Angelenos with a sweet tooth are positively spoiled in Los Angeles’ innovative culinary scene. With an estimated 1,500 donut shops dotted all over Los Angeles, it’s understandable why National Geographic once named Los Angeles the donut capital of the United States. Not everyone knows that this huge concentration of donut shops comes from generations of Cambodian refugee families and Southeast Asian immigrants — many such shops date back to the ’70s and ’80s, when refugees fleeing genocide arrived here to start a new life.
After taking a deep dive into the Los Angeles County donut scene, we’ve pulled some fantastic donut havens ranging from classic staples like Randy’s and Donut Prince, which never disappoint with their down-home pastries, to gourmet donut shops such as Fōnuts and Sidecar.
Read on for a breakdown of the best donuts in Los Angeles, complete with flavors recommended by the Secret LA team and a handy map at the bottom.
Secret Los Angeles relies on the team’s personal experiences, recommendations, editorial reviews, and customer feedback before choosing our favorite places to grab a bite or sip cocktails in LA. This list is constantly evolving, so please check back regularly.
1. SK Donut & Croissant
SK Donuts is one of those quintessential strip mall donut shops in LA that never disappoints. Despite its humble facade, SK has a loyal following of customers who visit for the creative loaded skronuts, apple fritters, and even breakfast sandwiches. Visit before a day of shopping at The Grove or seeing museum exhibitions at LACMA or the Petersen.
Recommended by Rachel Kang, Secret LA Digital Content Creator
🍩 What to order: Fruity Pebbles donut
📍 Location: West Hollywood – 5850 W 3rd St A, Los Angeles, CA 90036
2. Colorado Donuts
After 30 years in business, it’s safe to say that Colorado Donuts has its recipes down to a science. The team crafts hundreds of freshly-made donuts every single day in all sorts of specialty flavors, ranging from their popular bright purple ube donuts to sugary croissant donuts topped with berries, custard, and cream. They sell amazing vegan options too, and if you go on a holiday, you’re likely to find amazing seasonal flavors in addition to all of the classics.
Recommended by Rachel Kang, Secret LA Digital Content Creator
🍩 What to order: Ube cake donut or horchata yeast donut
📍 Location: Eagle Rock – 1578 Colorado Blvd #14, Eagle Rock, CA 90041
3. Sidecar Doughnuts & Coffee
No matter what time of day you visit Sidecar, you’re guaranteed the freshest possible donuts fried in small batches every single hour. Make no mistake — this is a gourmet pastry experience, which you’ll appreciate as much with their fan-favorite butter & salt donut as with their specialty seasonal ones. Heads up that they make certain classics only on specific days of the week — Portuguese-style malasadas are made on Mondays, twists on Tuesdays, cinnamon rolls on Wednesdays, and apple fritters on Fridays.
Recommended by Matthew Magnus, Secret LA Video Producer
🍩 What to order: Butter & salt donut or lemon pound cake donut
📍 Locations:
- West Hollywood – 175 S Fairfax Ave Unit D, Los Angeles, CA 90036
- Manhattan Beach – 3026 N Sepulveda Blvd Suite G-110, Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
- Costa Mesa – 270 E 17th St #18, Costa Mesa, CA 92627
- Santa Monica – 631 Wilshire Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90401
- Torrance – 2549-B Rolling Hills Plaza, Pacific Coast Hwy, Torrance, CA 90505
- Culver City – 10705 Washington Blvd, Culver City, CA 90232
4. Fōnuts Donut Bakery
Fōnuts is a vegan and gluten-free donut shop selling so-called “enlightened donuts;” that is, delicious and healthier versions of your favorite flavors made with almond flour or rice flour, little-to-no sugar, and premium natural ingredients. All “fōnuts” are baked daily rather than fried, and even though they’re healthier, they still satisfy your sweet tooth with flavors like apple cider, peanut butter chocolate, and even a vanilla latte donut with shots of espresso.
Recommended by Matthew Magnus, Secret LA Video Producer
🍩 What to order: Blueberry earl grey donut or pancakes and maple syrup donut
📍 Locations:
- Studio City – 12065 Ventura Pl, Studio City, CA 91604
- Santa Monica – 709 Montana Ave, Santa Monica, CA 90403
- West Hollywood – 8104 W 3rd St, Los Angeles, CA 90048
5. Primo’s Donuts
Did you know that this West LA donut outpost has been around since 1956? After generations of loyal customers, the little shop has become so popular that it actually ships nationwide. The Primo family continues to serve fan-favorite classic flavors, mochi donuts, sourdough twists, vegan and gluten free donuts, and highly-sought-after seasonal pastries including sufganiyot for Hanukkah.
🍩 What to order: Buttermilk bar
📍 Locations:
- West Los Angeles – 2918 Sawtelle Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90064
- Canoga Park – 6600 CA-27 #1M, Canoga Park CA 91303
6. California Donuts
Not to be confused with various other “California Donuts” shops around LA, this massively popular shop on W 3rd Street has been family-owned since 1982. California Donuts is a late-night staple open 24 hours, so no matter when that craving hits, you can depend on them to keep you going on your night out in Koreatown. The shop has taken off on Instagram due to their frankly stunning donut creations, which are often topped with vibrant colored frosting, cookies, Froot Loops, and candy. And whatever time of year you decide to visit, you can bet on a picture-perfect display of constantly-changing seasonal donut flavors.
Recommended by Chris Farias, Secret LA Community Manager
🍩 What to order: Panda donut
📍 Location: Koreatown– 3540 W 3rd St, Los Angeles, CA 90020
7. Randy’s Donuts
Even if you’re not immediately familiar with the name Randy’s Donuts, you’ll surely recognize the gigantic rooftop donut crowning their historic Inglewood shop. Randy’s is an LA institution dating back to 1952, and it’s so famous that it’s made cameos in films and TV including Iron Man 2, 2012, Entourage, and The Simpsons. As for the donuts, they always deliver on those down-home, classic flavors for just 2-3 bucks each, and there’s a handful of premium donuts available too with fun toppings like s’mores, Oreos, and red velvet. Our community manager Rachel visited to try their limited-edition Krabby Patty donut — you can see how that went on Instagram.
🍩 What to order: Classic pink sprinkles donut
📍 Location: See the full list of Randy’s locations here. The original location is in Inglewood – 805 W Manchester Blvd, Inglewood, CA 90301
8. Donut Prince
When our Secret LA Video Producer Matthew went on a donut spree around Los Angeles, he crowned Donut Prince as his favorite shop for its price-to-quality ratio. The family-owned Burbank staple dates back almost four decades, but they keep it real with cake and raised donuts starting at just $1.75 each. Order a piping hot coffee and enjoy a classic yeast donut, a maple cruller with that characteristic swirly texture, a fluffy jelly donut, or one of their creative seasonal options.
Recommended by Matthew Magnus, Secret LA Video Producer
🍩 What to order: Classic maple donut and fruit tart donut
📍 Location: Burbank – 1721 W Olive Ave, Burbank, CA 91506
9. Donut Friend
Donut Friend has a few tricks up its sleeve that you may not immediately register — firstly, the entire menu is completely plant-based, including its ice cream and milkshakes; and secondly, the store is owned by music producer Mark Trombino, who worked with groups including Blink-182 and Jimmy Eat World. You’ll notice that many of the donuts have punny music-inspired names like “Jimmy Eat Swirl,” a classic cinnamon roll; and “Green Teagan and Sara,” which is topped with a matcha glaze and sesame seeds. Visit one of Donut Friend’s three locations and you’ll be delighted to enjoy some of the best gourmet vegan donuts in Los Angeles.
🍩 What to order: Polar Berry Club or Angry Samoa
📍 Locations:
- Highland Park – 5107 York Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90042
- Downtown LA – 543 S Broadway, Los Angeles, CA 90013
- Silver Lake – 3534 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90026
10. DK’s Donuts
DK’s is a trusty 24-hour donut shop in Los Angeles that’s been a Santa Monica staple since 1981. In addition to their creative and colorful donut selection, DK’s offers a solid savory menu with breakfast croissant and burritos, plus 20 different types of coffee. Some popular options include their tasty ube donuts, bacon-infused donuts, and donut ice cream sandwiches… but you’d be hard-pressed not to order the famous O-Nut, a croissant-donut hybrid with toppings including cookies and cream, Nutella, Fruity Pebbles, maple bacon, and more.
🍩 What to order: The double decker O-Nut
📍 Location: Santa Monica – 1614 Santa Monica Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90404