After an early morning flight into LAX, my friend and I were ready for two things: coffee and something sweet. Before heading to the iconic Santa Monica Pier, we started searching for a good breakfast stop nearby. A quick look on Foursquare pointed us toward Sidecar Doughnuts + Coffee in Santa Monica, and the decision turned out to be a great one.

Sidecar Doughnuts is known for making doughnuts in small batches throughout the day, which means there’s a good chance whatever you order was fried not long before you walked through the door. Even before stepping inside, the smell of fresh doughnuts drifting onto the sidewalk was a pretty convincing sign we had picked the right place.

Sidecar Doughnuts + Coffee

Quick Guide to Sidecar Doughnuts

Location: Santa Monica, California
Known for: small-batch doughnuts fried hourly
What to try: butter & salt doughnut, huckleberry doughnut
Pair with: Stumptown cold brew coffee
Best for: breakfast before exploring Santa Monica

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Mural at Sidecar

Coffee First

Sidecar serves Stumptown Coffee cold brew on tap, which made the choice of drink very easy. Stumptown is a well-known coffee roaster based in Portland, but their beans show up in cafés across the country. If you’re from Baltimore, you might recognize it from places like Baby’s on Fire and Spro.

The cold brew was smooth and refreshing, exactly what we needed after an early flight.

Cold Brew Coffee

The Huckleberry Doughnut

When I stepped inside, the staff had just finished frying a batch of huckleberry doughnuts, and the description alone made it hard to pass up.

The cake-style doughnut was packed with huckleberries and topped with a sweet purple glaze. It was slightly crisp on the outside, soft inside, and full of bright berry flavor.

Huckleberry Doughnut

The Butter & Salt Doughnut

As good as the huckleberry doughnut was, the Butter & Salt doughnut that my friend ordered ended up stealing the show.

This one had a vanilla bean cake base topped with a brown butter glaze finished with just the right amount of salt. The inside was almost gooey while still holding that classic cake doughnut texture.

If I lived anywhere near Santa Monica, this would absolutely be the doughnut I’d come back for again and again.

Butter & Salt Doughnut

A Sweet Start to the Day in Santa Monica

Stopping at Sidecar Doughnuts was the perfect way to start the morning before heading to the Santa Monica Pier. Fresh doughnuts, strong coffee, and a steady stream of locals walking in made the whole place feel like a neighborhood favorite rather than just another tourist stop.

If you’re exploring Santa Monica and need a quick breakfast or coffee break, Sidecar is an easy place to start your day.

Sidecar Doughnuts is located at 631 Wilshire Blvd, Santa Monica

You can see where else my travels take me, here.

If you enjoy finding great bakeries while traveling, you might also like some of the other food stops I’ve discovered, including bakeries in Richmond and a few memorable road trip stops along I-81 in Virginia.

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