Perhaps doughnuts are not the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of Vancouver, but you just might change your discernment after you try the doughnuts on our list. Whether you’re in the mood for a classic jam-filled doughnut, a flaky cronut or an old-fashioned, all your sugar-loving dreams are about to come true below.
But here’s a tip: All doughnuts on our list are freshly made on the day and get sold out pretty quickly, so it’s best to visit early as the most popular flavours may not be available later in the day.
Types of Doughnuts You Can Get in Vancouver
Not all doughnuts are created equal. Most people don’t know this, but before you even choose the flavour, you have to decide if you want a yeast doughnut or a cake doughnut.
Cake doughnuts are typically made from vanilla or chocolate cake batter. They have a moist and crumbly interior, a bit like a muffin or a fluffy birthday cake. They are perfect for dunking in tea or coffee.
Yeast doughnuts, on the other hand, are lighter and puffier, with a chewy texture. They rely on filling or glaze for flavour and aren’t great for dunking. If you’re from Europe, this is the type of doughnut you probably know and love.
Luckily, if you can’t decide between a cake doughnut and a yeast doughnut, a happy medium exists. You can opt for a hybrid doughnut like the cronut (croissant donut) or the wonut (waffle donut).
If you’re looking for something lighter, have you ever tried a mochi doughnut?
Mochi doughnuts are a fusion between traditional doughnuts and Japanese mochi. They are made of tapioca or rice flour instead of wheat flour and taste like a cross between a yeast doughnut and tapioca pearls in bubble tea. They’re crispy on the outside with the softness and chewiness of mochi on the inside. They mostly come in a cute bubble ring shape and drizzled with delicious flavours.
Best Doughnuts in Vancouver
Here’s our list of top places to get your doughnut fix in Vancouver.
Mello Vancouver
Mello is a specialty doughnut shop that prides itself on doing one thing really well – making delicious yeast-based doughnuts. Every doughnut is handcrafted using only natural ingredients and then filled with mouth-watering flavours such as tiramisu, peanut butter jelly, strawberries and cream, or Nutella, among others. They also offer special doughnuts from time to time. For instance, during the Holidays last year, they had the Orange Blissmas Donut, which was filled with orange custard and dipped in chocolate – it tasted heavenly!
Interesting fact: Mello was ranked the #1 doughnut shop in Canada by Yelp in 2023.
Address: Two locations in Chinatown and Arbutus
Website: mellovancouver.com
Dietary options: No
Coffee: Yes
What we like: fluffiness, choice of fillings
What we don’t like: location, no vegan or gluten-free options
Our favourite doughnut: Cereal Milk Cream
Lucky’s Doughnuts: 49th Cafe
Lucky’s doughnuts come with good coffee, and that combo is hard to beat. Their filled doughnuts are fluffy and soft, and their old-fashioned ones are crumbly and dense, just like they are supposed to be.
Address: You can find Lucky’s doughnuts inside three 49th Parallel Café locations in Downtown Vancouver, Mount Pleasant and Kitsilano
Website: luckysdoughnuts.com
Dietary options: Yes
Coffee: Yes, and delicious too!
Seating area: Yes
What we like: doughnut and coffee combo
What we don’t like: limited selection later in the day, often busy with long queues.
Cartems Donuts
There’s a lot to be loved about Cartems and what the company stands for. They get big thumbs up for sourcing ingredients close to home and avoiding animal by-products where possible. Most yeast doughnuts contain eggs or dairy, but Cartems has found a way to make a delicious vegan dough that’s almost indistinguishable from its non-vegan counterpart. This means that vegans and non-vegans alike can enjoy Cartems’ doughnuts without sacrificing taste or quality. They offer cake and yeast donuts in some delicious flavours and have several baked and gluten-friendly options too!
Fun fact: Cartems are Blake Lively’s favourite doughnuts
Address: Their main two locations are Mt Pleasant and Coquitlam, but you can also find Cartem doughnuts at various Matchstick cafes throughout Vancouver.
Website: cartems.com
Dietary options: Yes
Coffee: Yes
Seating area: Yes
What we like: flavour selection, vegan options, sustainable practices
What we don’t like: some doughnuts are sweeter than others, and most popular flavours run out quickly (a sign of a good doughnut)
Honey Doughnuts
Sometimes, the traditional ways are the best. Honey Doughnuts & Goodies have been making doughnuts since 1996, and their little shop is still as busy today as ever. It’s not a doughnut shop per se, as you can buy breakfast and lunch there too, but their small selection of doughnuts is something you can’t miss. The owners describe them as melt-in-your-mouth donuts and we must agree – these doughnuts are more moist than other doughnuts you can try in Vancouver.
Honey Doughnuts & Goodies is located in the beautiful seaside village of Deep Cove in North Vancouver. It’s quite far from the downtown area, but if you’re visiting Deep Cove for paddle boarding, hiking the Quarry Rock trail, or just relaxing by the water, it’s a perfect excuse to go and try their doughnuts.
The word is Kate Winslet loves to stop by Honey Doughnuts & Goodies too whenever she’s in Vancouver.
Address: One location in Deep Cove in North Vancouver
Website: honeydoughnuts.com
Dietary options: No
Coffee: Yes
Seating area: Yes, but limited
What we like: moisture level
What we don’t like: small selection in comparison to other doughnut shops, location
Lee’s Donuts
Lee’s Doughnuts is a legendary doughnut shop in Vancouver. Their classic doughnut recipe has been around for over 40 years, which explains why this shop is so popular. They offer a long menu of options, including yeast doughnuts, vanilla cake doughnuts, and chocolate doughnuts, so there’s something for everyone. Prices are also reasonable, making it possible to indulge your sweet tooth without breaking the bank.
Fun fact: Seth Rogen is a big fan of Lee’s doughnuts and his favourite is the jelly-filled doughnut.
Address: The main shop is situated in Granville Island Public Market, and they have additional locations in the Bentall (Four) Centre in downtown, South Vancouver, and Langley. They also operate a donut trailer and several pop-up stores throughout the city (you can find details on their Instagram page).
Website: leesdonuts.ca
Dietary options: No
Coffee: No
Seating area: this is more of a grab-and-go shop
What we like: Prices, variety of flavours
What we don’t like: no vegan or gluten-free options, cake doughnuts are not as moist as others on the list
Mochido
If you want something lighter and less sweet than a traditional doughnut, then a mochi doughnut might be the answer. Mochido serves them crispy on the outside and soft and slightly chewy on the inside. Their most popular flavour is the salted brown butter so try it first if you’ve not had a mochi doughnut before and see what you think. If you know your mochi doughnuts well and expect a Pon De Ring texture, just know the texture of Mochido is a little bit different.
Address: Two main locations are in Marpole and Coquitlam, but there are sometimes pop-ups in the city (check out their Instagram for details)
Website: mochido.ca
Dietary options: No
Coffee: Vietnamese coffee, cold brew, strawberry milk
Seating area: this is more of a grab and go shop
What we like: light texture, sweetness level
What we don’t like: no shops in downtown
How We Chose This List of Best Vancouver Doughnuts
This list is based on personal experiences and only includes the doughnut shops we’ve visited so far in Vancouver.
If you’re not a doughnut connoisseur and prefer something less fancy, then Tim Hortons has a good selection at reasonable prices. Timmy’s is not on this list because their doughnuts are frozen and we wanted to only feature doughnuts made from scratch on the day.
We’ll continue to update this article as we explore more doughnut shops in the area!
See our other articles here.
