All Star Donuts

Located near El Cerrito Plaza BART station, All Star Donuts sells fresh doughnuts, breakfast sandwiches, coffee, and other pastries at a good price. It’s an ideal place to charge up for the day because it offers variety, quality, and affordability. It’s clean and neat, yet still informal, serving products that are delicious but simple and giving off that traditional doughnut shop vibe.

They have a breakfast sandwich menu on one wall and a coffee/doughnut/pastry menu behind the counter. But beneath the clear case, you can view the main attraction: the nice assortment of freshly baked sweets. The smell  is heavenly, and the display is extremely enticing.

The doughnuts and other pastries are lined up neatly like mouthwatering jewelry on display. The variety of these gorgeous, edible items is impressive. They have pretty much every type of round doughnut, including old-fashioned, cake, and self-rising ones, as well as bars and doughnut holes. When it comes to toppings, you can find glazed, frosted, filled, and cinnamon sugar coating. They also have massive cinnamon rolls and flaky croissants. You can really order depending on your preference—you name it, they’ve probably got it.

As I said, these treats look beautiful sitting in the case together, and I want you to know, they taste as good. The freshness of these decadently sweet pastries is hard to beat. And the coffee tastes amazing; it’s inexpensive, but it doesn’t taste cheap or watery; I close my eyes and envision myself in a much more upscale coffee shop, sipping something much more expensive and elaborate. The flavor of the coffee is deep and satisfying, paired with fresh, cold milk,  and it pairs perfectly with the sweetness of the pastries.

The service is quick, efficient and polite. They profit a lot from takeout orders for people who have places to be; customers in on this secret hidden gem cycle through, picking up affordable munchies and coffee and going on their way, but there is also a small, clean eating area with several tables where you can enjoy your stop. There is even a nice restroom for customers only. Each transaction is treated professionally, but the workers go through many orders at a fast (but not hurried) pace. They take cash, cards, and Apple Pay.