Virginian doughnuts are universally recognized as among the most innovative, tastiest, and all-around best confectionaries in the region. Between doughnuts with palm trees, doughnuts featured on TV, and good-old fashioned mom-and-pop shops serving up 50-year-old recipes, Virginia doughnut lovers have much to celebrate. Below you’ll find 8 of the best doughnut shops in Virginia, ready to satiate your sweet tooth and coming back for more.
Duck Doughnuts has taken the doughnut world by storm all across the eastern seaboard, and Virginia is no exception. Their incredible cake-like doughnuts customized to your specifications are a sugar-lover’s dream. Start with a plain doughnut, then pick a coating, toppings, and drizzle. Toppings include sprinkles, chopped peanuts, bacon bits, coconut, and Oreos. Always warm and made-to-order, Duck Doughnuts has set a new standard for doughnut deliciousness. New locations are popping up all over the state, so check their website often to find the closest one to you.
Before Sugar Shack Donuts and Coffee became one of USA Today’s “10 Tastiest Doughnuts in America,” or the New York Post’s “Best Doughnut Shop in America,” it was a Richmond, Virginia upstart. Each doughnut is hand rolled and cut throughout the day to ensure freshness. The 34 doughnuts on the menu include old favorites like glazed and vanilla sprinkles, along with more unique concoctions, like the bacon maple, “Tastes Like a Samoa,” and mud pot.
O’s Doughnuts is a no-frills, old-fashioned doughnut shop serving up 13 different doughnuts with eight unique toppings. Try an Uh O doughnut sundae (warm doughnut tossed in cinnamon sugar, sliced open with a scoop of vanilla ice cream in the middle, topped with hot fudge and finished off with whipped cream). Coffee is served onsite.
Amazing Glazed boasts that their doughnut tower is event better than a traditional birthday cake, and we have to agree it’s an enticing option. Amazing Glazed doughnuts are fully customizable with 11 different icings, five drizzles, and a cornucopia of toppings. Stop by for their two doughnut and coffee combo and try their frozen custard, gelato, and sorbet.
Glazed Doughnuts in Hampton, Virginia, opened in 2016 but has already made a name for itself. Known for its unique creations, the doughnuts are made fresh daily with yeast and cake options. The doughnut options change daily, so make sure to keep coming back to see what the owner/operator has baked up.
Emily’s Donuts and Café in Williamsburg, Virginia, is a second-generation family-owned business. Emily Yates and her parents own and operate the café, which offers cake and yeast doughnuts, specialty drinks, brewed coffee, and a lunch menu. Emily’s offers over 40 donut options and six lunch sandwiches.
Pure Eats is fast expanding throughout Virginia with locations in Harrisonburg, and two in Lexington. Pure Eats offers breakfast and lunch with a rotating menu. Doughnut flavors change daily, in addition to the classic cinnamon-sugar that’s always on hand. Come back for lunch to try one of their incredible burgers and a milkshake.
Carol Lee Donuts has been a Blacksburg staple since opening in 1968. The doughnuts speak to the longevity of Carol Lee’s quality. Cake doughnuts include plain, cinnamon, powdered, chocolate iced, and the amazing devilsfood cake. Yeast raised, filled, and hand made doughnuts offer even more options. Carol Lee’s is a little old fashioned, but will become an instant favorite.