sugar.
Well not today!
I walked in and paid $ 2 for my maple glazed custard filled donut thing that looks like a huge flat éclair. My god it was good. I sliced it up like a piece of ham and ate it segment by segment. Fluffy interior, vanilla custard that was thick, and a delightful and fragrant maple glaze on top. Great contrast in chew, creamy, and crunchy.

To keep it short and simple, the donuts tasted like the oil used to cook them has not been changed in a long time. Defiantly will not come here again

An absolutely no frills, straight up mouth watering local donut place.
Everyone is coming up with all these fancy donuts with dinglehoppers and sprinkles hanging/​draped everywhere. So folks if you looking for a blueberry bourbon infused donut, go somewhere else.
If you appreciate the simplicity in mastering fewer ingredients to produce the absolute best, then GO TO THIS PLACE.
I didn’t know it was possible but I straight up dream of this place. Try the glazed cruller — it actually melts in your mouth. The regular glazed? Amazing. The Apple Fritter? I buy that bad boy, bring it home and put it in the oven for 5 minutes and then little tiny angels sing as I open the oven and savor every last bite.
Still skeptical about the deliciousness? Go outside the place and take a whiff at the fan they have pointing out from the kitchen. That smell is the closest thing to olfactory bliss, to the point that that is all you ever want to smell in your life.

Friendly service and wide selection of donuts. Cheapest were the classic donuts for $ 1.10. (I love!!) They have several selection of coffee and plenty of seating. Restroom located at the back but you’ll need the key by the door. Nice little place to enjoy donut parties and coffee and chit chat with old buddies!!!

If you want delicious greasy donuts then this is the place to go. Also their ham and cheese croissants are made with two different types of bread at different times of the week I have no idea why but one of them is pretty good and the other is absolutely amazing either way 20 seconds in the microwave makes for super tasty treat.
Addicted to this place, love it

I stopped by randomly and tried a maple donut, chocolate, glaze, old fashioned glazed and apple fritter. Yes, according to Unilocal reviews it is a good place for donuts. Not oily and a neighborhood friendly for the locals.

Really good quality donuts for a great price. Half a dozen costs $ 4.50. Every time I have been in has been later in the day, but the donuts still taste like they were freshly baked. The glazed donuts are perfection with the insides soft and airy. Staff are really nice too.

How bad is it that The Golden Donut is a regular stop on the final leg of a 4 mile walk? How bad could it be that the stop usually coincides with when the donuts are coming out fresh from the fryer? How much worse is it that its such a regular stop, we are recognized by one of the ladies who will tell us to wait as she runs to the back to get the super fresh warm ones for us? She even fresh glazed them for us once! That glaze was piping hot and fabulous!
If this is really bad, I don’t want it to be good.

We are from out of state and happened to be driving in the area and I wanted coffee. We found this place on the same street as Starbucks. I’m not a big fan of donuts so I ordered their Porky English Muffin sandwich (I dont remember the exact name), my dad orders a BLT and my daughter and grandma ordered donuts.
The owners seemed very nice. Instead of yelling out the order for their customers to come and grab it themselves, they came to us and put it on our table. I don’t know if they do it all the time, but that’s class.
The breakfast sandwich was delish. The english muffin was toasted perfectly. I enjoyed every bite of it! The donuts were also really delish as well. No complaints.

It’s a bummer that it’s cash only, but the staff is really nice in the sense that they’ll tell you where Wells Fargo is and wait for you to go get cash. I should give it two stars but I work in the hospitality industry and tend to be nicer than I should be.
My iced mocha was just a hot mocha out of a machine with ice in it, so it was kind of jacked up. The cinnamon roll is greasy on the bottom like it was fried at too low of a temperature and the batter absorbed a lot of oil.
On the plus side, the donuts are beautiful and it’s a family-​owned shop.

NEVER AGAIN.
I love donuts and I tend to visit any shop in sight. I order a dozen donut holes for $ 1.29 and my favourite French cruller.
The donuts are no good. The French cruller was hollow and it just tasted bad. It didn’t taste like dough at all, I can’t even describe what that was but it wasn’t good. And the donut holes were the same. Weird texture. Almost rubbery and chewy.
My stomach didn’t feel good after so I’ll definitely NEVER come back here. I’ll stick to All Star Donuts. I’d rather have no donuts than these donuts.
Maybe the bread is better?

Funny story here is I came here really buzzed to use the restroom rather than getting donuts… I bought two donuts since I didn’t want to be rude. The lady gave me a free donut on the house with my purchase. Excellent service! The donuts tasted really good also. Yay!

If you want a straightforward, pink-​box-​type donut, this is the place to go if you’re in the area. I like this place as much as Bob’s on Polk to be honest, but huge plus for this spot being open at least until midnight.
I was drinking with some buddies across the street at Nag’s Head, and ended up here because I was hungry. I wound up buying more donuts than I had planned for, and brought them back to the bar, which the bartenders were totally cool with. Moments later, we all walked back to the donut shop before it closed and they sold us some more even though they were in the middle of closing. Bonus points for these people. Ever since, I keep calling this place «Epic Donuts» because the donuts hit the spot that night. Giggity. I came back here a few days ago because I took my parents to dinner nearby at Hong Kong Lounge. When I realized where we were, I told my parents I had to come here buy some after dinner. I mean, there goes the diet for today, right? Heck, I even got my parents to buy a couple for themselves.
Glazed, maple, twist, old fashioned, etc. They have it all, man. The Asian folks that run this place are nice, and they make some damn good donuts here.

I usually get a chocolate glazed yeast raised donut, everywhere i go.
It looks so simple, but it’s not really easy to make.
This one looked really big and fluffy, as did their other donuts. I was excited to take a bite. But when I did, I was disappointed. The taste wasn’t there. The chocolate was a lighter color than usual and it didn’t have that chocolate-​glazed taste that i’m used to. The donut was fluffy but, the taste wasn’t up to par.

Like the Everlasting Gobstopper, a recipe to a perfect candy as is a maker of a tasty donut is hard to find! I’ve been looking… shop by shop… for a place that makes the perfect French donut… and by golly, I’ve found my Golden [ticket] Donut!!!
So what’s so great about a French [cruller] donut?
#1. The FAT… great bakers DON’T skimp on egg yolks. The more the egg yolks, the lighter the donut! DO gimme all the cholesterol!!! …I only live once.
#2. Traditionally, it’s made of pâte à choux dough… flour, butter, water, and eggs. This is the typical French pastry dough that is used to make cream puffs & eclairs. Yesssh!!! …that same light, delicate texture u get when u bite into a cream puff or éclair is the same feeling when u bite into this French donut!
#3. Unlike the normal way choux pastry is prepared, which is baked, the French donut is FRIED & sugar-​glazed!!! …cuz everyone knows that practically everything tastes better when it’s fried & dipped in melted sugar or chocolate!
So combine the Everlasting Gobstopper, Charlie Bucket, & Willy Wonka together… is like describing how much I’m like a simple gal with a hellavaa picky palate! I expect no less than a baker’s perfections… I want all the elements of that light airiness, sweet crispy shell, but soft-​eggy center… all the fat and all the sugar… all in a simple, but complicated French cruller donut!
CONVENIENCE: ***** [Located in the Inner Richmond dist./corner of 18^th & Geary St., metered parking or residential parking available, open LATE till midnight!]
AMBIANCE: **** [Get a whiff of the aromas of freshly baked donuts around the corner of the shop… appears to be empty most of the time.]
SERVICE: ***** [These ladies aim to please! If they sell out, they will tell u when the next batch will be available.]
PRICE: $ [1.10 for a French donut, CASH only.]
OVERALL: ***** [5-​stars… cuz instantaneously after one bite… *side-​jumping while clicking heels together in mid-​air* …I felt like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory when he found his GOLDEN TICKET!!!]
Just throw some BACON on top… and I’ll be in heaven!
Nuff said.
[#39 of 100 Unilocal CHALLENGE 2013]