Royal Pin Donuts

I’m obsessed with the drive through here!! Their breakfast sandwiches are hot and fresh, the donuts delicious as usual, and the Vietnamese coffee is my go to for a big caffeine pick-me-up! Staff have always been lovely too

I will preface this review with the fact I didn't go into the physical location, the donuts were delivered so I can't rate the atmosphere. I got a raspberry filled donut (not a bar) with glaze on the outside and it was delicious! A first look: Let's start with the donut itself. The one I got seemed pretty fresh. The donut itself had good structure to it, not deflated or overly dense. This held true even after picking it up, I didn't crush half the donut before I had enough hold to pick it up. The first bite: When I first bit into the donut, it had a nice resistance when going through the glaze which gave way for a soft and bouncy dough. To my surprise, the filling was present in the first bite! While I don't eat donuts often, when I do get a filled donut, I'm usually not getting filling until bite 2 or 3. The filling itself was good, not overly sweet. The final bite: A good barometer for how good or bad of a decision it was to eat a sweet is how sluggish I feel after. I didn't really feel that sluggishness after eating the donut. I could definitely tell I ate a sugary dessert but in relation to other sweet desserts, the sluggish feeling was much less. Overall Thoughts: The donut I had was great! I recognize that donuts might differ significantly based on how soon after production it was consumed, the type of glaze/chocolate, etc. so everyone's experience will be different. It's hard to draw a straight line from a single point but if you find yourself in the area and not sure where to go, hopefully this convinces you to give this place a try.

The interior hasn’t been cleaned in a long time. There was a huge case completely empty as you walk in, and then the donuts I had tasted like very old oil. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s been over a week since it was changed. Skip it. I threw the donuts away

Best customer service and delicious donuts! I always love coming here for a quick pick up before work. They even gave me a free iced Vietnamese coffee in the drive through for buying so many donuts. Thanks again!

I bought a cinnamon roll for my morning breakfast yesterday. It was so disgusting to see rat feces between roll and glaze. I was about to throw up in my car. So disgusting! See photos

So here's my experience. I'm going to be blunt, the donuts are crap here but then again I grew up eating donuts from Rolling Pin in SB back in day....like the '80s and '90s. First of all the service sucks here and the lady owner is very stuck up and likes to bully people especially her employees. Well I guess it's obvious I don't recommend this place. You will leave with a bitter taste in your mouth and regret you spent your hard earned money here:(

Fantastic local donut shop. Donuts are good, as well as the service. We have been going there for years. Owners are great!

Donuts are average, probably comparable to any other donut shop in the area. Nothing special. The apple fritter is not that great though. The coffee is pretty good though and they offer drive thru service which is very nice. If you dine inside be warned that you might bring the donut smell on you after eating.

I've tried to give this place a fair shot, but it's been disappointing every time. The donuts here are noticeably smaller than what you'd get at other donut shops, and for the price they charge, it just doesn't feel worth it. What's worse, on several occasions, I've stopped by in the morning expecting fresh donuts, only to find that they taste stale--like they were left over from the day before. It's frustrating when you're paying premium prices for what should be a fresh and enjoyable treat. I really wanted to like this place, but the combination of small portions, high prices, and inconsistent quality just doesn't do it for me. There are better options elsewhere.

By far the worst doughnut shop on the Peninsula. Every time I have stopped in they have NO FREAKING DOUGHNUTS! Like how do you stay in business this way? When they do have doughnuts, they look horrible. I can't recommend coming here for anything they offer. Dirty and dingy old establishment that is way past their prime.

I rarely issue a two. But now I'm starting to realize after sampling other donut shops around the bay and in other cities and states that this particular donut shop doesn't have the consistency that it did a decade ago. It's Sunday morning and I found the donuts to taste of old oil. One of them not the right color either. There have been other issues throughout the years, but I'll leave it at that. Make royal pin great again.

I was really craving a donut and decided to stop in at Royal Pin to fulfill my craving. I got a chocolate donut and an apple crumble along with what I thought was a chocolate croissant. The donuts were amazing and went so well with our morning coffee and satiated my sweet tooth. The staff was really friendly and quick too to serve me and checkout was a breeze. Better to pay in cash so you're not charged the additional credit card fee. Regarding the croissant - I had ordered it as a chocolate croissant and the staff immediately knew which one I was referring to. But it ended up being a blueberry croissant which was quite disappointing. Not sure if they just misheard me but if not, I wish they would have told me what I was actually getting so I wasn't caught off guard by it later.

Came here in the early morning to get donuts for the team. It was received with joy and would recommend giving this place a try. The donuts were okay but did the job. The ambiance is casual and has an old school interior feel.

I grew up here, so Rolling Pin Donuts is nostalgic. I like their Vietnamese Iced Coffee, and it's offered in small (12oz), medium (16oz), and large (20oz). Their donuts are nice and classic old fashioned style. A nice family runs this place which is a plus for me! Please support them!

I purchased a maple bar and a glazed twist donut. The glazed twist donut was "glazed" in name only because this donut had almost no glazed sugar on it. Plus it wasn't plump it was rather skinny looking. I realize that the economy is tight and prices for ingredients are expensive, however, this is not the way a donut should look or taste. If you want a donut worth the price this isn't it.

So I got a kic out of this place and their attempts to capture more business by playing their name off two far superior donut shops. Royal Pin Donuts is neither Royal Donuts or Rolling Pin Donuts. I have lived my life enjoying donuts and this place was sub-par. The dough is always soggy/oily so you taste the oil over the dough flavor, they skimp on taste using low grade sugar verses confectioners sugar for the sweeter taste. My office staff bring these in once a month and I try it each time hoping this time is better but NOPE! I hurts me to throw a donut in the trash after one bite. They need to either change the oil more often or get the temps correct so they cook and drain, these are oily guy bombs! They sell better ones at 7-11 for less too. Sorry but I tried to like them better.

Best donut shop on The Peninsula. Kim and Jonathon are always in a great mood, super accommodating and the donuts are top tier, especially the Apple fritters. Love this place!

Been coming to this place since I was in High School, and they've always stayed consistent. They serve fast for their drive thru, and their food always comes out fresh. There's good parking, and the workers are always very nice and welcoming. Such a great breakfast go-to place around the area.

I come here several times a month and I love it so much! I have been coming here since I was in high school (over 15 years) and I love they are family owned and actually care about the community they serve. I can get a large coffee and a donut for less than $5 and you can't beat that! One of the owners let me try some Vietnamese coffee they also sell and it was DELICIOUS and I'm going to definitely get that in the future. The donuts are standard size and they have such a great variety, sometimes it's hard to choose :). An added bonus is they have a drive thru, I never use it but it's super convenient if you are in a rush and want your donuts to go. They do have comfy booths if you want to enjoy your pastries there- and it's always clean and well kept. Thank you Royal Pin Donuts!

Delicious donuts and breakfast sandwiches. Very friendly owner and staff. An amazing place to go that I recommend to anybody.

The doughnut quality is not good at all. I was craving for doughnuts and Royal pin was nearby so I checked it out. They have parking which is good but the place looked messy. A lady greeted me and seemed in a rush but no one was there except me. They have a very limited selection being a doughnut shop. The only thing that looked the best was the old fashioned doughnuts so I tried it. It was so oily and smaller than a typical old fashioned doughnut. It taste like oil and sugar only. Very disappointing.

Really good latte, very maple-y maple donut, and a winning scratcher. Ten out of ten.

Time & Date: Wednesday, Sep 29th 2021 @ 9:45am Order type: delivery through Doordash Today was one of those mornings I woke up craving coffee & donuts so I ordered Royal Pin Donuts through Doordash. I like my donuts very bready, and I know mom & pops donut shops do that well. I ordered a chocolate raised & glaze raised donut, which tasted pretty mediocre. I didn't get that fresh donut taste, and the breading was a bit dry. The chocolate icing didn't have much of a chocolate flavor either, if anything it was a super mild chocolate flavor. The size of these donuts were slightly smaller than what I'm used to at mom & pops donut shops, but it was the perfect size for me. However the prices are very cheap at $1.25 per donut, you can't beat that! The viet coffee on the other hand had a very strong bold flavor. But there was so much ice in my cup that the drink got watered down pretty fast. I would stick to ordering the smallest size (12 oz) because viet coffee will get you cracked up! Though not the best donuts & coffee out there, I'm still happy to try out & support local businesses! (:

I love Royal Pin. Great customer service and the donuts are really good. I do not shop the bigger known donut shop. Royal Pin is it for coffee, donuts or breakfast sandwiches. Go early and get the donuts while they are still warm. Try the Peacan Roll. If you go after 10am you have a slim selection to choose from. There is plenty parking. They even have a drive thru window. Try Royal Pin at least one time & you will be hooked.

Tasty donuts. Have not been inside because ordered through uber eats. But, again, tasty donuts.

Craving donuts so I was excited to come here, but I didn't realize it was only 3.5 stars on yelp :( and for good reason because I was not very impressed. Took a good 3-4 minutes to get anyone's attention at the front desk despite it being nearly empty and people just buying lottery tickets... I ordered 6 donuts - maple cruller, chocolate cruller, lemon jelly, maple bar, sugar donut, and maple donut. Donuts themselves were not bad but didn't seem super fresh and were quite small for being nearly $2 a piece. The total for these 6 donuts came out to $11.70 which is EXPENSIVE for a donut place. I would expect $8-9 max given the size and quality. Good thing is they aren't super sweet and greasy like some other places, and the dough itself is actually almost savory. Love that. Cash only unless you're buying $10 worth, and even then there's a $1 charge for card. Probably will try somewhere else!

Solid donuts!! I love that they are open so early and there's a drive thru. I got up at the crack of dawn to get a bakers dozen assorted donuts for about $15. The service was fast and friendly. They smelled so delicious and fresh. Nothing fancy, just yummy donuts. Brought them into work and had zero complaints. The old fashioned ones were a fan fav. Definitely hitting this place up next time I need donuts

Stopped in on a Tuesday morning to grab an everything bagel with cream cheese ($3.50). Bagel was the right balance of dense and bready with a great chew and served with a generous hunk of cream cheese. I love it when I can see clear teeth marks in the cream cheese after biting into my bagel, which was the case here. Service was quick and friendly. Parking was easy with several spots in their lot and/or street parking on El Camino Real. The display case was smaller than I expected, but stocked well enough. The rest of the place was surprisingly spacious with plenty of seating. Loved the retro chairs!

Downgraded due to two similar experiences. First was toasted bagel with cream cheese, but like other reviewers found, the bagel was burnt and the scant amount of cream cheese was mostly melted away. Second experience was this morning. They ran out of croissants (at 10:00!!) so I got a bagel with ham and cheese. Let's just say if I hadn't gone through the drive through and was already on my way to work I would've demanded a refund. They slapped one piece of deli ham and one square of cheese on the bagel and called it a day! At least the bagel wasn't burnt this time.

I love coming here for a good donut. They have a wonderful selection and great breakfast sandwiches incase you are wanting something savory. The service was quick and friendly as we went thru the drive through which is great when we are on a time crunch but the inside is very spacious if you have time to sit down. I also love that they revamped the logo! Keep up the great work guys.

One of our families go to doughnut places. They are open 24-7 making it a plus when we need to get doughnuts. Price is average for doughnuts and they have other stuff there. They make breakfast sandwiches. They have 2 lotto machines if you want to check your tickets or buy some scratchers. It is a take out place only COVID has changed the dining in forever.

Best donuts around. Best family owned! We've been customers for over 25 years. Never been disappointed!!

Gotta support the local businesses, especially local donut shops! If you love a doughy donut, this is the spot for you. They have so much variety where it makes you feel overwhelmed but your basic donuts, they got you covered here. For instance: original glazed, sugar, old fashioned, chocolate glazed, etc. You want it, they got it. They even have churros! Like do I need to say more? I haven't tried their churros yet, when i went by, they didn't have it that day, but I can't wait to stop by another time to get my hands on those churros. As you can tell, I'm a sucker for churros. What's your favorite donut style?

Always a childhood favorite. Been here many times since I was a kid. Would often sneak in after church to grab a delicious glazed donut. Great service and a friendly smile from all the staff!

I love their donuts esp their regular glaze... i always pass this el camino almost like everyday and i see this donut shop but ignores it, now, id say all these years i regret not buying from them, look what ive mossed... Will be back again soon...

I def want to get the viet coffee to go from orbit here. They take card if over $10. The sugar doughnut was good, doughnut holes were fresh but dense for me! We tried the mochi specials I've flavor it was good but I'm spoiled with the place in Japan town so they were just okay. There is parking and drive through and I def want to come back for the cronut. I love that this is near and open really early

Walking into this business takes be back to the 80s, but in a good way. Then that good feeling fades when you see the lack of donuts on display. They just don't look happy and almost look like donuts from a grocery store. I ordered some basic donuts and my first bite was so disappointing. Bland, that's it. Finally, the small sized coffee is a joke. It's the size of a Dixie cup you get at a dentist.

This place is great! Open early; great choice of doughnuts; fresh; friendly; drive through...did I mention friendly? Convenient.

Local donut shop in South San Francisco. This place is quite spacious inside and have plenty of parking (more behind the front door with a second back door to enter). This place also has a drive through which is pretty rare for a mom and pop store. Definitely a local joint that's open as plenty of customers were talking to be what seems like the owner. Inside the location were nicely decorated gazebos. Very nice cozy location. They do have a card minimum. They sell individual donuts and by the dozen as well!

I love coming here on the weekends, Its one of my favorite places to go to for the breakfast sandwiches. I usually get the croissant with sausage egg and cheese and a Rockstar or Juice from the fridge. I would recommend going early if you plan on ordering donuts or you can place an order ahead of time and they are very accommodating!

Headed to SSF this morning before work. They have all the usual suspects. We went with jelly, glazed twist and a cinnamon roll. wow they have a drive through, small parking lot and what great staff!. Mochi donuts on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Got a bagel with cream cheese and received this. There was so little cream cheese on it that you could not even taste it. The disrespect.... Lol

delicious donuts and nice staff. the interior is clean and neat. these donuts are delicious for their price and it's my go to whenever i want donuts. strongly recommend

Royal pin is so great! They have a drive through and the two people that helped us out were so nice and up beat!!! At 8am on a cloudy Sunday. We ordered two dozen donuts and two coffees. One regular and one Vietnamese coffee. When i say the Vietnamese coffee is no joke i mean this stuff is not the same as regular coffee! The gentleman informed us the coffee beans are from Vietnam and taste a little different. The flavor was fantastic and i only drank less than half of my small coffee and had a major energy buzz. Really looking forward to coming back here. Oh by the way the donuts are fantastic!!!!! But the Vietnamese coffee overshadowed the donuts today! Clearly this review was written under the influence of serious caffeine.

Great donut shop in SSF! This donut shop has been here forever, and I've always driven by here, but rarely get donuts. My dad and I had a craving for donuts, and we stopped by here on a Friday morning at around 7:15am. The place was busy, especially the drive through area. We opted to go indoors to grab the donuts. We got donuts for us and the family, two glazed donuts, a lemon filled, one plain buttermilk bar, and one apple fritter. The service was quick and efficient. Overall, solid donut shop that is a staple here in SSF!

I didn't try the donuts but i think i need to come back. Limited selection when I stopped by at noon as I wanted to pick up chocolate sprinkle donuts. They did have some limited selection of mochi donuts (Fri/Sat/Sun only). It's old inside and there is a drive through for donuts. I took some pictures. It's a bit cluttered in the cash register counter. Easy parking.

I came in this morning and got a ham, egg and cheese bagel and it was DELICIOUS! It was $4.95 with fast service. Parking was easy, the staff was friendly, the customers that seem to be regulars were happy and I will definitely be back! Thank you for a great breakfast

I ordered from Royal pin donuts and, sadly nothing is royal about these donuts. They were stale!! I should've ordered from Dunkin' Donuts. Why put out a product that you wouldn't eat yourself. Who wants stale donuts? Please go to Royal Pin.

Solid donut joint with a '70s vibe that really hits the spot. We were in the area for lunch and were craving something sweet afterwards. Enter Royal Pin Donuts. We chose to go inside rather than through the drive thru, since it was our first time and we wanted to see everything in the donut case. We ended up getting a couple of raspberry filled donuts (filled fresh just for us!), some old fashioned types, and some creme filled donuts. They were really good! I was a huge fan of the glazed old fashioned. The folks were friendly, and there was limited parking in the tiny strip mall. I'd definitely return if I was in the area again!

Their donuts are pretty good!! They are not the airy/hollow kinds, and not too sweet either. The staff are very nice too! Should give it a try!

Maybe I'm out of touch for pricing. I recently stopped to buy two French Crullers. I was holding a $5 bill to pay, at the register I was told they cost $4 for one!! $8 for two French Cruellers!! No, I'm not a cheap scape but that's way over priced for my blood.

This place deserves 0 stars during covid! It's a scary time so they need to do their part in taking the extra measures to keep everyone safe. My husband was craving "real" Donuts since we have only had KK donuts during this time so I made the trek after work. The owner walked up to me and touched his mask, went to grab my donuts without any gloves (just the little transparent paper they use). Afterwards handles my credit card and finishes with me and proceeds to the next customer in the same manner. I hope they read this review and implement more sanitation in their business so we can support them otherwise I'll be going to KK bc I've seen them do a better job! Come On now.

This review is only for takeout donuts. I have not had a fresh homemade donuts that tasted this good in a long time, and I moved from Philadelphia, which is the land of Amish donuts! I loved the medium-size donuts... Gives you the opportunity to try a few without eating a full-size donut. I got half a dozen to go... Chocolate glazed, chocolate topped, coffee crumb, maple, and blueberry. Every single one of them was delicious! I need to make sure I make this a once in a while treat, or my waist is going to expand quite rapidly! Pro tip: they have a drive-through. Don't be deceived when you see that there is no order box, like at Starbucks or McDonald's. You just drive up to the window and place your order there. But I recommend going inside so that you can survey all of the options!

If comparing with the overpriced, small size variation of appetizer sized donut pastry and hand holding breakfast sandwiches at Dunkin Donuts, Royal Pin Donuts is a far, far, far better choice for the price and more generous size pastry. Even the croissant breakfast sandwich was twice bigger than any I have bought at any fast food and national franchises. It is still family owned and operated. Today, Sunday, I bought very fresh made croissant breakfast sandwich and two huge pastries of which one I saved for next day as a convenience while staying at a hotel a few miles away. I preferred to drive a few miles away than be stuck going to a Dunkin Donut which is a short walking distance. My palate deserves better quality. Appetizer size portions is not satisfying for my breakfast appetite. If you are closer between San Francisco and Daly City, then try Royal Donuts, no connection to Royal Pin Donuts, but still far better than any supermarket bakery, or Dunkin Donuts which has a higher mass advertising expense causing to downsize its portions at higher prices. My morning appetite prefers supporting locally owned bakery shops where their marketing budget is more on edible quality than electronic promotions. My fussy taste buds are not impressed paying for bloated advertising expenses.

The kindest people run this place. They even have a drive-thru!!!! The Peerless brand coffee, donuts, croissants, and sandwiches are always so fresh and good! My husband and I always feel welcome when we go through their drive-thru. Seriously a sweet family. Please support them. :) Their donuts are soooo good!

Royal Pin Donuts are fresh out the fryer at 4am, I get it. But WHY then would you stack them in 1 tiny bag knowing that the glaze has yet to set? The chocolate from our selection is now smeared across the bag and has cross contaminated the non-chocolate donuts. I come fairly frequently and this is the first time I've had this issue; It also happens to be the first time I've ever seen the man who assisted me this morning. So I'm gonna chalk it up as a fluke. But annoying none the less to open up the bag and see such a mess. Their fun-sized donut holes are crispy on the outside with a soft, chewy interior, covered in a warm glaze. Great for sharing, or not :) We often pick up a few holiday themed sprinkles, to my toddler's delight. Valentine's Day is by far her favorite: they're pink, red, and white with heart-shaped confetti; St Patrick's Day: green shamrocks; Easter: pastels; 4th of July: Red, White, & Blue; Halloween: Black & Orange, sometimes with pumpkin confetti; Christmas is of course red and green with trees. They pour a mean cup of coffee, freshly brewed throughout the day. Walk into the shop if you want to see the full selection in the glass cases or drive around back and hit the drive thru window if you're short on time.

First experience the guy and the girl behind the counter were arguing in front of 3 customers. About a week later I tried to use the drive thru to avoid going into the store and the lady told me that I can't pick up a mobile order thru the drive thru and I had to go inside. I went inside and she handed it to me the same as she would have thru the drive thru. This review is for employee conduct in front of customers. If this policy is written down this is policy is functionally flawed since you have to be a certain of customer to use their drive thru.