Balboa Bakery & Deli & Donuts

Balboa Bakery & Deli & Donuts is located on Balboa Island (or peninsula, to be accurate), so you either have to drive across or cross the ferry. It costs $ 3.77 with tax for a chocolate covered frozen banana (toppings optional). I got mine with almonds, but they also have sprinkles and Oreo pieces. It wasn’t as sweet as I imagined, but I didn’t know whether to be pleasantly surprised or a little disappointed. Usually I am not that big a sweet tooth, but I did expect a chocolate covered frozen banana to be sweeter than it was. All in all, it is a unique sweet treat for a hot summer (or winter!) day in Newport.
I can’t compare it to other frozen bananas in Newport, namely Dad’s Donut & Bakery Shop (which is apparently a must try) and Sugar ‘N Spice. Both of these places are on Marine Street in Newport before crossing the ferry. Next time I will have to try frozen bananas at both these places before I come out with my final verdict.
tl;dr: If you already took the ferry to the peninsula, go to Balboa Bakery. Otherwise, try the other two options. Their lines seemed way longer!

Had a delicious ham, eggs, and cheese croissant here before going over to Davey’s Locker for whale watching. Service was good, prices are reasonable, and the croissant sandwich was perfect. They were very generous with the eggs in my breakfast croissant sandwich. Highly recommended!

Had a great ham, egg, and cheese croissant here. Servers were friendly and they were quick. Thank you for being open when nothing else was open yet! I would come here again for a quick bite!

Disgusting. I asked for a mango pineapple smoothie and noticed a blender with some old smoothie remnants in it. I was assuming they’d get a clean blender container but to my dismay, they dumped the old sludgey liquid into a cup then dumped my smoothie ingredients into the dirty blender right in front of me! I questioned the guy and he acted like he didn’t understand. Needless to say, I didn’t get my smoothie :(

Stopped by here for breakfast while out early taking pictures and visiting the pier at Balboa. Decided to stop by for convince and man let me tell you this place was quiet the hit. Tones of people, kids, tourist, lifeguards. You name it they were here ! My mom got a chocolate milk and sprinkle donut, dad got a coffee, and I got a banana nut muffin and a mini naked smoothie. Total was $ 10 so good for a fast cheap place. Unfortunately though the food quality was determined by the price. The muffin was dry, it did taste like banana and nuts but just nothing great. No better than store bought muffins. The donut was also dry and could be better bought at the grocery store. Out of connivence it was good but no other reason to go.

Stopped here before getting on the Catalina Flyer. Actually a really decent everything bagel and my husband enjoyed the ham, egg, and cheese croissant. Their donuts looked good! Pretty fast service – seems like they serve just about every kind of fair junk food you could want.

This is the kind of small independent place we need to keep supporting if we don’t want the chains to take over everywhere. It’s the only place I’ve gone to for chocolate covered frozen bananas in the last 40 years. Also, my mother bought me my first cream puff there, around 1953. Most importantly, the staff is welcoming. Luv ‘em. :-)

Service was alright, staff seemed very attentive. Food wasn’t great in my opinion, maybe it depends on what you get. The danishes were pretty bad, but a friend got a sandwich and said it was good. Another got a smoothie and said it was delicious.

Delicious smoothies and croissants the will fill you up =) service could be a bit faster but nothing you can’t deal with.

Ordered a smoothie but it was okay, I wouldn’t go out of my way to get it here. I also bought a ham and cheese croissant which was okay too.
Overall, the food was nothing special, it was just a convenient location. Oh yeah, they charge $ 0.50 to use a credit card.

Interesting colorful shop. They sell food but mostly ice cream and donuts. I got a maple long john. It was very tasty but didnt last long because I love maple donuts and their fate is to be eaten very quickly and in great quantity by me. Its interesting how big donut culture is here in SOCA.

Wanted a hot drink asap after being on a christmas boat ride for about a hour.
Walking to get to our car we came across this little place to get maybe a hot chocolate or coffee, after seeing a few pastries on display I felt a chocolate drink was in order.
It was a machine hot chocolate which to be honest is what you expect now since no one actually makes homemade hot chocolate unless you’re in a Coffee shop and this place was more of a donut and lottery place.
Tried their strawberry and cheese croissant (more Danish really) and a maple buttermilk donut. We took it to go since seating is limited, well actually there was seating but it was 9:50pm and when looking at my Unilocal app it stated it closed at 9pm.
Headed to our car to enjoy the hot chocolate and pastries. The hot chocolate was delicious but let it cool down, the hot magma shouldn’t be sipped at all in the first 15 mins. The strawberry & cheese croissant which was a Danish was ok, not too much of everything, tasted fine, the buttermilk donut was good as well.
Would I stop in again, why not, it is pretty cheap for a tasty treat.

This place deserves 3 stars, but I LOVE donuts SO much, I can’t give it less than 4.
The service has always been good to me, as in there’s someone always at the counter. For being a place that’s not in a crowded area, that’s a plus.
The donuts don’t always taste so fresh, but they’re donuts and I love them!
Give this place a shot, if only for the donuts. Donuts!

Went in to buy the kids a treat after whale watching and as soon as you walk in they expect you to order. «Uhm! Can I have a minute please? » It’s like the soup nazi episode on Seinfeld where you have to have your order ready and you cant’s smile, make conversation, small talk or anything or you’ll upset the soup nazi.
Anyway the place is large for a sweets shop and kinda has a feel like a mini food court so I wasn’t even sure if the two sides where even the same business. The kids decided what they wanted and we ordered he rudely gave us our ice cream and sent us on our way charging us an extra 50 cents for using our debit card.
Never again! The ice cream is not even made in house it’s Dreyers.

The worst customer service. They are hanging on every word waiting for you to order. They don’t give you an opportunity to look at the menu and give you an attitude when you finally decide. Never again!

Great rests spot after ridding a rented bike around. Very friendly staff. The bananas were amazing!

Came in here last night at 10 pm. Everyone in our group got something different, ice cream, donut, muffin, croissant. We were all very happy with our choices! I’ve had the chocolate croissant in the past and it was wonderful. They were out of them so I had the almond croissant. They warmed it up and is was delicious!
This place has been around for a very long time. We love it!

The perfect place to grab a quick bite before your whale watching tour… prepare to be astounded by SO MANY CHOICES!
Sandwiches with all types of deli meat and add ons (yes, avocado is certainly an option), croissant sandwiches, breakfast sandwiches, Dreyer’s scooped ice cream, desserts on a stick (cheesecake on a stick), dipped-​in-​chocolate-​things on a stick, milkshakes, coffee concoctions, chips galore, tempting carrot cake slices, and butter pound cake.
Best of all? There is a cartoon mural on the wall filled with all of your favorite throwback characters– charlie brown, snoopy & woodstock, garfield, bugs bunny, and many more.
There is ample seating, prices are fair, and they are fairly efficient. I recommend the veggie sandwich with bacon, ham and swiss croissant, and ice cream on a cone.

They make their own waffles!!! It was crunchy and fresh and I could smell from the outside that’s how i got in the store… the whole store is filled with yummy goodies. .ice cream, shakes, cookies, donuts, croissants, burgers. …
I wanna eat everything in there… I didn’t! I got a burger it was juicy, my tummy was happy and it got happier after I got my ice cream !
Love this place, it is a family owned!

We got a balboa ice-​cream bar since its been plastered everywhere around balboa island.
I thought it was nice and fresh but really its just a artificial vanilla-​ish bar prewrapped in a freezer and dipped into chocolate and meshed with some sprinkles. If you plan on spending $ 4 on a icecream bar for the experince, i suggest you skip it and hop on over to a convient store and get the real deal. Better tasting and way more satisfying!