Restaurant Review: I’m Donut ?

I'm Donut?, the Japanese bakery chain known for its viral popularity and unusually accentuated name, opened earlier this year in a sleek Times Square storefront. The company's specialization is No donut (the word means “raw” or “fresh” in Japanese), an incredibly moist and light collection of starch and sugar that seems to be captured by gravity only due to the negligible weight of the various glazes, glazes and fillings. This textural magic is achieved through a signature yeast dough recipe that includes, among other things, kabocha squash, which adds a bit of earthy sweetness and gives the interior a sunny yellow hue. The brand's “original” donut, a sugar-dusted round pillow without a hole in the center, is something of a miracle: breathable, yeasty, tender and warm, it was the dream donut I had always dreamed of, the one I never knew I had.

These miracles don't happen without sacrifice—mostly of your time, but also money, as more ambitiously stuffed and embellished selections can top ten dollars apiece. However, where is I'm a Donut located in New York City? is a real sensation, even several months after its debut. The store, aggressively minimalist with a soaring white façade reminiscent of the toned-down minimalism of the Apple Store, is the chain's first outside Japan, where the brand launched in 2022. Depending on the day, time and weather, you can waltz straight through or join a winding line of hundreds of people taking turns wondering if the wait is worth it as they stare at the “Oh Mary!” tent across the street and enthusiastically shot vertical videos of the phenomenon of the queue itself.

Of course, you should get the original donut, not only for its merits, but also as a control. There are chocolate and matcha variants, with their subtle flavors baked into the batter. Then there are the filled donuts, their plump centers drenched in flavorful creams that are bright and not too sweet: custard, more matcha, aromatic sake jelly with Chantilly, fluffy peanut butter cream with tart Concord grape jelly. There are some exclusive New York flavors, like the ring donut, glazed with a neon pink strawberry glaze, freckled with chunks of freeze-dried berries that crunch and melt on the tongue, or the chocolate variety with a caramel-espresso-cream filling that is unexpectedly, excitingly bitter and complex. The somewhat controversial Omelet Donut features an original sweet donut topped with soft cottage cheese and a drizzle of sweet-salty tomato mayonnaise—a bold and whimsical breakfast manifesto that refuses to be definitely sweet or definitely savory. I absolutely loved it, although I think I may be in the minority.

Am I Donut? In short, the donuts are excellent, but like many places that achieve extraordinary viral speed, what the store is really selling is the experience of the experience, the newness of the newness. Call it hype as infrastructure: counters backing up the line outside, a security guard at the door, smiling employees walking up and down the line, handing out paper menus as checklists to speed up the flow of orders. This is far from the first international restaurant chain to open in the city, but one of the few that has managed to become truly popular while maintaining significant goodwill.