Dolly’s Donuts is a stylish operation. The business name is a tribute to the Red Cross volunteers known as the “Donut Dollies“ who served doughnuts and coffee to the troops in Vietnam to boost morale. And a stop here is definitely a morale booster. Once you drag your eyes away from the glass cabinet that holds exemplars of the 14 doughnuts on offer, you’ll notice stylish seating options like padded pink booths and a cool roller banquette. There are also two coffee bars with high stools if you’re eating on the run.
A line-art mural depicting the interaction that gave the store its name—a woman providing comfort in the form of hot, golden dough rings—gives me a hankering to try the old-fashioned, Dolly’s Hot Donuts ($3/each). The resulting cinnamon sugar-dusted batter doughnuts are good but I found the ratio of sugar to cinnamon a bit high. You can also eat the hot doughnuts dusted in vanilla bean sugar. Be warned: these are super messy for very little vanilla reward.
From the fancier doughnut range, which includes one vegan option, Basque burnt cheesecake ($8) was the flavour that spoke loudest to me. Arriving on a paper-lined tray with disposable cutlery, it looked deceptively simple (rather like the cheesecake it is inspired by). Inside the surprisingly light, yeast-raised doughnut there‘s a thick, vaguely cheesy filling with notes of caramelisation. It was enjoyable but again, very sweet. With coffee also on offer, I’d mark down Dolly’s Donuts as a refuelling stop to power you up and over the Blue Mountains on longer trips.