At Blackbird Doughnuts, stylized sweets and drinks in a new Watertown nest
Where to: Blackbird Doughnuts in Watertown’s Arsenal Yards, the multiplying megaplex now home to everything from beer gardens to Old Navy.
Why: For sweet treats and drinks in a neighborhood that’s growing by the minute.
The backstory: Owner Rebecca Roth Gullo started her restaurant career in the South End with The Gallows, a warm, lovable gastropub that closed in 2021. She also runs Banyan Bar + Refuge, serving pan-Asian plates, in the same neighborhood.
But she might be best known for Blackbird, the rapidly expanding doughnut shop that spread its wings into Watertown a few weeks ago. It’s her seventh storefront and part of an ongoing expansion.
“Our first stores are going to be happening on the East Coast, and then we will be in college towns all over the country,” she told the Globe in September.
What to eat: Springy, brioche-style raised doughnuts made with just a few ingredients: flour, soy milk powder, flaxseed meal, sugar, yeast, salt, and vegan butter.
“They’re low-processed. You don’t have to feel badly about eating them,” Gullo says.
These doughnuts have a bit of bounce, a bit of chew. My first-grader polished off his chocolate-frosted in a hurry (“It has an interesting aftertaste. I like it,” he declared — I think he meant it wasn’t overly sweet); my husband preferred the honey-glazed, braided variety, reminiscent of a miniature challah, made with the same light dough.
There are also cake doughnuts, such as the gingerbread, another family favorite, which do have eggs and buttermilk. It’s very moist (sorry, gotta say it) and dense, and it tastes just like real gingerbread, heavy on the clove and cinnamon.
There are also quirky, make-you-smile seasonal flavors: an eggnog Bismarck pouring forth with pudding-like cream in a bourbon glaze; mixed berry jam sufganiyot patted with powdered sugar; and a salted toffee brioche that was so sweet I had to stop snacking midway through and return an hour later. Next time, I’m going to try the everything bagel stuffed with cream cheese for a savory counterpoint. Most doughnuts are $3.50 and up, and they come in a cheery pink box that will brighten any counter or company kitchenette.
What to drink: Lattes swirled with homemade lavender, salted toffee, chocolate, toasted marshmallow, and peppermint syrups; iced tea and coffee; Polar seltzers.
The takeaway: High-style sweets for a modern age.
Blackbird Doughnuts, 116 Bond Square, Watertown, www.blackbirddoughnuts.com