Cruel Donuts

WoW! I can see what all the hype is about... 4.5 **** rounded up to 5 ***** for me. In this case it was all about the experience. The venue was not something to gloat about... the typical mom & pop small business run by a small staff feel. Parking wasn't an issue, there were a decent amount of spaces when we got there. However they were packed! Luckily when we got to the front, most of the crowd had dissipated. We had a chance to chat with the Ice Cream chef and try a few samples as well. They have several

These may have been the best donuts I have ever had. An elevated experience, quality ingredients, perfectly balanced (if one can say these things about donuts), yet familiar. Very good coffee. And kind, sweet staff. Thank you ??

Okay. Finally an amazing handcrafted quality donut shop in San Carlos. We've been well standing strong with Chuck's Donuts but it never crossed into the "special" category. Cruel Donuts seems to have sprung out of nowhere, located in a less-traveled stripmall away from El Camino. Regardless, Cruel is a gift to this city. Let's first benchmark it with the glazed. Absolutely soft and fluffy and is nearly as good as Stan's (which is THE best). This is a huge statement. The Apple Frittata was deep fried crisp.

I went here for the first time 2 weeks ago and have since been back five times for both donut and ice cream. ?? My favorite donuts are the sugar cruel/cruller donuts (it kind of reminds me of a youtiao texture) and the passionfruit glazed donuts but all the flavors I've tried are great and so fun (they have raised, cake, old fashioned, and mochi donuts). The owners, Leanne + family, are doing such a great job!! The ice cream flavors are creative and made with lots of love (they source their ingredients care

Absolutely delightful experience on my first visit! The assortment of delicious donuts with their diverse flavors truly impressed me. The staff's friendliness and expertise in all things donuts added to the wonderful atmosphere. Despite the slightly sketchy location, don't let that deter you from experiencing these amazing treats!

This place makes the best donuts hands down! As someone who usually doesn't even like donuts, I was very pleasantly surprised by Cruel Donuts. Their donuts and pastries were freshly made with quality ingredients, full of flavor, and absolutely scrumptious! Plus they're NOT greasy, heavy or too sweet. I've tried this place about four times now and was consistently impressed each time with everything I ate from their classic glaze, cruller, and old-fashioned donuts to their more unique creations. A must have

These donuts are just exquisite! No frills, no gimmicks, just excellent execution. The cake was the fluffiest of the fluffiest and the yeast donuts were light and pillowy. Not too sweet, but well-balanced. Cruel is definitely a contender for the best donuts I've ever had. We will stop by again when we are in the area, but they are worth a drive to try.

Inside a strip mall behind a gas station next to Good Samaritan homeless shelter lies Cruel Donuts. Eating a chocolate raised donut while standing in the warm morning sun is a piece of happiness. I like their calamansi (a type of Filipino citrus) donut and apple fritters (really good!) and the many types of mochi donuts. Overall super yummy place!

This is my new favorite place to go to for donuts! I like every one I've tried so far, but the guava filled, strawberry shortcake and their house "cruel donut" are the best in my opinion. I can't wait to try more of their menu!

Amazing selection of unique donut flavors like creme brulee, passionfruit glaze, and fresh raspberries. Also, amazing ice cream with house made unique flavors. Exceptional.

I just popped into this lovely donut shop this afternoon craving a good raised glazed donut, and was I surprised! Seeing as how it was the afternoon, I expected a relatively stale donut from this morning still lingering in the display case, but oh how I was wrong! The raised glaze donut I picked up couldn't have been made less than an hour ago or maybe they have some sort of magic that makes their donuts stay fresh! The donut was pillow-y, soft, moist, with a still-crisp thin skin?IN THE AFTERNOON! ?? I

Tried Cruel Donuts a few months ago and the passion fruit donut was good, but the service was anything but. I was confused as to why no one had reviewed how careless the service was. Craving donuts earlier this week, my family and I went back. Whoever helped us on the front could not have been bothered. I?m not expecting you to ask me how my day is going, but when I ask a question about a donut I don?t want an eye roll. Especially after spending $13.50 on 3 donuts. The boston cream donut had no cream in i

These donuts are soft and light. The icings are full of favor. They make for delicious treats. I received great service, it was quick but not rushed. She even put extra icing on the passion fruit donuts bc I told her how much I like them. I didn't ask, she was so nice. Prices are reasonable for premium donuts. Parking is easy.

Very tasty donuts. so airy, fresh and delicious. My favorite with strawberries, everything is added in moderation, a little white cream, a lot of strawberries = a great combo ??

Saw their cool TikToks, so checked it out. Sunday has mochi donuts, and we got matcha, strawberry, and sesame. The texture was good and flavors were pretty good. Also tried the specialty donuts: strawberry shortcake $5 was very good and cr?me br?l?e also was unique with good cream. Happy to have this in the neighborhood.

BEST donut shop in the San Mateo area, super fresh and delicious! Go for the apple fritter. Lots of tasty raised donuts with guava, passionfruit, ube, raspberry, cr?me br?l?e? excellent and high quality donut shop. Highly recommended.

Excellent donuts - light, airy, and perfect sweetness. The creme brulee is just what you'd expect: a well prepared custard with a sugar brulee top encased in a light fluffy raised donut. The textures are a really fun contrast.

Update one year later!! They have ice cream and sorbet now!! And it is truly the best ice cream and sorbet in the area! A must try!!! Incredible and creative flavors! If Ray, the ice cream chef, is around, he?ll tell you about how he created the amazing flavors! INCREDIBLE donuts and service. The person working was so nice and answered our questions about the donuts, and the donuts were delicious! Especially loved the cr?me br?l?e, guava, cruller, and plain glazed donuts. So fluffy!!

Called the store to check if creme br?l?e donuts were available as it was close to their closing time. The person who helped me, let me know they were available and that she would make some for me incase they ran out. She was kind enough to make some creme br?l?e donuts for me when I was at the store. Thank youuuu sooo sooo much! The donuts were fresh and absolutely delicious. I got the guava, strawberry short cream, creme br?l?e donuts. The creme br?l?e is going to be a personal favorite as it was top not

Fantastic quality donuts, like stunningly fresh and delicious. Beautifully adorned, carefully made, and irresistibly good! Super-Recommend

Updating this review for 2024. I?ve been going to this donut shop since they opened and their donuts are as fantastic as ever. Highly recommend! Be advised it?s a small shop without indoor seating options.

Stumbled into the new neighborhood donut shop this morning after getting gas nearby. What a pleasant surprise to find such yummy fresh donuts and some really cool varieties too - brought home some to surprise the family before school. The biggest hits were the custard filled eclair, the cr?me br?l?e donut and the strawberry shortcake style ?sandwich?donut. Yum yum!

The crumb and ube donuts, and apple fritters were soft and melt in your mouth type excellent. This place is a play on words, named after the krueler donut.

The donuts were delicious and the customer service was spectacular, the place is clean and organized. I definitely recommend it. Parking was easy

Update 4/5/25: They now have ice cream! Not just any ice cream though, truly gourmet. We went in on Saturday night to check out their newly added ice cream (BTW they now are staying open until 8pm Fri and Sat nights for ice cream and donuts). We were lucky that the ice cream chef was there that night and he was able to give us a tasting of several flavors, explaining the flavors in detail, before we decided on our 2 scoops each. I went with a scoop of yuzza sorbet and a scoop of vanilla with a passion frui

My favorite donut shop in the area! Great classics and amazing specialty donuts!

I'm a donut snob. These are great donuts. The blueberry cake donut was absolutely perfect. Might be the best I've had. Their chai latte was also pretty fab. Definitely worth a visit.

We got guava filling, strawberry shortcake, passionfruit, ube, creme brulee, cinnamon sugar and passionfruits mochi donuts. Everything was so good. This is going to be my go-to donuts place now!

No exaggeration, the ube donuts at Cruel Donuts were the best donuts I've ever had in my life! I got here bright and early and have to say the gentleman who helped me provided top notch service. Everyone I shared the donuts with agreed they were simply divine! This place is worth all the hype and more. Thank you Cruel Donuts for such a great experience :)

Great quality donuts. Came in around 9:45 Saturday morning and there was no line. They have traditional donuts and some more expensive premium creations, so you can decide to treat yourself or your wallet. I was told by the woman at the counter that they have a larger variety on weekends. The special creations have been well thought out; meaning that some you would expect to be overly sweet are actually well balanced and made with high quality ingredients. The staff was pleasant and you walk out with a beau

saw this donut shop while I was filling up and thought I'd give them a try. I'm so glad i did! I'm only 2 bites in and all I can say is Cruel Donuts are b-b-bussin!!!

The BEST apple fritter ever. Great customer service. Supporting local is the way!

Amazing donut place. They had a fun donut day party and gave away a lot of fun gifts. The owner is super sweet and so are the donuts!

TRULY A HIDDEN GEM!!! The donuts are ALWAYS fresh. Donuts are everywhere, but this place is different. I feel very fortunate they are only 2 blocks away. Their Cinnamon Rolls are amazing. Best texture of Old-Fashioned I have had in 25 years in the Bay Area. If you haven't tried their UBE donut, IT IS A CANT MISS. THEY NAILED THIS ONE!!! light, Fluffy, and not super sweet, it made me a Yam fan!!! I swore I wouldn't ever try it, but now I have coworkers asking me to bring them. WE NEED TO SUPPORT THIS BUSINES

Great selection of donuts. The yeast donuts were light and fluffy. My favorite was the passionfruit donut. The passion fruit flavor really came through. Definitely a must try when you visit! We also tried their cake donuts (ube, blueberry). It was almost like eating a fried piece of cake. I prefer the cake donuts denser, but that's personal preference. The old fashioned donut was good. The customer service was friendly and efficient. We went on Sunday and got lucky with mochi donuts. So yum! Wished I

So good, my new fave in the area (even beating apple fritter). Light, fluffy, and fresh donuts - both yeast and cake with simple classic choices. And I like the consistency of their glazes - not too thick and the right sweetness level. Ube donut is really really good. Easy parking, early hours, and super friendly staff. Their mochi donuts were a little chewy for me (vs Mochinut).

donuts are okay, nothing special. Their specialty donuts are good, had the passion fruit and raspberry which were good, but any others are average, run of the mill donuts. That wouldn?t be an issue, but the prices are not reflective of the quality. a dozen donuts (including 3 specialty), a breakfast sandwich and a drink set me back $53 including tip, which to me is just ridiculous.

Awesome donut spot in San Mateo. I got the creme brulee stuffed donut, ube cake donut, and lilikoi crueller to share with family. The staff threw in an extra blueberry donut for me too! The donuts were tasty and true to flavor. They're a little more moist/delicate but still had a nice crumb. I loved the lilikoi crueller which was perfectly sweet and tart. The creme brulee donut had that classic caramelized crunchy top and a delicious filling inside. I'll be back to try their strawberry donut and coffee.

Best donuts I?ve had. Light fluffy and just perfect pillows of doughy goodness. All the classics plus some unique ones. The cr?me br?l?e donut is excellent. Sometimes eating donuts makes you feel gross afterwards but not here. Will definitely be coming back! Oh and the coffee is good too.

We love this place! The donuts are super fresh and delicious. My daughter dropped her when getting on our car and they replaced it at no cost, we didn?t even ask! Great service, excellent donuts, friendly staff, a true gem!

On a hunt for Apple fritters this morning, I came across Cruel Donuts on Yelp. Everyone?s raved that the fritters here were full of apple chunks and not too sweet (ultimate compliment, iykyk) Walked in expecting to only grab 2 basic donuts, I was pleasantly surprised by their selection. There was guava, banana Nutella, mochi donuts and so many more unique options; this wasn?t my average donut shop! Walked out with a guava filled donut, passion fruit glaze, blueberry cake (fave), and an Apple fritter. The f

This is the best donut I ever had, with strawberries, fresh and not too sweet!

Freshness and variety can't be beat! Love the Ube flavors! Love the crullers! Donuts from Cruel Donuts do not feel heavy in my stomach, and so I don't get that bloated feeling the way other donuts can make you feel.

Some of the best donuts I?ve had in the Bay Area, if not the best. I enjoy a number of the local shops, especially Rolling Pin up in San Bruno. These are *far* better. The ?basics? are exceptional - glazed and crumb are great. Their Ube cake donut is so good! Specials like their cr?me br?l?e and strawberry creme look awesome (no room to taste yet). Edit: have been back many times, still so great. Yesterday they were out of banana/Nutella donuts (which sounded awesome) but she offered to make me a strawberr

Pretty big operation with tons of equipment, but a strangely sparse selection available. I?m assuming a big part of their business is probably baking for grocery stores and gas stations etc. Very basic selection of donuts. Glazed, crumb, raised, twist, and cinnamon twist, and a An apple, fritter and cinnamon roll. They had nothing with sprinkles or anything fun that kids would be attracted to. With that said, though, these are some pretty darn tasty donuts. I would actually write these just a little bit bel

First time stopping there (based on Google reviews when looking for a donut place). Not disappointed. Got the glazed donuts and they were fresh and tasty. I'll go back.

Unbelievably good donuts. The passionfruit cruller is amazing, never had anything else like it. I don't really want to share this place because I like it being our "secret spot", but I want to see them do well so it is worth recommending!

Tasty, fresh donuts. The Ube donuts are especially good.

I am sure this place makes great donuts, but I happened to go there a day before they changed their oil. I'll give it a try one more time some other day.

Love the Passion Fruit icing on some of their donuts. The other day I also bought a croissant filled with ham and cheese. Absolutely delicious! Fabulous apple fritter too.

They have the very best plain glaze, I always get it because it?s sooo soft. I also like their old fashioned donut, it doesn?t taste oily.

Great donut and their ice cream is amazing

Great donuts and reasonable prices. I've been a few times and it's my new favorite donut shop in the area. But I would stay away from the iced coffee- classic awful coffee.

Excellent customer service great freshly made donuts ??

Cruel Donuts are very fresh and tasty. But on the high end with price. Definitely a new spot for a quality donut, but a fancy or specialty donut is $3.50 & Up.

Amazing donuts! Employees are so friendly and love giving recommendations. If you head over when it opens the donuts are fresh and warm.

I would give 6 stars if I can. Best donut I had in my life. It is so soft. Highly recommend! You will never regret. I will definitely go back and get more

Unique and creative donuts. light and glaze and chocolate twists.the cake donuts are soft and crunchy on the outside they also sell breakfast sandwiches. can?t recommend this place enough.

Service was excellent and the store is clean, I'm happy to have them in the neighborhood. Donuts are consistently beautiful and delicious, maybe skip the bagels.

Awesome ??, wish we lived closer. The strawberry shortcake ?? was MAGIC!!! Staff helpful and friendly, even stepped outside to check on us, asked how we liked and if needed anything else. We had just arrived after long drive and needed a standing snack.????

Amazingly light, airy, and delicious! The Cr?me br?l?e donuts and crullers were my favorite! A must stop while in San Mateo! Yum!

50%+ higher prices than other donuts shops after their inflation bump. I had an Apple fritter and a Mocha. The Apple fritter was nothing special, and the mocha was bad. I was surprised to see an espresso machine in a donut shop though.

Everything is so good. We explored a few donut shops in the peninsula and this place is the best. Their sweetness is perfect.

Delicious fresh donuts, very cute to go boxes

Amazing croissants, especially the ham and cheese with jalape?o! So kind, they gave my kiddo a donut themed sticker too

Seriously awesome donuts!! The Creme Brulee was delicious, Passion Fruit a triumph and the Apple Fritter sooooo good - 6 stars for Cruel Donuts!!

Strongly recommend their specialty, the cruller. Tend to have rotating flavors and I'd recommend each of the ones I've tried so far

Amazing Donuts, the specialty ones are really unique and tasty. Great selection, and great parking access. They also have a very friendly staff!

First time going in there and they have some cool stuff. Their chocolate croissants were delicious. Friendly and quick in and out. Would recommend.

Cruel to my waistline. Cruel to be so far from my home. Cruel to have so many delicious looking options. Damn you cruel donuts. I love you. Please take me back.

Fast and fantastic service, before school if I want some good coffee and something sweet i?ll run it and be out within 5 mins. The staff is so nice and efficient honestly the best donut place i?ve been too

New favorite donut place on the peninsula ? classic donuts styles done with excellent twists. The ube and crullers are a must.