NoDo Donuts

On a breezy Saturday afternoon I decided to check out what all the fuss was about. Nodo have been popping up on my Instagram feed for months now, watching them go from a supplier for local Cafes to opening up their own. There’s only one thing that leads to this course of action and that’s the popularity of the product. Consider me sold!
It was a pretty quiet afternoon for Nodo with only a handful of people sitting in the café but that gave me an opportunity to really soak in the décor. Concrete, white walls, light wood, gold accents and huge windows on to the street. What a beautiful space they’ve created to sit and have a coffee out of their adorable cups and enjoy one of their guilt free treats. Wait, guilt free? Are these not donuts? Yep, I hear you. But I promise you that these dairy free, gluten free little wheels of happiness are just as gentle on your tum as they are on your diet. You’ll also be happy to know that the price isn’t automatically doubled due to their lack of the possibly nasty stuff. They average about the same price as our other sugary, gluten laden friends around Brisbane.
So impressed was I that I ordered one of every flavour for the day and so you have the seal of approval not just from me but all of my siblings as well. Congrats on your new adventure Nodo, you’ve got a lifetime customer in me.

I am all for a bandwagon, particularly one that is conveniently located within a 15 minute walk from my apartment. ;)
I dragged my two step-​kids and fiancé to Nodo the Sunday after it had opened and it was everything I was hoping for.
Beautiful, restrained interior design that screams quality, smiling beautiful staff and many, many stunningly beautiful gluten free doughnuts to enjoy.
However the set-​up of Nodo is a little perplexing. I feel like the interior fit out is stylish to the extreme with concrete and light timber and pops of gold but the functionality suffers greatly from not being particularly well thought out.
Customers walk in the front doors up the stairs. Easy, breezy, lovely. Then customers stand in line to the counter — the register being half way up the counter display but they are very uncomfortably close to the long wooden table and stools set up to run along the space from the counter. Even with only a few people in line it gets uncomfortable and feels like you’re encroaching on the people sitting. Not to mention when you’re sitting yourself it’s impossible to manœuvre in and out if you’re sitting along the table backing onto the crowd.
Another issue with this set up is there are no menus. I’m a big fan of a large menu blackboard, mirror or display of what there is on offer especially when there are queues. It’s nice to know what you want before you reach the front of the line for an efficient transaction.
Unfortunately at Nodo there isn’t even little place cards to tell you what delights are on offer. this means every customer (if they haven’t already heard the oft-​repeated spiel) has no idea what they’re going to choose and have to spend aching minutes on the clock trying to quickly decide once they’re told. It’s a lot of pressure, and I don’t enjoy it.
Despite the ill-​thought out shop layout the doughnuts themselves are beautiful! Chewy, flavoursome and absolutely gorgeous in presentation. My favourite so far is the blueberry and cream cheese with pistachio crumbles. Absolutely delectable!
I’m on the hunt to try the Notella Muffin (apparently also gluten free, amazing!) but they have been continually sold out each time I’ve made an attempt.
I will be a long-​time lover of Nodo but I really really really hope they fix the layout issues and invest in some signage so I can amend my star rating to a shining 5.

Fine. You caught me. You darn well caught me taking part in an Instagram-​approved trend and I liked it! If you’ve not been living under a rock you know that Brisbane has been taken by, among other things, donut mania and NoDo entered the market supplying to cafes with the unique proposition of gluten and dairy free donut. «Sign us up!», we all said and with such popularity they’ve opened a ridiculously good-​looking café on Ella Street in Newstead.
Yes, the white walls and brushed concrete had me ooh-​ing and aahing before I laid eyes on the donuts of the day. And let’s not start on the equally instagram worthy coffee cups. I see what you did there, NoDo.
Far past lunch but smack back on afternoon tea time, I opted for the raspberry and coconut donut iced with dark chocolate and a sprinkling of roasted coconut chips. As it is a 30 degree day in Brisbane today that was a messy sucker to eat but you know what? Absolutely satisfying. It’s a donut with minimal guilt and if, like me, you have a tempered relationship with gluten and dairy, these fresh baked gems will leave your stomach singing.