Yum! These donuts are very big, not too sweet, pillowy and soft. I tried the cinnamon-sugar old-fashioned and the chocolate raised, and neither disappointed. They tasted really fresh, despite me visiting fairly late in the day. Given the price point of $3.75-$5 per donut, they're a reasonable size. The location is also really cute, and I loved the white brick accents and chalkboard signs everywhere. Everyone was masked up and the store was clean. I'd love to come back and try their coffee (Equator is always good) as well as some of the more popular offerings that sell out soon! read more

I'm not too sure who Jonny was, but I can't imagine he will be all that happy with what has happened to his doughnut shop. The staff are exceedingly surly, at best, one of them was sweating profusely and looking like she couldn't wait for her shift end. The coffee is bland at best. The frosting on the donut is okay though. read more

Amazing donuts that you need to try. I once bought these donuts and drove them 400 miles to Los Angeles to compare to another donut shop. Johnny's Donuts is the best. read more

Quick drive by for some doughnuts and coffee. Their products are good, but if you're not used to them they can be "heavy" in texture. However, the variety of flavors makes this shop a great place to visit, as you'll find flavors you've likely never tried! The newest I tried was the "thang" a space like looking creature which tasted kind of like a churro, but not exactly. You need to try it and see what you think! The doughnut holes are also good, and about two to three bites each - large! The coffees are good, but again, don't expect an exact menu replication for your local coffee chains, so try something different! If you haven't tried them yet, give a Johnny doughnut a try - you'll hate them or be hooked! read more

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At $3:50 each I was expecting some amazing things to come from Johnny Doughnuts. Did I get that? Sadly, no. My Husband and I found them at the Fort Mason Off the Grid and waited in line about 10 minutes for 2 Doughnuts to share - $9 after tip. Sharing them later that evening I wanted to scream ''Give me my money and calories back!!''. #SadFace The Doughnuts are pretty big and we cut them in half to share and were a little saddened to see a very small amount of filling. The dough was soft and the filling sweet with nice fruit flavors but really not worth the hefty price tag in my opinion. These Doughnuts taste just like the ones you will find in my homeland - England. But at a fraction of the price, I guess that's why we were less than impressed as when you're used to paying $1 for 6 it' a hard not to feel slightly jipped when visiting here. That said, they do have some intriguing flavors and worth trying once. read more

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Does anybody remember "The Donna Reed Show"? ANYBODY?... Bueller. Anyway, that eternal ingenue, Shelley Fabares, played daughter Mary, and sang her one big Top 40 hit, "Johnny Angel". For some reason, that song gets stuck in my head when I see the Johnny Doughnuts truck where I expect Shelley to come out with her three back-up singers, her flip-do, and her echo chamber to sing it one more time. Only she sings "Johnny Doughnuts" and out comes the late John Candy in a gold lamé jumpsuit gorging on a Chocolate Vanilla Cream Bismark. I swear this truck follows me around, or is it me following the truck? The mind can play tricks, don't y'know. The first time it was parked right in front of my company where they were giving away free doughnuts while the executive team served coffee in the lobby. Lime Poppyseed please (photo: http://bit.ly/2amKltZ). It was a monstrous doughnut and awfully dense for a raised, but the glaze was tasty. Apparently they use potatoes to thicken up the dough, and it definitely weighed on me during my morning meetings. Several weeks later, Jamie W. and I were watching the San Francisco Symphony perform at the Pier 27 Cruise Terminal, and lo and behold, the Johnny Doughnuts truck suddenly appeared. This time, we decided to have a trio of them. For Yelping purposes, of course, ahem. The big ticket item was the Crodough, which was like a girthy cronut with layers of deep-fried dough filled with rich custard (photo: http://bit.ly/2aH5rT6). Honestly just too overwhelming to eat beyond a couple of bites. The second one was my favorite, the Coconut Citrus Raised, because frankly I like anything with coconut flakes (photo: http://bit.ly/2aUqD4J). Toasting them could have been a nice touch. The third and last of our self-indulgent purchase was one of their signature doughnuts, the Blueberry Raised (photo: http://bit.ly/2ao2CnV). Not as sweet as I feared, but I have to say Johnny just makes them too dense for my taste. While I'm not a Krispy Kreme fan either, I prefer that end of the spectrum since I really don't want a pound cake with every bite. FOOD - 3 stars...big, dense doughnuts...no kidding AMBIANCE - n/a...I've only seen the truck, never been to the San Rafael shop though they are opening in Hayes Valley at the end of 2016...scary SERVICE - 3.5 stars...the woman who serves the doughnuts is always nice TOTAL - 3 stars...Johnny Doughnuts / How I want them / To be something that I can't resist / But I know that they couldn't possibly exist... (http://bit.ly/2a9NsUO) read more

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Humana Humana. In this small shop some serious fresh baked deliciousness is happening. Arrive in the morning and you can smell the delectable, pungent, sweet aroma wafting down the street and around the corner. This petite turquoise shop with marble countertops and black chalkboards propped everywhere has the rustic schoolhouse vibe that is everywhere these days, with trays of enormous cake donuts, gigantic glazed doughnuts, (their strawberry orange cake donut was a stand out) and a plate of roaming zebras (vanilla and chocolate swirls.) After a brief, friendly introduction, I jumped on their cronut, which here is called a CroDough. Full disclosure, I have had limited exposure to cronuts. However, this is last-meal-on-earth type stuff. Nothing legal should taste this good. They normally have, but were out of, their sugar crust and cream filled CroDough, and while generally I scorn anything with a chocolate and mint combo (sorry Girl Scouts and thin mint lovers!) I opted for a chocolate mint croDough, since it was their last cronut. Truly, I did not like the frosting (for why add toothpaste to chocolate my friends?) but oh, that sugar coated crisped crust was heavenly and the meaty density of the bottom of this cronut (yes, I ate everything except the frosting) proved an inspired combo of croissant and donut. Hands down better than any mere doughnut I have eaten. A terrific treat. Come here in the AM while the goods are fresh from the oven, and possibly wear your sweatpants people. read more

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Quicker update: The "Mr. Strawberry" with a glass of cold milk was awesome! Sipping the cold milk while still chewing a morsel of the strawberry frosted doughnut was almost like having ice-cream. The effect was compounded even more as I had been walking under the warm Sun. And it also happened to be their 1st birthday today! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Quick update: I've since had the lemon poppyseed, the blueberry, and the sugar dusted raised dougnuts. I don't really care much for the tartness of lemon on doughnuts, but I enjoyed the (buttermilk?) raised sugar-dusted version. On my last visit I complemented my cuppa coffee with a blueberry frosted doughnut, and it was pretty good! I loved the sweetness of the blueberry frosting on the soft airy spongey mound of deep fried dough-ey batter. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Johnny Doughnuts is to your one-dollar donut store, what a french patisserie is to your corner bakery. You may take that statement with a light dusting of salt, seeing how my review is based off of a single visit, but a visit that nonetheless is enough to tell you how both purports to purvey the same product, but delivers it with a chasm of refinement as wide as the grand canyon. The current rage that is the cronut did not leave Johnny's unafflicted. But they decided to fill theirs with a vanilla custard cream and rechristened it "Crodo", assuming that the cronut is christian and was actually baptised (dear atheists, please read that as "a cronut that goes by the moniker crodo"). The crodo was dusted with cinnamon sugar, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was filled with the aforementioned vanilla custard. It had the dense cake-like texture of a donut as well as the flaky layers of a croissant, or any similar viennoiserie. How do they do it? I can only hazard a guess that they probably leavened it like a brioche, employed the good ol' fold-and-roll method of a puff pastry, and finished it off doing time in the deep fryer. And it worked mighty well. At $3 apiece, it is expensive for a donut and won't serve your pocket well were this to be your daily fix. But if you, like me, are in for once a week or once a month, then this definitely is the one to have. I am tempted to give it five stars but I don't want to jump the gun just yet. I will be visiting it again to refine my rating, more than once, but not frequently, seeing how each one of them would easily cancel out at least a four-mile hike. To paraphrase our favourite master: Strong is the force, in this one. Much promise, I see. read more

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3.5 STARS So I was at Off the Grid: Fort Mason and went a little crazy when I saw this truck. It was towards the end of the evening and I wanted to try a cro-dough. Since my roommate LOVES doughnuts I thought, why not get one of each?! That's right! I bought 15 doughnuts! Just so you know, these are very very dense cakey / bready doughnuts. I should have realized this when I got my box and it weighed a million pounds! LOL! Unfortunately I don't love super dense doughnuts and neither does my roommate. It would have been okay if they were on the fluffy side, but unfortunately they where kind of dry. I feel bad saying this cuz everyone at the truck was super nice and I should have known the doughnuts were on the denser side when looking at them. To be fair, I did enjoy the cro-dough. Their croissant doughnut hybrid filled with cream was lighter due to the croissant element. 4 stars for the cro-dough! So I'm giving the rest of the cakey / bready doughnuts 3 stars and averaging it out to 3.5 since I really only wanted to try the cro-dough and got a little carried away. Rounding up to 4 because of the nice people working on the truck. :) read more

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It's no Dynamo Donut. Feels more like a higher quality version of those doughnut shops around town that are open really late and sell Pho (for some odd reason). As far as chains go, Krispy Kreme is better. Dunkin Donuts beats them on filing generosity, but the actual ingredients from Johnny taste more natural. Overall, it's just ok (hence the 3-star). Chocolate Vanilla Bismark: So disappointing. They were extremely stingy with the amount of vanilla cream filling. Nothing worse than a Boston Cream Donut with only a smidgen of cream. Too bad, because the two bites I got with cream + chocolate coating + doughnut were pretty tasty. Wild Berry Bismark: A much better distribution of filling. Cakey/fluffy, which worked really well with the fruit. Much better than chain doughnuts shops which favor cornstarch and gelatin over actual fruit. They definitely took the high road with their preserves. Maple Bar: About what I expected. The maple frosting tasted more authentic and was just the right portion to offset the rest of the doughnut. Twist Vanilla: A tad disappointing. I usually expect twists to have some nice sugary flavoring in the folds of each twist. This one didn't, just more dough. It was almost like having the Maple Bar without the frosting and twisted around a bit. read more

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I tried Johnny Doughnuts at OTG. I usually find doughnuts a little too dense for me, so I was more interested in the filled doughnuts, or their Bismarks. However, when I got to the front of the line, there was one 'Crodough' left, so I ordered it thinking I got lucky. This $3.50 version of the croissant-doughnut hybrid was very dry and very dense. On the plus side, it was huge, super thick, and could easily be shared between two people. The sign read 'filled with pastry creme,' but there wasn't any. It was covered with a ton of sugar crystals. I'm not a fan of hard sugar crystals, but it provided the only sweet flavor on the otherwise bland doughnut. I guess I should have tried a filled doughnut after all. read more

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The best vegan donuts in town. The $5 per donut helped deter me from eating too many. Get there early in the day as the vegan options sell out by 10 or 11 most days. Great staff; friendly and efficient. The cafe is clean and has internet. Convenient location. read more

Yup, this place is pretty good. Haha They definitely stand out in terms of their doughnuts. A lot "heartier" than your average doughnut. When normally I can easily consume 2 doughnuts, oh no, not at Johnny's! 1 doughnut could easily suffice. That milk they carry though...now THAT is quite literally the best milk I have ever had. Oh man, I would kill for a glass of that milk and a doughnut right now. I'll be back in the north bay this friday... maybe I'll see you again sooner than later. Hmmm...we will see about that. read more

Sometimes, you just want a good ole junky doughnut from the corner shop that's open 24 hours. If that's what you have in mind, this isn't the place for you. These are bougie, atypical, large, and very dough-y. Although the ingredients appear to be fresh and not so artificial, the doughnuts are just way too much as far as size and how dense they are. Unfortunately, when I went, they were out of the crodoughs. I opted for an apple fritter and the old fashioned. Service was friendly. Prices were pretty much what I expected. No line. Street parking. Next time I'm in the area, I'll give the crodoughs a try and update. read more

I'm a big fan of their doughnuts. We even come from the east bay for them. Buuutttt the espresso is a major bummer. I don't really want to make 2 stops - one for doughnuts & another for coffee but that's just what's gonna have to happen. Who wants this? read more

Johnny Doughnuts - Sad Cappuccino. - Donuts Near Me - San Rafael, California

Finally had the chance to stop by here and was pleasantly surprised that these donuts are huge! I forget the exact names of the flavors, but I chose Lime Poppy, French Toast, and the Crodough. The ultimate winner in my opinion was the chocolate Crodough. The flaky goodness combined with the chocolate glaze was perfect. This is a must try item! Overall, prices are a bit steep, but the quality is great, so I would certainly come back here for occasional treats. read more

I went to Off the Grid Fort Mason and tried Johhny Doughnuts for the 1st time. The line for this truck, by the way was huge. There aren't a lot of dedicated desert trucks for one thing; another reason for the crowds were the large assortment to choose from. I ended up getting 3 Bismarks (these look like jelly doughnuts). Flavor 1: fresh lime cream Flavor 2: berry Flavor 3; Fresh strawberry apple I decided to share the doughnuts with my sibling and Mother and carried them (untouched) to M's home. The Bismarks are cushy doughnuts with very springy interiors and granulated sugar outside. The lime filling (which they make themselves) was tart; a good offset for the sugar sweetness. The jam in the berry Bismarks was very purple and thick. I didn't think the flavor was as good as the lime cream. The strawberry Apple was very tasty; given the fact that strawberries are in season I would hope the flavor is true. Overall, the Bismarks were okay - not outstanding or excellent. They seemed greaseless, which is good but the filling was sparse and maybe could have had a little more pop. At $3 per doughnut, buying one won't break the bank, so if you're looking for dessert at Off the Grid, give them a try. Otherwise stroll over to Chestnut Street in the Marina. There are a lot more options there. read more

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Overpriced. $6 a doughnut. That's absurd. Go to golden cream, or a regular shop nearby and get 3x for the price. Or spend money like you don't care, not my problem. read more

My kids love going here, normally I don't eat doughnuts - but these are worth making the exception for (esp with the mascarpone, or boysenberry fillings). Yes, not the cheapest, but these are meal size, and tasty, resulting in me muttering to myself "why did I finish this?"! Get there early for the best selection... read more

SO MANY OPTIONS! Also... my first time having a croissant-donut - aka a CRODOUGH here! It was filled with a vanilla cream and covered with cinnamon sugar. I thought it was overhyped at the time and hadn't tried one until now.... Now I know what I've been missing out on this entire time!!! It was HUGE! In addition, the other doughnuts and pastries they have offered here made me drool. They're all displayed behind glass windows so you can see exactly how many things they offer - can you really only pick one?! Don't make a mistake - just buy something here. Anything. Even if it's just one. I personally love the ones with filling (I usually don't like those), but these are too good to pass up. read more

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I love doughnuts. They're a super indulgent treat that I find myself returning to time and time again, even when their fried, sugary, doughy goodness overwhelms me and I regret making the purchase. That said, I'm not sure why so many people told me I had to try the doughnuts here. Super underwhelming. First, the doughnuts themselves. Not cakelike, not fluffy, not crumbly, not anything I associate with doughnuts. Just dense. Dense and heavy. Seriously, squint hard enough and you'll be looking at nascent bagels. These things weigh a ton and they taste like bread. Not even good bread. Not even SWEET bread. Just bread. Second, the stock. We got there at noon, and they were almost sold out. They had some chocolate glazed doughnuts and some doughnut holes to part with, but the two people at the counter spent most of their time snickering over our shock at there not being more options than explaining why. I'm sure it's purely economical; better to run out and not have a lot of extra than overcommit and have to throw things away. Still... they close at 2, or somewhere in that range, so it seems odd not to plan for a rush on Saturdays. You could do so. Much. Business. Third, the price. HOW much are you charging for a single doughnut?! Why?! My dudes, you can get so many more doughnuts for less exorbitant prices at any one of a number of doughnut shops elsewhere. Don't be fooled. Price doesn't equal quality. What exactly is the hype all about? How early do you have to get here just to be privileged to some of their overpriced -- and overworked -- hunks of inedible dough? I'm gonna give them another shot, and if they blow my mind, mark my words, I'll change my review then and there -- but in the meantime, BOO! read more

Oh Johnny Doughnuts - I've had the pleasure of watching them grow & gain popularity over the years and they are more than deserving. The original shop here has been expanded beautifully with tons of space & seating. A big thumbs up on the aesthetic and look. Very trendy & clean. The staff are always nice. It's fun to see the doughnuts being made through the viewing area! Now these doughnuts are definitely more of a once in a while treat. A little pricey, but they are also pretty large. The consistency can be a bit heavy, they are more dense than what you'd expect. They have a good balance on variety & selection - takes on the classics and some fun, clever flavors, seasonal items, as well as available options for certain dietary restrictions. Also there's a coffee & espresso bar serving up a local favorite, Equator. So next time you're craving an extra-fancy doughnut, head on over to Johnny's! read more

Johnny Doughnuts - Sprinkly Guy & a Latte - Donuts Near Me - San Rafael, California

I'll be blunt. These doughnuts are not good. It pains me to say this because I wish the opposite were true. My opinion appears to be openly at variance with the larger whole, but alas, I must speak my truth. read more

First time trying Johnny's Donuts. I had the blueberry glaze and here is my 2 cents: - not too sweet which is a good thing - looks a little over fried but surprisingly not greasy - I prefer a more "airy" donut - I was glad to have eaten the donut with milk In the end, I will say that u have had better, but I have had worst. I am a fan of locally owned businesses so will try his place again. read more

Johnny Doughnuts - Blueberry donut - Donuts Near Me - San Rafael, California

I was at Off The Grid Novato when I saw doughnuts! My tummy and I decided we need to try some. I got two doughnuts, one salted Carmel and the other a sprinkly guy. I gave the salted Carmel to my older sister and I took the sprinkly guy. Man were these doughnuts huge. I could barely take a bite out of it! As for taste these doughnuts are more like the traditional ones were used to eat (no Krispy Kreme here), so they weren't super sweet, which was up my ally. I think since it was the end of the day the texture was a bit stales but the flavor was there. I think I need to come get a fresh doughnut to properly assess their tastiness. Overall the doughnut was ok, but I wasn't necessarily wowed. read more

Johnny Doughnuts - Sprinkly Guy at Off The Grid Novato - Donuts Near Me - San Rafael, California

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! From our work family to yours. We couldn't be more spoiled with wonderful donuts delivered to our Units as we battle COVID-19! How grateful we are to have you fill us up with such delicious food made with so much love! We're here for you and it feels so good to know our community is here for us! Jane Taylor MSN, RN MarinHealth Medical Center Greenbrae, CA read more

Loved my almond milk latte. The guy at the counter is enthusiastic and helpful. Open space, good light and easy to work in. I just didn't care for, so far, their doughnuts. And my teeth feel that sugary hurt just thinking about them. But if you love sugar and dough, go for it! Tried the wheat free glazed. Interesting and the crispy sugary edges were good. But otherwise a really almost raw doughy taste as I moved in. Perhaps it needed to cook longer. Then went for a glazed doughnut hole. Still too doughy for me. I'll go back, try an old-fashioned. Maybe I'm just old fashioned. ;) My first job was at the Big Donut in LA and I was really spoiled on old school doughnuts. They have over 30 kinds so hopefully I'll find one before I spend all my own dough. read more

Came here after running a Thanksgiving race, so doughnuts felt warranted. I got an apply pie doughnut and a coffee. The doughnut was DIVINE -- so puffy and fluffy and delicious. Lots of apple inside. Sadly, the coffee left a bit to be desired because they didn't have soy milk (not sure if it was just out that day or if they don't stock it) and almond milk lattes aren't my fave. My friend got a whole box of doughnuts that looked great! I would definitely come b read more

Johnny Doughnuts - Apple pie doughnut and coffee - Donuts Near Me - San Rafael, California

The donuts are huge. We got the vanilla cream crodough and strawberry glazed. The strawberry glaze was not too sweet and very strawberry. The dough was pretty light and not greasy. The crodough was very yummy but just tasted like a sugar donut filled with smooth vanilla cream. I preferred the donut with the cream because filling balanced out the size of the donut. Place also has a nice vibe. The coffee could be better. read more

I got a strawberry yeast raised donut. It was pretty bad. It was tough, didn't seem fresh even though it was early in the morning. The donut itself isn't sweet at all. The strawberry frosting tasted pretty good quality but it didn't save the donut. I just threw it away, not worth the calories. It was $4 too! Way too expensive when even a donut from Safeway would be better. read more

The donuts were pretty good but I thought the blueberry donut frosting was a little to sweet. I had really enjoyed the donuts though!

Doughnuts were amazing and so many selections. Their store is spacious, bright, and welcoming read more

Johnny Doughnuts - Strawberry raised - Donuts Near Me - San Rafael, California

WOW, WOW, WOW!!!!! This was the best donut I've ever had and I've had my fair share of donuts. I got the Cronut filled with vanilla icing. Holy smokes, what an absolute treat. I live about 35 minutes and it was worth every single second. Front desk lady was super nice and recommended the Cronut. Only thing I'm pissed at is that I didn't order 5 of these things. AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!! read more

I finally tried Johnny Doughnuts and I'm happy to report that it's worth the hype. What started out as a local food truck has quickly become a Bay Area favorite. The doughnuts are fresh and delicious, plus the atmosphere makes for an excellent experience whether you're working, catching up with friends, or hanging out with the family. They have a variety of doughnuts including options for those with dietary restrictions (i.e. vegan, gluten free). If you want a particular doughnut I suggest going early as they quickly sell out. We shared a vanilla old fashioned and it was fantastic! They also serve Equator coffee which pairs perfectly with the doughnuts. Doughnuts aren't priced like Dunkin's, but I appreciate that they are made with organic flour and local ingredients. Glad to have Johnny's in San Rafael! read more

Johnny Doughnuts - vanilla old fashioned - Donuts Near Me - San Rafael, California

Good lord...it's been 5 days and I think I finally recovered from the doughnuts here. It's not a bad thing, it's just a thing. These donuts are so so good, but enormous and rich. I've been a few times now and here's what I got for you: - the old fashioned are my favorite, boy howdy these puppies are delicious - the vegan sweet potato glazed is my daughters favorite and it's really damn good - my wife is a fan of raised and the chocolate and raspberry frosted are both very good - their take on a Cronut is just okay - equator coffee and espresso I need to try the bars and twists and filled donuts still which I will because these are just so good. The staff is super friendly. Parking can be tough and it's good to get there early because by late morning they can be down to just a few donuts left. - beautiful space and lots of big bench seating read more

Johnny Doughnuts - These didn't last long. Yum! Vegan sweet potato glazed and raspberry frosted raised - Donuts Near Me - San Rafael, California

Having put smiles on my kids faces a few times, the last two visits have resulted in literal tears. Went in at 10:00am today and they had 1 sugar coated donut and a couple custard filled. That's it. Asked if they had anything else being made and he said they may have some apple fritters later. We had a similar experience the visit prior although they had a few more options, but not many. We just chalked that up to a bad planning day. But this is the second time in a row. I get you dont want excess, but the place was full and people we're still coming in behind us. The donuts are good, but we will never be returning. They are not so good that I will go out of my way to get there early. I hope they figure out how to plan better. read more

If you enjoy fried cement shaped beautifully into donut shapes and artful frosting this is the place for you. For $3.50 a donut you won't have to eat for days since there's no possible way your will be able to digest it, that's if you can choke the whole thing down. I sprang for the blueberry frosted glazed donut and the vanilla custard with chocolate frosting. Mine was missing the vanilla custard, which would have been nice to add a little moisture to the dense brick of bread they served me. Save your $7 and got to any other donut shop and buy a half dozen light and delicious donut served throughout just about any city. read more

Ok, so I was in the area and simply looking for coffee and came across this place! What a treat! Ordered the Frittah Critah!

I live in San Rafael and have been going since they opened their flagship store here, maybe 10 years ago. Today got a plain glazed and discovered it was only glazed on top. Standard glazed doughnuts are dipped, covered in glaze on all sides. Plus, regular doughnuts cost $1.50, not the $3.50 that this place charges. They must be cutting back on costs. Too bad. read more

Wow, I have only had these when people bring them into work. Definitely​ an upscale donut, big, bad and delicious. I suspect one shortens one's lifespan by 5 years with each donut. All that taste has to come at a cost. I have no idea how much they cost, but boy oh boy, certainly a premier brand. Amazing donuts. If my nephews were here, I would get them​ each one, and they would be bouncing off the walls for about 5 hours. Recommended. read more