NYCGuide
The Best Doughnuts In NYC
From yeast and cake to mochi and vegan varieties, here's what to get when any old doughnut won't do.
While there aren't a ton of bad doughnuts out there, a few stand out among the rest. These are the doughnuts you think about eating late at night, right when you wake up, and all the hours in between while you're sleeping.
THE SPOTS
We wake up at least once a week thinking: “Doughnut Plant sounds good today.” The hefty yeast doughnuts, with their slightly dense, spongy, and chewy texture, made this place well-known. But don’t ignore their other types like the sourdough, cake, and mini filled ones. Some of our favorites are the coconut cream, tres leches, and the crème brûlée, which gets the brittle, somewhat bitter caramelized top layer just right. The savory cacio e pepe tastes like a bowl of pasta in fried dough form, and we’d rather have it to begin a meal over any dinner roll out there.
Yellow Rose may very well have the best flour tortillas in NYC. It’s hard enough for a place to do one thing really well, so it’s almost unfair (to all other restaurants) that they also do doughnuts just as well. You can only get them during brunch on the weekends, and they’re incredibly light and fluffy. The chocolate one actually tastes like dark chocolate (i.e., a little bitter), and the hominy sugar one is mostly savory with just a hint of sugar. It would go perfectly with some jalapeño butter, if you happen to have some at home.
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In the battle for Bed-Stuy doughnut supremacy, Caroline’s scores an upset over Fan Fan like a bracket-busting win from a 15 seed during March Madness. The consistency of their dough is on the verge of being dense, but stops just short so you still get that desired squishiness. If you’ve only allotted yourself one treat, get the Orange Cream Cheese. You also can’t go wrong with the plain glazed if you want something simpler. This place is takeout-only, so grab your doughnuts and head to the tables and chairs at Brevoort Playground just two blocks away.
Some of the doughnuts here, like one with pistachio cream and edible flowers, are almost too pretty to eat. Almost. This Bed-Stuy shop specializes in fan fans (long, eclair-like filled doughnuts), and the best one is the guava and cheese. The denser dough can stand up to a lot of fillings and toppings, so lean towards varieties like the chocolate glazed topped with churros and the Danny Boy with salted brown butter caramel and nuts. There’s nowhere to sit inside, but there’s a long bench outside.
This place is aptly named, considering all of their interesting and experimental flavors. We like The Bronx, which combines a sweet glaze with black pepper and olive oil, as well as the Those Beetz Are Dope, which has a bright red beet-flavored glaze and is filled with whipped ricotta. They also have very good vegan cake doughnuts, including one topped with cereal milk glaze and cornflakes. We met someone who lines up before opening time every Friday morning, so this place clearly inspires a loyal following. We can see why.
You will not find a better version of a cruller anywhere else. The ones at Daily Provisions have a hard, almost crunchy exterior, contrasted with a soft, squishy, almost custardy inside. You can get flavors like maple glazed and seasonal varieties like cookies and cream, but it’s best to go with the cinnamon sugar. Sadly, there are only a few locations in the city. We’re hoping for Dunkin’-like citywide domination one day.
Supermoon does all pastries perfectly—that’s kind of their schtick—and doughnuts are no exception. Like the rest of their menu, the flavors change on a weekly basis, but expect an incredibly light yeast doughnut with decadent fillings and toppings that are a lot without being too much.
Ask anyone who knows their Brooklyn food bonafides where to get the best doughnuts, and they’ll tell you Peter Pan. If they don’t say Peter Pan, they’ll say Moe’s (more on that below). Peter Pan’s doughnuts are old school, and old school flavors are the way to go.
Moe used to work at Peter Pan, which is why you’ll often hear people talk about these two spots in the same sentence. Some people have strong opinions about which one is better, but we think they’re pretty much equal. At Moe’s, though, you probably won’t have to wait in a long line. We love the blueberry doughnuts here.
Getting your hands on these doughnuts will take a little planning. They’re only available on Saturdays at noon sharp, and you’ll have to check their Instagram to see what flavor they’re offering. They might have three kinds, or just one, but whatever’s available, get some. We recently had a fantastic Maldon salted caramel and chocolate glazed doughnut stuffed with fluffy pastry cream. We suggest getting in line at around 11:45am. They usually sell out within a half hour.
The Firni Doughnut at Little Flower Cafe is a transcendent experience. It’s fluffy on the inside, crisp on the outside, and has delicate, lightly floral, and nutty flavors that make it one of the most unique filled doughnuts we’ve had in recent memory. It’s not too big and not too sweet, so we recommend that you don’t plan to share it.
Mochi doughnuts are everywhere now, but Alimama was one of the first spots where you could get these crispy, chewy treats in NYC—and we think they’re still the best. The doughnuts are extremely consistent, and the flavors tend to be modern takes on Asian-inspired flavors.
The Japanese-style doughnuts here are made with 95% rice flour and 5% wheat flour, which results in doughnuts that have subtly crispy outsides and soft and chewy centers. With more than 20 different colorful varieties (matcha, black sesame, and peanut butter, for example), you’ll have no trouble finding a few you’ll like. Our go-tos are the coconut and the original.
We’ve heard of angels taking human form, but we’ve never heard of them taking the form of a beignet-like dough ball covered in honey and powdered sugar. That is, until we tried an Angel Donut from Back Alley Bread. Crispy on the outside and doughy on the inside, these doughnuts have the satisfying crunch of a beignet with the plushy interior of a doughnut hole. Check their Instagram to find out how to get them. (The process changes.) They’re popping up in Greenpoint throughout the fall of 2022.
This spot right by Tompkins Square Park makes one of our favorite breakfast sandwiches in town, but their baked goods shouldn’t be missed—especially the doughnuts. They always have different options, but we’ve enjoyed the chocolate and earl grey, croissant doughnuts with nutella, and fruit-filled kouign amann. There are big breakfast crowds, especially on weekends, so we recommend getting here early.
Located at the corner of Bergen and Vanderbilt in Prospect Heights, Patti Ann's is an Austrian-influenced bakery from the team behind nearby Olmsted and Maison Yaki. Their pastries rotate, but if they have their peach jelly doughnut, get it. Run-of-the-mill jelly doughnuts tend to be shockingly sweet, but this is a more subtle jelly, and the sourdough makes for a thicker, more satisfying doughnut all around. Pair your jelly doughnut with the maple cruller that has a crispy outside that makes the whole thing feel like the perfect maple churro.
We’ve never had classic doughnuts quite as light and airy as the raised sugar-coated doughnuts at Shaikh’s Place. The prices here are extremely reasonable—a dozen doughnuts will cost you just over $12. Shaikh’s also makes our favorite chocolate cake doughnuts in the city.
A big reason why we like this Italian cafe in the West Village is because it makes you feel like you’re on vacation in some charming European city. But the doughnuts are also a big draw. The spongy frati dotted with fennel seeds is unique, and the bomboloni is filled with high quality raspberry jam that definitely doesn’t taste like it came from a jar. You might as well get a Sgroppino made with vodka, prosecco, and lemon sorbetto while you’re here. You’re on vacation after all.
You can only get Le Crocodile’s maple cream doughnut during brunch on the weekends, and it’s reason enough to get yourself dressed and out and about on a Saturday morning. The airy doughnut is filled with pastel yellow, pudding-like cream with subtle maple flavor. You also taste some salt. We’d rather eat three of these than anything else on their brunch menu.
