13-05-2025
SoYen Desserts delivers bold flavors in St. Paul
We're back with one more sweet treat recommendation that wasn't nominated for Kyle's recent deep dive into the metro's best doughnuts.
Where we went: Kyle and Torey separately stumbled across Lowertown's SoYen Desserts, a small-batch bakery with indoor service and a takeout window just steps from the St. Paul Farmers' Market, on a recent weekend!
On the menu: Pillowy cream-filled brioche doughnuts ($5) featuring a rotating menu of flavors that go beyond Boston cream: May specials include black sesame/strawberry and Thai tea custard.
Plus: Savory bites like a Hmong sausage sandwich ($10) and laab curly fries ($10), crepes, coffee, iced tea and other treats.
If you go: Bring an appetite or many mouths to feed. It's fun to sample the various pairings, but the sweet treats are also quite large and rich.
Torey's crew of five adults and one sugar-crazed 4-year-old struggled to make a dent in their order of three delicious doughnuts and a lemon cloud bun.
Pro tip: There's outside seating in the shady alley, but you can also bring your haul to one of the farmers market picnic tables if you want to sit in the sun.
Kyle's thought bubble: Even though they're only open Friday through Sunday, I'm still puzzled by why we didn't get a reader recommendation about SoYen. I tried the black sesame/strawberry and it knocked my socks off!
Details: It's open Friday through Sunday, with takeout window service starting at 8:30am on the weekends.
