Beignets Expressed at Downtown Disney: A Review

Downtown Disney in Anaheim has a lot of food worth trying, and Beignets Expressed is one of the simplest pleasures among them: New Orleans-style beignets, fried fresh, served hot, and dusted generously with powdered sugar. If you like sweet, doughy treats, this is an easy stop — and if you have never had a beignet, this is a good place to start.

What to order

Start with the classic: beignets dusted with powdered sugar, served in different quantities. They should arrive piping hot, crisp on the outside and soft and pillowy inside, with enough powdered sugar that you will wear some of it. That is not a flaw; that is the experience. A practical tip from the original visit: do not wear black unless you want to wear part of your treat.

Then, if you want to go further, try a glazed beignet. The shop offers glazed beignets in a range of flavours, and a rotating monthly special — check the current month's special on the shop's own site before you go, because it changes and last month's special will not be there.

Drinks and dipping sauces

Beignets Expressed also offers dipping sauces and a range of drinks, including drip coffee, premium hot chocolate, frozen hot chocolate, and a non-alcoholic frozen mint julep, plus fountain drinks. Coffee is the classic pairing: the bitterness balances the sweetness of the beignets, and a hot drink on a cooler evening at Downtown Disney is hard to beat.

A few beignet facts, for the table

Beignets come from France — the name means fritter or doughnut — and came to the United States through French colonists, particularly in Louisiana, where they are the official state doughnut and a Mardi Gras staple. Unlike traditional doughnuts, beignets are typically cut into squares before frying, which gives them their distinctive shape.

Is it worth it?

Yes, if you like this kind of treat, and especially if you are already at Downtown Disney. It is not a full meal, and it is not a reason on its own to drive to Anaheim — but as a sweet stop between shops, rides, or a meal, hot beignets with coffee are hard to argue with. Go when you are hungry, share a quantity between two or three people if you want to try more flavours, and check the shop is still open at Downtown Disney before you plan a trip around it.