Bear Donut, a new donut shop in the heart of Herald Square, opened up this spring offering up heaps of delicious treats and beverages. We stopped by on Tuesday to sample a few of their items and learn more about this soon-to-be neighborhood staple. Read more to find out what we thought!
Walking into the store, you’re greeted with the fresh scent of sweet baked goods and a clean, welcoming aesthetic. Bathed in white tile and bright blue, with neon signs Bear Donut’s refreshing atmosphere is a haven from the chaos and excitement of Koreatown just outside. The first thing you see upon entering is a wide case full of colorful donuts: heaping jelly-filled brioche puffs, classic ring donuts, and the 6-bubble ring variety. All of Bear Donut’s confections, though, are “mochi donuts” – dough made from sweet rice flour, to achieve a delectable, chewy texture that we absolutely loved.
Bear Donut offers tons of flavors, and their chefs keep brainstorming more varieties. Today, they had sugar, cheddar, lavender, pink chocolate, classic glaze, coffee toffee, poppy grapefruit, milk tea, matcha custard, PB&J and dirty choco. We tried 4 flavors: their bestsellers coffee toffee and PB&J, as well as lavender and poppy grapefruit. Each donut had its own subtle but delicious flavoring, and the coffee toffee’s topped toffee crumbs added a satisfying crunch. The texture of the donuts truly sets this confection apart from other donuts. As store owner Su told us, the rice flour “adds an Asian touch” to the donut market and makes these treats certain to be a hit in NYC this summer. To complement the warm weather even further, we sampled their pink chocolate donut topped with their milk soft serve, which was the perfect combo, and my personal favorite out of their whole menu!
The fun doesn’t end there, though. Bear Donut also offers draft milks (regular and oat) of a variety of flavors: we tried the black sesame and strawberry. Their black sesame draft milk was a sweet yet umami refreshing creamy taste, and the strawberry was tantalizingly sweet and captured the quintessential taste of spring. Finally, they showed us an innovative coffee drink – they serve a cold brew soft serve float. They’ve partnered with La Colombe cold brew and top this with a swirl of their milk soft serve, which you then swirl up to create a blended ice cream Frappuccino-like beverage. You can control the amount of ice cream that blends with the cold brew, creating the perfect sips of sweet iced coffee that stays cold far longer than the average iced cold brew. We thought this idea was so creative and fun! Stop by Bear Donut on 31st and Broadway today & check out more on the buzzy new cafe here!
