Cupcakes were once all the rage, showing up in all different sizes from oversized to miniature, different flavors and fillings, and even being doled out at a cupcake ATM in Manhattan. Then there were the much-publicized cronuts, which sent New Yorkers into a tizzy, waiting on line in the wee hours of the morning to sample Dominique Ansel’s croissant-donut combination.
Police officers and Homer Simpson may have been onto something with their long-standing allegiance to the classic doughnut — the great equalizer. From diners to five-star restaurants to aisles to take-out windows to full-fledged doughnut plants and factories, these fried confections are more popular than ever. Chefs are creating them, artisanal flavors and organic ingredients are used, and store hours often end once they’re sold out.
From square to round to filled, sweet to spicy, and pedestrian to gourmand, there’s a doughnut for every taste. Parents, babysitters, and nannies have so many options for outings these days. Here’s our roundup of the top 10 best doughnut shops in NYC!
Peter Pan Donut & Pastry Shop
Address: 727 Manhattan Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11222
Hours: Monday – Friday, 4:30 a.m. – 8 p.m. | Saturday, 5 a.m. – 8 p.m. | Sunday, 5:30 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Phone: 718-389-3676
Payment: Cash only
This quaint neighborhood shop in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, has been serving their world-famous doughnuts for more than 60 years. There are no machines here. Everything is handmade, and preparation begins each day at 2 a.m. Doors open at 4:30 a.m. to greet eager customers just completing the night shift.
Home to plenty of local residents who come for breakfast, conversation, and the company, Pan is the Cheers of doughnut shops. Still, many others come from afar just to check this spot off their “Doughnut Bucket List.”
According to the shop, their bestsellers are Red Velvet and Blueberry Buttermilk (both $1.10), but based on customer reviews, picking a favorite would be kind of like picking your favorite child. You’ll love them all the same!
Underwest Donuts
Address: 638 W. 47th St., New York, NY 10036
Hours: Monday, 6:30 a.m. – 3 p.m. | Tuesday – Friday, 6:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. | Saturday, 7:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. | Sunday, 7:30 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Phone: 212-317-2359
Payment: Credit cards accepted
You’ll want to hit the brakes and make a pit stop at this much talked-about doughnut spot housed inside the unlikeliest of places: a carwash. Take a spin over to Twelfth Avenue and the West Side Highway and fill up on some of the best doughnuts in town at the Westside Highway Car Wash.
This takeout-only, chef-owned spot offers glazed and sugared doughnuts in a handful of exotic flavors, such as the signature namesake Carwash — a vanilla-lavender combination, Passionfruit, and Jasmine Green Tea. They even make doughnut ice cream sandwiches! Try the delicious Maple Waffle Glazed and Dark Chocolate Glazed doughnuts, both $3.25.
According to devotees, be sure to get there early in the day to order one of their new flavors before they sell out. Underwest also has an outpost located at 2 Penn Plaza, and while it’s probably a more convenient location for most, many say part of the fun is the carwash setting at the 47th Street location.
Doughnut Plant
Address: 379 Grand St., New York, NY 10022 | Click here for more locations
Hours: Sunday – Thursday, 6:30 a.m. – 8 p.m. | Friday – Saturday, 6:30 a.m. – 9 p.m.
Phone: 212-505-3700, Ext. 379
Payment: Credits cards accepted
Proprietor Mark Isreal comes from a long line of bakers, dating back to 1910. He opened Doughnut Plant in 1994 using his grandfather’s recipe. For the first five years of business, Isreal personally made all the doughnuts in the basement of a Lower East Side tenement and delivered them by bicycle. Later, he began selling them wholesale to high-end gourmet shops, like Dean & Deluca and Balducci’s.
In 2000, Israel moved from the basement location to an above-ground storefront on Grand Street. Soon after, he invented a jelly-filled square donut and began using fruit and roasted nuts in his glazes. Now with a total of nine locations in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens — and with Shake Shack selling them at their locations and a presence in Japan — Isreal’s doughnuts are making the rounds.
The Plant offers a variety of doughnuts, including yeast, cake (which are available to be shipped nationwide), filled (with homemade jams) and doughseeds. None of their doughnuts are made with eggs, and they even offer a 100 percent vegan doughnut. Try their Crème Brulee and Tres Leches doughnuts, both under $4 a piece.
Dun-Well Doughnuts
Address: 222 Montrose Ave., Brooklyn, NY 10221
Hours: Monday – Friday, 7 a.m. – 7 p.m. | Saturday & Sunday, 8 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Phone: 347-294-0871
Payment: Credit cards accepted
Ever since Christopher Hollowell and Dan Dunbar met in college, they knew one day they’d open a business together. Then one night, Hollowell got a craving for doughnuts after watching The Simpsons. Homer Simpson loves doughnuts, and so does Hollowell. The only difference was Hollowell wanted a decent vegan doughnut and couldn’t find one anywhere. He called his old college buddy Dan, and the two of them knew that was the business they had to start.
Dun-Well Donuts was cooked up in 2011 as the very first vegan doughnut shop in New York. With 200 organic, artisanal flavors, Hollowell and Dunbar say they are just getting started, and their ideas for flavors are limitless. Vegans and non-vegans can’t get enough of what the owners call “the healthiest real doughnuts” around. Try “The Homer” and the PB&J, each for $2.50.
Dough
Address:
- Brooklyn: 448 Lafayette St., Brooklyn, NY 11205 | P: 347-533-7544
- Flatiron: 14 West 19th St., New York, NY 10011 | P: 212-243-6844
- Click here for other locations.
Hours:
- Brooklyn: Open daily, 6 a.m. – 9 p.m.
- Flatiron: Monday – Thursday, 6 a.m. – 8 p.m. | Friday, 6 a.m. – 9 p.m. | Saturday, 7 a.m. – 9 p.m. | Sunday, 7 a.m. – 8 p.m.
Payment: Credit cards accepted
Inspired by her Mexican heritage, Chef Fany Gerson offers a variety of signature flavors with a Latin American twist. Think: Tropical Chile, Dulce de Leche, Passion Fruit and Chocolate Chipotle, to name a few. Their Nutella doughnuts are $3.50, and they offer a Hibiscus doughnut at just $3.
Gerson’s doughnuts are made with a brioche-like bread, and every batch uses European-style butter and fresh nutmeg. Doughnuts are hand-cut, gently fried, lightly glazed and subjected to a two-step proofing process to ensure quality taste and texture. Rather than make all their doughnuts in the morning, both locations make small batches throughout the day to ensure freshness. They serve doughnuts, cake doughnuts, and doughka –their version of babka, made from doughnut dough.
Doughnuttery
Address:
- Chelsea Market: 425 W. 15th St., New York, NY 10011
- Turnstyle: 1000 S. Eighth Ave., Columbus Circle Subway Station, New York, NY 10019
Hours:
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Chelsea Market: Monday – Saturday, 8:30 a.m. – 9 p.m. | Sunday, 8:30 a.m. – 8 p.m.
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Turnstyle: Monday – Friday, 7 a.m. – 9 p.m. | Saturday, 9 a.m. – 8 p.m. | Sunday, 10 a.m. – 7 p.m
Phone: 212-633-4359
Payment: Credit cards accepted
You won’t find any full-size doughnuts here, as Doughnuttery is home of the sugared mini-cake doughnut. They’re known to serve up big flavor in little bites.
Only two inches in diameter, these sweet treats are fried in vegetable shortening and then sugared in your choice of over 25 different sugars, and then paired with one of their seasonal dipping sauces, such as Raspberry Balsamic, Nutella, and their signature Beer Caramel.
Doughnuts are sold in pre-packaged quantities of six, 12, 25, 50, and 100. Try the Paris Time or Vanilla Glaze. A box of six of either is only $6.50!
Want to make Doughnuttery’s doughnuts at home with the kids? Order their DIY Donut Kit and make 30 mini-doughnuts right from your own kitchen. Better yet, having a party? Be the talk of the party circuit when you rent their Donut Robot to make mini doughnuts at your event.
The Donut Pub
Address: 203 W. 14th St., New York, NY 10011
Hours: Open 24/7
Phone: 212-929-0216
Payment: Credit cards accepted
In the City That Never Sleeps, the Donut Pub is open 24/7, serving doughnuts alongside a full assortment of homemade baked goods, including crullers, muffins, éclairs, turnovers, and scones.
Open since 1964, this counter-service establishment also offers bagels, sandwiches, and Hale & Hearty soup, so grab a stool at the counter and enjoy — but be sure to save room for dessert! Try their Honey Dip or Boston Cream doughnuts — both $2 each.
The Doughnut Project
Address: 10 Morton St., New York, NY 10014
Hours: Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. – 6 p.m. | Saturday & Sunday, 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. (or until sold out)
Phone: 212-691-5000
Payment: Credit cards accepted
The Doughnuts Project is pretty popular and closes up shop as soon as they’re sold out for the day. Just two years old, this quirky West Village hot spot is the collaboration of a food and beverage industry professional and a former attorney.
Known for their small batch, handcrafted, yeast-raised doughnuts, this place takes doughnut flavors to another level. As you read the menu, you’ll find yourself asking, “Wait, all of this is on a doughnut?” and the answer is, “Yes, and it tastes great, too!” Some of their offerings include out-of-the box ingredients, like Italian olive oil, black pepper, parsnip, bone marrow, and even taking a page from bagels — the Everything Donut. If that sounds too adventurous for you, go for the Plain Glaze with a hint of vanilla. Their Bacon Maple Bar doughnuts is $4.25, while the Beet Ricotta is $4.
They also have a restaurant and cocktails series of doughnuts that are based on a favorite dish or cocktail from one of their favorite restaurants and bars.
Moe’s Doughs
Address: 126 Nassau Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11222
Hours: Monday – Friday, 6 a.m. – 9 p.m. | Saturday & Sunday, 7 a.m. – 9 p.m.
Phone: 718-349-1216
Payment: Credit cards accepted
Often overlooked on the doughnut scene, this hidden gem was opened three years ago by Mohamed “Moe” Saleh, who was the main baker at Peter Pan Donut’s main location for over 18 years.
With the perfect combination of high quality and low pricing, this family-owned-and-operated shop certainly has similarities to Pan, ranging from window displays to prices to counter-service only. But Moe’s is known in it’s own right for its inventive flavors, like last year’s hit, the Rainbow Donut. Also try the Pistachio, Cran-Raspberry, or Samoa doughnuts, all priced between $1.10 and $2 each.
The Saleh family all pitches in to run the business, including Saleh’s sons, who hope to one day run their own doughnut shop in another borough.
7th Avenue Donuts and Diner
Address: 324 Seventh Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11215
Hours: Open 24/7
Phone: 718-768-0748
Payment: Cash only
This Park Slope institution has been family-owned-and-operated for 35 years. Its friendly staff, central location, and round-the-clock service makes it a popular choice among night owls and those consumed by late-night cravings.
It’s a diner, so they deliver, which means you don’t actually need to leave the house to get these delicious, homemade doughnuts. Just be sure to have cash when you greet the delivery person because they don’t accept credit cards.
As for flavors, it’s the delicious basics — nothing outstanding except for the taste, of course, and the prices, which range from $1-2 each. You can’t go wrong with either the Chocolate Glaze doughnuts or their Jelly Puffs!
