REVIEW: The Salty Donut in Wynwood, Miami
The view from the front of the line at The Salty Donut. You can buy the Will Work For Donuts t-shirt online here.
THE SCORE:
STYLE: Donut Shoppe + Coffee Bar.
DECOR: 5/5 - Totes cute. Exposed brick, 'grammable succulents, donuts displayed on rustic wooden slabs. A stark contrast to the visual cacophony of Wynwood's iconic graffiti.
VIBE: 4/5 - Slightly hectic, but efficient. Happiness in the air, because donuts.
FOOD: 4/5 - Yummy. Interesting combinations, but dough : toppings ratio was a bit skewed towards the former.
SERVICE: 4/5 - Despite the lines, staff was on top of their game and didn't seem to hate their lives.
PRICE: $ - Very reasonable. Most donuts from $2.25-$4. Espresso drinks + coffee $3-$5.
FINAL WORD: Worth waiting in line for. Get one of every flavor and share them. Don't expect to "bring some home for tomorrow."
On a rainy Sunday in Wynwood last month, I stood in a covered walkway with about fifty other people, waiting in line at The Salty Donut. I ordered two donuts. Then, I ordered two more, because life is short, the line was long, and donuts are good. I found a spot to post-up inside and shoved those delicious donuts into my face. I got an espresso. I don't remember what else happened that day because those things are all that matter.
After bouncing around between temporary locations, pop-ups, and the Confidante Hotel in Miami Beach, The Salty Donut officially put down roots in the Wynwood Arcade in Miami in December. In just a few short months, it’s already a destination all its own, at least for fried dough pilgrims like me and the long line full of other aficionados who all chose the lord’s day to queue up for donuts.
Inside, the clean lines of the marble shelving, the exposed brick wall, and the muted color scheme – save for the pops of color from the espresso machines and bags of coffee beans on display behind the register – stand in stark contrast to the visual cacophony of Wynwood’s iconic, ubiquitous graffiti that lies just outside the door. It’s probably why, standing inside The Salty Donut elbow to elbow and butt to butt with a few dozen strangers feels somehow quieter, or at least more serene, than being outside among the splashy street art. (Although, the neighborhood’s graffiti is not to be missed. More on that in another post.)
I ordered a Traditional Glazed ($2.25), a Guava and Cheese ($3.50), a nut-covered Nutella donut ($4.00) and one from the “secret menu” – a beautiful, sweet corn number with balsamic reduction-glazed cherries and topped with caramel pop-corn, along with a couple macchiatos ($3.00). It’s really hard to pick a favorite, but the Nutella and the sweet corn cherry donuts were standouts, for sure – they had the best dough-to-toppings ratio; the other two were a bit too dough-heavy, although still delicious and not overly sweet.
They came served in a cardboard box, and even though to say the place was crowded would be an understatement, there was actually plenty of room to sit, stand and lean. The utensils and napkins were outside the door in the hallway of the arcade, so it was a bit awkward to exit the store, push through the line snaking around the roped-off entrance, grab a handful of tools and then push my way back inside to where my group was thankfully saving my spot at a counter, but having those items outside probably meant another three or four people could have room to stand inside, so I applaud them for a good use of the indoor and outdoor space.