Review: Donut Bistro

Donut Bistro - visited January 20, 2019

I know, I know, I always say I'm not really a donut person yet why do I try out donut places? Technically, I did try out Donut Bistro but I didn't actually get a doughnut. See what I did there? Any excuse to try out a new place, even if I don't get whatever they're named for.

The shop wasn't crowded when I arrived early on a Sunday morning but truthfully, I haven't found Reno places very crowded, for the most part. Which is one of the reasons I'm enjoying this new transition. After becoming used to traffic, long lines, long waits, large crowds in the Bay Area, it's kind of refreshing not to have to wait for anything anymore.

There was a wide assortment of doughnuts of all kinds of flavors and fillings. I passed them all up. Because you know, not a doughnut person.

So in this case, I tried out their cinnamon roll. I figured it's close enough since the base dough is likely very similar but just in a different shape. And that is what it tasted like. This isn't a Cinnabon cinnamon roll in that the dough was more yeasted doughnut than more dough-like cinnamon roll.

For what it was and not being a doughnut person, I thought it was pretty good. The glaze wasn't too thick, which I appreciated. It could've used a little more cinnamon to my snobby palate so it wasn't just sweetness but still, it was pretty good. I have to give the nod to Stan's Donut Shop in Santa Clara but you knew that was coming.

The other non-donut item I tried from the Donut Bistro was their meatball kolache. I'd read good reviews about their kolaches on yelp and it wasn't a doughnut so it seemed like a logical choice. Cinnamon roll for breakfast, kolache for dinner. Worked for me.

The kolache seemed like the European version of a pork bun from an Asian bakery but with a different filling. The baked dough surrounding the filling was quite good, similar to the bread products from an Asian bakery which I like. It also reminded me of the meat pies I had in Australia and New Zealand: simple, filling and tasty. So while I might not be a doughnut person, I'd go back to Donut Bistro for their kolaches.