This is Knotted, the first Australian outpost of the South Korean bakery chain that opened in Seoul in 2017. The menu centres on filled doughnuts, alongside filled salt bread and a small drinks selection, with an emphasis on visually polished products and flavour-forward fillings.
Tiramisu ($7.00)
Eaten as a whole, this delivered a recognisably tiramisu-leaning profile. Bitter cocoa on the exterior led into an espresso cream and mascarpone-style filling that worked cohesively, with the bitterness tempering the sweetness effectively. The doughnut itself was soft and tender, providing structure without competing with the filling.
Ang Matcha ($7.00)
This combined matcha and red bean in a familiar pairing. The matcha came through clean and smooth, with a notable sweetness balanced by a grassy bitterness. On its own, the matcha leaned a touch sharp, but the red bean filling softened the edges, rounding the flavour into something more cohesive and approachable.
Roasted Sweet Corn ($7.50)
This was the most distinctive of the three. Roasted corn kernels sat on top, offering mellow sweetness and a juicy crunch. Inside, the corn cream filling was smooth and surprisingly evocative of popcorn, reinforcing the corn theme without tipping into novelty. A sugar-salted popcorn seasoning on the exterior added a savoury counterpoint, creating layered corn flavours and contrasting textures that were thoughtful and well executed.
Salted Buitter Bread ($5.50)
The bread had a very crisp, crunchy crust with good chew through the interior. The buttery flavour, however, was too sweet for our preference and lacked the nutty savouriness expected from the butter profile. Flaky salt on top provided the main source of salinity. The textural execution was good, but the sweetness limited its appeal.
Everything Salted Buitter Bread ($7.50)
This retained the same crisp, crunchy crust and chewy interior, but balanced the sweetness of the dough more effectively through the nutty savouriness of the garlic and sesame seeds in the everything seasoning. It was better balanced than the plain version, although the additional $2.00 was difficult to justify for the difference.
Apple Crumble ($11.50)
The item featured laminated pastry similar in structure to a cinnamon scroll, filled with apple wedges, custard and further apple slices, with cinnamon butter around the edge and almond slivers covering the exterior.
The combination of textures and flavours worked particularly well. Almond slivers provided crunch against the crisp laminated pastry and tender interior, while the cooked apple retained a firm bite and fresh tang. Soft, creamy custard added sweetness and richness, with the cinnamon sugar sauce tying the components together. The contrast between crisp, tender, firm and creamy textures gave this the strongest overall structural execution of the selection.
Overall, a bakery range defined by soft doughnuts, crisp laminated textures and flavour-forward fillings, with the strongest results where sweet and savoury elements were balanced rather than driven primarily by sweetness. The Roasted Sweet Corn doughnut and Apple Crumble were the standouts for their layered flavour and textural contrast. Portions remained on the smaller side and pricing was high for the size, limiting the value proposition. Worth trying out of curiosity, but not compelling enough to queue for or return to repeatedly.
Knotted is located at Shop1/24 Burwood Rd, Burwood NSW 2134.