Nomad Donuts is a donut shop we continue to go to, even after the original review I did of them. It is located in the North Park area of San Diego and it actually is more than just a donut shop, it is a delightful café. Known among donut connoisseurs for its exotic donuts, bagels and cream cheese, I originally ventured to North Park to see what it was all about, and it was worth the trip to say the least.
When I first went they had just moved to a new location, but still are there today! And, still you might just have to KNOW where they are, as the sign is high up, and small. You could just drive by the corner of University Avenue and Illinois St. and miss it. Here is my original review and it still is true now!
In all fairness, they just moved there a month ago and maybe they’ll put up a bigger sign, but maybe not. Here’s how you know you are there:
The first thing you notice when you walk in is the friendly crowd and servers behind the counter. The decor is bare bones, and comfortable as a cafe. The donuts change each day and you can check on their website for the daily menu of gourmet donuts and cream cheeses. Their daily menu hangs above the counter:
We visited on Monday, but for some reason the Donuts menu said “Sunday’s Donuts”. That’s confusing. But it didn’t matter since the selection of exotic and fancy donuts made the visit a lot of fun.
I went to Nomad’s with my dad and Christy so we selected four types of donuts and two types of bagels and cream cheeses to try out. For the taste test, we cut each donut and each bagel into pieces for each of us to try. Here’s what we thought.
Blood Orange Creamsicle Donut
I loved this one, and it was my favorite. It tasted like a real creamsicle ice cream pop. Normally orange is not my favorite flavor, but I loved the combination of smooth orange glazing on a perfect donut. Bravo Nomad’s!
Orange Guava Donut
Where else can you find an exotic flavor like this? I’d say this one was citrusy, but almost like a hint of citrus, smoothed out with overtones of guava. This one was dad’s favorite.
Mexican Hot Cocoa Donut
This one tasted like a chocolate donut with a hint of cinnamon. We selected our favorites at the end of the taste test and my dad and Christy both picked this one!
Strawberry Kiwi Donut
This donut was a mystery. Both Christy and I thought the frosting tasted more Kiwi but my dad said he tasted more strawberry. Personally I could’ve used some more strawberry since I really like strawberry and that’s what made me choose this one. but apparently there’s a debate on this one. I was disappointed in the lack of strawberry. On the other hand. some donuts you buy are way over sugared, but this one was just right, and you rarely find that anywhere.
Cherry Jam Filled Donut
These were jam filled donuts. Personally, I prefer regular donuts, but if you like jam-filled donuts, you might like this one.
Nomad’s Bagels
Nomad Donuts also is know for its homemade cream cheese mixes, so we tried out two different types on bagels. The bagels themselves were excellent, and we all agreed on that point. They tasted freshly baked and were crispy.
Garlic Herb Cream Cheese Bagel
I love garlic so this one was right up my alley. It was a bit spicy though. Normally I do not like spicy things but this was just right, and not overwhelming the garlic.
Jalapeño Cheddar Cream Cheese on Bagel
I love cheese, but do not like hot Jalapenos so I was afraid to try this one. However, it turned out not to be too spicy hot at all. It was great for our breakfast.
Overall the place was actually pretty good and I would like to go back now and try some of their other exotic flavors.
Nomad Donuts is Located at:
3102 University Ave.
San Diego, CA 92104
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