It’s no secret that I love donuts. Donuts are delicious. The possibilities are endless: donut holes, regular donuts, cake donuts, plain donuts, fancy donuts and specialty donut shops are popping up everywhere. With this comes creatively decorated donuts with crazy toppings and fun themes. Some are, undoubtedly going to be better than others. There is nothing more disappointing than spending way too much money on a dressed up donut just to find that you paid for appearance and not taste. So which are worth their salt (or sugar)? After some diligent research and taste testing (I’m here for you guys) here are the top ten donut shops in Connecticut.
Deviant Donuts – Mystic
Deviant Donuts in Olde Mistick Village has been a Mystic spot since 2017. It started as a coffee shop and their gourmet donuts became so popular it grew into its own shop. They craft incredibly creative and sometimes a little outrageous donuts and are known for doing fun series of themed donuts. Themes can range from anything from “Forever Fall” to “Harry Potter.”
Deviant Donuts isn’t just about the looks. All the toppings, fillings, glazes, and garnishes are all made by hand and the donuts taste just as good as they look. They give a pre-order option on their website but must be done at least a day in advance.
I’m a little disappointed that I haven’t had the chance to have a Harry Potter donut but maybe in good time. Deviant Donuts is one of the donut shops that people talk about and I found them worth the hype.
Young Buns – Mystic
Also in Mystic, Young Buns Donuts has opened in downtown, showing the established Deviant Donuts some competition. It’s turned into a bit of a local thing: team Deviant or team Young Buns?
If you’re in downtown Mystic with no plans to go to the village you’ll be just fine at Young Buns, and vice versa, with both Donut shops being more than capable of making a good donut. Young Buns skew more towards the cake-like donuts with their signature Young Bun donut, a buttercrunch style donut, a can’t miss.
My take? Overall, Deviant Donuts seemed to be a little better. Additionally, I’m a huge fan of blueberry donuts and found Young Buns blueberry a little underwhelming. However, between both shops, my singular favorite was the buttercrunch from Young Buns. Either way, both donut shops are worthy of a top ten donut shop slot.
I will include, as a fun side note, since I didn’t actually want to fall into a sugar coma, we cut the donuts up and shared so we could all try multiple donuts. The blueberry cake from Young Buns was the favorite of the three neighbors’ boys all between ages 3-6. Take that information and do what you will with it.
Grounds Donut House – Danbury
Grounds Donut house in Danbury, just a few miles from the New York border, is their second location with their first being in the Bronx. In typical New York style, incapable of doing anything halfway, Grounds is hip, trendy, fun, and absolutely delicious. They have a handful of staple donuts that are always available and then four rotating flavors that change weekly. Grounds has it all: looks, taste, and atmosphere, making them an absolute can’t miss donut stop. They’re so popular it’s advised to order ahead of time if you have a larger order or are aiming for their seasonal specialties. Extra bonus? They have amazing specialty coffee as well.
This ended up being one of my absolute favorites that I tried. I’m lucky that Danbury is a solid hour away or else I’d have a problem. I’ve heard rumblings that they’re going to open another location and I simultaneously hope, and don’t hope, that they’re coming to Hartford.
Blazing Fresh Donuts – Guilford
One of the lesser known donut shops, Blazing Fresh Donuts is also one of the best. I stumbled across Blazing Fresh Donuts accidentally a year or so ago. They don’t pop up on any of these “donut lists.” But they should. And they probably eventually will one day once people figure it out.
Be prepared to wait a few minutes for your donut because they have to make it. That’s right. The donuts are made to order and will only be minutes old when you pop this delectable donut into your mouth. Located off main street, it’s an easy walk if you’re parked anywhere in the downtown area. It’s small, cute, and a little whimsical; everything a donut shop should be.
Doughnut Inn – Stratford
The Doughnut Inn in Stratford is a hidden gem. Literally. Though right on main street and part of a plaza, it’s still hidden. The plaza sign itself does not list The Doughnut Inn nor is there any sign over any establishment door indicating anything bakery related. Upon looking at old photos it seems as if there was a sign once but there most certainly isn’t one there now. On the side of the building there is an, “Always fresh… Always friendly,” sign and that, in addition to the steady flow of people walking in and out of an unmarked door with pastry bags in their hands, will be your only indication of where to go. Even the inside looks a little run-down and is an odd shaped room with piled boxes in the back.
Once you’re inside though you can expect friendly service, delicious donuts, and cheap prices. As specialty donut shops rise in popularity so do the prices, but The Doughnut Inn’s prices are still blessedly inexpensive.
Flanders Donuts – East Lyme
Flanders is one of the oldest in the state having just celebrated 50 years in business. They are the epitome of the no frills donut shop. They’re a simple shop with a simple sign that you could easily accidentally drive by. The donuts are just as simple. They will run a seasonal donut but don’t expect weird toppings or crazy decorations. Flanders isn’t about how the donuts look but how they taste. And they taste good. Their standard glazed might be their most sought after donut so get there early; they will sell out.
I’m going to be honest. These donuts are good but I’m not entirely certain they live up to the hype, given that they make just about every top donut list around. I was in no way disappointed by my donuts and I still consider them a top ten, but neither was I especially wowed. My sister, however, claims Flanders as her favorite.
Gerry’s Donuts – Ellington
Gerry’s Donuts in Ellington is a local favorite. Don’t be fooled by the yelp reviews; Gerry’s is as good as every other place on this list. Anyone who works in food service or eats out frequently knows that, at some point or another, food poisoning is inevitable. A food establishment can be as clean and careful as possible and bad product can still happen. Unfortunately, for Gerry’s, it happened over a busy Mother’s Day weekend and their yelp rating and reviews tanked and they temporarily shut down. They re-opened and have been going strong since. Even the customers that swore they’d never go back have forgiven them; they’re too good to stay away.
Swiches – Berlin
Swiches doesn’t have much, but what they have is delicious. There’s no over the top donuts or specialty coffee. Regular coffee only and simple donuts to match. That doesn’t mean they don’t experiment with flavors however; Swiches offers fun variations of favorites. As mentioned before, a blueberry cake donut is one of my favorites and I was delighted when I saw that Swiches made both a blueberry cake and a cherry cake. Dee-lish.
Tastease – Hartford
The best part about Tastease is their size: small. Small shop and small donuts. Ever go into a donut shop and just have no idea what you want? No worries here. Tastease makes miniature donuts so you can sample multiple flavors without going overboard. The small size doesn’t compromise the taste either. While donut holes can get dried out, these small donuts are still moist and delicious.
Neil’s – Wallingford and Middletown
You can’t bring up donuts in Connecticut without talking about Neil’s. They have two locations, Wallingford and Middletown, and have been in business for over 20 years. They have a massive selection of donuts with a few dozen possibilities. In addition to donuts they have crullers, coffee rolls, muffins, bagels, and breakfast sandwiches.
I’ve had Neil’s on my list forever and was pleased to find that it’s worth the hype. They really do make some delicious donuts. Additionally, they’re not expensive; they’re another donut shop that keeps old school donut prices. The possible kingpin of Connecticut donuts, Neil’s is an absolute can’t miss top ten donut shop.
Ones to Skip
And now for the bad. There are some donut shops out there that just don’t cut it. They do their best, but the art of donut making is just outside their skillset.
Donut Crazy – multiple locations
True to its name, the donuts are crazy. They have some of the most ornate and over the top donuts I’ve ever seen. During shut down they created a donut with Fauci’s face on it. They have a cookie monster donut that has blue icing and cookies on it. They have pop-tart donuts. You name it, the sky is the limit.
Taste wise, however, the donuts are not good. At all. They are dry and lack flavor and the flavor you get is that fake sugar flavor from all of the ridiculous toppings. The best I can say is that a few of their simpler donuts don’t entirely suck.
They are also very expensive. Of course, what you’re paying for is looks and not taste. So, unless you have extra cash and calories to burn, or you’re really looking to entertain a child that isn’t going to finish their donut anyway, then you’re better off at Dunkin’.
Luke’s Donut Shop – Avon
This one surprised me. It’s an unassuming donut shop, a local favorite, a makes a lot of these top lists. I tried three of their donuts with two of my friends and we all came to the same conclusion: they’re a big nothing.
What I will say is that they are inexpensive. So if you’re in the area and looking for a donut fix and would rather support local, then go for it. Just don’t expect to be wowed.
