Between the dingy costumed characters and the megawatts of bright lights that could power a small country, it takes a lot to get anyone’s attention in Times Square. And yet I’m Donut? pulls it off. Not just because of its stark white facade with a floating question mark, or the line of dessert enthusiasts snaking down the block, but because the fluffy brioche donuts sold here are unlike anything else in the city—possibly the entire country. These plump, soft specimens are immediately lovable, fun even just to hold in the palm of your hand, let alone tear in half and reveal a honeycomb-like interior.
I’m Donut? makes nama—meaning “fresh” or “raw”—donuts, with kabocha squash incorporated into the dough. Just about every donut is so moist that, on your first bite, you might wonder for a second if it’s underbaked. Then you realize the donut physicists here have achieved a perfect suspension in between states of matter—fluffy, yet nearly translucent in the center.
This is I’m Donut’s first location outside of Japan, where the five original shops routinely draw hours-long lines of locals and tourists. The Times Square store looks set to be a similar scene, but they move fast, and customers place orders in advance on clipboards while waiting. One inside, you’re rewarded with a view of the kitchen, built on tiered levels—like a middle-school choir standing on risers—for optimum views of the chefs in monochrome smocks piping donuts full of sake cream and scrambled eggs. There’s nowhere to sit here, so take your bag (or branded cooler bag) elsewhere.
Food Rundown
photo credit: Angie Chavez
I’m Donut ? Original
The original nama donut is an essential order: perfect as it is, minus any filling bells or glaze whistles. The airiness might make you think of a cruller, the light chewiness of a mochi donut, and the crisp exterior of a freshly fried funnel cake.
Matcha Cream Donut
Another favorite. The green tea flavor is strong, earthy, and lightly bitter, and the equally potent cream in the center is like someone whipped a matcha latte to luscious results.
photo credit: Angie Chavez
Glazed Donut
Vegans can be donut, too. Our favorite of the menu’s three plant-based options is this one, the most straightforward, with a flaky glaze and a lovely golden fry. But the Pistachio White Chocolate Donut is a better choice than the cloying, Nesquik-sweet Strawberry Chocolate, which hardly registers as chocolate at all.
photo credit: Angie Chavez
PB&J Donut
The name of this donut is spot-on, because it’s not that it tastes like peanut butter and it also tastes like concord grape jam—it tastes, with uncanny specificity, like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. It’s great, though it has less in common spiritually with the fussy little blackberry jam number from Doughnut Plant (which we love, too) than with a no-frills, nostalgic Uncrustable.
photo credit: Angie Chavez
Caramel Espresso Donut
Another highlight. Like the matcha, this donut doesn’t shy away from bitterness and is all the better for it. The caramel flavor is much less prominent than the espresso in the cream, but still nice—more like a hint of burned sugar.
photo credit: Angie Chavez
Scrambled Eggs
This sweet-and-savory hybrid, stuffed with fluffy scrambled eggs, honey, and tomato mayo, works better than you might expect, but it’s far from a must-order. It tastes like you’ve accidentally let the omelette and the syrupy pancakes on your brunch plate mix and mingle—not something you’d do on purpose, necessarily, but it’s not like you’re gonna toss it.
photo credit: Angie Chavez
NY BLT
This sweet-and-savory hybrid, on the other hand, might taste even worse than you expect. Just about every component was overpoweringly sweet, including the tomato mayo. The bacon didn’t stand a chance. For a savory option, we prefer the Chicken Ginger Teriyaki or the Sausage In A Blanket—but really, what are you doing ordering those here? It’s called I’m Donut?, not I’m Sandwich—and despite the question mark in their name, the simplest stuff works best.
