The Donut Experiment

I always love to try fun places like this and I’m so glad I did. Great selection of icing and toppings which make the donut SO good. Also, just the cake part of the donut is insanely tasty. Would highly recommend this yummy donut shop.

What a FUN place to visit –for vacation.
Donuts are hot, fresh and delicious! Really enjoyed them a lot. Kids loved it.
But donuts are all they have, which I understand, but after three days I was donuted-​out. I really wanted a breakfast burrito or something different. The coffee was okay, not wild. But it’s called the Donut experiment, not the Coffee experiment, so we go in knowing the territory.
Service is a bit slow — due to the popularity and due to the fact you get to watch them make your donut (s) while you watch (hence, freshness). I don’t think they can speed up the process, so it’s an art to make and a wait to enjoy these pastries.

I didn’t think I was too much of a donut lover. I see a handful of donut shops popping up in Tampa, yet never been.
Donut experience was right here at my fingertips, and right next to the delicious Poppo’s Taqueria. I had to make sure to try it before I left the island.
We ordered a half dozen donuts that are made to order. They included key lime, caramel apple pie, coconut and vanilla, maple bacon, fruity pebbles, and chocolate with raspberry drizzle. So far I’ve tried chocolate raspberry and maple bacon. I can’t believe how light they taste. It’s not intense sweetness either. It is just perfect.

We sadly found this shop on our last day at Anna Maria Island. Man, it was awesome. Not only did they serve some decent coffee (we had a hard time finding some during the rest of the week). There were so many combinations to choose from (and believe me, I think I could have eaten a dozen myself) but I decided to go with one of the special donuts at the time (key lime). I’ve definitely never had a key lime donut before, but figured it would be a fun one to try while in Florida for a while. The donut was awesome — it was cake-​based, not too sickly sweet and it was oh so warm and delicious. Definitely worth a stop in here if you are a local or visiting the area.

Great Donuts and such a fun experience watching the staff make your doughnuts. The cake batter doughnuts are very filling and their options for customization are incredible. Of course the wait was very long. We ordered doughnuts and went to the house we were renting nearby to make coffee. I’d advise finding a time to go when they aren’t busy. It’s a fun place to go if you’re on a vacation.

Custom donuts. Donuts designed by you. Brilliant idea, good execution, end result is pretty decent. Would I crave these confections and go out of my way and wait an exorbitant amount of time to get them? No. But it’s a delicious experiment all the same, and what makes these special is the make-​it-​your-​own options where you can specify a glaze/​icing and a particular topping (they also have in-​house specialties) for each donut. Superb house iced coffee was a definite plus. I could have drank a gallon of the stuff.
We sampled the maple bacon (have had better); chocolate peanut butter (meh); caramel sea salt (a winner); and their custom key lime pie (excellent). Price is just right too.
For those that live in or nearby cities, this donut fad is not new. I definitely have had much better donuts in said cities, but these can stand on their own. My Wish list: wish they had offered other different types of donuts as well (chocolate, etc), wish you could get some served fresh and hot, wish there were more coffee options, wish there were more child friendly beverage options. Other teeny gripes: very little indoor seating; not much in the way of directions on how to order, but you can figure it out soon enough. Nice breakfast (or anytime) treat to be had in AMI.

We LOVE this place. Have been to Anna Maria twice in the past year and made sure to stop here both times. The first time was in January and we came at about 8:30am and they were pretty empty so there wasn’t much of a wait for donuts. We bought 1 dozen.
The second time we came was in May on a weekday around 9am. It was pretty busy and we had a large order. If you are ordering more than 1 dozen it is probably wise to call ahead. We ordered 2 dozen so we had to wait about 25 minutes, but not too bad. It’s pretty fun to watch them make them all.
I am pretty sure they are family owned and always very friendly each time we have come in. And the store is crazy adorable. Love the colors in there!
They have slips to the right of the store with pencils were you fill out a form checking what you want — totally customizable — whatever you can dream up. And then you total it all up and take the paper to the cash register to pay.
I’m not usually a fan of cake donuts like these but each donut we have tried has been amazing! They are made to order so they come out warm and fresh and delightful. My particular favorites are the coconut + chocolate icing, chocolate icing + chocolate chips and caramel + sea salt. I think next time I go back I will order 6 coconut + chocolate and 6 caramel + sea salt. But seriously it’s all so amazing. I almost wish we had ordered 3 dozen, 2 dozen didn’t seem like enough! The family devoured them up! We just grabbed a knife and cut them all up so we could each try plenty of different flavors, just a bit of each. Perfect!
If you are even remotely in the area you HAVE to come here. I wish I could find donuts like these close to home. This is the #1 thing I miss most from Anna Maria (other than the beach of course) To avoid the lines I would advise calling ahead or arriving early. We have always gone before 10 am and have not had to wait long at all (just wake your butt up early! It’s worth it!)

Been frequenting this place since it opened and the owners here do it right! Delicious product and unique style of choosing all your own toppings.
I promise you will not regret getting «The Joanne» — chocolate syrup, coconut and sea salt. It is probably my favorite donut in America.
Super excited that this place has been doing so well! Grab a donut here and walk down Gulf Drive to the Anna Maria Island Pier. That’s what I do anytime I have a guest in town that’s new to Anna Maria.