Half N Half Doughnut Company

Best One-Of-A- Kind Doughnut Award: Half N Half Doughnut Company

Recommended by: Nobody. We saw it on our way to Skillet Diner. Little did we know, it had just opened two days earlier.

Description on the Half N Half Doughnut Company’s website: We hope HnH doughnuts delight you. Our passion is creating beautifully crafted flavors for the products made right here in our kitchen. We value providing compelling taste and quality in equal measure. So, our products are always fresh, made from scratch, with Northwest organic whenever possible and always with a strong commitment to non-GMO.

Neighborhood/Type:  Capitol Hill

Address: 516 E Pike St, Seattle, WA 98122

What we ate/drank:   Banana Foster Filled($3.85), Pineapple Fritter($3.95), Vanilla Old Fashioned($2.75), Georgette Cinnamon Twist($3.25).  Bacon, Egg and Cheese Biscuit Sandwich($6.95)

Comments: We consider ourselves doughnut connoisseurs. It’s one of the few foods we feel we can call ourselves experts. You can see our review on the two Seattle doughnut empires, Top Pot and Mighty-O, the trendy, General Porpoise Doughnuts and the secret doughnut spot that nobody seems to talk about, Tempesta Coffee (RIP)  We also have an upcoming post for the newly opened Donut Factory in the University District and Raised Doughnuts in the Central District.

We knew nothing about Half N Half Doughnut Company.  We happened to wake up early one morning(having two kids under 3 yrs old will do that) and decided to have breakfast at Skillet Diner down the street. On the way to Skillet we saw some folks waiting outside Half N Half Doughnut Company and decided we’d stopped by after eating breakfast.

We found out that Half N Half Doughnut Company had only been open for two days and is the creation of one of the co-founders of Top Pot Doughnuts.  As you will see, the doughnuts are a bit more experimental than Top Pot’s.

Half N Half Doughnut Company is right on Pike St in Capitol Hill so parking can be a problem. Look for the storefront with the moped and kid mannequins in the window.

The interior is small with no tables or chairs and has a 1950s soda shop vibe to it. They even have manual pull espresso machines. We’ll get to the doughnuts in a second, but first they also have cookies, biscuits,  breakfast sandwiches and surprisingly, sous vide eggs.  Cookies we understand. Biscuits and breakfast sandwiches is a little strange, but okay. Sous vide eggs?  We’re not aware of any other establishments that serve sous vide eggs to go.

Anyways, on to the main attraction, doughnuts.  The selection is not as robust at Top Pot, Mighty O or Donut Factory, but the choices are all very “experimental” and none that you have ever tasted before.  You won’t find your standard doughnuts like maple bars or chocolate glazed. You will find doughnuts such as Churros, Smores and Banana Foster filled.  They also have mini doughnuts which they call, “bombs”.  We ended up getting the following:

• Banana Foster Filled($3.85)  -Score: 4.75/5.0
• Pineapple Fritter($3.95) – Score: 4.65/5.0
• Vanilla Old Fashioned($2.75) – Score: 4.65/5.0
• Georgette Cinnamon Twist($3.25). Score: 4.25 /5.0\\

• Bacon, Egg and Cheese Biscuit Sandwich($6.95) <<we got this for our friend who we were visiting after. We didn’t try it but he loved it.

The people there were very good about explaining each of the doughnuts and were very willing to advise their favorites, which we appreciated. As you can see the doughnuts are all different prices. We have to say, the doughnuts at Half N Half Doughnut Company do seem to be bigger than your normal doughnut, but so are the prices.

We enjoyed the fact that you will not find these types of doughnuts anywhere else. The banana foster filled was our favorite, but the pineapple fritter was a nice spin on your normal apple fritter and their vanilla old fashioned was also better than your normal old fashioned.

Due to it’s location it does take some effort to come to Half N Half Doughnut Company, but the unique types of doughnuts they have has a “special treat” type feeling to it. Even the packaging with individual wrapping for each doughnut and sturdy boxes have a “special treat” feeling to it.

Ratings:

Atmosphere: 4.25

Service: 4.75

Food/Drinks: 4.65

Bang for the Buck: 4.25

Overall: 4.45

Locals Only Factor: “Locals Only” grading-We’ll assign a grading as to how “local” a place is.

• • Well known or Touristy. Most locals don’t go there unless they have business dinners or visitors in town.
  • Most locals know about it
  • Locals “in the know” know about it
  • Only those who live close by know about it.
  • You’re in on the secret. Don’t tell anybody!

Servers recommendations to visit in the future:   As mentioned in our quest to find the best doughnut in Seattle, we visited The Donut Factory out in the University District after our neighbors told us about it replacing a long standing donut shop that closed down.

Related Articles:

• Our Top 15 Best Seattle Dishes of 2018 (Part 1)
• Our Top 15 Best Seattle Dishes of 2018 (Part 2)
• Part 4 – Best Seattle Coffee Shops to Impress Visitors, Impress Visiting Coffee Snobs, Make Visitors Feel Like Locals.
• Battle of the Best Seattle Donut