Fashionable donuts have long played a major role in New York City’s dining scene.
For decades, Donut Plant and Dough Donuts have been known for their innovative creations made with all-natural ingredients. The Cronut, a cross between a croissant and a donut from Dominique Ansel, is widely considered the city’s first breakout pastry, followed by the cruller from Daily Provisions, an ultra-soft donut made with choux pastry dough.
Today, the era of the fashionable donut continues, with a new shop opening whose design has lines lining up for nearly the entire block: I’m Donut.
What is I’m Donut?
I’m Donut (yes, that’s its real name) is the brainchild of Tokyo-based pastry chef Ryota Hirako. The first shop opened in 2022 in Nakameguro and quickly became a hit with its creative, sweet-and-salty flavors. Today, I’m Donut has five locations across Japan and is a local favorite as well as a must-see for tourists, who are said to line up for more than an hour to get their hands on the freshly baked doughnuts.
Today, Hirako opened I’m Donut in Times Square, his first location outside of Japan. “I decided I wanted to share these doughnuts with people all over the world,” Hirako said. “People all over the world know about Times Square—it became my dream.”
What are Nama Donuts?
I’m Donut’s doughnuts are Nama-style, which means “fresh.” Unlike most brioche doughnuts, these pastries are made with pumpkin and vegetable shortening for a chewy, melt-in-your-mouth texture.
Is I’m Donuts worth all the hype?
Ever since I reported on I’m Donut’s expansion plans in New York a year ago, I’ve been looking forward to their grand opening. Now, the day has finally come. I went to I’m Donut and tried every flavor I could handle. Here’s what I thought.
Each of I’m Donut’s six locations has a different vibe—the old store is bustling and quaint with a takeout window; the Shibuya location is a natural affair, with wood, greenery, and warm lighting; the Times Square location is more modern and minimalist, and larger than the others. Much of the space is devoted to an open, multi-level kitchen, laid out like a stage—pastry chefs prepare cream and whisk matcha like performers.
While you wait in the inevitable long lines, you can choose your donuts in advance. Each group is given a sheet of paper with the daily menu, on which you can mark what you want to order. Hand the paper to the cashier, wait a few minutes, and someone will call your name. It’s an efficient system—it prevents indecisive people from delaying the line after they get to the front.
There are a few “specialty drinks” on the menu, including ceremonial-grade matcha and hojicha, as well as tea, orange juice, and lemonade. I ordered an iced hojicha latte with soy milk, which was just right: creamy, nutty, and toasty.
The rest of the menu was all about the donuts. There are a few “signature” donuts, which come without fillings so you get the purest version of a raw donut. There are also vegan donuts (unique to New York), cream donuts, and savory donut creations—think bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwiches on donuts and chicken, ginger, and teriyaki burgers.
In general, these donuts don’t come cheap. The “I’m Donut Original,” at $4, is the cheapest, while the NY BLT is the most expensive at $13. The other donuts fall somewhere in between—the cream donuts range from $7 to $11. So are these donuts really worth the price (and the hype)? I had to try six to find out.
Let’s start with the signature matcha flavor to get a feel for the raw donuts. The texture was somewhere between a typical brioche and a shortbread—chewy and light, but not as dense as I’d expect. The doughnut was generously dusted with matcha powder, which was light and not overly sweet.
Speaking of the cream doughnuts. If there’s one thing I know about I’m Donut, it’s that their doughnuts are always stuffed. The peanut butter and jelly doughnut, with its smooth peanut butter and Concord grape jelly filling, was a highlight. But the sake cream doughnut, with its chantilly cream and pure rice sake jelly filling, was a bit of a mess—a big dollop of cream that didn’t fit in with the alcohol-flavored jelly and the delicate doughnut.
The vegan doughnut was almost indistinguishable from the original raw doughnut, which was a highlight for me! We loved the strawberry chocolate flavor, which was sprinkled with bright icing and tart fruit pieces, but the chocolate flavor was a bit light—in fact, we didn’t taste any chocolate at all.
Before we left I’m Donut, we sampled a few of their delicious dishes. The “sausage roll,” a sausage roll mixed with tomato mayonnaise, mustard, and parsley, should have been a great dish, but it was bland.
The surprise? The donut was filled with scrambled eggs, honey, and tomato mayonnaise. The eggs were fresh and fluffy, perfectly wrapped in the soft donut. It would have been nice if they were served warm, not room temperature.
So, is I’m Donuts really worth the hype? It’s too early to tell. It’s unfair to judge any restaurant or dessert shop based on its first week of operation, but we believe this unique concept will be a great addition to the New York dining scene.
One thing is for sure: After eating so many donuts this morning, I suspect I’m a donut, too.
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