Where To Get The Best Churros In Orange County

What could be more delicious than a fried piece of dough covered in cinnamon and sugar? Churros are a popular—albeit somewhat unhealthy—treat that are popular everywhere from theme parks and baseball stadiums to Mexican vacations. But diners don't have to travel south of the border to find these tasty snacks. And with Orange County's ability to come up with creative twists on any food, it's the perfect place to find unique versions of these savory pastries.

The Funnel House
205 Main Street
Huntington Beach, CA 92648
(714) 969-3099
www.thefunnelhouse.com

As their name implies, The Funnel House is known for their crispy funnel cakes. But these doughy pastries aren't the only things on the menu at the Huntington Beach-based dessert house. Order an authentic, fresh made churro for a traditional experience, or consider getting one of their unique churro desserts. In addition to the churros everyone has come to know and love, The Funnel House offers churro dunkers, which come with dipping sauces like caramel, chocolate fudge and condensed milk. They also have a churro sundae, which can be customized with the sauces as well as ice creams in standard flavors like vanilla and chocolate or more unique ones like strawberry cheesecake, mint chocolate chip and cookies 'n' cream.

California Churros
Downtown Disney
1580 Disneyland Drive
Anaheim, CA 92802
(714) 781-4565
www.disneyland.com

Sure, you can get churros inside Disneyland. Sometimes you can even get colored, galaxy-themed churros with edible stars on them in Tomorrowland. But, the California Churros cart found in Downtown Disney is really the best place to stop in for one of these doughy treats. They're a little more expensive than the ones in the park, but they have a variety that you simply can't pass up. While you can certainly get a standard churro, California Churros also has flavors like grape, cherry and watermelon along with the cinnamon sugar churros. The apple cinnamon is perfect for fall, while they also offer things like Oreo and fruity pebbles options, the latter of which is covered in the popular cereal.

Gabbi's Mexican Kitchen
141 South Glassell Street
Orange, CA 92866
(714) 633-3038
www.gabbipatrick.com

Part of the restaurant's dessert menu, titled Postres, these churros are definitely some of the best and most authentic in all of Orange County. The Mexican restaurant offers two different types of the delectable desserts as well. The classic option, which features regular cinnamon sugar churros, comes with two different dipping sauces: a chocolate sauce with a slight kick and a cajeta caramel sauce. If you choose to go the other way, you can savor the flavors of the restaurant's unique chocolate churros. These are served with house-made toasted coconut ice cream rather than dipping sauces. Both options are a big hit at the eatery, which lies in the historic part of Orange at the Circle.

The Loop Handcrafted Churros
9729 Bolsa Avenue
Westminster, CA 92683
(714) 713-8570
www.theloopchurros.com

Another dessert spot with a name that reveals a lot about their churros is The Loop. These handcrafted churros are offered one of three ways. The most basic is the Dipped churro, which comes with dipping sauces like dulce de leche, nutella, strawberry, tiramisu and limited-edition cookie butter. Take it a step further with the Glazed churros, which are looped and then covered with favorite flavors like chocolate (or which chocolate), strawberry or matcha. These also typically have toppings like sprinkles, crushed Oreos, almonds, fruity pebbles or cookie crumbs. The third and final option is Chilled, which sticks the looped churro (either plain or glazed) into to a cup of ice cream. These, too, are often topped with flavored syrups and toppings.

Crumbs Doughnuts
1525 East Katella Avenue
Orange, CA 92867
(657) 221-5752
www.crumbsdoughnuts.com

Officially known as the Churro Crumbnut, these churro doughnuts are not to be missed. While Crumbs is known for their selection of intricate and stunning doughnuts—the s'mores and galaxy varieties—there is just something about the churro option that stands out. Not your typical doughtnut, this "crumbnut" is more like a cronut: a croissant mixed with a doughtnut. Peel back the flaky layers beneath the cinnamon sugar exterior and you'll be in heaven. One of the greatest things about this doughtnut, other than the churro flavor, is the small piece of churro stuck in the buttercream frosting on top.

Nitrolado
10212 Westminster Avenue
Garden Grove, CA 92843
(714) 722-3731

At Nitrolado, you'll find churros—but in sundae form. Rather than the long thin churros you might be used to, these are unique rounded churros. They can be eaten one of two ways. Placed in the bottom of the bowl with ice cream on top, they serve as small churro bowls themselves. Or they are sometimes placed on top of the nitrogen-crafted ice cream, keeping some of the fog in and allowing the ice cream to stay nice and cool. There are various flavors of churros at Nitrolado, including the classic cinnamon as well as Oreo, red velvet and the latest flavor, ube.

Cauldron Ice Cream
1421 West MacArthur Boulevard
Santa Ana, CA 92704
(657) 245-3442
cauldronicecream.com

Churros and ice cream are obviously the next best thing in Orange County, but Cauldron Ice Cream takes it to new heights with the interesting way in which they incorporate the churro. Rather than placing churros on top of or inside their desserts, the ice cream is available in the eatery's puffle cones—which, you guessed it, come in churro flavor. Whether you get the milk and cereal ice cream, the early grey lavender or the speckled vanilla, these puffle cones, which also come in regular and red velvet, are all the rage. With lines out the door and everyone chattering about the cones, it's clear that this is one very popular way to eat a churro in O.C.

Taco Rosa
13792 Jamboree Road
Irvine, CA 92602
(714) 505-6080
www.tacorosa.com

Another Mexican spot offering churros on their dessert menu is Taco Rosa. Located at the Tustin Marketplace, this charming traditional restaurant also has two different presentations of their churros, the Flan con Churros and the Churros Coloniales. As the name implies, the former is a flan dish that incorporates cane sugar and cinnamon-dusted churros. The flan is crafted out of a baked cream cheese. The Churros Coloniales, on the other hand, have the same cane sugar and cinnamon-dusted churro recipe, but instead of flan, they are served with chocolate sauce. There is also an additional dessert platter that comes with the flan, the churros and chocolate covered strawberries.