Donuts in Northwood Hills

A single donut is £1.95. They are prepared in store rather than delivered in, and they are finished with different toppings across the tray, so what is in the cabinet on a Tuesday afternoon is not exactly what is there on a Saturday night.

At £1.95 it is the cheapest way to find out whether this shop is any good. Order one with a small Karak Chai at £3.25 and you are out the door for £5.20, which is roughly what a coffee costs on its own elsewhere.

They are soft rather than crisp, and topped rather than plain. Chocolate, sprinkles, biscuit crumb and drizzle come and go depending on the day.

Because they are made here, the best of them are the ones that have not been sitting long. Mid-morning and early evening are good times to walk in.

If a single is not enough and a box of five is too many, order two and a chai. Nobody has ever regretted the second one.

The Box of 5 Variety is £7.95. That is £1.59 a donut against £1.95 for a single, so the box is the better buy the moment you want more than four.

The Box of 12 Variety is £14.95, which works out under £1.25 each. The menu board notes it as a perfect gift, and that is how it is mostly used: birthdays, office mornings, turning up at a house without empty hands.

Variety means variety. You do not pick twelve of the same thing, you get a mixed box, which is the point when it is going on a table for other people.

If you need one for a specific day and time, give the team as much notice as you can, particularly at the weekend. You can call on 01923 918456 or ask at the counter.

For a whole table rather than a box, the Family Lunch at £29.95 includes two cookie doughs alongside jackets, paninis and drinks, and the Family Platter at £49.95 covers the savoury side for four.

The Dubai Kunafa Donut is £2.95 and sits on the customer favourites board rather than with the plain donuts.

Kunafa is shredded pastry, and putting it on a donut gives you crunch on top of something soft. It is the version of the online kunafa chocolate trend that you can eat with one hand.

If you want the same flavour in other forms, the Dubai Kunafa Chocolate is £3.50, the Strawberry Kunafa Cup is £7.95, the Kunafa milkcake is £7.50 and Loaded: Kunafa ice cream is £4.50.

At £2.95 the kunafa donut is a pound more than a standard one, which is fair for what is on it. If you are buying a box of five at £7.95 for people who have never had kunafa, add one of these separately and let them try it.

Everything here is halal and there is no alcohol on the premises, which means the whole dessert counter is open to you rather than half of it.

The obvious answer is chai. Karak Chai is £3.25 for a small and £3.50 for a regular, and it is strong enough to stand next to something sweet. Sugar-free karak is available if you ask when ordering, which is worth doing when the donut is already doing the sweetening.

Masala Chai is the same price and aromatic rather than strong. Pink Kashmiri Chai, also £3.25 and £3.50, is brewed long and aerated until the colour turns pink, then finished with milk, and it is served either salted or sweet.

Karak Coffee at £3.25 and £3.50 is chai and coffee in the same cup, which suits a morning donut.

Cold: Karak Chai Shake £4.50, Pink Chai Shake £4.50, Iced Caramel Coffee £4.50, Mango Lassi £3.00.

For children, the Viral Hot Chocolate is £4.95, topped with chocolate shavings, marshmallows, whipped cream and sprinkles. With a donut alongside it, that is a lot of sugar on one table, and it is usually the order that gets photographed first.

Cha Cha Chai Northwood Hills is at 56 Joel Street, Northwood Hills, Northwood HA6 1PA. We are directly opposite Northwood Hills station on the Metropolitan line, about thirty seconds from the platform exit.

That matters for donuts more than for most things on the menu. A box of five at £7.95 picked up on the way home takes no detour at all if you are already coming through the station.

The H11 and 282 buses stop on Joel Street outside the door. There is free and pay-and-display parking on Joel Street and the surrounding side roads.

We open at 9:00 every day, serving until 23:00 Monday to Thursday and Sunday, and until midnight on Friday and Saturday.

Donuts are also on Deliveroo, Just Eat and Uber Eats, and they travel better than most desserts because the box does the work.

If you are eating in, the tables have ludo and snakes and ladders printed into the marble. A box of five and a round of chai lasts about as long as a game does.