Craving a delicious donut? Whether it’s a original fluffy glazed or a creative take on the classic treat, there’s no shortage of options when it comes to local doughnut (donut) spots. We’ve got you covered. After some thorough taste-testing, here’s our list of the best doughnuts in Vancouver.
The Best Doughnuts (Donuts) in Vancouver
Honey Doughnuts and Goodies
Location: 4373 Gallant Avenue, North Vancouver
Website: honeydoughnuts.com
This Deep Cove bakery is another longtime producer of some of Vancouver’s best doughnuts. Since 1996, Honey has been serving up their signature cruller style saturated cake doughnuts. These are best enjoyed still warm so stop by Honey earlier rather than later in the day. The elite move is to pre-order your doughnuts, do a hike like Quarry Rock, then pick up some fresh doughnuts after to enjoy. With a more narrow range of flavours, and by focussing on just one style, Honey has finely tuned their menu of beloved favourites. You can try Classic Honey, Coconut Cinnamon Sugar, or the Maple Bacon if you’re feeling decadent.
Cream Pony
Location: 111 1st St East, North Vancouver
Website: creampony.ca
Cream Pony is another North Vancouver-based doughnuts shop, but construction is underway for their second location in Mount Pleasant which is due to open this fall. Get updates on upcoming pop-up dates via their Instagram. As well as offering a range of delectable doughnuts, Cream Pony also sells their signature Southern fried chicken. In fact, you can even get the two main menu items combined in one crazy sandwich: the Glazer — a fried chicken sandwich with a glazed doughnuts for a bun.
mello
Location: 223 E Pender St
Website: mellovancouver.com
mello is baking some of the softest and sweetest brioche doughnuts. Their Gastown location is as bright and cheerful as the rest of their branding. Choosing a brioche style means committing to a 2-day process of mixing, proofing, cutting, rolling, frying, and cooling before the mello doughnuts can finally be filled. All of the mello doughnuts are with different creams, curds, custards, or puddings.
Lee’s Donuts
Location: Multiple locations across Greater Vancouver
Website: leesdonuts.ca
This mom and pop donut shop blew up after a certain Canadian celebrity stoner shouted them out as the perfect breakfast. In fact, Chef Dave Chang, who Seth Rogen toured around Vancouver in the first episode of Netflix’s Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner, calls the Lee’s jelly donut “the perfect food.” While Lee’s usually has a line at their Granville Island Market location, it moves fast. Plus, over their forty years of operations, they’ve now grown to have locations across Greater Vancouver including Gastown, Metrotown, Steveston, Tsawwassen, and Brentwood.
Duffin’s Donuts
Location: 1391 E 41st Ave
Website: duffinsdonuts.ca
For over forty years, Duffin’s Donuts has been serving, you guessed it, donuts. Duffin’s is especially of note because of their nostalgically low prices, with a regular doughnut costing just $2. Fans of Duffin’s know that while the name clearly advertises the sweet treat that they do very well, their menu also includes a range of savoury items like their delicious Tortas. Like Cream Pony, they also sell fried chicken as well as burgers and hot dogs. They’ve also got the longest hours of anyone else on this list. Duffin’s is open from 6am to 12am on most days, and is open 24 hours on Saturdays and Sundays.
Oohlala Donuts
Location: 1818 W 4th Ave
Website: oohlaladonuts.com
This small-batch bakery first started in Tofino and now calls Kitsilano home. Oohlala’s menu of 35+ rotating flavours is impressive, especially when you consider that they mix glazes and frostings by hand. With creative options like Creamsicle, Lavender, Key Lime Pie, and the Nanaimo Donut (inspired by the famous bar) your tastebuds will be tickled.
Lucky’s Doughnuts by 49th Parallel
Location: Multiple locations in Vancouver
Website: luckysdoughnuts.com
Coffee and donuts are one of the truly perfect pairing so it only makes sense for a coffee roaster to get into the doughnut game. When 49th Parallel was preparing to open their Main Street location in 2012, they created a new, in-house donut brand and Lucky’s was born. Lucky’s does a great old fashioned cake-style donut as well as an excellent Apple Bacon Fritter.
Neate Donuts
Location: 1066 W Hastings St
Website: jjbeancoffee.com/pages/neate-donuts
Neate is another example of a donut bakery baby born of a coffee company. This new endeavour just launched this spring with Neate Donuts opening their pink-hued new space at 1066 W Hastings Street. The menu is made up of Daily Standards like Chocolate Glazed, Seasonal Flavours like the Mango Coconut, as well as the sweet and savoury Benny & the Donut, which has an entire poached egg and smoked meat with hollandaise sauce wrapped in malasada dough.
Doughnut Love
Location: 107-1655 Como Lake Ave, Coquitlam
Website: doughnutlove.ca
This gourmet doughnut shop, owned by a husband and wife team, is based in Coquitlam. Every month, Clint & Kathy Hiles change the menu to suit the season which means there’s always something new to try. Currently, their monthly flavours include Peach Cobbler, Root Beer Float, a Cinnamon Glazed Twist, as well as a Blueberry Pie stuffed donut.
