I Visited NYC’s Newest Japanese Doughnut Shop and It’s Sure to Be a Viral Sensation

Trendy doughnuts have long played an essential role in the New York City dining landscape.

For decades, Doughnut Plant and Dough Doughnuts have been drawing lines for their innovative creations made with all-natural ingredients. The Cronut, Dominique Ansel’s croissant-doughnut hybrid, is widely recognized as the city’s first viral pastry sensation, followed by the Daily Provisions’ cruller, an ultra-tender doughnut made with pâte à choux.

And today, the era of trendy doughnuts lives on, with the opening of a new shop that’s practically designed to draw lines down the block: I’m Donut. 

What is I’m Donut?

I’m Donut (yes, that’s the real name) comes from the mind of Tokyo-based pastry chef Ryouta Hirako. The first location, which opened in the Nakameguro district in 2022, instantly went viral for its creative, sweet, and savory flavors. Now with five locations across Japan, I’m Donut is both a local favorite and a tourist destination — visitors have reported waiting in line for over an hour to get their freshly made doughnuts.

Today, Hirako launched I’m Donut in Times Square — his first location outside of Japan. “I decided that I wanted to share these doughnuts with people everywhere,” says Hirako. “Everyone in the world knows Times Square — this became my dream.”

What are Nama doughnuts?

The doughnuts at I’m Donut are Nama-style, which translates to “fresh.” Unlike most brioche doughnuts, these pastries are made with kabocha squash and vegetable shortening, resulting in a distinctly chewy, melt-in-your-mouth consistency. 

Is I’m Donuts worth the hype?

Ever since I reported on I’m Donut’s NYC expansion nearly a year ago, I’ve been looking forward to their grand opening. Well, the day has finally arrived. I visited I’m Donut and sampled as many flavors as I could physically stomach. Here’s what it’s like.

All six of the I’m Donut locations have very different vibes — the original storefront is busy and quaint, operating through a takeout window; the Shibuya location channels nature, filled with wood, plants, and warm lighting; and the Times Square outpost is more modern, minimalist, and significantly larger than all the rest. Most of that space is devoted to the open, multi-level kitchen laid out like a stage — the pastry chefs, prepping creams and whisking matcha, are the performers.

As you wait in the inevitably long line, you can select your doughnuts in advance. Every group is given a piece of paper with the daily menu, where you can mark which items you’d like to order. Hand your paper to the cashier, wait a couple of minutes, and your name will be called. It’s an efficient system — one that prevents indecisive folks from holding up the line once they get to the front.

The menu features a small selection of “special beverages,” including ceremonial grade matcha and hojicha, as well as tea, orange juice, and lemonade. I ordered an iced hojicha latte with soy milk, and it was exactly as it should be: creamy, nutty, and roasty.

The rest of the menu is all about the doughnuts. There are “signature” doughnuts that come plain and unfilled, so you can appreciate the nama doughnuts in their purest form. There are vegan doughnuts (an addition exclusive to NYC), cream-filled doughnuts, and savory doughnut creations — think doughnut BLT and chicken ginger teriyaki burger on a doughnut.

Generally, these doughnuts don’t come cheap. Priced at $4, the “I’m Donut Original” is the least expensive, while the NY BLT is the most costly at $13. The others fall somewhere in between — the cream doughnuts range from $7 to $11. So, are the doughnuts worth the price (and the hype)? I tasted six to find out.

We began with the signature matcha flavor to get a sense of what Nama doughnuts are all about. The texture was a cross between a typical brioche and a cruller — chewy and light, but not as custardy as I expected. Coated in a generous dusting of matcha powder, the doughnut was pleasantly plain and not overly sweet.

On to the cream-filled doughnuts. If there’s one thing I learned about I’m Donut, it’s that they fill their doughnuts to the brim. In the case of the PB&J doughnut, filled with a nostalgic combination of smooth peanut butter cream and concord grape jelly, that was a perk. But for the Sake Cream, which came with chantilly cream and junmai sake gelee, it became a bit of a mess — the enormous cloud of whipped cream clashing with the boozy gelee and delicate doughnut. 

The vegan doughnut was nearly indistinguishable from the original Nama doughnut, which is a win in my book! We enjoyed the strawberry chocolate flavor, featuring bright icing and tart, fruity pebbles sprinkled on top, but it was lacking in chocolate — in fact, we didn’t taste any chocolate at all.

And we couldn’t leave I’m Donut without trying some of their savory creations. The “Sausage in a Blanket,” a riff on pig in a blanket with tomato mayo, mustard, and parsley, should have been a home run, but it tasted bland.

The surprise hit? The doughnut filled with scrambled eggs, honey, and tomato mayo. The eggs were fresh, fluffy, and perfectly nestled within the pillowy doughnut. If only it were served hot, and not at room temperature.

So, is I’m Donuts worth the hype? It’s too soon to tell. It’s unfair to judge any restaurant or dessert shop within their first week of service, but we’re confident that this unique concept will make an excellent addition to the NYC dining scene.

One thing is for sure: After the amount of doughnuts I ate this morning, I suspect that I, too, am doughnut.