Restaurants

The Salty Donut Arrives in Austin

The Miami-based shop will sell Prickly Pear Margarita donuts & other Texas-inspired creations

By David Clough
August 26, 2021

Austin has a new hangout spot for coffee and donuts. The Salty Donut, an artisanal bakery and coffee bar, opens Friday, August 27th, at 2000 S. Congress Ave. It’s the fifth brick-and-mortar location for the brand, which hails from Miami. The Salty Donut has three Florida locations and one in Dallas, Texas.

Founded in 2015 by Andy Rodriguez and Amanda Pizarro-Rodriguez, The Salty Donut has amassed a cult-like following in Miami for its small-batch donuts and craft coffee. The popular donut shop says its Austin menu incorporates Texas-inspired flavors made with locally-sourced ingredients.

The Salty Donut’s opening menu features 12 donuts, including year-round and seasonal offerings, as well as vegan and gluten free options.

Year-round menu items include the Maple and Bacon brioche donut, made with pure maple glaze and topped with in-house candied bacon and black lager reduction; the Prickly Pear Margarita brioche donut, filled with lime curd, prickly pear and lime glaze, topped with mascarpone whipped cream, shortbread cookie crumb and lime zest; and the Horchata donut, made with brioche soaked in a homemade horchata mixture, bottom crusted with Valrhona Caramelia chocolate and finished with torched cinnamon-meringue.

Flavors on the seasonal menu rotate on a staggered basis. Each seasonal donut stays on the menu for 6 to 8 weeks, with new flavors swapped in when one retires.

Current highlights from the seasonal menu include the Blueberry ‘Pancake’ donut, a baked gluten-free cake donut with fresh blueberries folded in the dough, with maple glaze and topped with granola crunch and freeze-dried blueberries; and the Dragon and Passion Fruit brioche donut, filled with a whipped passion fruit mousse, dragon fruit and passion fruit glaze, topped with crushed graham crackers and a dragon fruit infused whipped cream.

Starting August 27th, The Salty Donut on South Congress is open Sunday through Thursday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Fridays and Saturdays from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.