Sidecar Doughnuts & Coffee

I’m honestly not a huge donut eater so I was a bit skeptical about this place. But wow! This place is definitely a must visit! I love the unique and wide array of donut flavors they have! The shop itself is quite small but it has a nice rustic and hipster vibe to it. We ordered the huckleberry and black velvet! The huckleberry was definitely my favorite! I look forward to coming back for more! Yum!

Flavors of the days were Blood Orange, Violet, Passion Fruit. We got one of each with a savory item, the ham and eggs in a donut.
First off, the savory ham and eggs. What a treat! How do they for that all into a dough where the egg is still gooey? It’s pastry magic that tasted delicious!
The donuts were a hit or miss. Violet tasted like soap in your mouth. Yes it looks pretty, but man did it not taste it. The Passion Fruit was unique with its creamy flavor inside the donut. The little bits of passion fruit made this item very refreshing. My favorite out of them all was the Blood Orange. The flavor just punched your mouth in a good way. The dried fruit on top gave it a bitter sweetness.
Is it worth the hype? No, but that’s just me. Maybe I came on a bad flavor day.
The wait wasn’t long, but I can see how it can on a crazy weekend. Parking for the plaza is BADDDDD. I would park on the street and walk.

Soooo… these donuts are pricey. like $ 3 for a somewhat small donut… BUT, I think it’s worth a try!
It was my bday so I splurged :) …I got the maple bacon donut for my bf and the black velvet for me. The maple bacon donut was good. It’s not too sweet and you can taste the maple and bacon with every bite. The black velvet is a black onyx cocoa powder cake with vanilla bean cheese team glaze and edible rose petal. It was surprisingly good! Just the right kind of sweetness. I like how it had lightly crunchy edges.
I’d definitely go back and try their other donuts! I especially like how their donuts are fresh every hour and it works because although they don’t have a ton of flavor a, what they do have is well made and fresh :)

Previously, when I said that the donut craze was over. It was over before any other establishment began. You love donuts, I love donuts, and the whole entire universe loves donuts. This one may have found the perfect formula! All of us in Orange County have heard of and have probably visited an institution to the original spelling, DOUGHNUTS. We travel to the wonderful world of Sidecar Doughnuts & Coffee in Costa Mesa.
Sidecar Doughnuts is located in the busy city of Costa Mesa at the 17^th Street Promenade at the northwest corner of 17^th St and Santa Ana Ave. I will warn you right now, parking can be quite difficult especially when you have so many HOT businesses in the area. You can be driving around for awhile and be fighting many numerous vehicles for one spot. Fortunately for us, we found a spot right behind Sidecar Doughnuts next to their prestigious SideCar van. Now, I wonder if they make delivery runs. Please don’t tell me because I would be broke by just asking for a quote.
As you walk towards the front entrance, you will see the line of customers taking photos of SideCar’s creations. I truly believe that SideCar has reinvented the doughnuts. Even before you walk in, you’ll see an amazing work of many employees and staff hard at work. At other donut locations, you sometimes wonder why we don’t see many employees in and out of the doors. If you can’t show that hard work is put into one donut, then I don’t think you got my business. Unfortunately, I have seen it with my previous visit to another failed donut experiment. SideCar Doughnuts has seemed to integrate an old-​fashion bakery with the hip of the next generation philosophy of cool new doughnuts. Who uses the old spelling of «Doughnuts»?! SideCar does.
You will see an amazing display of many various offerings. Before you walk in, you can see what SideCar has to offer for the month. For the month of February 2016, they were offering, Black Velvet ($ 3.25), Violet ($ 3.75), Blood Orange ($ 3.25), Passionfruit Pavlova ($ 4.00), and Shaker Lemon Pie. I can’t imagine what SideCar had in the previous months and what they have stored for the future… IT’S A SECRET! There were so many choices with all appealing images. I saw a donut with a flower petal on it. OMG! I have to admit, that was the most BEAUTIFUL donut that I have ever seen. These donuts appeal to many wide variety of tastes and there is always a donut for you. My eyes were focused on the Shaker Lemon Pie ($ 3.75). The name alone got me oozing inside.
While I had just ONE donut, it was the most amazing one. The Shaker Lemon Pie had a whipped cream topping. I eat that right away. The lemon marmalade was very sweet and delicious. It had to be house made because it was very fresh. The donut is very simple and fluffy. I believe the donut shouldn’t change recipes… unless there is a filling inside. After devouring SideCar’s donuts, you can grab a cup of coffee with their own brand. I know its not a major focus, but it’s on their name and on the sign.
I am an idiot for just getting ONE donut. I guess I have to make a return trip. Their staff was extremely helping my girlfriend out in deciding what to choose. They didn’t ask what they needed to work on. Normally, it can be told on what sold and what didn’t. SideCar has perfected their system on preparing donuts to the use of social media. Right now, they are the King’s of the DOUGHNUT World. There are many challengers, but some have fallen and some are on par with SideCar. If you haven’t paid a visit, where have you been? There are many DOUGHNUTS waiting for you to devour and into your tummy!
Unilocal…My passion is not to write my reviews, but to share my experiences with you. Take that journey and share your story.

I’m shocked I haven’t reviewed this place yet! Hands down the best doughnut shop I’ve ever been to! My favorites are maple bacon and butter and salt. Just writing this is making my mouth water! If you’re in the area, you HAVE to go. I take all of my out of town, or even out of the area, guest here.
You guys rock, keep up the good work!

Based on friends’ recommendation, I tried this place out. It’s in a large strip mall where parking is available, but you may have to circle around during peak hours. Donuts are generally $ 2.75-$ 3.50.
Eat them fresh and hot. if not, re-​heat them up in your microwave.
I tried the following:
–Butter and Salt– Ok
–Huckleberry– Pretty good though I would be happy with the Blueberry donut from The Donuttery in HB.
–Blood Orange– def. tastes like blood orange though not too strong in flavor.
–Maple & Bacon– YUM! Loved the strong taste of both the crispy bacon and maple
–Passionfruit– Definitely one of my favorite donuts of all time. It has a gooey pudding filling inside and lots of whip cream on top which makes this donut messy to share. Next time, I’m not sharing this one!
I heard that they have a special donut each month.

Oh Sidecar, you truly do live up to the hype (what a trite phrase on Unilocal nowadays). I saw Sidecar on an episode of Cooking Channel’s Unique Sweets, and I knew I had to try their goodies the next time I was in the area. Most of the featured bakeries are never as good as the show makes them out to be, but Sidecar certainly was!
We arrived around 3 PM on a Friday afternoon. They stay open later certain days of the week, and I was concerned they would be out of all of the good flavors. However, they were fully stocked when we arrived! Service was very friendly by all staff members, and they patiently explained all of the flavors!
It was so hard to choose, but we went with an all chocolate donut and a cinnamon crunch style one. We couldn’t resist the Vietnamese iced coffee and iced tea as well. All four items were top notch!
The donuts were delectably fresh, warm, and decedent! The chocolate yeast was very unique, and not something I have seen executed well within a yeast donut. It perfectly balanced with the sweet, rich chocolate gauche on top! The cinnamon donut was divine, with large bits of fresh cinnamon and sugar. The donuts tasted remarkably fresh for 3 PM in the afternoon!
The Vietnamese iced coffee was great as well. Perfect balance of the strong coffee, dairy, and sweet flavors. The iced tea was perfectly cold and refreshing for the hot day.
The shop was pretty packed, but definitely grab a seat outdoors if you can! Nothing beats beautiful SoCal weather, fresh donuts, and iced drinks!
I will absolutely make a point of returning to Sidecar when I can to try the other flavors!

My obsession with donuts doesn’t seem to show any signs of slowing down! Therefore with the help of Unilocal,I discovered one of the best donut shops around. The reviews were overwhelmingly positive and the photos appealed to my sugar tooth. So we finally had an opportunity to stop by Sidecar Doughnuts to see if their products were reflective of their high reviews.
Sidecar Doughnuts is located in the city of Costa Mesa on the corner of 17^th Street and Santa Ana Ave. It is in a busy shopping center called the 17^th Street Promenade. Parking is difficult due to the popularity of Sidecar Doughnuts and the one of a kind trendy shops/​eateries that share the lot. Many people parked across the street or within the residential neighborhoods.
You’ll know that you’ve reached the right place when you see a line extending out the door. It can be crowded at times but somehow, they are able to get people in and out of the shop within a reasonable amount of time. Plus, as soon as you walk inside, you’ll be taken aback by the heavenly scent filling the air so you won’t think about all of the people crowding your space. The smell of fresh-​baked donuts will make you feel eager to bite into one of these darling treats. Also, the sight of empty racks behind the counter will make you realize just how popular this place is with its loyal customers and people who travel from further out.
The menu is posted behind the counter and also features monthly specials. Donuts at Sidecar are not your standard run of the mill flavors. Of course you can find a glazed twist donut for people that want to play it safe. However, I’d advise you to take some risks and go with your instincts when looking for something unique.
I chose a black velvet donut with vanilla frosting and a beautiful flower petal. This was not a light and fluffy donut. It was heavy and made with something similar to the texture of a cake. It even crumbled like a slice of cake just after one bite. It was very thick with a sweet, appealing flavor. The frosting was light and complimented the donut quite well.
We also picked up the cinnamon crumb donut for my aunt. I have never seen anything like this before so I had to pick this up for her. It had pieces of crumbled cinnamon and sugar on top that was applied evenly to the surface of the donut. After one bite, she showed me the donut and I could see that this also had a cake-​like texture versus the smoothness of your average donut. She also liked this donut and told me that they don’t have any donuts like this back home on Maryland!
I love the level of creativity that goes into creating their donuts. Huckleberry, butter & salt, and blood orange donuts are all very unique and rarely found elsewhere. These are good quality donuts ranging in price from $ 2.50 to $ 4.00. They may not be large but they are very filling. A trip to Sidecar Doughnuts is highly recommended if you are searching for something delicious and unique. This is one business that definitely lives up to to their high reviews. Step inside and see why so many people rave about Sidecar Doughnuts!

Someone told me about this place. I’m surprised I’ve never heard of it. I decided to venture in. Place as packed. The store front isn’t very big but they are quick and well staffed. I got ten different ones including some with real flowers on top. The only one I actually ate was the bacon. So so good. It was the right amounts of sweet, salty, and savory. I brought the rest to the office and everyone seemed to love them. Really friendly staff.

OMG this place is SO GOOD! I’ve had this place bookmarked for a really long time and I was able to finally try it! Their donuts are always super fresh and its not too doughy. It’s at the corner of the plaza and there are plenty of parking spots. The store itself is pretty small. It definitely a grab and go kind of thing. BUT they do have outdoor seating, which is nice. If you don’t want to eat there you can ask for it togo and they give you this cute box!
I tried the lemon meringue and it was delicious! It was a lemon filling topped with cream & pie crumble. The cream was super light and fluffy! It wasn’t too sweet and had the perfect taste! The glazed donut was also super fluffy and yummy! I also tried the huckleberry and it was also really good! The glaze on top is so perfect and the donut has little berries mixed in it. The level of sweetness was also on point. They also have coffee and other unique donuts. I’m definitely going to be back for more! The only downside is how expensive these donuts are! :(Those 2 donuts I got were about $ 7 total! But I guess its pretty worth it because it’s so good!

Sick of the same ol glazed and sprinkle donuts? Looking for gourmet donuts? I totally recommend Sidecar!
You can’t go wrong with the Maple Bacon, or the Huckleberry donuts that are made every hour. They’re always soft, delicious and goes especially well with coffee. Which Sidecar also sells! They proudly serve Stumptown coffee. My favorite is their iced Vietnamese coffee. It’s slightly sweet and slightly creamy, but still has the amazing coffee taste that goes especially well with donuts.
Do not get discouraged by the lines here. It goes by fairly quick.
If you can’t find parking in the front, there’s also some in the back.

$ 3.50 Banana Foster Donut
$ 3 Maple Bacon Donut
$ 4 Coffee
Another wonderful place for hipsters to gather and take cute photos with cute pricey food.
On the real, worth the hype of these donuts. I honestly didn’t think I’d be able to justify paying $ 3 for a donut, but these were definitely not your average donut.
Banana Foster Donut was so amazing. The cream they used in the middle was thick and paired so perfectly with the donut. The dough itself had the perfect hint of banana. I am honestly not a fan of bananas, but I opted for this donut because the cream looked so good… I was definitely not disappointed.
The Maple Bacon Donut was surprisingly just as good. I thought the bacon on it was gonna be some ghetto diner type of bacon, and that the maple glaze was just going to be like syrup, but I was gladly wrong. The bacon was like REAL BACON. I don’t know how else to describe it, but it paired really well with the subtle maple glaze.
The coffee was $ 4 and it was good, but at that price I might as well go to Starbucks because even their coffee isn’t as overpriced for the portion… That’s pretty sad.

I’m not a big doughnut person, but I LOVEEEE Sidecar’s Doughnuts! They are made FRESH every hour, and the quality of these pastries are excellent! Pricier than your average doughnut, but you get what you pay for.
If you’re craving something savory, the GREEN EGGS & HAM is the way to go. This delightful doughnut is filled with a soft boiled egg, ham, and pesto. The yolk is runny, and the doughtnut itself is not soggy and stays together very well. The flavors work perfectly together, and I love that the bread isn’t thick or oily.
My favorite sweet doughnut here is the BUTTER + SALT flavor– who knew something so simple could be this amazing? I’m all for that sweet + salty combination when it comes to my dessert, so this definitely hit the spot. The combination of the buttery dough with a light sprinkle of sea salt… heaveeeenn in my mouuuthh! Like all their doughnuts, you know it’s fresh when the glaze has that crisp bite to it, yet super soft and warm on the inside.
My next favorite sweet doughnut is the HUCKLEBERRY. Not only is this appealing to the eye, but it is also very yummy. There are fresh huckleberries in the doughnut, and I love that sweet glaze they use!
The one doughnut I wasn’t too fond of is the PERSIMMON flavor– if you’re into dried fruit, you might like this one.

Love love love love Sidecar donuts!!!
Small donut shop located in a busy plaza with plenty of parking and about 5 tables outside. Consisering the weather was getting chilly, sitting there shaking is like shaving a few calories, right? Geez the lines gets long consistently but it does move fairly fast. Con: no restroom but they suggest Starbucks on the other end of the plaza.
You can check on thier website for the seasonal flavors. They make the donuts in small batches and they don’t have anything past 30 mins from what we have seen. If you’re looking for a particular one, you can order with them.
Donuts!!!
Maple Bacon– best one I ever had. Super delicious and perfectly balanced. Must get! Worth the 30 mins wait for a new batch.
Banana Frosters– OMG it’s like definitely worth the calories. Must get!
Persimmon pudding cake– looks so pretty but doesn’t satisfy my pallet. The ginger was heavily infused, great if your into ginger.
New years– love the crunch but it wasn’t as memorable as the others. My guy wasn’t too fond but I was.
Huckleberry– sorry looks appealing but totally not what we were expecting.
I think we had a longer twist donut? Easily forgottable.
All the workers were nice and patient as we look into which ones we wanted. The cashier recommended their coffees to compliment the donuts… we felt it didn’t do the donuts justice. We love Stumptown! But we would pass on it next time. Vietnamese coffee is just espresso with condense milk. Mocha is on the darker side but was completely lost. There’s also coffee fixings inside but you have to brave the crowd.

Passion fruit guava and choc-​a-​lot donuts were bombbbbbbbb!!!
A bit overpriced for donuts but still pretty good.
I got 4 donuts and a coffee at $ 17

This was my third time coming to Sidecar. The first two times, I was enthralled with this place and its fancy donuts and amazing coffee. However, my third time here was quite disappointing. This may be because I had hyped it so much for my friends and they also heard everyone raving about this place. We were all so excited to go…
We ordered the huckleberry, cinnamon crumb, guava and chocolate to share. Maybe it’s because we were all full from brunch, but everyone was very underwhelmed with the donuts. The texture wasn’t as I remembered it to be, as this time it tasted undercooked and therefore, very doughy. In fact, as we were eating the chocolate donut, my friends and I concluded that it tasted doughy because, in fact, it WAS dough!
So my no-​nonsense friend took our half-​eaten donut (more like ¾) and showed it to the cashier. They then confirmed that the donut was undercooked, refunded my friend for the eaten donut and replaced it was another one. They then proceeded to dump all of the chocolate donuts that were still being sold. They also gave us two «free donut» coupons.
I like how they quickly owned up to their mistake. However, selling undercooked donuts is a grave mistake and I’m sure they lost a lot of customers that day (who took their chocolate donuts to-​go). I just don’t understand how the donuts were undercooked, as I’m sure there is a baking system in place at a popular donut establishment such as Sidecar.
Despite the undercooked donut, the texture of the other donuts were also more doughy than I would like them to have been. I think they were all a little undercooked, perhaps because there were so many customers. But I also didn’t enjoy the guava flavor, as the glaze on the donut tasted overwhelmingly like guava but was not something I would want on a donut.
Because of my last bad experience, I will never again crave Sidecar donuts. However, I’d probably go if a friend wanted to check it out, but I’d limit myself to the basics (or less fancy) like the Huckleberry or Cinnamon Crumble Donut. I’m hoping the undercooked donuts thing is contained as a one-​time experience and they will redeem themselves as a trustworthy donut shop!

This place is insanely good. It easily destroys Blue Star donut.
My wife and I tried the following:
— Persimon Cake … probably our least favorite due to too much ginger.
— Choc A Lot … chocolaty as can be.
— Salty Caramel … I liked this more than my wife
— Butter & Salt … we agreed this was the BEST donut ever!
— Maple Bacon … I love this!

Yum! The donuts here were quite good! The parking in the plaza was quite terrible though, and it took me some amount of time driving in circles and waiting before I could find a parking spots.
I ended up trying the Buche de Noël, which was a chocolate donut with pistachio crumbles and what had the texture of like a freeze dried mushroom on top. The donut itself was excellent, it was just the right amount of sweet, a good texture that was especially highlighted by the pistachio, and was just overall good. I’m not quite sure how the mushroom fit into the picture though, it didn’t really add or take anything away from the donut itself, it was just kind of there.

The BEST gluten-​free and corn-​free donuts on planet Earth!
I came here for the first time with my girlfriend a few days ago. She told me that she heard great things about this place and that they had gluten-​free donuts.
We called in advance to ensure that they had gluten-​free donuts in stock (some donut shops sell out for the day). The man whom answered the phone was very courteous and helpful. He informed us that they always have their donut flavors in stock because they cook a new batch every 45 minutes.
In addition to their store looking absolutely amazing on the inside, their donuts are superb.
I highly recommend trying their huckleberry donut.

These donuts are pricey! $ 3-​$ 4 a donut! I’ll admit, they are unique, but just because this is located in Costa Mesa doesn’t mean it should be that pricey. The employees and patrons seem very hipster but snobby at the same time (I guess that’s expected if we are near Newport Beach!), so we didn’t quite fit in here.
I liked the huckleberry donut! It was so rich in flavor and so fluffy. I loved the ample choices they have on the menu. We also got the apple fritter, which was also pretty impressive, not overly sweet but just right.
Over all, it was nice to finally try this place but I wouldn’t choose to come here that often. We usually go to South Coast Plaza and never make the effort to go south of it because there doesn’t seem to be much to do there, so after this trip, I would probably just come here once a year haha.