Tim Hortons opened it’s first store in Glasgow last June and they have come a long way since opening their original store in Canada.
Tim Horton opened the first store in 1964 and began franchising in 1967. They later invented the Tim Bit and became a Canadian Classic. Over the years they developed their donuts and their coffee selection. After opening more then 2000 stores in Canada they decided it was time to expand in other countries and they chose the United Kingdom. Glasgow was the top choice.
When they opened there were queues out the door and they were busy all the time even selling out of most items in the first week. They stayed busy for quite some time. I had attempted Tim Hortons twice after they opened and left because of the queues.
On my third attempt, it was cold and rainy and there were no queues, so I ran in and asked for a chai latte, which they had run out of. The green tea I ordered instead was ok but the Tim Bits were great. They also went fast. They are so easy to eat, each one just a little mouthful. I thought the Tim Bits were just going to be little cutouts of dough but they are actually mini versions of the donuts some are even filled. In my box there were chocolate bits with icing glaze, cinnamon bits, jam bits, chocolate filled plain bits and plain bits. I am a fan of all but the jam, this is only because I am not a jam fan. The dough also isn’t the same for all Tim Bits, it changes depending on the type of Tim Bit.
Now that there are a few locations in Glasgow getting to try them has become much easier. I have been back a few times as I love doughnuts but they are not all to be recommended.
Donut Lowdown.
- Canadian Maple Donut – This has a lovely soft dough with a creamy maple icing. It’s filled with a vanilla custard and this is their best donut.
- Boston Cream Donut – Their 2nd best donut, same soft dough and filling as the maple donut except with a dark chocolate topping which creates a lovely contrast to the sweetness of the custard and soft dough.
- Honey Cruller – This is a limited edition and I hated it. The honey glaze had a slight hint of honey but the dough was horrible. It was very wet, like it was still raw in the middle.
- Chocolate Dip – It has the same dark chocolate as the Boston Cream but the dough was dry around the sides which made it very unappetising.
- Maple Dip – The maple topping is nice but like the chocolate dip, it’s a dry donut.
- Strawberry Vanilla – The vanilla icing topping tastes like straight icing sugar and the strawberry filling tastes very artificial. It is not a good combination.
So far I haven’t been impressed with Tim Horton’s donuts but I realised that I had always been there in the evenings and as a last attempt I decided to see what they were like earlier in the day. Would their donuts still be dry or was it just an end of day issue?
Today I stopped by around 12 and got the Maple Dip again and an Apple Fritter. Luckily the Maple Dip was much better with a fluffy soft dough like the filled version. The apple fritter was a twisted dough filled with cinnamon and apple covered in some icing sugar. This is definitely for those who enjoy cinnamon rather than apple.
If you are going to stop by Tim Horton’s their donuts are nice just not the best. If you fancy Tim’s I recommend getting the TimBits or heading over early, otherwise there is always Kripsy Kreme.
