New take on a ’70s classic will have you questioning the line between plain bread and doughnut.

Mister Donut is known for its limited-edition collaborations with famous big names like Gion Tsujiri, Pokémon, and Disney, but recently it’s been wowing customers with completely new types of doughnuts.

Now, following on from the explosive popularity of the ultra-soft “Mocchurin” series released this past June, the chain is giving us another original doughnut developed in-house, and it’s called the “New Home Cut”.

According to Mister Donut, this new series is reminiscent of the “Home Cut” doughnut sold in Japan when the company first opened its doors here 55 years ago. The “New Home Cut” is an evolution of that doughnut from the founding era, and there are six varieties to choose from.

▼ Original (Takeout 183 yen [US$1.24]/Eat-in 187 yen)

▼ Honey (Takeout 183 yen /Eat-in 187 yen)

▼ Cinnamon (Takeout 183 yen /Eat-in 187 yen)

▼ Maple (Takeout 194 yen /Eat-in 198 yen)

▼ Butter Crunch (Takeout 205 yen /Eat-in 209 yen)

As for the sixth doughnut, the An Butter (Takeout 226 yen /Eat-in 231 yen), unfortunately that had sold out when we visited to try the series, suggesting that might just be the most popular flavour of them all.

Still, with the focus being on texture — the mouthfeel is said to centre around a fluffy, moist dough with the aroma of egg and vanilla — we didn’t feel like we were missing out, and when we ripped into the doughnuts, we could see what made them so special.

Our immediate impression was of an old-timey classic doughnut, but when we bit into them, our surprise grew. Not only did they have a light yet chewy texture that was different to what we’re used to getting at the chain, but they were barely sweet. In fact, we’d go so far as to say they weren’t sweet at all — if you were to rate the chain’s regular Old Fashioned doughnut as a 10 on sweetness, the New Home Cut would barely make a blip at 1 or 2 on that scale.

This barely sweet base meant that even the cinnamon and glazed varieties felt subdued in sweetness, yet there was something innately appealing about their understated charms. Each bite took us back to the days when our taste buds were able to ease into a flavour like an adventure that slowly revealed itself, instead of being assaulted from the get-go by overly sweet and salty ingredients.

Our taste buds loved taking this journey back in time to a simpler, quieter period, and although the plainness of the range might lead some customers to liken these to soft breads instead of doughnuts, we like to see it as the embodiment of decades of experience, where one can learn from the old to create the new. The range is familiar yet surprising, which is what we like in a sweet treat, and they’ll be on the menu for roughly six months, until late February 2026, so you’ll have plenty of time to try them.

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[ Read in Japanese ]