Opening bang on in the heart of Leicester Square, featuring the fanciest looking doughnuts headlined by a celebrity pastry chef – Donutelier London is bound to set off massive hypes from the very get-go. And so it did as you see queue after queue of people at the shop eagerly waiting to get their hands on these luxury artisan doughnuts. Despite my initial eye-rolling reaction at yet another overpriced new hype spot, I must admit that it’s rather tempting every time I walk past and see their bakers hard at work crafting these gorgeous-looking doughnuts through the large glass window. Since they’ve now changed their dough recipe to alcohol-free and made them halal-friendly, I’m curious to find out if they’re worth the hype.
Donutelier by Roladin: Luxury Artisan Donuts to Impress
Stepping into Donutelier by Roladin was like stepping into a fancy patisserie at a high-end hotel. The interiors oozed luxury, featuring marble tabletops and brass cake stands that showcase a variety of enticing doughnuts dangling in your face. There are plenty of alluring flavours available to choose from and every single one of them looks like a piece of artwork that’s almost too pretty to dig in. After all, Donutelier by Roladin did say they’re going to create “visual masterpieces” and “bring some of the most innovative and luxurious doughnuts the world has ever seen to London”.
Other than their signature doughnuts, Donutelier also offers cruffins, croissants, cookies, etc. People come mostly for takeaways but there are limited seatings inside the shop should you like to sit down and perhaps enjoy a cup of coffee together with the doughnuts. Though do note that there’s an additional eat-in price.
Donutelier has confirmed that they’ve changed their doughnut recipe to alcohol-free with the exception of the almond croissant. All doughnuts use fish gelatin.
What We Ordered at Donutelier London
Date of visit: May 2023
Vanilla Cookie Cream Donut (£6)
Who doesn’t love a bit of Oreos cookie n’ cream combo, right? As pretty as this Vanilla Cookie Cream Donut looked, do be warned that this gets very sweet. If anything, it was overly sweet to the point it was a tad bit sickening halfway through. Whilst the dough was nicely fluffy and airy to bite, it was the sugary glaze that was being overdone. With all the cream fillings & additional toppings, it was just too much.
Vanilla Pecan Donut (£6)
The Vanille Pecan Donut fared slightly better as the pecan nuts add some sort of balance against the decadent sweetness. But we still found it too much and couldn’t enjoy it properly. It was nice that the pecan nuts add a little extra texture & crunch to the doughnut and one can’t go wrong with a touch of pecan praline either. However, as I said, it’s overdone and fails to hit a fine balance.
Donutelier Review Summary: Is It Worth Trying?
My honest answer is yes and no. Yes as they’re still nice doughnuts and are certainly a beauty to look at. However, the answer is no if you’re expecting your palate to be wowed. The downfall is that these doughnuts were far too sickeningly sweet to properly enjoy them. There’s nothing wrong with being rich and indulgent, but there is a fine balance to that. The Treats Club is a great example of creating really decadent doughnut combos but nailing that balance impeccably, whereas Donutelier failed to do so in this case. By no means were they bad, but at a starting price of £5.50 per doughnut, I don’t think it was unreasonable of me to expect more from them.
OUR RATING:
-
Food
-
Value for Money
