Italian Bakery’s Mercato: Donut Shop Review

My daughter and I are on the hunt for our favourite donut shop. I asked my followers for their recommendations, and Mercato was on the list.

Need more details? I asked “where should we try next?” and Albertans answered by the thousand! Check out the complete list and find your next favourite donut stop!

Located in St Albert, Mercato’s bakery has built a reputation for exceptional Italian deserts. Donuts are a very popular side option of the bakery.

Here’s our honest review – including what we ordered, what stood out, and whether it’s actually worth the drive.

Note: None of our donut shop visits are sponsored. We go in like any other patron and enjoy our little treat before recording our thoughts outside of the shop.

Land Acknowledgement

This land has welcomed First Nations from across Turtle Island, and settlers and visitors from around the world. Alberta lands are part of Treaties 4, 6, 7, 8 and 10, and the homeland of the Métis.

Alberta Mamas respects and celebrates the sovereignty, lands, histories, languages, knowledge systems and cultures of all Indigenous, Métis, and Inuit nations. We are striving to better listen, understand, and learn from the Indigenous ways of knowing, being and doing.

We are all Treaty people.

Visit Details

Location: 120 Bellerose Drive, St Albert (Website)

• Day of the week: Thursday
• Time of visit: 2pm
• Donut price range: $2 each

Atmosphere: The parking lot is an odd configuration, and I could see parking being an issue at busier times. In the middle of the afternoon on a Thursday the parking lot was seeing a lot of people coming and going, and I’d say 2/3rds of the spots were filled.

We entered through the grocery store portion of Mercato. It felt busy, cramped, and very “small grocer” instead of the more open commercial grocery shop many of us find familiar. While I usually hate cramped spaces, there’s something comforting about small grocers and I instantly smiled.

The bakery is almost overwhelming with the wide array of treats you can purchase. If we weren’t on a mission specifically for donuts it would be easy to spend way too much time looking at the close to 100 options instead of buying.

We stood on the grocery side of the bakery for a few minutes while another woman was being helped through analysis paralysis by staff, decided what we wanted, and went over to the cafe counter to order.

I’m glad there was a second way of ordering, because the woman we were waiting for at the bakery counter was still ordering when I’d finished paying!

Staff felt a bit discombobulated – like something was out of the ordinary flow for them – but were friendly and helpful and got our order correct.

The cafe felt like an odd combination of industrial and bistro that kept it from feeling like a space I want to hang out in. It was an insanely sunny day and the cafe is lined with windows on two and a half sides, so maybe it was over-lit?

Once our donuts were boxed up and my daughter’s Italian soda was ready we booked it out to the car through the cafe’s side door on the north of the building. That was a pleasant surprise, and something I could see using in the future!

Donut Basics

• What we ordered: Blueberry Donut and a Chocolate Dip Donut
• Type of donuts: Yeast

Notes: Donuts are in the far left display, closest to the wall. We arrived mid-afternoon, and a lot of the donuts had already sold out for the day.

Donut Review

Dough

Type: Yeast

Texture: Donuts were a near perfect texture with just the right amount of chewiness and fluffiness. The exterior was a touch dry, but we blamed that on it being mid-afternoon.

Flavour: The flavour of the dough was drowned out by the filling and icing. When we sampled just the dough, it was a touch sweet, with very little yeast coming through.

Freshness: For a 2pm donut, they were as fresh as you could expect. We definitely need to come back earlier in the day.

Glaze and Filling

Balance: Whoa Nelly, there is a lot of glaze and filling! This could easily be reduced and still have an amazing donut. The blueberry donut was one of the most stuffed donuts I’ve ever eaten.

Texture: The chocolate glaze was perfect. The blueberry glaze was runny and messy. While the glaze shows actual blueberries, the filling was very smooth without many berry chunks.

Flavour: The chocolate was surprisingly dark for a donut, which was a pleasant surprise and helped balance the sweetness. The blueberry donut had lots of blueberry flavour from the filling. The glaze kind of disappeared behind the rest.

Distribution: Glaze and filling were excessively generous and distributed throughout the donut. Every bite of blueberry donut had filling – rare for a stuffed donut!

Execution

Appearance: Donuts we purchased and in the display case were the perfect classic donut, ready for their close up.

Quality Control: Donuts were consistent. Some of the glazes felt a bit runny, and these are on the more messy side of icing. Make sure you grab plenty of napkins!

Value: At $2 per donut, these are some of the most affordable, quality donuts out there.

Overall Rating

B Tier – Very good. I’d grab it if I were in town.

Because we went so late in the day, our choices were limited and the pastries had been out for a while. These are solid donuts and worth trying. If you’re in St Albert and looking to grab donuts for an event I’d definitely visit Mercato over Tim Hortons. The price will be similar, and the quality far superior.

Would we go back? We definitely want to come back and re-sample Mercato’s donuts earlier in the day. If we came back this late in the day again, we’d probably get one of the other treats instead of a donut.

More Alberta Donut Reviews

We’re always on the lookout for more donuts! Check out our master list of Albertans’ most recommended donut shops where I link to all of our donut reviews.