The Best Donuts in New York City: From the Classics to the Modern

Donuts have been around since the 1600s and have seen the evolution of New York since its very beginning. From cops in their cars to the elevated cronut, donuts are an essential part of NYC food culture until (and perhaps especially) today. So with this in mind, we wanted to share our top nine picks of the best donuts in New York City. Each with its unique flair and charm. So go ahead and taste them all! 

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We eat them for breakfast, late afternoon snacks on rainy days or dessert after meals. Regardless of whether we eat them for breakfast, as a late afternoon snack or for dessert donuts always stay consistent in their capability to please us. Photo credit: Igor Ovsyannykov

We rely on them when we’re happy or drowning in sorrow. We eat them for breakfast, late afternoon snacks on rainy days or dessert after meals. The donut is metamorphic, constantly changing in shape, size, and flavor. However, it always stays consistent in its capability to please us. 

The Doughnut Project, West Village 

The Doughnut Project has introduced a whole new concept of what it means to mix sweet and savory together. The star of the place, their bone marrow chocolate pastry cream donut, is the perfect example. It’s a special that is only served on Saturdays. so mark it in your calendar. Beet-with-ricotta and everything donuts are also intriguing choices, with guaranteed delicious flavor. 

For those who prefer more traditional flavors, they also offer chocolate ganache, black forest creme brulee along with other classics. Vegan options include coconut, maple, and even boozy donuts with vodka or prosecco infused into the mix!

Doughnut Plant, Multiple Locations

Doughnut Plant has square donuts, sourdough donuts, glazed donuts, and donuts filled with Marcona almonds – and that’s just the start. With multiple locations spread across the city, this donut shop is known for its vegan and gluten-free options, which are just as delicious as the original ones. We recommend their peanut butter and blackberry jam options. Or maybe go for the sweeter tres leches and let the juicy Mexican mix melt in your mouth as you bite in. 

The most popular option here is the square-shaped donut, packed with homemade jam and cream. Peanut-butter-and-banana is a favorite choice as well. The cakey donuts are also a must, such as the carrot-cake one, with fluffy cream cheese inside. 

square donuts with glaze
Doughnut Plant has been serving their artisanal donuts since 1994. Photo credit: Jessica and Lon Binder

Dun-Well Doughnuts, East Williamsburg

Dun-Well is an all-vegan donut shop. It opened over 10 years ago and is still a sensation among locals and tourists who visit Brooklyn. The flavors here are close to the classics but have a special house touch. Find French toast donuts, caramel pecan, chocolate cherry walnut, and the classic black & white, a New York staple. Aside from their original location, you can also find them at Whole Foods and in many affiliate bakeries in Manhattan and Queens.  

In addition to their vegan donuts, Dun-Well serves fair trade, organic, Rainforest Alliance certified coffees. Photo credit: Matthias Zomer

Daily Provisions, Multiple Locations

Daily Provisions started as a small pastry shop on Union Square. Today, it has spread across the city, serving breakfast sandwiches, coffee, donuts, and even ice cream. It is a favorite among locals, who know they’ll find impeccable service and intriguing flavors. However, the main spectacle here is their crullers, twisted ring-shaped donuts. 

There are only three flavors on the menu: cinnamon, maple, and passionfruit coconut. Each with its unique flavor profile. Maybe get one of each to make sure you’ve had the whole experience. 

Peter Pan Donut & Pastry Shop, Greenpoint

Peter Pan Donut & Pastry Shop is a classic NYC donut spot. For over seven decades, it has been one of the city’s most famous and beloved donut shops, and it still makes it to the list of the best of the best. Today, it has the same 1950s decor since it opened, and even the uniforms are the same. So not only will you enjoy delicious donuts here, you can do some time traveling as well. 

Visiting this donut shop is like taking a gastronomic tour of the evolution of New York. Almost everything is still handmade, showing how attentive the staff is. Favorite flavors include red velvet, toasted coconut, and the simple and classic old-fashioned powdered sugar ones.

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Peter Pan Donut & Pastry Shop has been family For over 60 years our little donut shop has been a local neighborhood staple. Family owned and operated, we are lucky and proud to serve the community. Photo credit: Alfredo Alvarado

Supermoon Bakehouse, Lower East Side

Supermoon Bakehouse is one of the most famous bakeries in the city today. It is modern art in the form of pastries. The provocative neon sign at the door is the first thing you will notice: “Bite Me, NYC.” Yet, this spot is Inviting enough to form lines of Instagram foodies at the door. The donut flavors here change weekly, so there’s always something new to try. There are also cruffins, the merge between a croissant and a muffin which have revolutionized the gastronomic world, second only to the cronut. 

Here you will find flavors like matcha and blueberry jam, Ferrero Rocher, lemon, and pistachio. The presentation is also unique, with thick layers of filling and artsy decor on top of the pastry. 

colorful donuts
Ry Stephen and Aron Tzimas, the owners of Supermoon Bakehouse came all the way from Australia to open their delicious donut shop. Photo credit: cottonbro

Fan Fan Doughnuts, Clinton Hill

Fan Fan Doughnuts look like a love child of a long john and an eclair. Picture a pillow-like, elongated fluff, and you will begin to understand what we’re talking about. There are a bunch of different flavors to try. Guava & Cheese is one of the most popular. Here, cream cheese takes over the core of the donut while a tangy guava glaze lays on top of it. Graham crackers are also part of the mix. It is an immaculate combination of sweet and savory. 

Sullivan Street Bakery, Chelsea

Sullivan Street Bakery has brought the Italian bomboloni to New York, a light, airy and chewy pastry famous in the land of pizza and pasta. A bomboloni is the perfect breakfast delicacy to have with an espresso. It is like the Italian version of a donut. It doesn’t have the whole in the middle, but the fried dough is packed with tasty fillings and powdered with sugar. 

There are three delicious filling options: vanilla custard, chocolate ganache, and tart raspberry jam. Since bomboloni are usually smaller than classical donuts, you can maybe order a couple, savoring different flavors. 

donuts covered with powdered sugar
Served Sullivan Street Bakery, Bomboloni literally translates to big bombs. Photo credit: Alpha

The Donut Pub, West Village

The Donut Pub is another classic venue in the donut world. Since 1964, this shop has been open 24/7, offering donuts for a dollar and change. Sounds too good to be true, right? Here you can also find cronuts. But the best option is always the classics, like the honey dip and the toasted or untoasted coconut. Sometimes, you will find creative alternatives, like Oreo donuts.