floresta

The donuts here are so adorable! I ordered an iced matcha latte and two of the animal shapes donuts. The donuts have a slight crisp as you bite in and are a bit drier than what I am used to, but they aren’t bad. The animal shaped donuts are entirely covered with icing, which can get a bit much after eating two. They have to be the most adorable donuts I’ve ever had!
The iced matcha latte was alright — it was a bit creamier than I expected, but the taste may have been thrown off by the two donuts I ate.

4.5 stars! Floresta makes the cutest donuts in the world!!! I saw a photo of their donuts on Serious Eats a few years ago and it’s been one of the top reasons for me to come to Japan lol! The cute little place is maybe a 15 minute walk from Koenji Station. When I went it was just before Christmas and they had two super cute holiday donuts — a bear (?) with a little Santa hat over one ear and a snowman donut hole sitting on top of a donut covered in coconut flakes. I had to get both (if they had their other animals, I would’ve gotten them all!!!)! I ate them there — there’s an outdoor seating area, but it was way too cold, and there’s a cute inside area over to the left of the donut display and cashier. The girl carefully put each donut in an individual paper bag and then on a wooden tray. The donuts were just almost too cute to eat. But I ate them. The consistency of the donuts is like cake donuts — a little dense. And they are a bit on the dry side. I think you’re meant to order one of Floresta’s drinks (lattes, teas, etc) to go with the donuts, which I didn’t do. They didn’t seem sweet to me, but I’m used to American donuts that are pretty much all sugar. The story of Floresta is that the owners wanted to make healthy donuts. Well they definitely aren’t as sweet or as greasy as the donuts I know. The donuts are just so so cute that it was worth checking it out. They are on the pricey side — I think I paid ¥560 or ¥580 for both — but I was paying for art! 4.5 stars rounded up, because the actual donut itself didn’t taste amazing, but everything else was perfect! The cuteness factor, the service!

I saw animal donuts online a few months before going to Japan and I knew I had to make a stop to a Floresta when I was in Tokyo. This one is about a 5 – 10 minute walk once you get off the Koenji station. It’s a very small shop front, actually, so be prepared to either pick up your treats or take a seat at the very small table in front of the shop.
On to the donuts — THEY ARE RIDICULOUSLY CUTE just as you imagine/​see from pics/​etc. The donut cake is a bit stiff, mainly because I think they are baked (I could be totally wrong about this, though). The icing is VERY rich so it’s probably possible to only finish one donut and feel really full. Most of the decorations are entirely white chocolate, making this whole animal donut experience even richer. The staff know just enough English for the transaction to be smooth and full of smiles :)
P. S. Take a walk around Koenji! There are many cute shops down the road and exploration out here is fun!