Holey Donuts!

If you’re coming here expecting a grease-​bomb donut like you can get elsewhere, but «healthy» — then you’re going to be disappointed… OBVIOUSLY ALL THE FAT IS WHAT MAKES IT TASTE SO GOOD.
For what these little doughy desserts are — they’re not bad. For what you’re lacking in fat, you’re still consuming in sugar… and I actually prefer these in a way because they’re freshly topped when you order them, plus hello… cold ice cream + warm donut-​y thing is pretty awesome.
The no cash thing is weird but I never have cash on me and use my debit card for practically everything, so that facet doesn’t bother me in the slightest.

Everyone who comes here and expects a legit, fried, billion calorie donut (ahem! Everyone who gave this place a sub par rating) is KIDDING THEMSELVES.
First of all, healthier options cost more. This is true for EVERYTHING and yet jerks on here are belly aching over four dollars. Hello, you live in New York and I’m sure you pay STUPID rent. So please, spare us how expensive the donuts are.
Second, they’re delicious. They look a wee bit questionable but they’re really good and don’t taste like they’re less fat and calories. They’re good donuts, don’t front.
Lastly, they expect tips everywhere so slow your roll, and put a donut in your hole.

Wow, people are so sour on here! I am a bodybuilder and it is hard to find decent food in this city which satisfy my sweet tooth. These donuts are AMAZING. Crazy sweet! Doughy! Delicious! I don’t mind the price at all, I’m just grateful that they post their nutrition info. Service could be a little better but it’s not a big deal. I emailed them to join the «guest list» but still haven’t heard back :(I hope they answer because I’m there all the time and would love some rewards/​discounts!

Ugh, no. This place represents everything that is wrong with the Village now. Overpriced, mediocre, gimmicky product. So what if it’s low fat if it tastes bland? Oh, and you’ll pay over $ 4 for one regular doughnut (price not listed anywhere, no wonder — if people saw it ahead of time, they’d probably decide it’s not worth it), and then they have the nerve to ask you to tip even if you’re only buying it to-​go, which is just an obnoxious policy (how about paying employees decently and saving tipping for actual restaurants, not doughnut counters?). Nearly five bucks later you have something you could have gotten for a dollar elsewhere, where it would have actually been tasty. And to top it off, they don’t take cash. So I can only hope the girls working there even get the tips.
Their gimmick is that they start with a plain doughnut and then make the one you choose, e.g. inject it with some pre-​made filling and splat some frosting on it from a bin. That’s not earth-​shattering stuff, it’s slow, and again, it was just bland sugar and undercooked, gooey-​in-​a-​bad-​way dough. As for their argument that they are healthy… eh, low-​fat doesn’t mean low-​calorie, and most are around 200 calories anyway so you might as well eat 100 more and have it actually taste good somewhere else. Nothing at all justifies their prices. Please please please just go across the street to Big Gay Ice Cream where the product is worth your money.

Welcome to the Barbie house of donuts complete with «fat-​free» peptobismal-​pink frosting and sprinkles.
wtf is this all about? We were equally confused and amused and couldn’t resist buying an eerie donut because why not? At $ 4 a pop we should have discussed it further but we made the purchase quick getting slightly nauseous on the sterile ambiance and the glare of the lights on the cheap, plastic chairs.
The girls were sweet but not sweeter than that Artificial frosting they dipped that semi-​cooked dough. The dough had no color. A substance some of our scifi food nightmares are made of. Wait… That’s cooked? Rarely a question I ask myself when indulging in a donut.
Yikes.
Still we risked it. Boston Kreme please. They don’t artificially color chocolate do they? They might here. Nothing’s natural about this place. From the menu plastered walls to the painted on smiles on the girls pretending to do hard work behind the counter.
Needless to say, it was NOT worth the money or calories or time and effort trying to figure out what was this weird science experiment in a false shape of a donut. THIS IS NOT A DONUT… Consider yourself warned.

This is so F****** good. Low Fat donuts! …Ohh I am sorry.
.
The dount felt like a piece of under cooked bread concoction. I watched the friendly employee take this said «dough» from machine behind her. The machine keeps the dough at perfect humidity. She then went to create the Boston Cream donut. She dipped it right into the chocolate goop. Boom you have a donut. It tasted like wet dough nothing to rave about. I kept thinking, I rather have a Dunkin Donut croissant garbage than this.
It was $ 3.99 for what? I know for a free large cup of «FREE TRADE ETHIOPIAN COFFEE» with every donut purchase. I do not know who roasted it, where its from. It was in a AIRPOT marked ‘hot water”. I filled my 32oz Styrofoam cup full of this free trade coffee.

I present to you, the most mediocre donut I’ve ever had. I’ve had many donuts over the years, but this takes the cake…
They don’t take cash. Possibly one of the most retarded things I’ve ever heard. When I asked why I was told «oh, so we don’t get germs on your fresh made donut!»
Already, this is possibly the most retarded thing I’ve ever heard. People cut lines of coke with credit cards. They pay bills while taking a shit. They put it in their wallets WITH money. ONTOP of that, you’re eliminating a cash only workforce and people who only get paid in cash or people who don’t trust banks. WHY WOULD YOU GET RID OF LEGAL TENDER!!! And on Christopher street no less right outside of nyu. My theory is that the owner is scared of people stealing cash from the register.
As for the donut itself… Meh. It’s mediocre. It’s closer to a biscuit with fudge and bullshit on it. I got a fudge apple graham one. It’s supposed to have ice cream in it but it doesn’t. It’s supposed to be made with vanilla ice cream in it. It’s given to you hot… Note there is no tray. None. You’ve been given something that will burn your hands in seconds. I dropped mine it was so hot. I asked for a plate «sorry no plates.» Okay… Do you have a spoon? «Sorry no spoons.» This is getting weird…
«Do you have any utensils?»
She hands me a knife, I walk by and see someone with a fork.
«You told me there’s no utensils???» «Is a fork a utensil?» Thats not sarcasm, she literally asked if a fork was a utensil. I nearly had an aneurism.
Then came time to pay, and I hand my credit card over, and she’s like «we rely on your tips because we’re paid minimum wage» and tilts her iPad kiosk over. It’s got three options to tip:
25%
50%
100%
And there’s a little blurb about why tips matter on the screen. I shit you not. I would have tipped but they don’t accept cash. Not even for tips. LITERALLY EVERYTHING IS CREDIT CARD OR NOTHING AT ALL.
I just leave a dollar on the counter and I’m then asked by a manager to pick up the dollar, they don’t take cash.
IM NOT FUCKING KIDDING.
Whoever designed this concept, brainwashed these young girls into thinking this is okay or how things work or decided no cash is the «future» is a fucking idiot.
I told one of the girls that I didn’t see this place lasting longer than a few months. She said I don’t know that. Then told a group of people to leave their seats so she could clean the table.
I’m not saying avoid but Jesus Christ this place is insane. I fully expect it to be on kitchen nightmares or some other scandal show or something.

Worst donut I’ve ever had. Tasted really artificial! Healthy? I’m not too sure, haven’t tasted any sweeter Boston crème that this one. And also the no cash policy? Fine, but if it’s for not handling dirty money, it would be way safer and cleaner to not handle the register and then directly handle the donuts. But the service was effective and we got a free coffee.
So buy a donut, get a free coffee and then give the donut away.

The donuts here taste a bit different from your regular deep fried donuts… afterall, they’re supposed to have less calories and fat. The donut has a softer, chewier texture like an english muffin.
I liked the donut filled with ice cream. It satisfied my sweet tooth.

More like 3.5, but something about this place is making me want to round down.
Great concept = made to order doughnuts. The doughnuts are are already baked, but they are filled and frosted when you order. They also have a delicious ice cream doughnut that is filled with ice cream, but frosted the way you like. You pick from a set of flavors already made, it isn’t a design your own doughnut concept.
The doughnuts were good and for some reason, they were running a promotion that brought the cost of 4 doughnuts from $ 15 to $ 5.99…that’s a huge discount. Also, they’re really slow in making the doughnuts. I get it, it’s made to order, but it took extremely long. Luckily there wasn’t a line, but still, we had to wait a while. The staff were nice, but they seemed confused and a bit unprofessional. All in all, we got our doughnuts and hung out for a bit. Worth trying once, but not sure I’d go out of my way to come back for more.

How could such an awesome idea go wrong?! Turns out this idea can go oh so very wrong. I should have abandoned ship when I walked in and saw the «low fat» signs. It’s possible for low-​fat desserts to taste delicious, but this is NOT the place to go for delicious.
The «donut» tasted a lot like an uncooked Pillsbury cinnamon roll dough. The combination of uncooked dough with low fat ice cream inside reminded me of something horrendous from 7^th grade Home Ec class.
One point I will give is for the staff, who were all super friendly.

I like a lot of healthy foods. Usually people hate ‘health foods’ because they can’t accept that tofu is never going to be meat — you have to come to terms with it being a different thing and roll with it. Similarly, these things are not donuts. They’re some sort of fascinating collection of chemicals.
I think the donuts are made out of the same ‘bread’ they serve at Olive Garden, only covered in Splenda instead of fake butter.
If you’re one of those people who thinks diet soda is a delicious, healthy option you’ll enjoy this tremendously. There’s a lot of fake sugar for you to enjoy.
If you like to eat actual food, you will not enjoy this at all.
It was a fascinating cultural experience. As everyone else mentioned, the staff were great! Whoever is in charge of hiring for this place does an amazing job. But this may be the first time I’ve ever thrown a donut into the trash before.

The people that have commented about it tasting like cardboard probably do not eat a healthy lifestyle or have ever been on diet. You come into the place knowing it’s a healthy donut option yet you compare it to fat delicious filled donuts like dough or doughnut plant. This is not something you compare since it is a class of it’s own. We live in an obese world, so having healthier options for people that can’t go cold turkey is a good thing. Done with my rant about the haters.
This place is great. I like to to treat myself every once and a while to something sweet. This hits the spot without making me feel disgustingly sick. Plus some of the donut options are 179 – 189 calories, which is the range of calories a snack should be in. Am I saying replace all your snacks with these? No, but for a great treat every once and a while — heck yes!
I’ve had the coconut cream pie, which is amazing. The filled donuts are on point. The dough is def reminiscent of a pillsbury product, which isn’t a bad thing since it’s what they use. The cinnamon roll middles are also maybe the star of the show. At only 155 calories, these are melt in your mouth good. Finally I have had the cinnamon strudel which tastes like French toast in a donut. I’m happy to recommend this place for clients taking small steps to living a healthier life.
Baked not fried! I like how each donut is made in front of you. It means that is is fresh and made especially for you. Keep up the good work.
Also very spacious inside and a nice place to sit and people watch on 7^th!

LOW FAT DONUTS???
That’s their gimmic and they are baked not fried. We were walking by and I just had to try them. Picked 4 different flavors: classic chocolate, Oreo cookie with custard filling, caramel crunch, coconut with pineapple filling. One of the best things was that I bought them the night before and they tasted great the next morning! Didn’t have that hard oil taste like regular donuts, Yes, they seem to be a bit pricey, but I was on vacation.
They don’t accept cash for sanitary reasons which I appreciated.

Lets be real here. Holey Donuts is never going to be the same as Doughnut Plant or The Donut Pub. There is just something amazing about a fried donut… but we can’t deny that Holey Donut produces a good product. They’re worth trying. At least once!
Here’s some fun facts about the shop/​donuts:
+ The donuts have less fat and calories than every other type of donut. And they are 3^rd party certified. Whoa.
+ The donuts are filled/​iced/​decorated right as you order them. The donuts come out of one of many cases behind the counter and are put onto a tray. The HD staff then looks over your order sheet and starts applying the icing, sprinkles, etc. Super fresh.
+ They offer over 20 different types of donut combos: Classic Vanilla Frosted, Apple Graham Cracker, Raspberry Vanilla Truffle, Blueberry Crumbcake, Boston Cream Oreo and Coconut Cream Pie just to name a few. I’ve had the Rasperry Vanilla and a strawberry frosted. The raspberry filled one was really really good.
+ The donuts themselves are good! Soft, chewy, not overly sweet like many of the fried variety are.
— However they’re a little small. You’re paying for quality here (low fat, etc) not quantity.
+/​-​Donuts are about $ 4 each. A box of 4 will run you $ 14.95, 6 for $ 20 (I think).
+ Staff works quickly and carefully.
+ If you sweet tooth is still looking for more goods then try the the Cinnamon Buns and «Middles» aka the cinnamon bun middle. Really tasty. and I think 4 middles is $ 4.95.
+ The shop is cute, they’ve got a couple tables set up so you can enjoy your donut fresh & in store.
+/​-​Holey Donut is a plastic only establishment. No cash. Only credit/​debit/​gift cards accepted.
— They say that if you are planning to save your donuts for later then you can freeze them and defrost when ready. We tried this. Blah. Donuts are so much better fresh. Maybe I didn’t store them in an appropriate container … but these didn’t defrost well.
I’d pick up another Raspberry Vanilla at some point if I’m in the neighborhood and had some extra dollars. Like I said– its worth trying! But know going in that it’s not like other donut shops your used to…

This place just opened, but I don’t foresee them lasting too long. I did not like these donuts too much. They are advertised as being low fat (they are baked), but that is actually not what is wrong with them. The thing is these don’t taste or feel like doughnuts. They are very thick and starchy and texture-​wise seem more like Pillsbury cookie dough. Also, despite the fact that they are lower in fat, they are not lower in sugar and it seems they oversaturated them in sugar to make up for the lack of flavor.
They are also extremely overpriced — about $ 4 for one! I think I will just stick to the normal fluffy Dunkin Donuts and Krispy Kreme donuts.

I’m on the fence about Holey Donuts.
I like the idea; I liked the service. But the DONUT wasn’t great. Since my on-​the-​fence deciding factor is always, «Would I come here again? Would I bring an out of town visitor here?» — the answer is no, so I will fall back to 2 stars.
Juliane L. tipped me off to the opening of this new concept — HEALTHY DONUTS! YEAH! I love donuts, and the thought of gorging on some without that immediate self-​hatred after obviously appealed to me. I visited on their first officially open day (Sunday, 5÷4÷14) after not getting into the soft-​opening pre party days (sigh).
When you walk in, there are pictures of their donuts everywhere for you to see/​pick. The beauty of HD is that they keep all the donuts, plain, on baking racks… and when you order, they fresh dip/​roll/​sprinkle your donut for you there. So technically, you can make your own donut! (But they will warn you that individual creations do mess with the nutritional analysis.)
I opted for a super plain chocolate glazed donut — for me, I like to compare new things to my basics/​stand-​bys as a real indicator of taste and quality. My server girl, Priscilla, introduced herself to me by name and asked my name as well. It was really cute. Then the manager boxed up my donut after asking, «Would you like to experience this now? Or take it with you?» …would I like to EXPERIENCE this now? instead of *eating* it now? Am I still in a donut shop or have I been transported to an alternate universe of exciting culinary experiences and customer service? (I digress!)
I got the donut to go (wanted to grab something at Press Tea), and paid at the register. This place is credit card only — no cash! I really love that. It’s the way of the future, and I wondered when someone would take a stance. Not sure if a food place where the average purchase is under $ 5 would be the perfect candidate to affect change, but hey. I’m on board.
The donut itself was weird — not a cake donut, but not a traditional yeast donut either… more dense than the donuts I like. As a note on the healthiness, the «health savings» is really in the fat, not in the sugar. Because the donuts are baked, not fried, it’s less fatty… but you’re not exactly saving on calories (maybe like 40 – 50 calories for the plain-​er varieties).
I did like that the donuts are naked, and made for you to order… they will dip, roll, pump, fill, and sprinkle all in front of you. Adds to the fresh factor.
TL;DR: Donuts aren’t the best (more dense than a normal yeast donut), though they are customizable (toppings, fillings, etc) so you can really make your own. Not actually that much healthier for you than a normal donut elsewhere. Great service.

I was so excited when I heard this place would open around the corner from my house, and I signed up online for the grand opening freebies, and never got an email to try out first hand… That’s okay.
Anyways, I went in there, always forgetting to bring a credit card… and today, I finally had my stuff together (haha) and got to try them!
Ugh, it’s painful to say that I hated them. The food would get 2 stars, but the concept is so awesome and the staff so sweet and professional that it bumps up to 3 stars.
Why I do not like these donuts:
— The dough itself, baked instead of fried (that’s where the calories disappeared I suspect) reminded me of super cheap white pillsburgh sandwich bread, no flavor, the texture was very weird. Yeah, texture and flavor wise, this was super industrial to me.
— The frosting… holey sweetness.
— The price… Geez…
We had a caramel crunch one, didn’t crunch, and while the dough was a tasteless base, the too sweet glazed was way powerful and each bite was a walk down sugar lane.
Also shared a fashionista one, same impression, it’s a mix of tasteless doughy base with an oversweet frosting thing on top of it. Finally, tried a mini cinnamon bun, it was good, I think it was my favorite thing!
So yeah, overall, while the food is super fresh, it taste very much like a factory bleached piece of reconstituted sponge, covered in whatever oversweet flavored frosting to make up for it. I really didn’t like it.
Staff is awesome though, and I really really love the concept, I think it’s brilliant. The base recipe gotta change though, it’s really bad.

Twice the price for twice the sugar, half the fat, and half the flavor.
We now have a new place to get donuts in the city, but you probably shouldn’t come here if you are in the mood for a real donut, as you will likely be left unsatisfied. If you approach these though as just a supposedly low calorie pastry covered and/​or filled with insanely sweet stuff, you might enjoy them.
One of the great things here is how they make every single donut fresh in front of your eyes. This is also one of the worst things, and now explains why people complained of lines down the block during the pre-​opening events as they were SLOW here.
With only 2 people in front of me, I was stuck in the shop for a good 20 minutes. When it was finally my turn to order, I knew what I wanted from the long list of choices (14 frosted flavors, 12 filled flavors, and low fat cinnamon buns make up the menu).
I was going to get the box of 4 for later, and then 1 extra one to try right away, and then they said you get another free if you buy 5, so I ended up with way too many:
— Fudge Striped Crumb Cake
— Chocolate Frosted
— Pink Velvet
— Raspberry Vanilla Truffle
— Apple Fudge Graham Cracker
— Oreo Cookie Boston Cream
The Fudge Striped Crumb Cake is the one I tried right away, which was ok, as it was still warm. However, the baked dough base is just not really appealing at all. It is a pale, off-​putting white color (yes, white, not golden brown or yellowish, just white), that has a somewhat stale taste, probably due to the lack of any oil or the other good stuff that makes real donuts so good.
So they pull out these little white rings and then frost and top them in front of you. Not only was the dough not so great, but the toppings were all a little nasty. The common element among them all was insane sweetness. I am a man that eats 5 or 6 desserts a day on the weekend, but these were still surprisingly sweet to me. The frosting didn’t really look appetizing — a huge bin of neon pink sludge (in the case of the pink velvet), which looked kind of gross as the donuts were dipped. The sprinkles somehow tasted stale, as they were really chewy and hard. The overwhelming sweetness of the chocolate was kind of a good thing since the dough didn’t have much taste, but at that point, it’s really not worth eating these because what they lack in fat they more than make up for in sugar, so they really are not as healthy as they are purported to be.
Long story short: don’t kid yourself — go eat some real doughnuts at Doughnut Plant, or even better at Dough, and spend much less money on a far superior, satisfying and delicious donut.

Saw an advertisement on facebook for VIP pass at the pre-​grand opening of Holey Donuts. Never actually heard of it but hey I’m always down for freebie! They were doing a 3 day pre-​opening event where guests with VIP pass would get a free personalized box of 4 donuts, tote bag, and $ 15 gift card that would be activated post grand opening.
I arrived 20 mins before the actual start time of the event and I still somehow managed to wait over 1.5 hrs. Honestly, if I knew the wait was going to be this long, I probably wouldn’t had gone. They did pass out samples of their signature cinnamon bun middles (did its job in making me a bit less grumpy) and order sheets/​menu as we waited.
Once inside, I handed my order sheet to one of the girls and watched her prepare my personalized box — blueberry crumble, apple caramel, Oreo Boston cream, and coconut Boston cream. It was quite entertaining watching the girl inserted the fillings and added dip/​drizzle the glaze/​crumble on top. Since there were only two cash registers and each girl had to manually enter our freebie code into the system, the making of the donuts was actually the fastest part.
I saved my box of 4 to be shared with my fiancé at home. Unlike regular donuts, we found these donuts to be very light. The dough had the perfect texture — soft and chewy. The fillings weren’t overwhelmingly sweet — personal favorite Boston cream.
Even though we really enjoyed their donuts, I’m not sure if they are worth the price. A box of 4 donuts would normally cost you ~$ 15 (a filled donut would cost $ 3.95 alone). In addition, ya it’s low-​fat but it’s not low calories! Each donut is still around 200 – 250 calories which is almost equivalent to regular donut. Might be better off to just eat the regular stuff and save some money.