Absolutely best donuts in town! Locally owned, super fresh donuts daily…read more Staff is friendly and store is clean.

Extremely good donuts enjoyed by a group of IU grad students stuck in a weekend class that I…read moretaught. They demolished them.

Really liked it. I believe it's mostly, if not all, vegan. I know they were experimenting with some…read moreitems with dairy a while ago but I did not notice any non-vegan items while I was there, so not sure if that's still a thing. Anyway, it is a little out of the way. It's walkable from downtown but not really in the downtown core. Pretty quiet when I was there, but the atmosphere felt approachable. Some of the chairs were like school desk chairs (adult-sized, of course) that I haven't seen since I was in primary school which was kind of funny. The guy at the counter was cheerful and friendly. They looked like they had run out of some of the hot savory items by Saturday mid-afternoon, but there was still a wide variety of sweets. I believe the current owners are Indian, and you see some of those flavours featured. I got: Samosa handpie: Good, not mind-blowing, but good. Nice flavours. If you like a flaky crust, this is not it, but I liked the rustic pastry crust. Pistachio cardamom donut: Loved it. Before I moved to Bloomington, there were a few bakeries that offered vegan-GF cake donuts that I loved, and this was the first thing I've gotten here that reminded me of that. Pleasant texture and strong cardamom flavour, not too sweet. I think these are baked donuts, so they're a little different from regular fried donuts, but in a good way IMO. Rose dream latte: Milk with rose syrup topped with coconut whip and nuts, no espresso. Tasted great, but more of a dessert drink than I was expecting. The coconut whip was quite thick. The concept could probably use some refinement, because the whip was too thick and rigid to drink without a straw, but the nut pieces were too big to go through a straw, and so I couldn't figure out the best way to drink it. From what I understand, there are some longtime fans of this place who feel like the quality has dropped since the most recent change in ownership, but as someone who had never been here before, I really had a good experience. I get why people would be upset when something changes, but if you are considering trying this place for the first time, I wouldn't be too put off by the negativity around the change in ownership. There's no other place specialized in vegan baking in Bloomington, so I think it's good to support what they are continuing to do here, and even though I am partial to vegan food I wouldn't say that if it wasn't also GOOD. They also had some refreshingly unique options for baked goods.

Rainbow Bakery sits off of 4th street west of the IU campus. It's all vegan, and we had a chance to…read morestop by and get two donuts and a cookie. The inside is cute and whimsical. The owners, a Sikh family, gave us their cardamom donut for free. The samosa hand pies were out. I would rate it 4/5. The decor was nice, and the owners were friendly. We were told that the staff is limited, and the owners themselves are thinking of selling this location and hoping to restart it in Greenwood, where they currently live and actually drive down to Bloomington every day. The matcha latte was fine. Everything was fine but not great. The vegan chocolate chip cookie was good, but could've used more chocolate chips.

Donuts are either good or blah. These are good! The counter server at the west location was very…read morekind.

WONDERFUL DONUTS. Oh my goodness I love their donuts so so much and especially for the price! Great…read moretasting donuts for a very affordable college person price. The reason it has received 4 stars is because sometimes when walking in there, it's dead silent and can be a bit awkward if the person working isn't talkative (which is fine, I don't like talking much anyway). However, the service is super quick and easy. Everything I would want in a donut shop!

Excellent service and quality product reasonably priced easy in and out parking for street parking…read moreand the dining room is really neat with different chairs and boutique, decorations staff, which really accommodating. I learned that at this location you do not have to give your first name for an order as I did in the Terre Haute store, they insisted on having my first name in TH - they did not insisted on giving them my name at this Bloomington. OK she said no we don't need that. We never ask for that so very odd. The same company different policies. The donut is scrumptious. The maple pecan is what I got. It is really good fresh quality made throughout the day until they close. It's worth a try if you've never tried a parlor donut.

Their specialty layered donuts are like a croissant/donut hybrid, flaky like a croissant but fluffy…read moreand chewy like a yeasted donut. When I was there early in the morning, they were glazing all donuts to order. This location doesn't have the vegan/gluten-free doughnut (there's a sign on the menu that says "temporarily out", but they haven't carried it for at least a year). I got the cream & crimson donut, a strawberry jelly-filled donut topped with whipped cream and a strawberry syrup drizzle, unique to the Bloomington location. It was substantial! There was lots of jelly inside which made it pretty messy when coupled with the whipped cream on top, but that's not a bad thing. The donut was fresh and tender, and I really liked the unique texture, but I thought it was overly sweet. The jelly was very sweet and there was that syrup drizzle, plus the donut itself was rolled in sugar. I still enjoyed it, but it's like a once a month at most kind of thing for me. I would like to come back, just not too often. I got an iced matcha latte with my donut. This was a pretty decent matcha latte, honestly better than expected for a donut chain. It was unsweetened by default. The donut came in a paper box which was good packaging because it's relatively eco-friendly and protects the structure of the donut if you're taking it to go. I did see they had also had plates but forgot to ask for one. There's actually a pretty large seating area in the back of the shop plus a patio. The two workers there were helpful and friendly.

The service is impeccable. The baristas are lovely and very helpful! The vibes were definitely…read morecollege town, so as someone who was just visiting the city, I felt nostalgic to my old college years, haha. I don't know if it was a bad batch or what, but my latte wasn't great. I think it was the syrup. It didn't really taste like maple syrup at all. It was kind of metallic-y in a way. I would be interested in trying some of their other house made syrups if I'm in the area!

This is a delightful coffee house. There is plenty of room inside to sit but it also has a great…read morewraparound deck. Believe it or not, there is a real video game machine of Burgertime inside and if you remember that game, you may be eligible for membership in AARP There are two sides to the establishment. You get your fancy coffee drinks on the one side and your food on the other, although you can get basic coffee on the food side and basic food on the coffee side. Yes, it confused me a little, too. The food and coffee menu is much more extensive than you might think so check out the online menu, if you can. We tried a chocolate cruffin that was very nice and a couple of iced coffee drinks that were also good. Service was very friendly. It's located in a residential neighborhood so it feels kind of secluded and cozy. Well worth a visit.

Solid bagel spot. If you're looking for NYC-style bagels, these won't hit the same, but they are…read moregood, freshly made bagels. Bloomington Bagel vs Gables is kind of a hot local debate, but I don't really have a preference and I like both of them for different reasons. I think the quality of the bagels here is a little better (this is the only place where they are made fresh) and there's more customization options for sandwiches, but the Gables bagels are a little bigger and the sandwich style is closer to NY/NJ delis. Lots of options to build you own sandwich here with many bagel and schmear flavours and different veggies. Because the style of bagel is thick/fluffy and not very wide around, sometimes the fillings do not want to stay in the sandwich. They have some delicious options though. I especially love the sushi-inspired Godzilla sandwich made with smoked salmon, miso schmear, and nori. The veggies are always fresh and generously piled on. As for non-bagel offerings, they have some other baked goods, like muffins and cookies. The blueberry muffin I tried was great. The cookies are usually good but kind of inconsistent. They're usually very soft but occasionally you will get a suboptimal crumbly one. The cookies are very sugary and huge. I have been known to eat an entire cookie at once but to be honest I usually regret it, so I recommend splitting one in half to share or save for later. They have coffee and espresso drinks, tea, and smoothies. Unfortunately no decaf coffee or espresso. I keep getting tea to go with my cookie or bagel but the selection is all very cheap brands. I like the chai though. Service is very good. They're on it so you don't have to wait too long even when it gets busy. Sometimes the place is packed and sometimes unexpectedly empty, and I can't figure out if there's any pattern to it.

Typical college town bagel spot. Great, fresh bagels and lots of cream cheese options. Wish there…read morewere a few more sandwich topping options. Service was quick and friendly and the outdoor (shaded) seating was a big plus. Great option for a quick bite.

I dream about their twist soft serve with rainbow sprinkles. I'm a small child, I know! I really…read moretry to order other things, but the heath wants what the heart wants. And this heart always goes back to twist soft serve with rainbow sprinkles. This place truly has it all though! You can get mix-ins, flavors of the month, food, shakes...the list goes on. The Chocolate Moose is a Bloomington staple and should be visited anytime your in town or frequently as a resident.

Chocolate Moose has a wide selection of ice cream: homemade dairy or vegan hard ice cream or soft…read moreserve, available as a standard cup/cone or blended into shakes, floats, or sundaes. The vegan flavours are somewhat less interesting than the some of the dairy flavours, but still offers some variety: they always carry vegan vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, and grasshopper. You can also get any of the vegan flavours in your sundae/blizz/whatever, so this is actually a very good place if you can't or don't want to have dairy. Having tried all of the vegan flavours, I thought the chocolate was actually too cloyingly rich and sweet, but I really liked the others. The vegan ice cream is oat-based, which I prefer over the more common coconut. They also have a rotating selection of soup (with a few meat and a few vegetarian or vegan options available at any given time) in what I assume is a bid to stay relevant during the winter. The ice cream is still the main attraction for me at any time of year but the soup is worth getting if you want to make a meal of it, and it's nice to have something healthy to balance out the ice cream. I have tried the cream of asparagus and carrot ginger. The carrot ginger had shredded carrot in it instead of being a totally smooth puree, which I actually really liked. There is also some summery Americana food like hot dogs and mac and cheese, but I haven't tried any of that so I can't comment. The place has lots of seating inside and outside. It seems like they generally get very busy in the evenings but it's usually quieter during the day. The staff have been friendly in my experience. When I ordered a soup and sundae together, they offered to make the sundae and keep it in the fridge for me until I was ready to eat it, which was nice and thoughtful.

You'd think I'd learn. If you go to a place that's so bad you only give it two stars, don't go…read moreback. I didn't learn. I wanted to get the kid a hot chocolate, and that's a quick and easy place to get one. BUT They will always ask if you want whipped cream, which costs a buck and a half or so. Today I clearly said no, and as I finished my order, I saw whipped cream on the screen. I got to the window and told them I hadn't ordered it. They literally just wiped the whipped cream off. That place is nasty. Don't go. Ever. Seriously. This place is gross and I'm pretty sure they overcharge regularly, based on my order. Many items aren't even on the menu board so you don't know how much they cost. Yuck.

Awful service. Took 15 mins in drive through at 11:30 am. They charge $2 for a water. $3 for a…read moresmall hot coffee. Needed a quick stop and got nothing I needed.