Whether as a quick bite in busy morning, an afternoon snack, or a late-night guilty pleasure, a warm, crispy yet soft-centered donut is always right. As donut places are flourishing in Los Angeles, ranging from family owned, historical donut shops to hipsterish bakeries serving Stumptown coffee, you can taste a whole range of donuts – classic glazed, ice cream sandwiched, baked, and more. To help you guide through this wide world of donuts, here are some of the must-try donut places.
1. California Donuts
As you are nearing California Donuts, you will notice two things: one, a colorful range of donuts visible through the outside window display and two, a long line. I know it’s never fun to wait in lines, but at California Donuts, this waiting is actually very helpful because you will need plenty of time to make the best choice from the variety: Fruity pebbles, matcha green tea, Snickers, Reese’s and pretty much every other imaginable flavors and shapes.
3540 W 3rd St, Los Angeles, CA 90020
2. Sidecar Doughnuts and Coffee
Another reason to spend a sunny weekend day in Santa Monica is added as Sidecar Doughnuts opened a new location in Santa Monica. Without driving down to Costa Mesa, you can now enjoy their delectable cake donuts, which are made with fresh, seasonal ingredients. To make your experience at Sidecar even better, they collaborated with Stumptown to offer own signature blends, which go perfect with warm, soft donuts made fresh throughout the day.
631 Wilshire Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90401
3. Cofax
Cofax is an independent coffee shop located in Fairfax Village. At this Dodger’s themed coffeehouse, you can enjoy Stumptown espresso drinks, kombucha on draft, breakfast burritos, and handcrafted baked goods, which are taken over by a fantastic collection of donuts. Compartes Chocolate Chocolate is the star, but nearly all other baked donuts are also amazing. Seating isn’t the best at this place, but you won’t need so much time to finish your donut.
440 N Fairfax Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90036
4. S K’s Donuts & Croissants
SK Donuts is one of the best donut shops to try cronuts. They have multitude of unique cronut fillings, such as strawberry and Nutella, Oreo, fruits and cream, and coconut and taro. Yes. Buttery and airy cronuts at this cozy donut shop are really good. But their classic donuts are just phenomenal. Made fresh through the day and night, their donuts taste light and delightful in your mouth, making it hard to believe that they are deep fried donuts.
5850 W 3rd St, Los Angeles, CA 90036
5. (fōnuts)
Yay for guilty-free baked donuts! Donuts, or fonuts, at this hip bakery located in the corridor of West 3rd st. have everything SoCal people find in their diet – gluten-free, vegan, and non-fried. Unique varieties of donuts are made using different methods of steaming and baking at high heat to replicate the texture of a doughnut, without frying. Even if you don’t believe in healthy food being delicious, give them a shot. You won’t regret it.
8104 W 3rd St, Los Angeles, CA 90048
By Heewon Kim
