Donut Panic

5 stsr for freshness & unique flavors. My reccomendation: Thai tea & lemon lavender donuts. 2 donuts & a cofee for $ 5!

Donut Panic rocks the mouth! And wonderful fritters for your non-​vegan friends. The vegan cream cheese was a wonderful, smooth and delicious.
So glad I found a vegan treat I can eat and not feel like it is not as good as a donut for non-​vegans

Vegan donuts? WT? Made the decision to try them, and figured they’d be pretty good. I guess for non traditional donuts, they were not bad. However, was definitely able to taste that they were vegan. Not my cup of tea. I wanted to like them, but can’t.

The best kept secret of San Diego! The vegan donuts are beyond excellent, the atmosphere is fun and exciting. The staff is incredibly helpful and knowledgeable. Do yourself a favor and check this place out!

I really liked the idea of the vegan donut flavors. Earl Grey. Rosewater and cardamom. Maple bacon (though not sure what the «bacon» on a vegan donut is made of). Chai. I tried Earl Grey and the rosewater and cardamom.
The flavors are only in the glaze, and they are very very very very VERY light. It tasted like a sugar glaze with a slight hint aftertaste of those flavors. I could not get any Earl Grey flavor at all. I asked my daughter (a certified super taster) to try them and neither could she. However, the donuts had a very pleasant light texture, not too greasy.
I am glad that we have a «fancy» donut place in the ‘hood. But I think they need to make these flavors more concentrated to be truly successful and make people return.
My kids got regular donuts and enjoyed them. Again, not greasy. And lest you think kids are not-​discerning, they have thrown away greasy donuts instead of eating them– they ate the whole half dozen.

I hate to have to say this place has horrible donuts! I wanted to like it but we found nothing good about all 7 donuts we tried!
We went at 9am and asked the nice guy behind the counter what was what and we were looking forward to trying the vegan donuts too! So we picked out 7 random donuts to share and sadly, we threw them all away after a bite of each!
When the guy was telling us the difference in the donuts he said the «these were marked down to $ 1 each since they are from yesterday». While we thought he was talking about the one specific donut, we decided not to get that one. Then we got home and thought about it… we paid $ 7 and some change for 7 donuts… and they were stale and tasteless! Obviously the guy was talking about all the donuts being marked down since they were old.
It was 9am… What the heck time do the fresh ones come out?!

Okay so I’m a little confused. This place USE to be a donut shop that was awesome. THEN they closed down and reopened with the name «sunshine donut bakery» (misleading) the sign outside says donut panic still but whatever. I walked in and the male at the counter was a little rude. I got an ice coffee and a croissant with cheese. I didnt want to buy donuts just yet. The guy got me an ice coffee (tall) I don’t think I’ve ever tasted a cols brew as gross as that one lol. My croissant was a little burnt and the cheese was noticeably processed square kind. Nasty oh and my coffee had a single block of ice floating around in it. Mmm not going there again. Tip: Be nicer to your customers. No body wants to spend money to feel awkward and uncomfortable.

They have vegan donuts! Chocolate glazed with jimmies are the best! Not the prettiest presentation but very tasty! Have been here a few times and will return. Definitely a dive donut shop.

So lucky we have a vegan donut shop here in San Diego! They’re so nice and the donuts are bomb! my fave is the apple fritter and Maple «bacon»

Best vegan donuts ever! My co-​workers didn’t even know the glazed cake vegan donuts were vegan.

You have to try really hard — and I mean damned hard — to find a happen in Mission Gorge, because it’s just not set up for happen, unless your idea of happen is buying a used car or a bucket of carne asada fries, so when you walk into a humble donut shop there and hear BLONDE ON BLONDE and see the VINYL SPINNING ON THE TURNTABLE as you order your VEGAN MAPLE WITH BAVARIAN CREAM, then you’ve probably found the happen. And when you sit down and dig the DYLAN and the MAPLE and a cup of coffee and side 1 is finished and your fingers are gooey and the staff is suddenly really busy with customers but you feel good enough about the place to walk over flip the record to SIDE 2 your OWN DAMN’ SELF, and SPINNING VINYL «I WANT YOU» starts playing, then ohyesbygum that is almost certainly the happen in Mission Gorge, if, as I say, there is one. And when you tell the young woman behind the counter that you took the liberty of flipping the record and what does she want to hear next and she smiles and says, «Find something you like and play it,» then the Mission Gorge happen begins to look as though it may never stop, because she’s got THREE BIG CRATES of original vinyl — not the $ 16.95-a-copy new stuff — filled with Muddy Waters and Gershwin and Randy Newman and Bach and James Taylor and Ella Fitzgerald and Steely Dan and Miles Davis and Hendrix and old Fleetwood Mac and Shostakovich and a copy of Sgt. Pepper without the jacket because if the jacket were there it would be easy to find, and then everybody in the world might play it incessantly, and it dawns on you that you can MAKE ALL THE HAPPEN YOU WANT. So you put on «Voices» by Hall & Oates because you haven’t heard «Kiss on My List» in ages, but after a few minutes you remember that there’s a lot of crap before you get to that track and you can feel that you’re squandering the happen mercilessly and you think that BILLIE HOLIDAY or even JOAN BAEZ might have been a better choice, but the young woman behind the counter is forgiving and feigns pleasure that you’ve picked a record she hasn’t heard in a long time either, so you gently remove it and put on «Bringing It All Back Home» and she says, «Cool! You found the other one,» and you admit to her that you made a mistake in queering the Dylan vibe with the Hall & Oates and luckily THE HAPPEN COMES BACK AGAIN. So you sit down to finish your coffee and give «Maggie’s Farm» the attention it has deserved your whole life and then you look through more records and pick up the first copy of «Songs for Swingin’ Lovers» that you’ve EVER HELD IN YOUR HANDS and that about a zillion people (like your parents) fell in love to and populated North America to the sounds of, and you read the campy liner notes about Sinatra’s career, and you think «Man, wouldn’t ‘I’ve Got You Under My Skin’ sound good right after ‘Bob Dylan’s 115^th Dream,’» but it’s Christmas Eve and you really should crack on with those errands, so you decide to reserve it for next time.
And there will be a next time because you have found the happen at the Donut Panic on Mission Gorge Road and YOU WILL BE BACK.

The man behind the counter, I’m assuming is the owner, is the grumpiest and most rude man I have ever had the displeasure to meet. He greets you with a frown and silence. I went in today to pick up some vegan donuts for a friend. I specifically stated the kinds that I wanted, and he proceeded to grab the wrong kinds, and stuffed them in a bag. I politely corrected him and asked for a box instead of a bag, and he glared at me, started to argue «No! This bag is big enough for half dozen!»
Excuse me? I’m sorry, I’m your customer asking for your products and to have them presented to me in a nice manner. A rude owner that jacks the prices of vegan donuts up just because, does not bode well for business. Don’t go here, you’re wasting your time if you do.

It pains me to say but Donut Panic is just an okay Vegan Donut proprietor. They have a large variety of flavors compared to Whole Foods, Nomad, Donut Bar, etc. but the little anytime cakes are very average. I tried the chocolate, strawberry, vanilla, and maple coconut because hey, you don’t live my life man. All a little greasy and a little dry, a common factor in the less remarkable offerings of the vegan pastry market.
An okay sugar fix, but if you have the calories to waste I would seek out Moncai Vegan for truly great Vegan Donuts.

They aite.
I know, I guess I’m spoiled with the specialty donut places around downtown San Diego. But I went today and they’re just OK.
None of the donuts seemed fresh out of the oven, and to be honest the fact that they had yesterday’s donuts out in the open on top of the counter really distracted me. Also the man behind the counter did seem to glare at us which I didn’t like; I’m sorry I’m an indecisive person when it comes to donuts Mr.
When I came in the choices were all the typical ones (maple, strawberry, coconut flakes, brown sugar, vegan versions of these flavors, etc.) which is crazy since I came in at 8:10 AM. I was surprised to see all the pretty flavors on their Unilocal page! WHERE WERE THEY WHEN I WENT? I guess I came too late :(
The vegan donuts are pricier at $ 10.50 a half dozen while the non-​vegan ones are only $ 5. So I split a vegan donut with a friend and it just tasted like a typical donut. No gooey deliciousness. Just okay.
The décor was pretty nice, but the couch they had looks old and not sanitary to sit on. I know they also have coffee and an espresso machine but I didn’t try it so no say on that. Since I’m from La Jolla I wouldn’t say that it was worth the 20 minute drive, but if you live close by I’d say give it a go and maybe they’ll have better flavors then (the pictures certainly say so!).

Nope. This place has donut holes and maple bars. That’s it…
What kind of donut shop doesn’t have old fashioned donuts. Those fluffy donuts are NOT donuts they are crap. Vegan donuts? GTFOH
They don’t have old fashioned donuts, therefore, i’ll never be back…

Donuts were good and looked pretty but I wouldn’t come back for the very fact that you offer ONLY vegan donuts on Tuesdays. I came in to buy a half dozen donuts for $ 5 and was surprised when told it was $ 10.50 — the rude man behind the counter (he was talking with freaking food still in his mouth) raised his voice at me when I questioned the price. He said «YOU GOT VEGAN DONUTS! AND IT IS $ 1.75 A PIECE!» — well ok, donut nazi, no need to yell at a customer. Maybe make your signs more specific and clearer next time so people know when and when NOT to come to your shop.
There are many more donut establishments out here in San Diego where I would rather take my money to.

That Vanilla Bean Vegan donut.. .
I searched for «vegan donuts San Diego» and this came up. I was thrilled to see it was nearby and dropped in. They have a great selection of both vegan and traditional donuts to choose from as well as bagels.
The draw for me was the vegan donuts. I chose the Vanilla Bean and wasn’t disappointed at all. I’m looking forward to going back and trying some of the other options.

I’ve had this place bookmarked on Unilocal for a while and I happen to be eating at a restaurant next door and wanted to go in for some donuts afterwards.
I searched them on Unilocal and was like holy crap I have them bookmarked!!! The time was 5pm and I was like aw it closes at 3pm. I decided to walk past the building anyways and saw the door open as well as the sign.
I walked in and said «hi are you open»? Literally like 3 times. And when she answered she said if I’m still here we’re still open so yeah we’re open. I think probably because they still had racks of donuts and it’s better to sell them than to waste right?
Well, there are plenty of vegan and non vegan. She said the vegan ones were more moist. I got the chocolate sprinkle vegan donut. A regular powdered donut. And she was nice to give us a vegan donut to try (Forgot the name). The total was $ 2.50
Sadly right before I came a family wiped out all the pink sprinkle donuts which broke my heart. Anyways… The chocolate vegan sprinkle donut had such delicious chocolate but the donut part was weird. Idk if it’s me or vegan donuts have a different texture but it had this weird texture and chewy feeling in my mouth. The sugar twist donut obviously had sugar on it, but I literally did not taste it and only tasted the bread which was dry. The other vegan donut is cinnamonny tasting. Still has the weird texture. Maybe if I come in right when everything is fresh I’ll have a better experience.

The other page has Donut Panic as closed, but as of today they are completely open! I made the trip down to grab some vegan donuts and see the renovated space. The new look is very cool and almost nerdy chic. Perfect match to the quirky donuts produced here.
The special donuts Linda produces are top notch and this should be a destination for any vegan or donut lover. Come in early as they always sell out!

My husband has a strict ‘No Vegan Donuts Ever’ rule so when I sent him to Donut Panic he came back only with regular donuts. And these donuts were not very good. They were the greasiest donuts I’ve ever had and they soaked through their bag so completely I just threw them away the next day.
Someday I’ll go back to try their vegan donuts and I’ll update then. I can’t recommend their normal donuts, though. Unless you like your donuts extra extra extra greasy.