Nicola’s Donut Shop

I’m kind of disappointed that I did not make it in time enough to try the bacon maple. Sad face. I tried the croissant donut. I was disappointed. I have had better cronuts. Theirs was flat and disappointing. Tasted good, but was not raised and flaky at all. I guess I should have known as soon as I saw it was square shaped. I just expected better with this place being an indie shop.

I lived around Busch Blvd and Linebaugh… went to Nicole several times… Love their Apple fritter donut. Need to visit soon !!

Love trying new donuts in every city I visit and they were worth it! Ordered an apple fritter that is a MUST to try. I would pass on the donut croissant — Doughy and not buttery and flakey like a croissant. Also ordered brownie brittle, jelly-​filled powdered, maple bacon, and a rocky road one. They were great looking but I don’t think I would order those again. I would definitely have another apple fritter and try some of their other flavors.

Items Selected:
Apple Fritter
Pineapple Fritter
Red Velvet
Raised and Vanilla Glazed
Blueberry
Reese’s Raised
Sour Cream Old Fashioned
Located near Busch Gardens and a staple of Tampa Bay since 1982, there is a good chance that many on Florida’s East Coast have experienced Nicola’s Donuts by way of local convenience stores throughout the course of decades, but opting to go straight to the source for a Mother’s Day selection the thirty minute drive proved entirely worth the effort from the charming customer service to the delicious fried dough.
Family owned and operated, open seven days a week from 5:30 till noon (or «sold out» per the door,) Nicola’s Donuts occupies a small space in a shabby Strip Mall and manned by just the baker, a middle aged woman and a young teen the selection is substantial with more than two-​dozen options ranging from textbook Old Fashioned Rings and Fritters to Candy Bar toppings and Croissant-​style versions.
Offering Check-​In Discounts, the prices variable by style with Cheaper-​by-​the-​Dozen values described by the young man, it was with a Half-​Dozen plus one free that an order was compiled and opting to indulge as a steady flow of traffic trickled through the doors it was not long before teeth were sunk into a still-​warm Blueberry Cake selection, the base no doubt straight from a box though the texture was nonetheless perfect beneath a lightly sweet glaze.
Moving onward to Fritters, unfortunately a mixed bag as the Apple item was mostly just Cinnamon while the same base was far better with the crunchy exterior juxtaposing juicy bites of Pineapple, the aforementioned Sour Cream Old Fashioned was a textbook piece of breakfast pastry, as too was the cocoa-​rich Red Velvet — both an equally great deal at less than a dollar.
Generally fancying cake to Yeasted, Raised or Leavened it still seemed pertinent to taste Nicola’s Holiday themed Vanilla Glazed Donut and with a surprisingly light frosting overlying wispy dough both the flavor and texture were far better than average, the same to be said of a hoop simply labeled as «Reese’s,» the base every bit as pillow-​soft while the combination of Peanut Butter, Chocolate Shell and partially melted morsels was decidedly more decadent.

Would you still be my friend if I told you I have never had a homemade donut??! No really, it’s true.
I had this place bookmarked for a couple months and finally went in. It was a Sunday around 11 and they still had plenty of all varieties. Some people came in behind me though and ordered A LOT so I made it just in time. The guy behind the counter was very nice and patient with me as I drooled over every single thing in the store. I settled on a sour cream, cinnamon roll and my free one was a glazed with vanilla frosting.
I inhaled all three (over the course of a few hours) and have been dreaming of them ever since. I seriously cannot wait to get back in there and try some more. This was the highlight of my weekend!

This is a solid indie donut shop. Popular. Good variety of offerings. For me the donuts tasted pretty traditional and were very sugary. But I guess that’s hiw a donut is supposed to taste?
I like fresh fruit, more savory options, and higher quality ingredients (dark chocolate, blueberries, raspberries, guava, etc.) in my fav desserts. But you can definitely get a sugar fix here and the chocolate coated, coconut topped chocolate cake donut and apple bear claw were pretty good. :)

Took the advice of Mark P. on this one and finally popped in here for the afternoon snack after visiting my car dealership, Elder Ford, right around the corner.
Honestly, it was just after 12noon so it should have been lunch, but I had a lot of errands to run and wanted to sample a few things to split with good people at my next stop.
Guess I was fortunate to get anything because they close at 12noon or until they run out of that day’s offerings. There was not much left when I walked in, but just enough for a first visit.
The three divas skipping class from Chamberlain in front of me snagged the last Fruity Pebbles and she put that thing away standing right in line faster than you can say Jack Robinson. Good luck getting into that prom dress in a couple months, honey.
Still, I ended up with the last banana nut muffin and red velvet and rocky road donuts from the two sweet ladies working the counter telling me what they would also have if I ever can stop in earlier.
Thanks to the Unilocal app for the free donut as well, which reduced my total price to under $ 4.
We each tasted all three items and all of us differed on which we liked more, but none of us disliked anything. And just the look of the items shows the care that goes into making them.
So, who is the teacher or administrator at Chamberlain who is assigned to pick these up daily for the lounge or break room? I’m sure the high school business alone is a big reason this little spot has done very well.

Oh yeah! I went for the first time 2÷20÷2016 at 6am after dropping off my hubby at work. I picked Coconut Cream, Powdered Jelly, Croissant Donut, Rocky Road, Smores, Chocolate filled, Maple Bacon, Apple Crumble, Powdered Boston Crème, Fruity Pebble, Chocolate sprinkle and Vanilla sprinkle. omg YUM! Out of these my faves were Croissant and Maple Bacon, Chocolate filled,. I can’t wait to exercise these donuts off, go back in 3 weeks when i visit my brother again. lol. I will pick up some i haven’t tried yet. Looking forward to Brownie Bite, Red Velvet, Lemon filled, Eclairs and more Croissant Donuts. lol. I freaking love that they are big because just cutting and eating half is great enough for me to try every donut and not limit others from trying a donut if there’s only one kind left. This was my very first time trying fancy donuts other than Krispy Kreme and Dunkin Donuts and my expectations were exceeded. I’m from Homestead, FL and all the fancy Donut shops are in Miami. It’s just not economical and important enough for me to get up early and drive there for donuts. lol. However, the fact that i was already visiting my bro in Tampa and had to drop off my hubby for military drill was enough excuse to drive 30 mins at 5:30am. lol.
Oh 1 dozen donuts and 2 extra ended up being $ 24 and change. Which i had no problem with because the donuts are a nice big size.

Having a craving for donuts I found myself making the trek to Nicola’s this morning. Being that it has been a Tampa mainstay for years and that I appreciate local businesses my destination was a no brainier. Nestled in a small strip of stores and a one way parking lot, it might not appear to be a desirable destination but I can assure you that it is.
Greeted with a bright and clean store, my senses were hit with were aesthetically pretty donuts and the sweet smell of the sugary confections. I might as well been in alternate universe where nothing is wrong in the world.
The gentleman working quickly emerged from the back, ready to take my request and was helpful and cheerful. The selection was pretty stellar and it was challenging to make a decision. I settled on some yeast raised and cake donuts to sample. The morning treats yielded a sweet fragrance and beckoned me to rip the bag open and consume them on the ride home. Luckily I had self restraint and a will to share.
The shop has a drink cooler as well as hot coffee for those that are grabbing and go-​ing and want to consume their donuts on the run. The store also sells cupcakes which I did not have the pleasure of trying.
The donut creations were fresh and tasty and the donuts themselves, not laden with sugar but hit with the sweetness from the icings and other toppings. I found the prices to be reasonable and I purchased four donuts for an average of 97 cents each. Among my favorites were the glazed yeast donuts as well as the «Boston crème”-esque filled one.
Fair warning: if you do not get there early, some of the varieties may be sold out. On the door it states that you could pre-​order the morning the day before you want the donuts to ensure that they will have the kinds you like. The day I went before 7am they were well stocked and there were more than a few varieties available but not all.
Im my opinion, no other morning delicacy compares to homemade donuts. If you’ve never experienced a donut beyond those that are sold at national donut chains across the country then you owe it to yourself to stop in and try. This being said from a health conscious freak-​I think an indulgence every so often is well deserved and necessary.

Always love finding the local donut shop over the big chains. I bought a dozen for the office and a maple bacon donut for myself. What can I say about the maple bacon donut except Wow! A maple donut with bacon on top, it’s everything you want in a breakfast. The donuts are rich and sweet so a coffee goes great with them.

Ahhh the sweet smell of donuts overcame me when I entered. That got my experience off to a great start but only got better from there.
The super nice owner, Rachel, greeted me promptly and explained the various options — the cakey ones, the yeasty ones, the gluten-​free ones, the specialty ones, the muffins, the bear claws, I could go on and on. So many choices, only one belly. And it was 2pm and I should’ve been eating lunch, not donuts. Finally decided on a vanilla nut donut and grabbed a Starbucks frapuccino from the fridge (since the fresh-​brewed coffee you can only get hot). But since there is a $ 5 minimum to use a card, I got another one — a large Boston Cream éclair donut (not sure of proper name). Then I realized with a Unilocal check in/​purchase, you get a free one! So I added a maple donut to my order.
I ate 1.5 donuts while I was there — both fresh and airy… I especially enjoyed the cream in the Boston Cream.
Not really any crazy flavors like another donut shop closer to me but if I were in the area, I would definitely stop in for an afternoon snack.

Nicola’s donut,
full of glaze, the coffee is
with thee. Blessed shop.
I have a little bit of a donut obsession. It’s one of the main reasons I go to church. And Nicola’s is like Tampa’s donut Cathedral. It’s not much to look at on the outside, but inside, beautiful variations on the humble cake and yeast arise. Colorfully topped with the most expensive of breakfast cereals. Cinnamon rolls nearly the size of Baby Jesus’ head. And I swear I saw a silhouette of Guadelupe on that Apple Fritter. This is a place to simply get your donuts and go. No wasting time. Machine made coffee that goes perfect with a fresh plain cake.
My personal favs are the classics – Sour cream, fritter, and chocolate glazed plain cake. There is something to be said for these over the more crazy yeast donut adulterations. But I won’t judge your choices, just like in church.

Nicola’s is a highly rated donut shop that has been featured on several «Best of» lists and I finally got the opportunity to visit yesterday morning. Unfortunately, my experience was very disappointing. We arrived around 8:30 am and were delighted to see a large selection of beautiful, unique, and appetizing donuts. We were a little worried our options would be limited since the shop has been known to run out but this was not even close to being a problem. The selection was a little overwhelming so it took a couple minutes to decide what we wanted. The employee behind the counter seemed annoyed by this and skipped us to take the order of another customer who had literally just walked into the shop (the only other customer in the shop while we were there). After taking this customer’s order, the employee went to the back and started chatting with another employee completely ignoring the fact that we were ready to order. The employee in the back essentially told the employee in the front to keep an eye out for their boss (or «the warden») and one of the employee’s expressed that they would not do any cleaning around the shop unless explicitly told to do so by their boss. The employee in the front finally came back and took our order. I don’t normally comment about service unless it’s really bad or really good. In this case I was shocked that an establishment with such a good reputation would have such rude and disinterested employees. The donuts themselves were unique but pretty average. I tried the Snickers, PB & J, Maple Bacon, Sour Cream, Apple Crumble, and Brownie Brittle Donuts. My favorite of these was the Brownie Brittle that had a nice chocolate flavor and soft sweet brownies on top. The Apple Crumble had a nice apple pie like filling and the PB&J was just like eating a PB&J sandwich with raspberry jam in donut form. However, the donuts were dense and not as fluffy as they should have been. The icings and fillings tasted pretty generic and the Maple Bacon was way to salty. Overall, the donuts were satisfying but you could get similar quality donuts at well-​known chain donut shops.

Nicola ’ s has been in Tampa for centuries. A few location changes, but with great products, comes growth.
Love the fact it is an indie & still going strong after all these years.
In this case the early bird truly gets the best variety of doughnuts, pastries, muffins, cupcakes…
They open early at 5 AM & once they sell out, that’s it for the day. Over the years zi have tried a wide variety of goodies, freshly baked and never been disappointed. Their baked goods are ample in size, cooked with love & quality ingredients & who doesn’t love fresh baked goods.
I am seldom up that early, unless it is from the night before. Out of habit, if I am driving by, my car has a mind of it’s own. Itjust pulls in. occasionally latter in the morning you might luck out & find a few of your favorites still available.
Love Nicola’s, best in Tampa, in my humble opinion.
What’s a girl to do? Sometimes ya gotta do what makes you happy & not what makes you healthy.

I’ve been going to Nicola’s ever since I was a kid when my parents used to take me every Saturday for breakfast. Now that I’ve moved back to the area, I’m back there just about every weekend again.
I had never had a sour cream donut until my girlfriend forced one on me during our first trip. Now it’s my favorite thing and Nicola’s makes the best sour cream donuts there are. I bought her a cupcake on her birthday and it was incredible. You would think that premade cupcakes would dry out after sitting out for awhile but this one was still moist. It was giant and just enough to share. The prices are very reasonable especially for the quality.
This is the best donut shop in Tampa. I only wish Nicola’s was open late so I could get donuts whenever I want.

The sour cream donuts are amazing. We go just about every week since we moved a few blocks away! The staff is mostly friendly and the selection is fantastic. I also had one of their gourmet cookies and cream cupcakes for my birthday and it was fantastic, too! I have yet to find something at Nicola’s that I did not like.

GET THE SOUR CREAM DONUT! Except don’t, because I want them all for myself.
Don’t be fooled by the dingy strip mall, this place is the real deal. It’s a small shop but they generally have a good variety. My personal favorites are the sour cream donut (as if you didn’t already know) and the blueberry cake donut. Their frosting is a little too sugary for me and tends to crumble, so I usually go for the glazed options over frosted.
Get there early because they do sell out!

I don’t get it. Maybe I set my expectations too high. But after having delicious donuts from both sides of the coast — Donut Man in Glendora (
) and Cinotti’s (
) in my hometown — Nicola’s just didn’t match up. At least not to me.
Don’t get me wrong — the Fruity Pebbles donut was definitely a treat. But the nature of the donut icing & cereal combination causes the cereal ‘pebbles’ to get a little soft. The cake on the red velvet iced donut was good, but I could have gone for a nice glaze on it to balance out the amount of cake you have.
My husband tried the PB&J: peanut butter topped with jelly filling. The PB was plentiful but the jelly filling was only on one side of the donut. We’re used to almost too much filling that we have more filling than donut. And the cinnamon bun with strawberry (we’re not sure if that’s what it’s really called) reminded him of the Strawberry Donut from Donut Man (see link above) but fell way short of his expectations. Fresh strawberries & strawberry spread really just don’t match up.
We would give them another shot and definitely support them rather than one of the national chains but now that we’ve set the bar, we know what to expect next time.

Nicola’s Donuts have been featured as one of the Best Donuts in America by Travel and Leisure magazine, and voted «Best Donuts in Tampa» by the Tampa Tribune. I often drive-​by Nicola’s on Busch Boulevard on my way to /​from various appointments, but thankfully I’m either in a big hurry or it’s well after the shop has closed for the day. Otherwise I’d be stopping for donuts on a more regular basis, and that wouldn’t be good for the diet.
You’ll find the main Nicola’s Donut Shop on Busch Boulevard at the intersection of North Blvd, and diagonally across the street from Chamberlain High School. This location opens at 5:30 am and has generally sold out by 11 am. There’s a second location in Carrollwood on N. Dale Mabry near the intersection of Ehrlich Road, and they stay open later in the day.
Nicola’s is a family-​owned and operated success story that has been pumping out the tasty treats for well over 30 years. Their menu is made up of donuts, pastries (including muffins and fruit turnovers), and cupcakes. Everything is cooked in small batches so that the trays of pastries are incredibly fresh. Once they run out, that’s it, and they will be closed until the next day. For a sneak peak of the many varieties of donuts on sale, please look at this site:
In my humble opinion, these donuts are more dense and less airy than their chain store competitors, and so you’re getting more dough and less whipped air, which makes for a tastier donut.
My morning was off to a good start when I snagged a chocolate cake donut with chocolate frosting. YUM!!!

This tiny doughnut shop is most frequently requested by my office when I stop to pick up breakfast on the way in. My boss says the cake doughnuts «…are as good as New York doughnuts» which is apparently very high praise.
They have cake donuts and raised donuts, jelly and cream filled ones, sprinkles and chocolate covered, seasonal ones (i.e. pumpkin donuts for Fall), and an exotic weekly special like Peanut Butter n Jelly or Smores. They also have specialty pastries — their cinnamon ‘twirls’ are my very favorite.
Freshly baked every morning, if you don’t get there early, you don’t get doughnuts. They lock the front door as soon as they sell out.