Hoopla Donuts by Phil & Sebastian


People often ask me if I miss work now that I’m on maternity leave. To be honest – yes and no. I don’t think anybody misses work, even people who enjoy and love what they do on a daily basis need a break. That’s what I’ve enjoyed most about being on mat leave, the be away from the stress of work replaced by other stresses of course (baby..enough said). However, I do miss certain aspects of work, I miss my friends, being an adult and having adult conversations, but probably most of all having great conversations over coffee.

So how jealous was I when I found out that Phil and Sebastian opened up a new café in the +15s right by my office! My old stomping grounds! And not just any coffee shop, but a new donut shop. Donuts…and coffee…! Not your run of the mill donuts either, no they were fun and creative with flavours like Passionfruit and Brownie Cheesecake, flavours that rotate differently everyday. It’s like they were just teasing me.


Luckily, I was invited down to try out some of their amazing creations, so I strapped in my bubs and we headed for downtown! The café is located in the perfect +15 location right by the Metropolitan Center between 5th and 6th Avenue by 3rd Street SW. When we arrived, there was quite the line up already and it was only a little past 9 am. The donuts are baked fresh daily so being their early is key to avoid them running out.

There are close to 20 flavours to choose from and it was hard to pick since I wanted to try them all! We ended up narrowing it down to the Lychee Vanilla, Rootbeer Float, Churros and Passionfruit Lime. I couldn’t wait to dig in, especially after I got handed my americano to clear up the sleep deprivation.


The Lychee Vanilla was their daily vanilla feature and is a glazed donut. It wasn’t overly sugary and tasted like a bubbletea. Super unique, how often do you see lychee donuts? The Rootbeer Float was also a glazed donut but with a dollop of vanilla whipped cream on top to represent the ice cream in a traditional float. I never thought to put whipped cream on a donut and really liked it (going to put that one in my back pocket for later use =)).

Next was my favorite the Churros, it looks like a simple cinnamon sugar donut on the outside, but don’t let that fool you. On the inside was a dulche sour cream filling. Imagine eating a churros inside out, that’s what it felt like. Then we finished with the Passionfruit Lime, it had a zingy lime glaze topped with a sugared lime, but it was the filling that was amazing. Silky passionfruit crème in the middle perfectly balanced out the tarte lime. It’s perfect for those that love their citrus desserts. It also made me curious about the pure Passionfruit donut that’s also on the menu but only available on Mondays and Fridays.


Not only were the toppings exceptional but the base of the donut itself was delicious. It was soft and doughy with a nice chew and texture. The perfect vessel to get all that wonderful flavour in to your mouth. The menu at Hoopla rotates everyday, I was there on a Wednesday and already I’m curious about the other flavours that are only available other days of the week.

Since I’m going to be away from work for a bit longer, I need to convince my husband to bring me back donuts until I am back downtown again. So now when people ask me if I miss work, I’m going to say I definitely miss the coffee and donuts! Can you bring me some?

Hoopla Donuts
414 3 Street SW
Calgary, AB T2P 1R2
(403) 453-2162
Website: hoopladonuts.ca

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