The Best Donut Shops in LA

Just as delicious as they are Instagrammable, Colorado Donuts are known for creative hybrid pastries like cronuts, donut cakes, and ice cream and ube donuts that come in an assortment of flavors ranging from Nutella Banana to Fruity Pebble to just about every popular candy bar you can imagine alongside more traditional flavors like apple fritter and maple bacon. They also specialize in lettered donuts that act as great alternatives to a birthday cake. All of their rings are made in the shop daily—if you have trouble choosing from the abundance of options, opt for whatever’s fresh out of the oven. 
How to order: Pickup or delivery via UberEats, Postmates, and GrubHub.

Husband and wife Ralph and Celia Primo founded their namesake donut shop on Sawtelle in 1956, and now it’s a family-run business spanning three generations. With a crisp exterior that yields to a soft, fluffy interior, their freshly made donuts—from beloved buttermilk bars to pillowy cinnamon treats—have stood the test of time. And if you don’t feel like having a whole ring, their donut bites offer a just-right mouthful of euphoric sweetness. Ensuring Westwood still gets its mom-and-pop donut fix, Primo’s will soon expand to take over the space of former friendly competitor Stan’s Donuts, which closed last year in part due to COVID-19.
How to order: Pickup and delivery through DoorDash.

This Hawaiian import launched a Mitsuwa pop-up a couple years ago, and to the relief of many a mochi-donut lover, it’s now a permanent fixture. Best eaten straight away while still warm, their freshly fried treats are glazed in four daily flavors (black sesame, cookies and cream, strawberry, and pandan) and two rotating flavors (anything from milk tea to yuzu). Where your regular donut is airy or flurry, the use of stretchy glutinous rice affords MoDo’s donuts more bite and a superior springy texture. Pre-pandemic, customers were willing to wait in long lines, but MoDo now offers online orders as well.
How to order: Walk-ins welcome or place your order online.

It’s hard to go wrong when your restaurant concept revolves around two ridiculously crave-worthy foods: artisanal donuts and free-range fried chicken. Birdies elevates both, using locally sourced ingredients to create crowd-pleasing lemon thyme pistachio pastries and delectable horchata twists. Whether you’re into the fluffy, chewy texture of yeast donuts or the denser cake variety, Birdies has you covered (in addition to a bomb fried chicken sandwich if you’ve got room).
How to order: Pickup or delivery via Caviar, Postmates, UberEats, and DoorDash.

Remember when we said Los Angeles is a kale-and-green-juice paradise? Well, fōnuts may not be a health food spot, but it offers the closest to a healthyish donut you’ll find in LA. That’s because they serve gluten-free, almond-flour donuts that are baked, not fried, and made with natural ingredients. Rather than yielding dried-out desserts, their baking process miraculously produces moist morsels with a slightly chewy, cakey texture. Glazed strawberry shortcake and blueberry earl grey are favorites, but they have several vegan options—like a particularly fluffy lemon ‘nut that beautifully balances tart and sweet.
How to order: Order on their website for pickup; delivery via Postmates and Grubhub.

Danny Trejo and donuts? Somehow, it just works. The actor added this spot to his restaurant portfolio a few years back, and since then, they’ve been small-batch-frying everything from the churro-channeling Lowrider (a fluffy, cinnamon-sugar-dusted cloud) to the popular Margarita (a soft, scrumptious confection glazed with lime and flecked with Maldon salt). And don’t sleep on the coffee either—the Mexican cortado or the cochata (both of which are made with horchata) hit the spot here.
How to order: Pickup and delivery via Chownow and Postmates.

Portuguese malasadas and mochi donuts are the star of the show at this spot, which has branches in Pasadena, Monterey Park, and soon, Melrose. Dot & Dough’s invented its own take on the former—infusing each sugar-encrusted puff with flavored custards like matcha, taro, and Thai tea. Meanwhile, the latter offers chewy buoyancy in each satisfying bite—all in interesting flavors like Hokkaido milk tea and strawberry Pocky.
How to order: Pickup and delivery via Grubhub, UberEats, and Postmates.

Although the pandemic forced this donut empire to close several locations in their native Portland, all three Los Angeles outposts—Venice, Manhattan Beach, and Silver Lake—are going strong. And it’s no wonder: the dough for their raised-yeast donuts, made from a special French brioche recipe using European-style butter, requires 18 hours to prepare by hand. Meanwhile, glazes and fillings are made fresh throughout the day using fresh fruits, herbs, and spices—so flavors range from heavenly matcha accented with a kick of lime to raspberry with notes of fresh rosemary and hibiscus.
How to order: Place pickup orders on their website or delivery via Doordash, Postmates, and UberEats.

Since 2004, Teresa Ngo has run this old-school shop, which is pretty much the last thing worth stopping for before climbing into the Santa Monica Mountains. Born in Paris, which meant she spent half her life eating across Europe, Ngo brings a connoisseur’s POV to fried dough—constantly seeking out premium ingredients and dreaming up innovations. With her dad, who makes donuts nightly and manages the baking crew, she’s perfected a stunning assortment. They execute classics perfectly—like magically chewy raised donuts, crispy crullers, and deluxe cinnamon rolls as big as your face. But if you’re looking for a jelly-filled delight decorated like a unicorn or a Little Mermaid-inspired treat that tastes as good as it looks, Blinkie’s is an expert in creative, custom confections. Plus, their out-there flavors—like mango tajin, horchata, and salted caramel—are a hit with celebs, so don’t be surprised if you spot a famous face!
How to order: Walk-ins accepted for takeout and delivery via UberEats.

Each year (even a pandemic year!), people patiently wait in line for Donut Man’s ultra-fresh, fruit-filled donuts, which— depending on the season—could see whole strawberries or peach chunks spill out of a sliced, hole-free glazed donut. Oh, and even when these fruit flavors aren’t available, The Donut Man is still worth visiting; its crullers are especially good, as are the Tiger Tails, which are raised, glazed twists with cinnamon stripes.
How to order: Pickup or delivery via Doordash, Grubhub, Seamless, and Caviar.

This neo-retro donut shop may turn out on-trend variations like cronut-inspired concoctions, but the truth is, the best thing it does is much more classically inspired, including a glazed vanilla bean, glazed chocolate with crushed peanuts, and lemon squares with lemon curd filling and powdered sugar stenciled in a checkerboard pattern.
How to order: Pickup and delivery via Postmates.

Opened in 1981 by Cambodian refugees who survived the Khmer Rouge genocide, this family-owned, strip-mall mainstay is a wild success story. Although they make 120 different types of donuts, DK’s is arguably most famous for staying on top of its donut-trend game: their croissant/donut hybrid is legendary, and their waffle donuts take the best of both worlds by deep-frying a waffle (made from a combo of waffle and donut batter) and giving it an array of donut treatments, like sprinkles or a glaze. Owner Mayly Tao, the daughter of the original founders, continues to create show-stopping flavors—from ube and lychee to hot Cheeto and Samoa Girl Scout cookies.
How to order: Place orders online for pickup or delivery via UberEats, Grubhub, Caviar, DoorDash, and Postmates.

Curing the hunger pangs of many late-night LA sweet freaks is this no-frills shop, which has been run by the same family for multiple generations. Over the years, their menu’s grown to encompass a dizzying array of flavors—from the classics (sprinkle cake or cinnamon crumb) to specialty (maple bacon or dulce de leche) to seasonal (which, right now, includes the decadent-sounding, deep-fried Oreo or cookie butter crunch). But the best move is to ask for what’s fresh: there’s always something warm about to come out of the oven. Just cross your fingers it’s the apple fritter.
How to order: Call 323-935-2409 for pickup or delivery via Postmates, UberEats, and Grubhub.

Sidecar churns out some of the city’s best donuts at their Santa Monica, Torrance, and just-opened Fairfax outposts. Made in small batches throughout the day (so you’re almost always guaranteed a fresh-out-of-the-fryer pastry), their donuts boast a perfect crustiness that hides an exceptionally moist interior. In short, they’re superlative. Although their cult-favorite cake donuts include an outstanding sweet-meets-spicy Saigon cinnamon crumb, as well as a moist huckleberry that’s filled with freshly foraged fruit, you’d be remiss not to indulge in Sidecar’s famous butter and salt—a rich, tender, vanilla-y concoction smothered in brown butter glaze with a touch of fleur del sel. In the mood for savory? If you’re lucky, you’ll catch Sidecar’s eggs Benedict donut—the lovechild of a breakfast sammie and malasada stuffed with poached egg, country ham, and homemade basil hollandaise.
How to order: Order on their website by selecting the appropriate location and pickup via Toast.

Getting a donut at Bob’s is like hanging out with an old friend you forgot you loved hanging out with. This old-school front at the Original Farmers Market has been the definition of tradition since opening in 1947. Since then, not much has changed; they’re still churning out great coffee designed to complement freshly made, classic donuts with perfect glazes and just the right amount of sprinkles. And their massive cinnamon rolls? Legendary.
How to order: Walk-ins accepted or call 323-933-8929 or walk in for takeout.

Look, you’re gonna want a photo with Randy’s iconic, massive-donut sign (as seen in Annie Hall and many other films and TV shows). But then you should eat one of their hearty buttermilk donuts, which—with a coating of melt-in-your-mouth glaze and a texture that manages to be both fluffy and dense—will make you realize the truth: THEY ARE SO MUCH MORE THAN THIS MASSIVE DONUT SIGN. Although they’ve expanded to several other outposts in LA—including El Segundo, Torrance, Downey, Pasadena, and soon, Santa Monica—their original Inglewood location is where the recognizable dessert-shaped landmark lives.
How to order: Walk-ins accepted at all locations and pickup and delivery is available via Caviar, DoorDash, Seamless, Postmates, UberEats, and Grubhub.

This sandwich shop with the striped awning is just around the corner from always-kooky Venice Beach, which is mayhem in summer, but worth braving not just for its superlative sandwiches (Mr. Electric FTW!), but also its mini donuts. Fried to order, the bite-sized bombs can be glazed (pro-tip: go with maple bacon, which is topped with the same rich, fatty bacon used in their sandwiches) or dusted with cinnamon sugar (making them kind of like churros in donut form). 
How to order: Pickup and delivery via ChowNow.