The DONUT LAB Renton

It's good malasadas. Also, love the flavor selections. You pick this up on a residence, though. And ordering is limited to weekend pick-ups. Wish they have more days available.

This could become my go-to malasada location. They're delicious and most importantly closer to me than my actual favorite spot. Dough is thick and chewy (more Chinese donut /Indian fry bread than traditional/Korean donut in texture).The fillings are fairly sweet so while there isn't as much filling as other shops, I don't think more would be better in this situation.

I'm between 4 and 5 stars. The malasadas when fresh are amazing. The fillings are unique and not too sweet, though sometimes there's a lot of filling and not a lot of bread lol. Ordering was easy, I ordered on Instagram and paid via Venmo. Pick up is really quick and easy once you find the location. They do have a sign on the street to let you know where to turn in to pick up the donuts. Note that the location is in Renton and not Seattle however there was no line or wait since we preorder so that's a plus for me.

After trying The Flour Box, I wanted to try The Donut Lab. My experience with Craig from The Donut Lab was great! It was super easy to place an order online and select the time I wanted to pick up my order for the specified day. Also, pre-paid for my order and got my confirmation information right away. There was excellent communication, provided detailed information in preparation for the pickup and even provided a reminder about my pickup as the day approached.

If this was my first time trying Portuguese style donuts, I'd give them 5 stars. While these donuts are really good, the standard for me is Leonard's in Hawaii.These donuts are airy but don't have the same stretchy/chewy consistency like Leonard's. The filling was good but sometimes overpowered the donut. They operate out of a private residence and only have limited weekend pickup hours. You need to pre-order on their website, make payment electronically (e.g. Venmo), and will be sent pickup instructions. Overall a very good option to get your malasada fix in the Seattle area.

Summary: Day 1 - AWESOME DonutsDay 2 - They degrade a lot, a lot.Logistics - less than idealThe awesome part:They truly have perfected the filling flavors. - Ube is amongst the strongest of ube flavors. For those familiar with Magnolia ube ice cream and considers that "the bar", this hits "the bar". - Guava is entirely delicious and flavorful. It's rare to find guava flavor, so it's even more awesome when it's great.- Haupia is Hawaiian coconut cream. This hits all the notes. - Smores is a bit easier to replicate, but theirs is on point too.The donut itself has that freshly fried taste with a very slight crunch. The texture and chew has the right body and yield, not too airy, not too doughy.Logistics is not easy, almost a pain. - Limited quantity so you have to pre-order, at least a week in advance, more like 2 or 3 if you're eyeing certain flavors.- Pickup is exactly Saturdays only at 11am. - Sold *ONLY* by the dozen, which is a pain to share especially since we're still not seeing people yet due to COVID. They need at least a half dozen option.But the real deal breaker is these donuts don't last. They are really bad in less than 24 hours. The outer sugar completely melted and is a gooey mess. The dough has of course hardened. The filling is fine. Lick it? Whatever. Despite the name of "Donut" lab, it's closer to filled malasada except they age as poorly as cheap donuts. They are as expensive as filled malasadas, and you have to buy a dozen. Doh. Definitely try it, but eat them all on the first day!

When you love everything Hawaiian, but aren't willing to travel to the islands during these times, these malasadas are the only solace.I got lucky and snagged the last dozen for a Saturday pickup several days beforehand. Definitely pre-order online in advance since waiting periods will be at least 1-2 weeks out. My "Connect 4" dozen consisted of guava, ube, haupia and vanilla custard. Seriously that guava flavor was on point, followed by the haupia. The malasadas were definitely fresh and made well, with the ideal plump shape and soft consistency. I haven't discovered a way to best preserve them yet, so they really do need to be eaten fresh the day of. Instructions for payment and pickup were well organized and straightforward from Craig. Really looking forward to trying out their other Hawaiian inspired flavors as well in the future.

I have been following them on Instagram for a loong time and after my friend said this was some of the best donuts around, I finally ordered a dozen for two people. I understand, this was a lot of donuts but I was hoping that they would keep until the next day. I ate 2 donuts immediately in the car after picking them up and this was when they were THE BEST. Soft, fluffy, light and still warm. I ate 1 more donut, 2 hours later. Texture noticeably degraded. It was more dense, not as soft. 4 hours after pickup. Texture continues to degrade. 10pm on the day of pickup. Donut was no longer fluffy, not soft and almost dense. They are a far cry from the donuts I picked up at 12pm. I borderline wanted to throw these away but $3/each is too expensive for that. I subtracted one star because the donuts do not keep at all. I ate them throughout the day and they got progressively worse. I have bought donuts, mainly brioche style, that were okay the next day. Flavors were great. My favorite was the guava, followed by pineapple, guava and then Nutella smores. The guava was the strongest flavor of the bunch. I highly recommend bringing several people with you and eating them in your car outside of pickup or eating within an hour of pickup. I regret not eating all of them at once!

***This is more of a 4.5 star review***After seeing this place on an article for one of the best donuts in Seattle, I had to try them out.They are run by husband and wife at their house so it's definitely a small business. Ordering and picking up was fairly easy though. Craig was very accommodating and responsive as well.We got the connect four box which is a box of all the flavors they had that week: matcha, Ube, guava, and lemon curd. First off: these donuts are so plump and pretty. The colors are so vibrant and the flavors are so true to what it stated. This is the first time I had an ube Donut that actually tasted like the real thing. Amazing. My favorite though was definitely the guava. The texture of these donuts are so light but sturdy. One of my favorite place for malasada for sure!Why not a 5 star? I feel like a dozen is a lot to buy so hoping they can sell singles or half a dozen in the future. Also, the drive to the place is a little weird haha and I'm not a fan.But these donuts are worth it though!!!

First order and not our last. The team had great communication, I was impressed. Prompt, sent calendar invite and followed up via txt. These treats were DELICIOUS! Love supporting this local business. Order yours now!