Nomad Donuts in North Park

A boutique neighborhood donut shop that’s on the rise

Donuts and other “fried dough” incarnations—such as French beignets and crullers, Spanish/Mexican churros, and American fritters—have had a long-standing role in our culinary culture, without much variation in the recipes. Until now.

Executive pastry chef Kristianna Zabala of Nomad Donuts in North Park, together with business partner and owner Brad Keiller, is pushing the envelope as far as creating an eclectic menu of handcrafted sweet and savory donuts using locally sourced, small batch ingredients and produce.

“I was executive pastry chef at Mr. A’s when I learned that Brad (a friend-of-a-friend) wanted to open a gourmet donut shop and was looking for a pastry chef,” Zabala recalls. So Nomad Donuts opened its doors in fall of 2014. It has since become a neighborhood favorite of connoisseurs who like to be surprised by a sweet and savory menu of donuts and fritters that changes daily and often includes ingredients sourced from local restaurants and breweries. Some of Zabala’s outside-the-box offerings include:

• White chocolate mint donut with passionfruit jalapeño drizzle (Brad’s favorite)
• Coconut custard donut with passionfruit orange guava glaze (Kristianna’s favorite)
• Scotch egg donut (hard boiled egg encased in pork sausage, covered in a jalapeño corn cheddar cake and dipped in a rosemary glaze)
• Foie gras donut (developed in collaboration with chef Phillip Esteban, formerly of The Cork and Craft)
• 2 a.m. bike ride Irish Coffee car bomb donut (filled with a custard made of Fall Brewery coffee vanilla stout and finished with a Bailey’s Irish Cream glaze)

Donuts are fried in non-GMO palm shortening and range in price from $2 each for the basics (vanilla, chocolate, and maple), $3 for specialty donuts and $4 for filled donuts.

To place an advance order or for catering information, contact:

Nomad Donuts
4504 30th St.
North Park
619-431-5000
Hours: 6am to 4pm weekdays
8am to 2pm weekends

Check out these other San Diego neighborhood favorites:

DEVIL’S DOZEN DONUT SHOP
2001 Kettner Blvd.
Little Italy
619-780-0914
Made fresh hourly. Locally roasted coffee.

DONUT BAR
631 B St.
San Diego
619-255-6360
Locally sourced menu includes vegan choices.

PETERSON’S DONUT CORNER
903 S. Escondido Blvd.
Escondido
760-745-7774
Since 1981. Open 24 hours.

ROSE DONUTS
5201 Linda Vista Road
San Diego
619-294-8856
Open 24 hours. Cash only.