The Best Donuts in Los Angeles

Pedalers Fork anchors a multi-faceted establishment by a Calabasas creek that includes a bike repair shop out back and a roastery and café called 10 Speed Coffee. Every Thursday morning, pastry chef Jess Goodman stocks the display case with delectable raised donuts. Depending on the week, you might find chocolate glaze, vanilla glaze with rainbow sprinkles, cinnamon sugar, or maple glaze with bacon bits. In an effort to minimize food waste, Goodman also tops donuts with leftovers like brownies, cookies, and potato chips, the types of snacks cyclists crave post-ride.

Jason Harley, who previously helmed Mabel’s Chicken & Waffles in the same DTLA space, reemerged with an even more proven combo to start 2016: fried chicken and donuts. Birdies promise “crumbly and buttery” cake donuts and “golden brown and delicious” yeast donuts, along with “unique glazes, fillings and toppings.” Lemon thyme pistachio, strawberry white chocolate, and candied maple bacon fills just three trays that grace the counter. Harley also makes a blinged out donut coated with 24K gold leaf.

Keep a close eye on Blinkie’s classic donuts. They’ve been known to sell out just past noon on weekends at this Woodland Hills strip mall. The display case holds airy raised and glazed donuts, crusty old-fashioned rings that look like blown truck tires (but taste much better). They even have a raised donut that riffs on the black-and-white cookie, with overlapping layers of chocolate and vanilla frosting.

Blue Star, the Portland import from Katie Poppe and Micah Camden, has branches in Japan and debuted on Venice’s fashionable Abbot Kinney Boulevard in 2015. The airy space features white walls, skylights, an open kitchen, and a blackboard that describes "Quality Over Quantity.” Donuts are crafted with French-style brioche dough crafted with sustainable Shepherd’s Grain bread flour, cage free eggs, whole hormone-free milk and European-style butter. Rings fry in rice bran oil, and staffers make and apply glazes and fillings throughout the day. Firmness levels vary, and some of the more creative flavor combinations include passion fruit cocoa nib, lemon poppy buttermilk, and blueberry bourbon basil. They also have a hard apple cider fritter with caramelized fruit.

Bob’s Coffee & Doughnuts is an institution at The Original Farmers Market from Bob Tusquellas, who practically grew up at the Market. He worked at his family’s meat market and later operated the fish Market. He’s owned the donut shop since 1970. For each donut, Tusquellas convenes a committee with his wife, two daughters, and two grandchildren. Each new donut addition has to be agreed upon by unanimous consent.

California Donuts has been around since 1982, but the popularity of the family-owned Koreatown donut shop spiked with the advent of Instagram thanks to their delightfully photogenic creations. Specialties include donuts covered in Fruity Pebbles, Froot Loops, Girl Scout cookies, M&Ms and Reese's Pieces; as well as donuts shaped like unicorns and pandas. The best part, though, is that you can pick up a donut, a half-dozen, or dozen at any time of day or night.

Restaurateur David Reiss and chef Jason Travi transformed a boxy grey space on a Hollywood side street into a hub for New England-inspired comfort food. Sure, smoked meat poutine and lobster rolls are rewarding, but save room for Miho Travi’s apple cider donuts. Crisp-crusted sugar lined rings plated with a streak of apple butter and a ramekin of savory salted caramel.

Lee and Kong Tao founded DK’s Donuts in 1981 after fleeing the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia. Daughter Mayly and brother Sean now run this 24/7 shop with a pink candy-stripe sign, tiny yellow tables and orange stools. The name references the original franchise owner’s initials. The signature offering is the Double Decker "O-Nut," a croissant / donut hybrid. Variations include Fruity Pebbles, Nutella, Spam and Mini O-Nut Holes. DK's also touts "the world's first ube donut" (Purple Crumb, Purple Cream Cheese, Toasted Coconut, Bacon, Pistachio).

Drive Like Jehu drummer and Blink-182 producer Mark Trombino debuted Donut Friend in Highland Park in 2013. Trombino has since expanded Downtown LA and Silver Lake.

At the original Donut Friend, Trombino stayed true to his rock roots by featuring a cartoon mural of bears playing a donut guitar and drum kit. He also riffed on bands when naming signature donuts, called “favorite compilations.” Fudgegazi is a play on hardcore band Fugazi that involves a sliced chocolate donut stuffed with chocolate cream and graced with chocolate shavings. Arguably the quintessential indie rock band, Yo La Tengo is paid homage with the Yo La Mango - raised donut topped with sweet mango glaze, cayenne pepper and lime zest. You can also D.I.Y. with dozens of sauces, sugars, spices, toppings, creams, butters, fresh fruit or gourmet cheese.

Described by the LA Conservancy as "one of the most photographed donut shops in the country," The Donut Hole is a prime example of Programmatic architecture. Other Programmatic L.A. landmarks include Randy's Donuts (see below) and the beloved Tail o' the Pup hot dog stand.

The second (and only surviving) location of The Donut Hole chain, the one-story building is split in two with a driveway the middle. Customers drive through giant fiberglass donuts at each end of the building to pick up their orders.

Founded by Jim and Miyoko Nakano in 1972, The Donut Man has been featured on numerous TV shows, including the Food Network, Cooking Channel and Huell Howser. Located on historic Route 66 and open 24 hours a day, the beloved little Glendora shop is renowned for its fresh strawberry donut. Made fresh with the season, the donuts are overflowing with large, ripe strawberries and smothered in a signature glaze. The donut is large enough to require two hands to enjoy it, hamburger-style. Following strawberry season - roughly February to July - The Donut Man features its other signature item, the equally popular fresh peach donut.

In March 2020, The Donut Man opened a stall at the landmark Grand Central Market in Downtown LA. Located on the Broadway end of the market, the GCM location is open daily from 8am to 9pm.

Friends & Family is the ambitious bakery, restaurant, and ice cream parlor from seasoned chefs Roxana Jullapat (sweet) and Daniel Mattern (savory). They offer counter service for breakfast and lunch. Start the day with Jullapat’s unique Sticky Oat Donut. She uses toasted oat flour from South Carolina’s famed Anson Mills and rounds out rings with all-purpose flour. “I wanted to make a donut with whole grain flour (oats in this case) that people would actually wanted to eat,” she says. “I thought ‘Who could refuse a donut dipped in sticky caramel and sprinkled with toasted pecans?’” We put up no resistance when faced with her fluffy, sticky donuts showered with crushed pecans.

Siblings Nile and Hana Dreiling launched Holey Grail Donuts as a food truck on Kauai in 2018. Holey Grail opened its first LA store in Santa Monica in December 2022, followed by Larchmont Village in March 2023.

The 1,000 square-foot Larchmont location includes a donut-making island, live taro plants, and a display fridge with rotating local ingredients like edible flowers, finger limes and dragonfruit.

Holey Grail fries its taro donuts to order in coconut oil and uses 100% compostable packaging. The first-ever flavor was the Reincarnated: real maple, smoked coconut and Hawaiian sea salt. Other favorites include the Lilikoi with fresh yellow and Jamaican passionfruit; and the Original Sin with Hawaiian vanilla bean and salted maple.

Jon & Vinny’s, the Italian-American restaurants from chefs Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo, serves crave-worthy food from breakfast through dinner. Available from 8am to 11:30am, morning pastries include Italian donuts called bomboloni - fluffy pillows of fried dough are filled with raspberry jam, pistachio cream or seasonal custard and dusted with powdered sugar.

Kettle Glazed is a classic donut shop that debuted in a strip mall by the 101 back in 2013. Sami Anz’s modern glass-fronted space features pastel green tiles, wood panels, and black tables with orange stools. The case houses trendy cronuts and cruffins, plus more traditional raised donuts like vanilla bean and glazed chocolate with crushed peanuts. Fun filled flavors include lemon curd, PB&J, and S’mores, which is plugged with marshmallow and plumed with Graham crackers.

The fourth culinary establishment from pastry chef Zoe Nathan and her restaurateur husband Josh Loeb incorporates the name of their son and features plenty of tantalizing baked goods on their countertop. Milo & Olive’s Old Fashioned Glazed Doughnut is a substantial ring with a glaze that touts light vanilla flecking. The texture has good bounce without veering into chewy territory.

The iconic giant donut sign has been a sweet beacon to millions of people who have driven by Randy’s Donuts traveling to or from LAX. Celebrating its 70th anniversary in 2023, the original Randy's in Inglewood has since expanded to locations in El Segundo, Burbank, Pasadena, Santa Monica, Torrance, and even internationally to South Korea, the Philippines and Saudi Arabia.

Besides the Classic Selections, Randy's offers Deluxe options like Pink Raised with Sprinkles; Glazed, Chocolate and Lemon Old Fashioneds; Long Johns and Crullers. Get "Fancy" with Fruit Filleds; Coconut, Roasted Coconut, and Butter Crumb Raised; Apple Fritter, Bear Claw and Crondys. Premiums include Matcha Tea Raised, Bacon Maple Long John and Red Velvet with Ganache.

Republique, the Cal-French brasserie from Walter Manzke and pastry chef/wife Margarita Manzke, may be the most versatile restaurant in the city. By night, they serve impressive seasonal plates in a space that could double as a culinary church. By day, Margarita fills a sprawling pastry case. Donuts are always a part of her repertoire. Bombolini, Italian donut balls, come in flames like crème brulee with custard, banana salted caramel, filled with jam, or coated in simple sugar. Raised donut rings are coated in glazes like sweet honey vanilla or citrus with Meyer lemon, orange and grapefruit.

Sidecar Doughnuts is a Costa Mesa sensation from chef Brooke Desprez and business partners Chi-lin Pendergrast and husband Sumter. In 2015, they expanded their seasonal, market-driven vision to Santa Monica, pairing Stumptown coffee bar with wildly imaginative doughnuts. A Manhattan Beach location opened in November 2021.

Modern classics include huckleberry cake donuts, butter and salt cake donuts, and buttermilk nutmeg drops dipped in vanilla bean glaze. Adherents also look forward to monthly flavors. For instance, November features a pumpkin spice cake doughnut, topped with house made pumpkin glaze and a cheesecake drizzle.

Step inside The Sycamore Kitchen at your peril. This industrial chic café on a fashionable stretch of La Brea Avenue greets customers with a counter that’s practically overflowing with tempting baked goods. Chef/co-owner Karen Hatfield is the responsible party. She usually showcases pillowy raised donuts on a pedestal, which is where they belong. Flavors might include chocolate glazed, brown butter coconut, or rosemary caramel. The latter straddles the line between sweet and savory with cascading glaze, a sprinkle of sea salt and aromatic herbs.

Danny Trejo, the legendary badass from movies like Machete and From Dusk Till Dawn jumped feet first into the food world with Trejo’s Tacos. He and partners Ash Shah and Jeff Georgino quickly expanded to donuts and coffee at a bright pink space on a prime Hollywood corner. Pastry chef Dianne Crame created all of the donut recipes, many with creative Latin flavors.

Favorites include the best-selling Abuelita (dark chocolate glaze with chocolate crumbles), Lowrider (raised donut tossed in cinnamon sugar), Margarita (lime glaze, lime zest, maldon salt) and the seasonal Mangonada with Chile Mango glaze, tajin and candied tamarind.

Kenneth “Cat Daddy” Pogson and Tres Shannon built one of the most divisive donut brands in the U.S., with kitschy offerings shaped like voodoo dolls and pentagrams topped with ingredients like breakfast cereal and crushed candy bars. They’ve also helped to popularize the now ubiquitous maple bacon combo and brought levity to plenty of other rings and bars. That freewheeling approach has propelled the duo’s concept beyond Portland to cities like Austin, Denver, and to start 2016, Universal City. A voodoo priest with a top hat and cane greets customers at the Universal CityWalk location with over 60 types of donuts, a Stumptown Coffee bar, and velvet Harry Dean Stanton painting. Their signature Hollywood Cream involves a maple glaze, Bavarian cream, and edible sunglasses. Grape Ape is a supple raised donut with vanilla frosting, grape dust and lavender sprinkles. They also have old fashioned donuts and crullers, but why bother?