Sidecar Doughnuts & Coffee

Usually, Sidecar would have gotten 5 stars a few years ago but lately I've been consistently disappointed in the downhill quality of these donuts. I used to buy 5 or 6 at a time and share with family. Sidecar donuts used to always taste fresh and soft with distinct tastes and flavor.

Now, every. time. the donuts are bland and dry. I don't know if they are not making them fresh daily, putting them in the refrigerator overnight, or if they are freezing donuts in advance then warming them up... this seems likely as I used to work at a place that did this with pizza crust and you can taste the difference between a fresh crust and a refrigerator one that was made in advance.

I'll keep trying but we are starting to lose our reason for buying these donuts and we've been buying them for years. Even the butter salt used to melt in your mouth (if it was made fresh) but now it feels like the salt is a separate flavor from the bland dough (because the dough is too dry). The Saigon cinnamon can also be quite dry. Sometimes the best tasting donut is the sample put out because it's hot and fresh tasting.

And a lot of the donuts taste very much the same with just a different flavor glaze on top. The puff donuts are just too dry to ever want one of those. They are a cop out of a donut because we all know the flavor is concentrated in the center and not in the actual dough of the donut so you can just make a bunch of those and fill it with a little flavor.

There is donut competition in Torrance with another gourmet donut company and I really dislike their donuts - they are trash donuts. Sidecar used to stand out as quality donuts. Now I see sidecar starting to make donuts that seem in the same quality range as the other place that's horrible. Like they built up a fan base and decided to start putting out subpar donuts.

Another thing, the flavors can be a bit misguided. I once tried a pizza donut or the strawberry buttermilk and both were horrible. The pizza donut hardly has any sauce in the middle - all you were eating is bread. What happened to something simple like blueberry lemon or pumpkin cheesecake. They did a matcha donut that had no flavor whatsoever.

Anyways, for now I recommend the vegan chocolate coconut (which is seasonal and will be ending soon even though it's a better chocolate base donut than the chocolate one they always have available), Saigon cinnamon and butter salt if it happens to be fresh. Those are some of the OG donuts. Maybe heating them up in a toaster oven or air fryer at home can help.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 3

Service: 3

Donuts have been a passion (my wife would probably say obsession) of mine since early childhood. So when in Rome…..well in this case California. Sidecar have locations throughout California (and probably beyond but I’m here for the donuts not a geography lesson) but we stopped at the one in Rolling hills, Torrance. The selection is good but not mind numbingly enormous so making your choice doesn’t take 2 weeks.
The prices are reasonable compared to the U.K. (£5-6 in the U.K. for an “artisan” donut compared to £2.50-3 here).
The Huckleberry was delicious and the chocolate donut was crispy on the outside but moist and almost gooey on the inside. For me the standout was the maple and bacon. I’m not a big fan of savoury/sweet combinations but this works so well. Maple bacon is weakness of mine anyway so sticking it on a donut seems the next step in evolution.

Check Sidecar out for delicious donuts and coffee. Definitely in my top 5 donut shops worldwide (but I haven’t visited them all yet so that may change over time!)

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Made it a point to visit here on our trip to the LA area. Absolutely delicious donuts and excelente coffee options. My husband still talks about their drinks.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

I expected more from their donuts. They’re over priced and cakey. Their original glazed is okay.

I used to go to Sidecar Donut in Santa Monica every month! What an amazing donut, nowhere I have tasted better donuts. In 2020 I’ve moved out California and eveyday I missed this place. Last month I went back to California, after 5 years od moving away, and I HAD to have Sidecar Donuts. You can’t go wrong with any flavor you order, but my favorite still the cinnamon one. Basic but delicious!!! I hope they grow more and more and spread out all over the USA, so I can have a chance to have them again one day. If you are in California, just go get some, any of their locations the donuts will be worthy!

Get the monthly Vegan donut option. June 2025 is chocolate cake with shredded coconut on top.

Donuts are always soft and fresh

Finally got to try these donuts.
Located in a nice plaza with plenty of free self parking.
Staff is very welcoming.
There's some indoor seating and there's also a couple of outside patio seating.

There's lots of donut options including two gluten free in case if that's what you need.
It's a bit pricey imo.
It feels similar to Crumbl cookies in the sense that they change their menu to keep you returning for new and limited time flavors.

I love this donuts so much! Especially the salt and butter donut never disappoint. On the other hand, the customer service from the woman behind the counter absolute let down. She met all the mark for lack of customer service. If you are having a bad day leave at the door and put a happy face on like the rest of us at our occupation.

My guilty pleasure is their butter salt donut. Amazing lattes.

Best manager/staff! Know exactly how to resolve an issue! Placed a mobile order and one donut was unavailable. Manager not only apologized but went above what I would expect to make it right. This is how you properly take care of your customers - model example for other businesses.
Totally made my day! Thank you very much!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

YUMMY!

Juana passes the vibe check! I love her energy!!!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Very good staff was patient and awesome

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Pumpkin Pie Donut, Pumpkin Cheesecake - Vanilla Bean Glazed - Cinnamon Roll Doughnuts, Vegan, Butter & Salt, Huckleberry Doughnut, Celebration Cake, Saigon Cinnamon Crumb

Great donuts and service. I’m always here. These are my favorite type of donuts to get.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 4

Service: 5

Amazing Service at Sidecar Donuts in Torrance!

I can't say enough great things.They made it so easy for me to buy donuts and deliver them to our local police departments, daycares teachers, cars and cops others anyone else who deserves a special treat.
The staff is always friendly, and they happily let me wrap up the donuts with a smile before I head to my next stop. The donuts I delivered to the police and community were a huge hit! Thank you so much, Sidecar team, for helping make it all a success. I’ll definitely be back for more!
And many thank you to too good to go to make these little extras possible.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5