Donut Palace

Have not tried the kolaches or tacos here.
The donuts are fantastic and one of the ladies that always helps me is nice. The donuts are not necessarily anything out of the ordinary but if you go in expecting standard off-​brand but quality donuts you are going to be pleasantly surprised.

It’s okay not really a Donut Palace that you would think of. I think Dunkin Donuts is better than this place. Notihng special here move on along folks.

I work on Wells Branch at 6 am everyday, so why I found myself at work, hungry, before 5:55 am is beyond me. No matter — I knew from many drives down Wells Branch that there was only one place open at that early — Donut Palace. I decided to get kolaches for my other early-​morning coworkers, as well as some breakfast tacos for me, and a doughnut just to test it out.
Let’s start with the breakfast tacos. One of the worst I’ve had in Austin, and that’s saying something. It could be because the girl behind the counter tried to warm them in the microwave and when I went to eat them 30 seconds later, they were refrigerator cold. It could be because the flour was ridiculously pillow-​y and thick and bleh tasting. It could be that the salsa was runny and bland. All of these added up to me abandoning ship halfway through.
I tentatively tried the doughnut. I bought a single glazed doughnut. The claim that the doughnuts are made fresh everyday (as evidenced on the bag it was in) cannot be true — at least, this doughnut was not made fresh that morning. As far as doughnuts go, it was average, if not a touch stale. I probably would have liked it more if I had heated it up in the microwave.
Finally, the kolaches. I ordered all four kinds (jalapeño, sausage and cheese, ham and cheese, and sausage no cheese). They are pretty average. It’s a nice touch that they are distinctive from each other so you can tell which one’s which in the box, but that’s not a new trick and I wasn’t super impressed.
TL;DR Pretty average doughnut spot. Don’t get the breakfast tacos, but if you’re in the area and hungry, it’s open.

This place was like finding the holy grail of jalapeño kolaches in Austin. Wish they would expand more stores here.

I’ve been here three times now, the donuts are a 4. (3 being Dunkin’, 2 being Krispy Kreme, and 1 being grocery donuts) They were good, fresh and had more flavor than the three mentioned above. When I’m looking for good donuts I don’t care if the grease soaks through the bag in 30 seconds. When I’m eating junk food, I WANT JUNK FOOD. In fact some of the very best I’ve ever had were the kind that soak through a bag in under a minute. Anyway, these weren’t THAT greasy and they were still pretty good.
The kolaches were not as good, I’d only give them 3 stars but they still weren’t bad. The jalapeño sausage and cheese were pretty bland, I could barely even taste the jalapeño (Dream Bakery is one of my faves!).
Now the breakfast tacos were definitely nothing special. I’ll have to look elsewhere for my tacos but this is a donut shop after all so what can you expect? They were bland, plain and just generally unimpressive and I also didn’t get any salsa with them.
Because it IS a donut shop and the donuts ARE pretty good I’ve given it 4 stars. If I were to give all three items equal weight I think I’d have to give it 3 stars instead.

Let me start off with stating the obvious… I love donuts. I love the smell, the sugar high, I love it all.
This little shop is tucked away in a shopping center not too far away from the casa. My parents were in town so I decided to treat them to some sweets early in the morning.
The pros are that the shop opens at 5:30AM. I am a morning person so this is a huge plus. One star.
I ordered a cinnamon sugar twist. It was fluffy and delicious. Oh goodness was it good, add another star.
This is where it goes a little south for me. The service is just flat and bland. No smiles, no small chitty chat, just basically a blank stare and the lady rings you up and gives you your total. To top that off with a bag of sugar sprinkles, she was sick. I DO NOT like having sick people serving my food for obvious reasons.
I had given her the benefit of the doubt and figured that since she was sick, she was probably not up to being very friendly. But in trooped a family who all got hugs and smiles on the way out. So, that blew my theory to heck and back.
My father ordered a sausage burrito and said it has horrible. He had a bite and threw the rest away.
So, if I have a hankering for a sweet donut and I’m no where near Donut 7 or Dunkin’ Donuts, I MAY swing into Donut Palace. Chances are I’d rather take my chances somewhere else. I really think that service is a big factor in repeat customers. This place was severely lacking.

I was hungry after doing an hour of plyometric cardio drills at the crack of dawn. I was looking forward to a poached egg, banana, and some orange juice. I had none of those things in the fridge. DONUTS IT IS!
Oh my. These are good. I’m gonna go out there and say they’re my favorite donuts in town. Sweet nuggets of crack-​cocaine. Like many small donut places today, this one is run by an asian family. I don’t know what cosmic cross-​ethnic immigration magic is going on in the kitchen, but I like it.
The cake donuts are not oily or greasy, with a perfect golden brown crust, and a fluffy inside that melts in your mouth. Not too sweet, with a hint of savory. I was moaning over the plain cake donut. Yeah! Plain.
Imagine what I was doing with the blueberry one.
Dunkin Donuts, you just got served.

Updated 1÷25÷10 — Not as much of a fan anymore. The lady that was behind the counter before is gone. The new person is just not as friendly and the doughnuts don’t seem as good. Not sure why that is, if something has changed or not, but I don’t go there anymore. Sad.
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It’s in my neighborhood and the doughnuts are great. As well as the kolaches and everything else I tried.
I like that they are small and appear to be family owned. I went by once right after they’d closed and they went ahead and let me in and even threw in some free donut holes! Woo hoo! Everyone has been nice and friendly that I’ve encountered there.
I wish they’d stay open later as I’m not a morning person but other than that, no complaints at all.

Finding a good breakfast snack at 5am in north Austin is a lot harder than you might think. This was the fifth place we went, after finding Café Java, Lone Star Kolaches, Taco Shack, and Pancake House all closed. The jalapeño, cheese, and sausage kolaches were excellent, the apple fritters were pretty good (though pretty greasy), and the breakfast tacos were decent (though kinda bland). The best thing about The Donut Palace though is proudly written on the trash can by the door: «The Customer Is Still King»!