Duck Donuts had been on my radar since I first moved to Reston over a year ago. They are a chain, but I'd never lived anywhere near one before. While the "made to order" concept was very intriguing, I didn't expect to love them. The donut glazes and toppings are fully customizable, but the donut itself is not. It is one type of batter, no flavor options, and you can't get them filled.
For context, some of my faveourite donut chains are Krispy Kreme, and Winchell's Donuts. I also absolutely love Ronald's Donuts, located in Las Vegas, but they are not a chain. Some of my go-to's are glazed yeast donuts (especially the fresh hot ones you can get at Krispy Kreme when their "HOT" sign is on), blueberry cake donuts, chocolate cake donuts and filled dougnuts.
Due to the singular type of donut availble at Duck Donuts, my expectations weren't set too high, yet I still managed to be dissapointed.
FIrst off, what got me to finally try them was a promotion they were running for National Coffee Day. They were offering a free coffee with any donut purchase. Well, if you know me, you know I love coffee. I just couldn't pass this up!
The frustrations began when I tried to place my order ahead of time for pick-up. This is my preferred method of ordering take-out, as it is more convenient for me, and often more convenient for the staff as well.
On their Google review page, there is a link to order directly through Duck Donuts, and it says "no service fee". I clicked this option, entered my order, entered the promo code for the free coffee, no issues. Until I went to the check-out. Lo and behold, there was $1.00 service fee applied to my order. (see attached photo) This was hiccup number 1.
I abandoned my cart and decided to go order in-person. After placing my order, the cashier informed me I needed the app for the free coffee. Their advertisement did not indicate this at all, in fact, it indicated very clearly that the app was not needed. I did inform the cashier. (see attached photo). Hiccup number 2.
I went to sit down to download the app ( I REALLY wanted to try that cold brew with sweet cream, lol) It took about 10 minutes for it to download and install. Once it was ready, I got up to redeem the free coffee and pay for my order.
I then sat down and waited for my donuts. It took about 10 minutes, which really isn't long at all, especially considering everything is made to order. However, I wasn't too thrilled about having to wait, simply because I already had to wait for the app to download, and I would have avoided waiting altogether if I had been able to place my order online like I orginally wanted to.
When my donuts were ready I picked up the box at the pick-up counter and headed home. Without checking the box. Oops.
I got home and opened the box, so excited to try my Pumpkin glazed donut with apple pie topping, streusel topping, and maple glaze. Let me tell you, when I opened the box and saw a chocolate apple mess in that box, I almost cried. Lol it seems so silly and I got over it pretty quick, but in that moment, I was so sad. I very rarely order chocolate anything, and I certainly wouldn't have ordered chocolate with that combo of flavors. I was already being a bit adventurous with the pumpkin flavor combos.
Now...this last hiccup is partly on me. I had several opportunities to realize I wasn't getting a pumpkin donut. One, when the cashier rang up my order. Two, when I received my receipt. Three, when I received the actual donuts. I know better than to leave without checking...mistakes happen. In this case, I did receive what was rung up. It just wasn't, unfortunately, what I asked for. Had I been able to place my order online, this wouldn't have happened, as I would have been able to enter my customizations myself.
The 2nd donut was exactly as I ordered it (Blueberry glaze, streusel, lemon drizzle)
The glazes themselves were pretty good, other than the lemon (tasted artificial). I really liked the apple topping.
The donut base was, unfortunately, not my cup of tea. While it was light and fluffy, it was oddly salty. I can see why their maple bacon donut is so popular...I defintely think their salty batter would work very well with those flavors. It just didn't work very well with the sweet toppings I chose. Interestingly enough, the streusel topping is more salty than sweet as well. Not salty in a good way like bacon would have been. Salty in a "why are you like this?!" kind of way.
I didn't even drink the coffee.
What my stars mean:
5 is outstanding, a must-experience, someplace I would bring/recommend to a tourist.
4 is great, someplace I would love to return again and again. Backup option to bring/recommend to tourists.
3 is good. Someplace I would return to if in the area. Not likely to reccomend to tourists, but possibly to a local.
2 is ok but only because it a great value, unique, and/or convenient.
1 means I would not return.