5 Awesome Doughnut Shops in Vancity – Food Around Vancouver!

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Vancouver has a good doughnut scene that made me inspired to write this post. My only plane trip last year of 2021 was a trip to Vancity and if I sum up my experience, it would be about two things: nature (on another post) and doughnuts (or donuts whichever spelling you prefer). I went on a 4 days trip in Vancouver for my birthday in November 2021 before the lockdown happened. Ate, hangout with my friend and cousin and explored the city and Whistler on an overnight trip. The eating part was great and for some reason, most places recommended to me were doughnut places which I actually didn’t mind because I’m a big fan of the dessert. I didn’t realize I had a preference until I tried all the popular doughnut places in Vancity.

Most of them are brioche style donuts. A more bread-ish style than your regular donut. So if ever you’re in Vancouver and want to try doughnuts, here is a full list of the places you should go to for the dessert!

1. Lee’s Donuts

Lee’s donuts is one of the most, if not, the most popular doughnut shop in the Canada’s pacific west. Located in Granville Public Market, at the heart of downtown Vancouver, it’s a city’s favourite that tourists and locals both visit this place to get the fresh donuts. They specialize in classic flavoured doughnuts in particular the Honey Dip. This place has been featured in David Chang’s netflix series with Seth Rogam (a Vancity local). Be prepared to line-up because there’s always one any time of the day. But don’t worry it’s wroth it once you get a bite out of the moist donut!

2. Lucky’s Donuts

Lucky’s Doughnuts is the doughnut shop joint with the famous Vancouver cafe 49th Parallel officially called 49th Parallel Café & Lucky’s Doughnuts. There are three locations: downtown (Thurlow), Kitsilano, and another one in Mount Pleasant (Main St). I went to the Main St. location with my cousin who is vegan. They have vegan and regular doughnuts which make it popular to people with vegan diet like my cousin.

Ordered the fresh brewed 49th parallel coffee and sufganiyah which turns out that I quite like it that I became a fan of this type of donut. Sufganiyahs are special type of jelly doughnuts traditionally served during Hanukkah. My birthday is right before the Hanukkah period so the cafe had them. The sufganiyah dough was soft, not dry and good amount of jelly inside that it’s not over powering and oozing when you bite on it. Loved it! So now I will always look forward after my birthday for Hanukkah so I can get sufganiyahs.

3. Donuteria

The doughnut place in New Westminster also known as New West (as what the locals call it), which is in the east of Vancouver. Donuteria serves brioche-style donutsRecommended by my friend who lives in the neighbourhood, she suggested we try this place. They offers classic and those crazy overly eccentric flavours as well. They can satisfy anyone’s cravings. My friend and I picked up 7 donuts to share. Chocolate glaze, cinnamon sugar, double chocolate Oero, maple walnut, brown butter toffee, Boston cream, and pudding filled donut.

4. Honey Doughnuts & Goodies

Honey Doughnuts & Goodies is a very famous donut shop at Deep Cove known for their classic honey doughnuts. They only have five simple flavours: classic honey, chocolate, maple, cinnamon sugar, and coconut cinnamon sugar. Classic honey is the most popular one and when I visited the place, they only had two left. This doughtnut shop is not in the city but it’s visited by people out of town all the time so I recommend coming early before they’re sold out of doughtnuts.

5. Mello

Mello is another doughnut shop that serves brioche style donuts in Chinatown, Vancouver. My other favourite after sufganiyah. They have amazing indulgent flavours as fillings like nutella, custard, matcha, tiramisu and many more! The bread was so fluffy and the sweetness level of the filling was just right.