I am a born and raised Angeleno and that means growing up with plenty of donuts on hand every weekend so donuts are close to my LA heart! I wanted to round up my favorite donut places around town especially since Los Angeles is the donut capital of America, did you know that?! Apparently that came to be in the 1970s when Cambodian refugees, coming to America, were mentored by Ted Ngoy, a Cambodian immigrant, who taught them how to run their own donut shops in order to learn a profitable trade to sustain them and their new life in America. Here’s an interesting article on how Los Angeles became the donut capital of America!
Donuts around Los Angeles are iconic! I mean, you’ve probably seen Randy’s donuts famous gigantic donut in so many movies and TV shows! In an homage to donuts and Los Angeles, here are my 5 favorite donut shops around town (in no particular order):
PRIMO’S DONUTS – THE CLASSIC LA DONUT SHOP
I definitely have to start with the quintessential, classic Los Angeles Donut shop – Primo’s donuts has been a staple in the West LA area (where I grew up) since 1956! Literally a mom and pop shop, I was able to meet the owners of Primo’s a few years ago and they have owned Primo’s for over 60 years! Ralph and Celia Primo still greet guests every day and I even found out that me and Celia went to the same High School (shout out to St. Monica’s Catholic High School!). The donuts here speak for themselves. They are absolutely delicious and I’ve never had a better buttermilk glazed donut anywhere else!
Primo’s Donuts
2918 Sawtelle Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90064
HOURS
Mon-Fri 5:30am to 4:00pm
Sat 6:00am to 3:00pm
Sun 7:00am to 1:00pm
THE DONUT MAN – A ROUTE 66 GEM
Sitting on iconic Route 66, the Donut Man is everything amazing about California produce. They are known for their seasonal stuffed donuts and I get so excited during strawberry season when their famous strawberry donut is in abundance. I’m talking huge, delicious, California strawberries smothered in a sweet glaze and stuffed in a perfectly soft and pillowy raised donut. The strawberries are so huge that the donuts can hardly contain them! Keeping with their seasonal traditions, once late summer comes around, they retire their strawberry donut and bring out their stuffed peach donuts. The Donut Man is a little bit of a road trip outside of the city of Los Angeles in the city of Glendora. It is definitely worth the drive!
The Donut Man
915 E. Route 66
Glendora, CA, 91740
HOURS
Open 24/7 (except on major holidays)
SPUDNUTS – THE INSTAGRAM WORTHY DONUT
I am absolutely loving the cute donut trend happening in Los Angeles right now and Spudnuts is definitely ahead of the pack when it comes to donut cuteness! Located in Canoga Park and Newbury Park, they are just beyond the LA valley but their cute unicorn and panda donuts will make the trek worth while. Another fun fact about spud nuts is that they are made with potato flour which makes them extra fluffy. They are definitely a delicious and Instagram worthy donut shop!
Spudnuts
Canoga Park
8225 Topanga Cyn Blvd.
Canoga Park, CA 91304
Hours: Open Daily 5 am to 10pm
Newbury Park
3303 Kimber Dr.
Newbury Park, CA 91320
Hours:
M-F: 1am – 8pm
Sat: 1am – 5pm
Sun: 1am – 3pm
SIDECAR DOUGHNUTS – THE GOURMET DONUT
Though they originally hail from Orange County, CA in Costa Mesa, I’m so happy that Sidecar Doughnuts made their way up north to LA County! Sidecar Doughnuts are some of the most delicious and fresh doughnuts I’ve ever had! They literally have a “commitment to freshness!” Apparently they make all their donuts in small batches everyday, so you won’t have a donut from there that’s been sitting out for hours! They have the basic flavors they make every day like butter & salt and an old fashioned though they are definitely not “basic.” They also have savory donuts like their basil eggs benedict as well as seasonal monthly donuts. This month of June they have a malted salted chocolate chip cookie dough doughnut and a strawberry buttermilk! Yum! I’m even more excited that they are coming soon to my hometown of Torrance, CA! YAY! Sidecar Doughnuts has a location in Santa Monica, Orange County and San Diego with a Torrance location coming soon in 2019!
Sidecar Doughnuts
Santa Monica
631 Wilshire Blvd,
Santa Monica, CA 90401
Open daily at 6:30am
Monday – Thursday ’till 5:00pm
Friday & Saturday ’till 9:00pm
Sunday ’till 6:00pm
Costa Mesa
270 E. 17th St., #18
Costa Mesa, California 92627
Open daily at 6:30am
Monday – Thursday ’till 6:00pm
Friday & Saturday ’till 9:00pm
Sunday ’till 6:00pm
Del Mar
Del Mar Highlands Town Center
3435 Del Mar Heights Rd.
Suite D7
San Diego, CA 92130
Open daily at 6:30am
Monday – Thursday ’till 6:00pm
Friday & Saturday ’till 9:00pm
Sunday ’till 6:00pm
CRAFTED DONUTS – HUGE AND CUTE DONUTS
Last but not least on my list is a donut shop I can’t stop thinking about, Crafted Donuts! Though I’ve only been to their original Orange County location, they have now brought their huge and delicious donuts to Koreatown! I found Crafted Donuts while searching for the cutest rainbow donuts and found them here. As soon as I saw them I had to check out the place and I was in huge donut heaven. The donuts are much bigger than most places with lots of interesting flavors like pop tart, creme brulee, and cookie butter to name just a few. I can’t wait to visit them again!
Crafted Donuts
Koreatown
2959 Wilshire Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90010
Fountain Valley
18011 Newhope St
Fountain Valley, CA 92708
Thanks so much for reading though my top 5 donut shops in LA list! Let me know what your favorite donut shops are below in the comments! Also what are your favorite donuts to eat?!