So, if you're new to Jacksonville you should know donuts are their own food group to the residents here. Whether it's chains like Dunkin' Donuts and Krispy Kreme or mom-and-pop donut shops like Good Dough and Sweet Theory, you never have to go far to get your hands on something sweet. Jacksonville Beach has a new addition to our lineup of donut shops—The Mini Bar.
This past weekend, January 13 and 14, 2018, was Mini Bar's grand opening. The first day they opened, people started lining up at midnight. Mini Bar had to close three hours earlier than they intended on Saturday because they ran out of supplies, but before they ran out they fried and topped over 4,400 mini donuts.
I wasn't able to line up and get my year of free donuts, but I grabbed a friend and tried as many flavors as we could the next day.
Before I get into the nitty gritty of how delicious the donuts really were, let's take a moment to talk about how aesthetically pleasing this place is.
They've got colorful extra-large donuts in the courtyard. Along with the seating they plan to put out there, they have games available to play including jenga and corn hole.
And right inside the door they have the only sign I will let tell me what to do — it also reminds me of an episode of Parks and Recreation, but that makes it even better.
Our Reviews
So there were four of us in total that tried seven different flavors. As a disclaimer, we agreed that the donuts themselves are 10/10 and a little slice of heaven. They use plain cake donuts fried to perfection, so these reviews are based on the toppings.
Because opening weekend was super crazy for Mini Bar, they limited our selection: the largest box we could get was a 16-count and we were limited to four flavors.
Two of us went to Mini Bar, so we each got eight packs and picked four flavors. I chose Fruity Pebble, Samoa, Mint Chocolate Chip and Peanut Butter Cup. My friend on the other hand — Morgan — got Samoa, Pop Tart, Maple Bacon and Sea Salt Carmel Popcorn.
To the reviews! For this part I'm going to let you know who is commenting with these abbreviations: I will be represented by C, Morgan by M, Morgan's brother by B, and my roommate by K.
Fruity Pebble
C: 10/10. It was like revisiting my childhood. You can't go wrong with cereal and donuts, unless it’s Raisin Bran. This was my favorite of the ones I tried, so I ate both — I apologized to my roommate when I brought the rest to her.
Samoa
C: I'm not a fan of coconut so I didn't try this one.
K: Smell, 10/10. Taste, 10/10. Tastes like a classic Girl Scout cookie. Plenty of coconut.
M: 9.5/10. It has the aftertaste of a Samoa, but I couldn’t taste it as I was eating it.
B: 8/10. A good combination of flavors. The icing to donut ratio was "on point." I like coconut and chocolate though, so I'm a fan.
Mint Chocolate Chip
C: 7/10. There was too much chocolate, not enough mint. And used to chocolate and mint in the form of Junior mints or York, the cake donut threw me off a bit. I did find out after that you could use white chocolate instead of regular so I'm going to try it that way next time.
K: 6/10. Not enough mint, but the chocolate is good.
Peanut Butter Cup
C: 9/10. Peanut butter to chocolate ratio was perfect! I docked it down because the peanut butter cup patties were melty and it would’ve added to the experience if they were still crunchy. The toppings were a bit drippy but what can you expect when you put chocolate and peanut butter on a freshly fried donut.
K: 8/10. Tastes just like a Reese’s. If you really like peanut butter you'll love it, if you don’t like peanut butter don’t eat it.
Pop Tart
M: 6/10. I docked the points just because of the sauce, it tastes too artificial. The donut and Pop Tart itself were good though.
Maple Bacon
M: 10/10. It tastes like breakfast. It the flavor of pancakes and bacon in a donut. Bacon was crisped to perfection. It looks like a lot but its just enough.
B: 7/10. It would've been a 10/10 based on flavor, but it just felt pretty greasy. There may have been too much bacon, it was a bit overwhelming
Sea Salt Carmel Popcorn
M: 9/10. The topping was not bad, but it’s not my favorite. The crunch threw me off but if you like crunch you’ll like it. Also, I didn't taste the sea salt, but I think that's in the popcorn piece on top, not on the donut itself.
Overall, Mini Bar Donuts — 10/10. The atmosphere and experience is great! They are both kid friendly, with the courtyard games and a place to see the donuts being topped, and adult friendly, with both beer and Bold Bean NitroBrew coffee on tap.
So as the sign says . . .
. . . to a trip down Beach Boulevard, and spend some time with the folks at Mini Bar.
And as their shirts say "you can never have too mini."