LDNGuide
The 9 Best Doughnuts In London
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
Whether you love doughnuts because they’re the ultimate vehicle for sprinkles or due to a somewhat misguided understanding of The Lion King’s Circle of Life, there’s no denying that these bready sweet treats rank among the best sugar highs around. London has a lot of good doughnut options but this guide is dedicated to the ones that will make you say something heartfelt and truly profound like, ‘doughnuts are the fucking GOAT’.
THE DOUGHNUTS
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
Order this: Two words: hot doughnuts.
After visiting The Treats Club, a dessert spot in Shoreditch, a klaxon was sounded in our WhatsApp groups with the words: HOT DOUGHNUTS. This small, pink-accented space is basic but it’s worth sitting in to enjoy the doughnuts straight from the kitchen. While the filled doughnuts plucked from a tray are excellent, it’s the fried-to-order, glazed ring ones you should get. The crisp, golden exterior gives way to pillow-soft, warm dough, and the shiny glaze hugs the top. The doughnut itself isn’t sweet, allowing the glaze’s flavours to sing. The pistachio and white chocolate is a standout, balancing savoury nuttiness and sweet chocolate.
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
Order this: The best raspberry jam doughnut in London.
A lockdown creation—hence the name—Lockdown Bakehouse was started by two hospitality professionals providing supplies to their local community and NHS workers. It turned into a small bakery, then a pop-up cafe. And since then, this Wandsworth bakery has been our go-to for a 10/10 raspberry jam doughnut. Operating from a small, out-of-the-way spot surrounded by warehouse-like buildings, it's more of a grab-and-go situation but be warned, the doughnuts sell out quickly. You can try your luck at their second Barnes location, or order some of their doughnuts online if Wandsworth feels like a mission.
Order this: This caramel and honeycomb number.
We were in love once. The world was bright, the sun was shining, our hearts were full of possibility. Yes, we were in love—for exactly five minutes and 20 seconds, which was the time it took to eat Bread Ahead’s caramel and honeycomb doughnut. An achingly sweet creation that looks like it was designed by Zaha Hadid in the middle of a sugar high, it has the power to mentally transport you to a world where you just roll around in icing sugar all day. This Borough Market bakery also has flavours like lemon meringue, hazelnut praline, and the ultimate dessert collaboration we’ve all been waiting for, a carrot cake doughnut.
Order this: The strawberry jam classic.
St. John’s doughnuts are the Chanel suit of the London doughnut world. Both are intrinsically classy and will never go out of style. When it comes to fillings, this Covent Garden bakery—tied to the legendary British restaurant of the same name—has got you covered with chocolate, vanilla custard, and our, personal favourite, strawberry jam. Because we all know that you can’t beat a classic. You can also find the top-tier doughnuts on the counter at their Spitalfields restaurant, and at their bakeries in Borough and on Druid Street.
Order this: The peanut butter and blackcurrant compote creation.
We’re not sociologists, but someone really should be studying how a human being can have the exact same response to WAP played at full volume and their first bite of this nutty fruity doughnut. Packed full of blackcurrant compote with a roasted peanut butter glaze, it’s a fun take on the American peanut butter and jelly sandwich, except in extra sweet, sourdough doughnut form. You can find this texture party at several Crosstown dessert bars across London, including in London Bridge, Hammersmith, Greenwich, Soho, and Shoreditch. Be sure to always keep an eye out for their creative seasonal specials too.
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
Order this: Yes, it’s another raspberry jam doughnut—just trust us.
We love this airy Victoria bakery for the merguez and aioli-topped flatbreads, and the conservatory out back that makes it feel like summer all year-round. But one of our favourite things about Chestnut Bakery, and the reason we always pop in if we’re in the area, is for the freshly made doughnuts. Our favourite is the raspberry jam—it’s got fluffy, golden dough, is covered in plenty of sugar, and is generously filled with a rich, tangy jam.
Order this: The Oreo cheesecake crodough.
If we ever win the lottery or somehow manage to worm our way into Rami Malek’s heart and hightail it out of London for a life of LA sunshine, one of the things we’d miss the most about this city is the charming, cheery little bakeries. Rinkoffs is one of London’s great little old-school bakeries and has been around since 1911. They serve all of the sweet British classics like chelsea buns, victoria sponge cake, and fruit scones, but they’ve also jumped on the crodough game. Part-doughnut, part-croissant, they usually sell out quickly. But if you’re lucky enough to get your hands on the creamy yet crunchy Oreo cheesecake one, we salute you.
Order this: The sweet bad.
Everyone deserves to have a bakery as good as Uncle John’s on their road. Technically, this Ghanaian bakery in South Tottenham is on everybody’s road now, thanks to the internet and their nationwide delivery. Aside from their majestic sweet bread and addictive servings of chin chin, their sweet bads, miniature fried coconut doughnuts, are our favourite thing here. After months of dedicated practice, our preferred method of eating them is by steadily picking off the sweet, crispy outside, and then rolling the soft, doughy innards into a squidgy little ball while lying horizontally. We like to call this behaviour ‘self-care’.
Order this: The Biscoff buttercream ‘David Hasselhoff’ doughnut.
In our humble opinion, the time for doughnuts is 10-past right now. Especially when you’re getting involved in doughnuts covered in Kinder Bueno, a whipped Snickers mousse, and Jammy Dodgers. This Australian mini-chain has been in London for a hot minute now and has several spots across the city, but what you really need to know is that Doughnut Time specialises in fun XXL doughnut creations. We’re eternal fans of the superb simplicity that is the Lotus biscuit, so our go-to order is the Biscoff spread ‘David Hasselhoff’. Expect chocolate drizzle, a crisp caramel glaze, and plenty of crunch-factor from the Lotus biscuits.
