Carmella's Creme

ichorren

2024-04

Passed by the place today and decided to go in on a whim out of curiosity. Interior is dimly lit and quiet except for the donuts display, but the owner was incredibly sweet and friendly. My maple donut was melt-in-your-mouth soft, and sweet but not overwhelmingly so, and a good size. Not greasy at all either, I took these home in a paper bag and theres only the smallest little spot on it, which is expected. Light, fluffy, and fresh, which was surprising to me considering I went in at 2pm and I'm used to DD's donuts being a bit stale at this point. Will definitely come again next time I want donuts! Heads up that the place is cash only, but there are atms in short walking distance if need be.

Madyson Price

2022-05

I got 2 glazed donuts and 1 maple half an hour before they closed. I forgot to take a picture before eating half of them. Don’t let the outdated appearance of the building/drive-thru menu scare you away! These donuts are definitely better than Dunkin’ or any other chain restaurant in C-U and worth a try! Not to mention the price is very good at around $1 a donut. Friendly workers and yummy donuts. Swing by Carmella’s sometime and support local small businesses!

Steve Moberley

2021-05

I always try to give the little local guy the benefit of the doubt. Its really tough to get a 1 star review from me, but once I saw other reviews with the same complaint as mine, it can't be a one-off deal.These used to be great donuts, but this place has gone WAY downhill. The donuts are SATURATED with grease. They leave a big spot in the box, then they leak grease onto whatever you put them on. Literally greasier than bacon. Yuck. Also, selection isn't great, and the place is dimly lit and dirty.It's a shame, because these were great donuts back in the day.

Tami O'Bannon

2024-03

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Steve Wooters

2022-05

I was told that this was the best bakery in town for donuts, I got up early, drove across town, ordered a dozen from the drive-thru and could hardly wait to get home. It was so disappointing when I opened the box and got worse when I took my first bite. I can taste the oil, they are greasy, soggy and old. These were not made this morning. At $13.50 a dozen these should be an outstanding product and sadly they are not.

Nikki Byrnside

2020-05

If you are looking for donuts, this is your place. Their cinnamon rolls are heavenly, and all of their donuts are bigger, better and cheaper than Dunkin' Donuts. The owners are friendly and provide excellent service.

Alex S

2023-05

Really great experience—first time going. Donuts were quite sweet but still felt light and not greasy at all. The man working was SO kind. We didn’t know it was cash only. He let us take the donuts and said we could pay him next time but we ran to the ATM next door and paid him right away. We’ll absolutely be back! 🍩 🏼

Adam Bull

2023-09

This was the sketchiest place I have ever bought food from. The donuts fell like they are at least a day old if not older. It is sad to say, but DD has better donuts.

Robert M.

2022-05

One of the best old fashioned doughnuts I've ever had, it's by far their best donut. The blueberry and chocolate chocolate glazed donuts are good too. I'd also recommend the apple fritter, but it would be 10x better if they made it like the old fashioned. You can't go wrong with $1/donut.Some of the other donuts are very oily and not good.

Jaiden Solch

2020-05

Gentlemen was super helpful picking some put for my family.Super fresh for it being almost 11 when I picked them up. Would have been nice to know they didnt take credit cards but there is an ATM right next door.

Elaina Mullins

2020-05

Truly terrible donuts.This is a review of only the yeast donuts.I believe Carmella's used to be quite a bit better than it is now. I lived in C-U from 2009-2013 and I remember going to Carmella's fairly often. They weren't amazing donuts even then, but I thought they were the best in town at that time. I have recently returned to C-U and boy have things changed at Carmella'sThe donuts were always over-proofed, which makes for a really large and often pretty looking donuts but causes the texture to be stale and bread-y, and can cause certain donuts to be overdone on the outside and underdone on the inside (like the cinnamon rolls). This has not changed but now they donuts taste like they have been fried in dirty oil. Because the donuts are over-proofed they absorbed a lot more oil than they should and the oil tastes like it hasn't been filtered and cleaned in ages. Your mouth is left feeling like the bottom of a dirty fry pan. And because the donuts are so oily the frosting can't even stick to the tops and often flakes off in huge pieces.I LOVE donuts and consider myself a donut tourist (try/evaluate donuts in every city I visit/live in). I've worked in donuts shops for years and I know what makes a good donut. Carmella's is not a good donut, it is a terrible donut, and they are the only donuts I have ever stopped eating and just thrown away.

jon c

2024-01

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Amanda Cruse

2019-05

This place is awesome! I had their donuts for my wedding. I called them 2 weeks before asking if they could make me 30 dozen donuts for a wedding because the other place I planned to use was overbooked. At first, I was nervous because he told me it was fine and to just call the day before. But, the owner reassured me and stated he would make them all the morning of the wedding. He worked with me when we ran into a time crunch the night before, AND everyone at the wedding loved the donuts!

Mikhail Rezazadeh

2022-05

Do not go here. We walked in at 7am to a funky lit, dusty place with half of the display empty where the donuts usually go. Inside the donut display there was a fly on the donuts. The glazed donuts themselves were not bad, about a 6/10. But the other kind were awful. Way too dense and way too bready.

Asad Zaman

2022-05

Really delicious variety of donuts. Old run down family owned place. Pandemic of course didn’t help. I took three dozens in two different days to different meetings and everyone who ate was raving about the donuts. This business has great potential for years to come if some investment is done for a facelift.

Sam Mang

2017-05

The donuts here are the best in town. Granted, there isn't really much competition as the other choices are either Dunkin', supermarkets, gas stations, and small bakeries. BUT, that doesn't take away from the quality of the donuts here as they are delightfully fluffy, nicely coated, and worth their price. The only real downside is that this place only takes cash, so make sure you have it as you might end up being tempted to buy a lot at once. If you're a regular and the guy recognizes you, he gets friendlier and even once let me pay a different time when I ended up not having enough cash during one visit.

Tim Stahl

2021-05

Donuts are huge and homemade quite honesty purposefully greasy as most donuts are dipped in grease to fry. Always great to find a local still in business and making homemade goods. If you want frozen dough go to dunkin or Walmart if you want homemade this is a great option!

Drew Tschirki

2023-05

Decent donuts. Can’t complain about the price. Went through the drive three. I live nearby so I’ll probably be back. Take cash, they don’t take card payments.

Blake Ingram

2017-05

Small, family-owned establishment. CASH ONLY, no CC/Debit accepted.They have great prices; $1 glazed cinnamon rolls are worth every penny. They're fairly big, I could see any other donut place selling these for $2.50+ easily.I haven't had anything I didn't care for, all items seemed to be baked fresh, same morning. Haven't ever encountered any stale donuts. ++

Tori Engler

2020-05

Kind of dirty and cluttered on the inside of the shop, but the doughnuts are AMAZING. Best doughnuts I have had in a long time. The plain glazed doughnuts are my favorite so far. You can tell they were made fresh that morning. Really yummy!

Rob C

2022-05

Super amazing donuts ( my favorite is the cake donut, while my kiddos love the maple donuts), this shop has phenomenal customer service and is a locally Champaign owned small business at that! I will absolutely be returning to buy more and support this business.

Stirling Lemme (Ling)

2019-05

I've been going here pretty much since I got my driver's license (and before that, too). It's a little run down and the offerings are simple, but the donuts are perfect. Not too sweet, just a little oily, and a really satisfying bite. I usually find hipper donut shops to be overthought and overpriced, this is the perfect escape.

Daniel Almquist

2017-05

It's hard to go wrong with donuts. As others have said, no credit cards accepted, and be sure to count your change! The cashier gave me a single instead of a $5 back, but apologised and gave me correct change when I brought it up. One other reviewer mentioned the plain glazed tastes like a hot dog bun... they're not wrong unfortunately, but the other donuts I had were good. The cinnamon role and the old fashioned/ sour cream were the best. Not much of an atmosphere here. Just get in and get out with your donuts.

S A

2019-05

Make sure to bring cash with you. These donuts are big and tasty. We love coming here for our weekend treat. Friendly staff, but a little run down. 4 big donuts, chocolate milk and bottled water is less than $7.

Emma

2023-05

Docked a star only because they didn't accept cards! But the donuts were good! I would love to see this place have more business!!

Justin Follis

2021-05

just tried these donuts today! yuck i shouldn’t be able to taste the grease in a donut! if you get a flavored donut like blueberry it should taste like blueberry not a bucket full of old grease! they honestly don’t deserve 1 star! not to mention the place looks a mess! the health department should check them out!

Jonathan Larson

2016-05

The donuts I've had here have been great. I highly recommend the Glazed Old Fashioned donut: very dense with a little crisp on it. Took one star off because they cannot accept credit or debit cards. Not sure about personal checks. Just make sure you've got cash on hand.

Olivia Moline

2021-05

The best locally owned donut shoppe in the Champaign/Urbana area!!! Any 6 donuts for $7! Please make sure to bring cash as he does not accept credit cards. Try this place once and every other donut place is not nearly as good.

Tonia Lopez-Fresquet

2022-05

Those were... not good donuts. Way too greasy, and my family left most of them unfinished. I threw them away. Also, the drive- through has the saddest menu I have ever seen. There are much better shops in town.

Keli Hoskins

2020-05

Just don't.We didn't finish the donuts we had bc wow. They were terrible and the place was filthy. So we're clear . . . I went there with a 5 and 8 yo and they didn't even finish their donuts.Someone suggested going there instead of Royal Donut when I was back in Illinois. . . NEVER AGAIN. We will just stick with what we know is best there and that's definitely not Carmella's Creme.