Best Instagram Worthy Donuts Restaurants in Los Angeles
17 hand-picked restaurants, critic-reviewed and ranked
Last Updated: February 2026
Our Top Pick
Sidecar Doughnuts & Coffee
World's freshest doughnuts made hourly in small batches.
Essential Picks
9.1
Vibes:
Instagram Worthy Wonders
Sidecar fries small batches of artisanal doughnuts hourly using seasonal ingredients and house-made glazes, compotes, and creams. Their butter and salt cake donut has achieved cult status among LA's donut aficionados, while the huckleberry special draws lines of devoted customers.
Must-Try Dishes:
Butter & Salt Cake Donut, Huckleberry Donut, Maple Bacon Raised
What Makes it Special: World's freshest doughnuts made hourly in small batches.
Notable Picks
#2
Donut Friend
8.8
Donut Friend’s DTLA shop spins out all-vegan donuts with playful, music-referencing names and dense, satisfying crumb. Locals treat it as both a dessert stop and a coffee break, especially when they want inventive toppings without sacrificing that classic donut comfort.
Must-Try Dishes:
Polar Berry Club donut, Angry Samoa donut, Apple fritter
What Makes it Special: All-vegan donuts with creative, music-inspired builds and bold flavors.
8.7
Kettle Glazed is a Franklin Avenue staple known for specialty flavors and cronut-style hybrids served from a tiny shop off the 101. Regulars come for creative rings like ube cake and s’mores alongside well-executed classics and strong coffee, making it a frequent stop for locals and commuters.
Must-Try Dishes:
Apple Fritter, Lemon-Glazed Raspberry Jelly Donut, Ube Cake Donut
What Makes it Special: Specialty doughnuts and hybrids anchor a compact, constantly busy shop.
8.6
California-based artisan doughnut shop making small-batch creations hourly with high-quality ingredients and creative seasonal flavors. Known for their huckleberry doughnut and brioche-based varieties that balance indulgence with refined technique. The bright, modern space attracts a steady crowd willing to pay premium prices for gourmet doughnuts.
Must-Try Dishes:
Huckleberry Doughnut, Butter & Salt, Saigon Cinnamon Crumb
What Makes it Special: Small-batch artisan doughnuts made fresh hourly with seasonal ingredients
8.6
Voodoo Doughnut’s Melrose shop brings the Portland-born brand’s wild, flavor-driven doughnuts to a late-night stretch of 90046. Locals and visitors come for boxes of Bacon Maple Bars, Apple Fritters, and vegan options in a playful, neon-accented space that feels more like a candy store than a bakery.
Must-Try Dishes:
Bacon Maple Bar, Apple Fritter, Grape Ape
What Makes it Special: Over-the-top signature flavors and vegan options in a high-energy, late-night doughnut shop.
8.4
Korean-style cream donuts served from a bright pink stall inside Rodeo Galleria mall, filled generously with house-made custards and fresh fruit creams. The signature crème brûlée features a torched sugar crust over velvety custard filling, while specialty flavors like black sesame with red bean mochi showcase authentic Asian ingredients.
Must-Try Dishes:
Crème Brûlée Donut, Blueberry Milk Cream, Misugaru (Multi-Grain)
What Makes it Special: Premium Korean cream donuts with quality-controlled daily batches that sell out early
8.4
At Fairfax and 3rd, Sidecar brings a modern, chef-y spin to donuts with seasonal flavors fried in small batches throughout the day. Guests line up for brioche-style rings, rotating vegan options, and carefully pulled espresso in a sleek, café-style space steps from The Grove and Farmers Market.
Must-Try Dishes:
Huckleberry glazed donut, Butter & Salt donut, Maple bacon donut
What Makes it Special: Elevated, small-batch donuts with rotating seasonal flavors and strong coffee.
#8
Virtu Coffee
8.4
Across from the Pico station in South Park, Virtu is a design-forward coffee bar that pairs specialty drinks with a small but thoughtful lineup of pastries and donuts. Local art, hip-hop touches, and a relaxed work-friendly vibe make it a popular stop before games and concerts nearby.
Must-Try Dishes:
Ham & Gruyère Croissant, Chocolate Croissant, Iced Mocha Latte
What Makes it Special: Art-forward South Park café with specialty coffee and refined pastries.
8.3
A newer Ave 40 specialty shop bringing more playful, decorated donuts into the ZIP without losing the fundamentals—good fry, clean sweetness, and soft textures. The menu rotates through bright flavors and fun shapes, and the vibe feels distinctly modern compared to the old-guard counters nearby. Great when you want your donut craving to feel a little more like dessert.
Must-Try Dishes:
Cookies & cream donut, Raspberry glazed ring, Chocolate old-fashioned
What Makes it Special: Modern, flavor-forward donuts in a fresh neighborhood shop.
8.2
A specialty coffee bar inside ROW DTLA that also turns out some of the area’s most distinctive donuts, especially their green tea and cereal-topped styles. It’s a polished, airy stop that pairs thoughtfully brewed coffee with dessert-leaning donuts made for lingering.
Must-Try Dishes:
Green tea (matcha) donut, Cinnamon Toast Crunch donut, Vietnamese iced coffee + donut pairing
What Makes it Special: Coffee-and-donut culture with standout matcha-driven pastries.
8.2
An airy, all-day bakery-café known for naturally leavened breads and polished viennoiserie with a light California touch. The menu reads simple, but execution stays sharp across breakfast pastries, toasts, and seasonal specials.
Must-Try Dishes:
Country sourdough loaf, Ham & cheese croissant, Seasonal fruit danish
What Makes it Special: Artisan bread program anchored by strong daily pastry execution.
8.2
Hawaiian-inspired taro donuts fried to order in coconut oil bring a dense, cake-like texture with tropical glazes that rotate weekly. The made-to-order approach means each donut arrives hot, though the smaller size and premium price point may surprise first-timers.
Must-Try Dishes:
Original Taro Donut, Hail Mary, Chaga Chai
What Makes it Special: Hawaii's taro donut tradition brought to Santa Monica with made-to-order preparation
8.1
Vibes:
Cheap Eats Budget Brilliance
Sweet Treats Escapes
Instagram Worthy Wonders
Quick Bites Champions
The Hollywood Boulevard outpost of California Donuts leans into fun, candy-topped rings and cereal-covered creations that photograph as well as they taste. It’s a go-to for themed boxes, late-day sugar cravings, and quick coffee-and-donut stops near the studio stretch.
Must-Try Dishes:
Reese’s Donut, Maple Bar, Fruity Pebbles Cereal Donut
What Makes it Special: Colorful, candy-loaded donuts and birthday boxes right on Hollywood Boulevard.
8
A Hawaii-transplant donut shop built around a single technique — taro dough steamed and pounded like poi, then fried to order — that produces a dense, chewy texture you won't find at conventional donut spots. The menu leans tropical with passionfruit-guava and pandan flavors alongside island-style chocolate drinks, making it a deliberate detour rather than a grab-and-go stop. Street parking on Larchmont is the only option and gets competitive on weekends, so weekday mornings are the move.
Must-Try Dishes:
Taro Donut, POG (Passionfruit, Orange, Guava), Pandan Paradise
What Makes it Special: Hawaii-born shop making the world's original taro donut — plant-based dough steamed and pounded like poi, then fried fresh to order.
Worthy Picks
#15
Don Us Company
7.9
A newer arrival on Hollywood Boulevard, Don Us Company brings a Latin American donut chain’s signature style to the Walk of Fame with filled rings, elaborate boxes, and ice cream donut creations. The shop skews more modern café than classic bakery, with grab-and-go packs and delivery-friendly formats.
Must-Try Dishes:
Classic Donuts Mix (Buy 6 Pay 5), Half Dozen Filled Donuts, Ice Cream Donut Sandwich
What Makes it Special: International donut brand serving over-the-top boxes and ice cream donuts.
7.8
Danny Trejo's donut shop layers Mexican-American flavors—horchata glaze, margarita icing, nacho with cheddar and jalapeño—onto LA's deep donut-shop tradition, giving a familiar format a specific cultural lane. It runs as a quiet, low-key counter-service stop where the creative flavor combinations do the talking. Works best as a grab-and-go detour when you want something sweet with actual personality.
Must-Try Dishes:
Margarita, Horchata, Pineapple Fritter
What Makes it Special: Danny Trejo's donut shop puts a Latino spin on LA donut culture with Mexican-inspired flavors like horchata, margarita, and nacho with cheddar and jalapeño.
#17
Donut Snob
7.7
A raised-donut specialist in the Arts District that builds each batch around inventive flavor pairings—torched marshmallow over milk chocolate, orange zest glaze on maple bacon—rather than standard glazed-and-sprinkled options. The small-batch format keeps the lineup tight and the textures dialed, drawing design-district foot traffic looking for a deliberate pastry stop over a quick sugar fix.
Must-Try Dishes:
Campfire, Razzy Lemon Lulu, The Oinker
What Makes it Special: Small-batch raised donuts handcrafted with off-the-wall flavor combinations like milk chocolate with torched marshmallow and maple bacon with orange zest glaze.