Union Square Donuts

Honestly, I was not impressed by this donut. I got the brown butter hazelnut crunch. The texture of the donut itself was good, but I did not find the topping to be quite «right» and for almost $ 5, you would expect the greatest donut on earth. Maybe the gourmet donut is just not for me? I am not sure, but I tried it, and probably won’t be back.

I was visiting Harvard on a Tuesday afternoon and saw a farmers market with Union Square Donuts! Since there was no wait whatsoever, I decided to try one out. I had known that the maple bacon one is their most famous, but I wasn’t feeling bacon that day, so I asked for recommendations. The nice gentlemen recommended the coconut one, so I got that. I like doughnuts, and I like coconut, but for $ 3, I was underwhelmed. It tasted just like a normal doughnut to me! Not sure if it’s because I got it from their stand at the farmers market and it wasn’t as fresh, or if because that flavor was just a miss for me. I do want to try the other flavors next time!

Came here on a saturday, had their boston pie, chocolate cake donut and the vietnamese coffee donut. Really think their boston crème pie donut is awesome because the chocolate they use is good quality dark chocolate

There’s not much more I can say that hasn’t already been said. Union Square Donuts, for me, is the gold standard in gourmet doughnuts. Whether you go for their filled, glazed, savory, or sweet options, you can’t go wrong because the base dough is fantastic.
If you’re only going to try one flavor, get the brown butter hazelnut crunch. (I mean, unless you’re allergic to hazelnuts…) It’s like a butternut donut from Dunkin’ Donuts, except one thousand times better and a little more sticky.
However, the best thing to do is to get a variety of flavors and then slice the doughnuts into quarters so that everyone can taste a few flavors. This is also a convenient way to not notice how much fried dough you’re eating for breakfast…
The only flavor I’ve tried over the years that I didn’t love is the chocolate chipotle. The classic combination of chocolate and spice just didn’t work for me in doughnut form. Overall, though, Union Square Donuts deserves all the praise!

This review is for the location in the Boston market location. After seeing this made the top donuts on buzzfeed, I obviously had to check it out. We finally found the Boston market location which was closest to where we were staying. The woman at the booth was pretty unenthusiastic and obviously did not want to be there.
We got 4 doughnuts:
Vanilla glazed (? Not sure if this was the actual name): really good, but really dense.
Maple Bacon: I got this for my boyfriend, but actually caved and ruined my 10 years of vegetarianism and took a bite. It was uneventful to me, but he raved about it.
Jam filled: I loved this one. Only complaint was that it was a little overdone in my opinion.
Cinnamon sugar: this was my favorite. It was very plain but still really good.
All of them were pretty greasy and left me with a bit of an upset stomach, but it was worth it.
I’m not sure if I would put this on my top list of donuts, especially since it cost me 15 bucks.

Bravo to you USD… Bravo!
The Pull: Driving around the corner and I seen this cute girl eating a big ass donut while carrying a small pizza looking box which is probably the design of carry out box. Curious as I further my travels I see a bunch of people hanging outside a spot I don’t normally see people hanging out at… and with a quick smell of freshness, I even more curious so I parked illegally (which I don’t recommend) for a visit… mind you I was dressed bummy but I didn’t care.
Seriously, looking at all the fresh donuts at around 11 was unheard of, especially being a dunkin donuts rare eater. Intrigued by a good amount of options, I opted for the Vanilla Bean and Butter Hazelnut donuts with coffee.
Now folks… I was already on a mission to get some Haitian soup but not only was the bag heavy which meant serious business but the smell again smacked me in the face.
With that said I took what a big bite of the hazelnut and although I don’t do sugar in the morning, this was one of the better mornings that I made a great decision. The dough was big and chewy and was just plain great. The topping was deluxe and although it seemed a bit high on the sugar side, it was just an evolved donut. And yes, the coffee was very good as well and wasn’t the standard diner low quality type.
All in all… If you’re craving a donut and want the deluxe experience with some smiling people, then indulge here. You won’t be disappointed… AT ALL!
No ticket by the way (score!!!)

Union Square Donuts is a good alternative to Kane’s if you live in the city and don’t want to hike to Saugus for a quality donut.
Their shop is super cute and the donut I got (chocolate cake) was delicious. I’m excited to come back and try the other flavors, since they all looked so good.
They aren’t open all day, so check their hours before you go and try to go early. Also, parking can be limited (especially on weekend mornings) so it’s best to walk or go during a non-​peak weekday time to get a parking spot.

A dozen of these babies can cost you up to 42 bucks. It’s money well spent. Swallow your pride, empty your wallet and eat these bad bastards. I wanted to hate this place for so many reasons, but the donuts seduced me. They all have these interesting flavor variations and savory ‘zings.’ I even like the strawberry donut, which is not normally the sort of thing I go for.
I don’t think this place is going to be great forever. They don’t have the true Donut Integrity that Kane’s and Verna’s have. A donut place should open up really early in the morning… be open all the damn time… whatever.
Get these before they stop being so damn good or everywhere else catches up with them.

Obviously everybody loves Union Square Donuts on an individual basis — if you haven’t figured it out already from their 350+ reviews then my review certainly won’t make that big a difference. BUT! I also put in a large-​scale order with Union Square Donuts for my wedding party — who wants wedding cake when you can have wedding donuts?
The 120 donuts actually got picked up and brought to the venue before the pizza got there, soooo while people still dove into that pizza, it was nothing like the way they dove into those donuts. Sheer bliss. If you’re not ordering wedding donuts, you’re doing it wrong. Plus, they have vegan and seasonal options! Yum.

Very very good would’ve given 5 stars if they had strawberry jelly but great quality & very filling I got the vanilla bean donut it was delicious my mouth was actually watering. Will definitely be back

Three words. Maple. Bacon. Donut.
I could wax poetically about this donut, I won’t because I’m not a very good poet.
First, it’s a pretty large donut, dense and light all at the same time (if that is even possible). I think it was $ 3 for one donut. WORTH EVERY BITE.
Second, the bacon and the maple glaze get along really well. This makes the perfect salty/​sweet ratio.
Third, they have a spot at the Open Market and at the Boston Public Market, so I don’t have to go all the way to Somerville.
I wouldn’t go here for a dozen donuts, but it’s worth the visit for the times when you want to treat yourself to something obnoxiously good.

By far my favorite donut place — I often come here after a red-​eye flight arriving at Logan and they never fail to disappoint!
Their dough is an extremely fluffy brioche dough and they do an excellent job at mixing salty and sweet flavored without making it too sweet, which is one of my favorite parts of this place.
TIPS: They open at 7am every day, and my favorite is the brown butter hazelnut crunch! Expect a line to develop early in the morning.

Food: 3.5÷5.0
Service: 2.0÷5.0
Value: 2.5÷5.0
Décor: 2.5÷5.0
Overall: 3.5÷5.0
Good *real* donuts and cold brew. Prices are definitely on the high side for Boston, and I, like others, think it odd that they don’t stock deeper boxes that can fully close considering you’re basically dropping twenty bucks for a half dozen. Imagine if you wanted to pick up more than one box!

Unbelievable. I didn’t even know I liked donuts this much.
My favorite is my brown butter hazelnut crunch, which will give you the sugar rush of a lifetime, but is such a marvel of textures — airy donut, creamy glaze, crunchy nuts — gaaaaah — that I don’t even care. The donuts themselves are actually not that sweet, which I appreciate. For example, the Belgian Dark Chocolate is perfectly balanced between the slightly bitter glaze and the donut itself. I would go with friends so you can all try each other’s.
Go early and/​or be prepared to sacrifice some options. However, I must say that they do an impressively good job keeping the majority of the options stocked.
Also points for keeping my vegan friends satisfied! Studies have shown that bringing these vegan donuts to a party with vegan guests will make you 80% more popular.

Foodbaby came here, so I came here — duh.
Their style of donuts is big and fluffy. They have bold, interesting flavors. For two people, we got four donuts — blackberry basil lime, lemon ricotta, brown butter hazelnut crunch and the sea salted bourbon caramel. Out of all of those, the blackberry basil lime was my favorite. The flavors were great — you could definitely taste each, and none of them overpowered another. I also really liked the filling of the lemon ricotta one a lot. The filling is lemon ricotta, and the glaze on top is chocolate topped with pistachios. The sea salted bourbon caramel definitely had that bourbon taste, and it was way more than just a hint. While the hazelnut crunch one was good, it was just eh compared to the other ones we had.
There wasn’t a lot of seating, so we took them to go. Downside? They give them to you in boxes that aren’t high enough for the donuts. So, if you were to close them, the icing gets all over the top of the box instead of in your mouth. After just being in the box for a couple of minutes, I found that these donuts were actually pretty greasy — not cute.
But yeah, I’d come back here again if I find myself in Boston. Gotta be on the lookout for that Boston Crème, which they didn’t have when I came here.

To quote the simpsons: «mmmm donuts»
to date they are the best donuts in Boston (Yes I consider Somerville part of Boston). I like the variety of flavors and style of dough (nut) that can be had. The line moves quickly and is efficient. The donuts aren’t cheap. But it’s Somerville. What did you expect?

Coming from LA, I know my donuts. During a visit back home to Boston my brother took me to union square donuts, since I am a donut fiend.
These donuts are really large and doughy. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it’s not what you are expecting when you bite into a donut.
I like my donuts light and airy, with a fluffiness to them. USD are very doughy, and taste like fried dough. However, for what they are, these donuts are pretty good.
I loved how filled the raspberry donuts were with real raspberry jam. The lemon ricotta donut had less filling, but it was still pretty good.
My only criticism of this shop is that we ordered a dozen donuts and they put them in a pizza box and told us the box wouldn’t be able to close. Not for anything but that seems like the shop is trying to cut costs, it just seems cheap. If I am bringing these donuts to a friends for morning coffee I do not want to show up with this hodge podge box.

These are the best donuts I’ve ever had. They do so many different styles and apparently all of them are excellent. The orange cardamom poppy seed donut is the glazed donut you’ve always dreamed of, but its far from the best option here. For that you could go for the raspberry jam filled donut, which is perfectly fluffy and bursting with jam. My vote would be for the brown butter hazlenut crunch donut, which has a pleasant crunchy coating as a counterpart to the airy donut and a rich, slightly roasty flavor. I’m sure whatever I get on my next visit will become my new favorite.
Union Square Donuts is in Somerville, so they obviously have to serve high end coffee and cold brew. There are a few tables inside, but I imagine if you come in the morning your chances of getting a seat are pretty low. If in the area before 3pm, this is a must visit.

We came here for one thing and one thing only: M A P L E B A C O N D O N U T, and i don’t hate it.
We came here after the Sam Adams Brewery Festival later in the evening and we were able to get the LAST maple bacon donut for the day.
Here are my thoughts:
+ Big pieces of bacon
+ Maple frosting not TOO sweet
+ Get both the sweet & savory flavors
CONS:
— Donut — the bread wasn’t very fluffy, it was cold and extremely chewy.
— pricey

we got 6 of their most unique (and expensive $ 3.50 per donut) flavors and only the maple bacon was a really good one. would not return but worth stopping by if you are in the neighborhood and just want one donut and coffee.

Best donuts ever. Maple bacon, bourbon caramel and coffee cream are my favorites. Expensive but worth it. They cost five times a regular donut but worth 10 times more.

This is what heaven taste like ! Best doughnuts hands down ! My favorite is the Maple Bacon doughnut ! Simply amazing and they have vegan options, staff is super friendly !

Can’t get enough of these donuts. So many good flavors and just really good quality. So filling! The line can get long so come early or catch them around Boston at various open markets.

Tried the caramel salted donuts, they were good. Not crazy about the apple cake, it was really spongy, almost gummy. About three small tables to sit at and a long bench to make best use of space and allow for large crowds.
Service was a little rude. There was a very unpleasant woman in glasses and sunflower hat that would give unfriendly looks and was particularly unhelpful with ordering. Their «order here» sign is not conspicuously placed causing constant confusion. You order on the right side of the counter and move to the left (toward the door) to pay.
It’s a very hipster vibe inside but has donuts so good service is not a priority because people will keep coming back. I probably wouldn’t drive out again for these donuts but I would make it a fun stop for family visiting.

The donuts were yummy but are a wee bit on the pricey side. But worth it. I was slightly disappointed they didn’t have the PB&J donut that was featured in the yahoo article «25 Things to Eat in Boston Before You Die» However, it was the best Maple Bacon Donut I’ve ever had.

Caught some donuts in Boston Public Market.
1. The gold standard (maple bacon) — balanced taste profile given the savory and sweet. Also, generous with the bacon bits.
2. Dark chocolate — nice find. Thickness of the icing similar to that of ganache rather than a pedestrian glaze-​over. Simply made and simply delicious.

Yes! There is not much more I can add to the many reviews here, except to say that I whole-​heatedly agree with the praise that Union Square Donuts gets from its fan base. I’ve been hearing about them for years and pondered if they really could be that good, and if the high price (for a doughnut) would be worth it. Then, one day I stumbled on their kiosk in the SOWA market. I tried two of their flavors – the coconut and seasalt caramel bourbon. I thought the bourbon one was excellent and loved the sweet/​salty combination coupled with the soft airy texture of the treat itself. The coconut flavor was just okay for me.
Fast forward to a few months ago when my sister begged me to take her to their official shop in Somerville. I was more than happy to try out a few more flavors and take here their. We ordered the hazelnut crunch and Belgian chocolate and they were great. Having tried 4 flavors I can say that this price is worth it as a special treat every once in a while, especially considering the quality of the ingredients and the size of the doughnuts too. I’m looking forward to going back and adding more flavors to my taste testing!

Best Boston cream ever! It is so authentic and tastes very fresh.
Also recommend the hazelnut one and the apple crisp which is seasonal so get it while you still can!
The salted bourbon one isn’t my style but the people I was with loved that one as well. Overall, great traditional donuts but go early. As with most donut shops the later you go, the slimmer their selection.

Update, update! The apple cider and cinnamon sugar are really amazing! The apple cider is very tasty but the dough would be even better if maybe infused with apple cider, no? REgardless, just enough oil, fluffy, sweet, really great. And, of course, vegan. I wonder what flavors will get them to five stars…
(They might never because they’re so ridiculous expensive buuuuut, I’ll keep eating while they try)

Some of the best donuts in Boston, though a little bit pricier than I’d like. The Boston Cream is really nice– not too sweet and the chocolate is delicious. The strawberry frosted is so good. You can definitely tell that they make it from real strawberries, not just strawberry flavoring. My favorite so far was a seasonal, pumpkin donut with maple frosting, and it was amazing. FYI, the donuts are huge, so don’t expect to eat more than one in a sitting. Great for sharing with friends so you can try multiple flavors.

Union Square Donuts is always busy, and for good reason, too. The donuts here are delicious. There are also really great vegan options, too. At one point, there was a matcha green tea donut, and I wish USD would bring it back!
My work has requested large orders in a short amount of time, and USD has always successfully delivered on what we requested. The freshness of the donuts are really amazing, and I tend to be conflicted in choosing either the Hazelnut Crunch or trying out a new seasonal flavor.
Currently, they have this Apple Crisp donut, where the «Crisp» factor of the donut is something in itself.
The only thing is that the pricing can be a bit high. A dozen donuts and six donut holes ended up being $ 38. Keep that in mind.

Don’t get me wrong, these donuts are great! But I feel like they’re different than before – smaller and doughier, and not as gigantic, airy, and zeppole-​like from when I first had them. Maybe it was a bad batch that day, but I was just a bit disappointed this time around.
Grabbed a couple so my co-​workers could see what the hype was about. Got brown butter hazelnut crunch, caramel bourbon, maple bacon, chocolate covered pretzel, blackberry lime + basil, and birthday cake. They loooooved them! The caramel bourbon and hazelnut crunch were really good, but I think my favorite may have been the blackberry lime + basil. Surprised by how good that frosting was on that one – the flavors balanced perfectly.
Pricey for donuts ($ 3 – 3.50) and even though they’re good I don’t really see it being worth the money. If I’m back it’d be for a special occasion or something or to just get one donut to split. Definitely try this place to be a part of the donut hype though because they do unique flavors really well!

First time trying this place and i have to say i wasn’t all that impressed. First the atmosphere is cozy. Small — staff were OK not too friendly. I thought they had more variety but when we went in there was only a small variety behind a glass window. I wanted to try the sugar raised but instead got the maple bacon and double chocolate. The dough on the maple was delicious, fresh, soft, a tad greasy, similar to a croissant. Overall the donut itself was very good. Maple glaze was good, not too much maple flavor.
The double chocolate was why i gave it only 3 stars. The dough was OK, crispy and a bit dry. The frosting tasted like straight up cocoa powder. Thick yet very bland. On a plain chocolate donut such as the double chocolate you need something sweet to balance it. Instead you have dry on top of dry. No sweetness on the frosting at all. I was very disappointed.
In addition to the bland flavors the cost was high. $ 21 for 6 donuts? That’s ridiculous. Almost more than $ 3 a donut!
Its OK but wouldn’t go out of my way to drive there and eat donuts. There’s numerous other family owned bakeries with just as fresh delicious donuts.

I literally cried tears of joy when I first bit into a Union Square sea salted bourbon caramel donut two weekends ago at SOWA market. The donut was not too sweet, which is a pleasant surprise with a caramel donut, and the dough was incredibly light. At $ 3, I consider this a steal. I would happily empty my wallet for these.
Fast forward to today. I couldn’t get these donuts out of my head. I wanted nothing more than another donut, so I gave in and ordered a dozen for delivery. I emptied my wallet, yes, but I have never felt better about paying $ 40 for a dozen donuts. The people at Union Square Donuts are literally saints; they allowed me to order a dozen for pick up at SOWA market so I didn’t need to pay a delivery fee. More tears of joy were shed.
My order consisted of the following: 2 sea salted bourbon caramel, 2 brown butter hazelnut crunch, 1 chocolate covered pretzel, 1 vanilla bean, 1 toasted coconut, 1 strawberry, 1 maple bacon, 1 blueberry jam, 1 birthday cake, and 1 malted milk chocolate donut.
The friendly staff at SOWA actually forgot to include one of the donuts in my order and when I went back, they gave me an extra for my troubles. So now I have 13 donuts!
I don’t even care if my veins fill with sugar. I will die a sweet, sugar-​filled death, and I could not be happier.

This is hands down the best donut place I have ever been to. Whenever we’re in town visiting we have to stop in. Maple Bacon is definitely my favorite, get in early to make sure you get what you want!
–1 star for the shop being so small and crowded every time. Donuts are perfect though

They’re the size of a baby’s head. That’s the first star.
They learned from the early days at Kitchen Inc., listening to their rabid fans and making adjustments to achieve the perfect dozen. The qualms present in my old review (check my profile iff’n you’d like to read it) have been systematically eliminated, and the strengths have been superplussed. That’s the second star.
Chocolate glazed pretzel donut. That’s the fifth star.
Third and fourth star? I mistook them for vanilla bean and brown butter hazelnut crunch donuts, devouring them mercilessly and without remorse.
Coffee, local sodas, maybe hot cocoa also served here… I see nothing but a splendiferous ringed treat cornucopia. Bravo.

Ermagerrrrrrrrd I can’t even write a proper review because all of my senses have been ignited and are in a coma-​induced sense of elation.
The doughnuts are amazing. I feel like I didn’t even know what a true doughnut was until I had a Union Square Donut. Sea Salt Bourbon Caramel? You had me at hello.

Wow, this was hands down the best spontaneous trip I’ve ever been on. I literally woke up at 11:20AM today, went on Instagram, saw a post about Union Square Donuts, and begged my friend to drive me to Somerville all the way from Quincy just to get donuts before it closed at 1PM! By the time we got there, it was 12:15PM (thank goodness!).
I was actually kind of scared that by the time I got there, all the donuts would be gone. However, they still have five or six different kinds of donuts left! Parking was really easy to find for us — it’s street parking. We parked outside of the shop. There was a line when I got there but it was really short. When it was my turn, I literally told the worker that I wanted one of each donut! I ended up getting the green tea donut, chocolate glazed, chocolate covered pretzel, malted chocolate, cinnamon roll, and poppyseed roll. I also ordered an ice coffee and purchased some SUPER CUTE pins! (Refer to the pics below). 50 cents per pop not too shabby!
I was planning to wait until I got back to Quincy to devour these donuts, but there were tables available, so I sat down and literally took a bite out of each one. The first one I tried was the chocolate glazed donut. Omg it literally blew my mind! I don’t think I ever tasted a legit donut, so this was a great place to stop by for some. I tried the green tea one next and it was SO good! Not as good as the chocolate glazed, but still yummy :) As for the malted chocolate, I am not a fan of it. The chocolate covered pretzel donut is a must try!!! I don’t think I ever tasted anything as good as this. It has the perfect balance of both sweet and salty.
The décor of the shop is simple and cute. It definitely has that cute café look to it with its chairs and benches. It’s also an open kitchen so you can see what the staff is doing behind the cash registers. The staff is super friendly! They gave us complementary donut holes because the shop was almost closing. I ended up making a second purchase and bought all the chocolate glazed donuts before they closed. I spent probably around $ 40 here. Kind of pricey but SO worth it! Expect me to be back soon :)

Can I have more stars? This place is amazing and I literally have told everyone I know about it. Delicious and I mean DELICIOUS donuts. The idea of a donut in a factory (Dunkin) is just gross now. In fact, I never knew I actually liked donuts until coming here.
Homemade, doughy perfection inside and amazing toppings. The dough is just perfect, I’ve never had anything like it in my life.
I adore their sugar donut, the «regular» or plain among a variety of choices. But I’ve also had their sea salt bourbon (yummy, just super sticky). Today in going to try to new chocolate PRETZEL donut… and I’m awaiting my brothers arrival in a few weeks to try to maple bacon, I feel like that’s a little brothers dream donut.
Do not miss this spot, be sure to come early (they used to sell out, but with their bigger location…3 feet from where they were, this may not be as frequent as issue). Also, closed Monday’s.
Ps. Just finished the pretzel. Omg. Yummy