Perched on stainless steel bar stools under a canopy of chic black cloth umbrellas, the elbows of diners supported eager bodies against wooden table tops. Wait staff circulated The Sinclair’s outdoor patio, their hands laden with white porcelain dishes adorned with glazed doughnuts.

The first ever “Dueling Donuts” spectacular between the renowned Union Square Donuts and The Sinclair kitchen in Cambridge was hosted on Saturday at The Sinclair patio headquarters. For $20, guests were able to judge the dueling venues’ doughnuts based on creativity, presentation and pairing of the cocktails served.

Light chatter drifted around the patio on the tail ends of the afternoon breeze, the sounds of content sighs and forks clinking bubbled between sugar-coated bites. The first round was presented; a smoked miso caramel glazed mini doughnut topped with crushed salted pretzels. The rich glaze seeped through the center hole of the doughnut, leaving a puddle of extra smoked salty goodness that would later be sopped up with fingertips and forks.

The contender was a large, brown butter hazelnut crunch doughnut, the crushed hazelnuts speckling the brown butter glaze like fresh fallen snow on a grassy field. Both doughnuts paired seamlessly with the cocktail served, a Barismo cold brewed coffee with Overholt and Montenegro whipped cream, a slightly bitter and strong iced drink named “The Turbo.” The whipped cream, once stirred in, lifted the punch of bitterness with a light touch of sweetened cream.

Only halfway through the duel and feeling a sugar laced buzz creeping through the bloodstream already, Travis Lau, 22 of Oahu, Hawaii laughed as he took bites of the second round of doughnuts, a milk-glazed and fruity cereal coated mini donut along with a larger strawberry-lime glazed and coconut dipped doughnut.

“I have to admit that the strawberry, lime and coconut doughnut pulled at my heart-strings. It hits so close to home, being from the North Shore of Hawaii with the everlasting coconut affair. That one’s probably the winner on taste,” said Lau.

How does someone such a long way from home wind up at a doughnut duel in Cambridge?

“I’m in Boston visiting friends and initially they dragged me to this event, but in reality I should have ran here had I known it’d be this delicious,” Lau said, as he took a sip of ice water before biting into the fruity cereal coated doughnut.

The second round differed greatly from the first, freshening the palette with a citrusy touch that ended the tasting on a lighter note after the first, and much richer round. The milk glaze and cereal coated doughnut tangoed on the tongue delightfully with the drink pairing, a Goslings rum, cava, tiki bitters and allspice cocktail named “The Fez.”  The subtle sour hint of lime on the contending doughnut fizzed in compatibility with the cocktail, and left the tongues’ taste buds cleansed like an aperitif.

Although the event may have only lasted the one day, fret not. Union Square Donuts’ brick and mortar location is found in Somerville, along with many pop up vendors at farmer markets such as Harvard Square, Dewey Square and Greenway. The Sinclair in Cambridge, an American kitchen known for its delightfully boozy brunch and live music venue is open seven days a week, so for those of you who missed the first annual “Dueling Donuts”, The Sinclair has more treats in store for us.