In Search Of The Best St. Louis Donuts

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Join FitnessFoodieSTL on a journey to discover the best donut offerings in St. Louis.

box of donuts with a variety of toppings  from Donut Drive In includes a chocolate long john with sprinkles, an apple fritter, a caramel pecan cinnamon roll, chocolate glazed, red velvet glazed donuts.
These freshly baked Donut Drive In treats cost $13. Don’t miss the Apple Fritter & the Chocolate Glazed!

The Ongoing Search for The Best St. Louis Donuts

What’s not to like about a donut?  With their sweet, soft exterior plus so many flavors, toppings and fillings to choose from, donuts make a delicious breakfast, dessert or afternoon treat! Nothing gets my kids out of bed faster than the promise of a fresh donut (I use this tactic when I need to!).   St. Louis is blessed with several delicious donut shops all with different features to delight their customers.  With so many options at your fingertips, how do you pick your favorite St. Louis donut shop?  It’s certainly not easy, and of course subjective….yet here is a current listing of the best donuts in St. Louis, according to my family.  Our search for the best donuts in St. Louis is ongoing, so if I missed any of your favorite donut places, please comment below.  I will update the article as we discover new favorites!

Map of The Best St. Louis Donuts

Click on the interactive map below to see all our favorite St. Louis Donut Shops (and honorable mentions) and find the location nearest to you!

The List of the 4 Best Donut Shops In St. Louis

as of Spring 2024
see the exterior of Donut Drive In, a tiny donut shop with large light up signs and a red and white striped banner, parking lot
Donut Drive In, located in the St. Louis Hills neighborhood, has been serving fresh donuts since 1953.
women taking a bite from a freshly baked and hot apple fritter from donut drive in st louis
The donuts are always fresh at Donut Drive In. I planned to bring these home, but couldn’t resist taking a bite right away of this hot Apple Fritter.

Donut Drive In

Location & Hours:

  • 6525 Chippewa St, St. Louis, MO
  • Open Tues-Thurs 5am -10pm, Fri/Sat 5am -Midnight, Sun 5am – 2pm. Closed Mondays.

Top Reason to Visit Donut Drive In:

Come here for all your favorite Classic Donuts!  The smell alone makes this tiny donut shop worth a visit.  Open since 1953, this St. Louis Hills institution is a legend in this town and for good reason – their donuts are EXCELLENT. 

Our Favorite Donut Drive In Donuts:

  • Apple Fritter
  • Glazed (so fluffy!)
  • Chocolate Glazed (simple & well executed)

What Else You Should Know About Donut Drive In:  

Donut Drive In makes donuts all day everyday (hence the amazing smells), and they are open late most nights so you can grab a donut after school or after dinner and it will still be fresh 😊.   With a huge selection of classic and specialty donuts, Donut Drive In will satisfy your sweet tooth, flood you with nostalgia and leave you longing for another visit! Pro Tip: Pre order online and avoid weekend waits!  They have a few small tables to eat outdoors, otherwise take your donuts to-go.  

Visit Donut Drive In on the web

(left)decorated front door of the creve coeur location of strange donuts. (right).  racks for freshly baked donuts
The Creve Coeur location of Strange Donuts is the baking hub where all the donuts are made for the St. Louis Area.

Strange Donuts

Location & Hours:

  1. Creve Coeur –  11477 Olive Blvd
  2. Kirkwood – 105 E Argonne Dr
  3. Maplewood – 2709 Sutton Blvd
    • All locations are open Sun-Thurs 6am-12, Friday & Saturday 6am-6pm
    • Order pickup & delivery available from their website

Top Reason to Visit Strange Donuts:

Don’t come to Strange Donuts if you are looking for the classics, (although they do have a few) come here for something out of this world!  With unique donut flavors, shapes and textures, it’s a great place to try something new.  How about Crème Brulee Donut?  Or perhaps a Puppie Pie (puppy chow topped, chocolate custard cream filled donut)? Sign me up! 

What Else You Should Know About Strange Donuts:  

The donuts are made from scratch in their Creve Coeur location and delivered fresh to the other two spots. They change donut flavors every month, so come back often to try the latest! You can follow them on Instagram to see the monthly selection. 

Our Favorite Strange Donuts: 

  • Banana Custard filled donut topped with Peanut Butter icing and Chocolate Sprinkles. 
  • Chocolate Donut with Raspberry Icing and Cookie Crumbles

Visit Strange Donuts on the web 

(left) front entrance at Mochi Donut and (right) vanilla donut with krispies.
Mochi Donut is located in Ellisville and offers various flavors including Milk Pebble (one of our favorites!).
multi flavor box of donuts from mochi donut. that sit up rather than flat. flavors include taro, pistachio, strawberry, churro and milk with pebbles
Each donut at Mochi is made up of 8 pull apart balls. Flavors from front to back: Taro, Pistachio, Strawberry, Churro, Milk with Pebbles.

Mochi Donut

Location & Hours:

  • 16023 Manchester Rd  Ellisville, MO 63011
  • Monday – Tuesday 7:00 AM – 2:00 PM, Wednesday 7:00 AM – 11:00 AM, Thursday – Saturday 7:00 AM – 5:00 PM, Sunday 7:00 AM – 11:00 AM

Top Reason to Visit Mochi Donuts:

Spongy, moist & delicious, the texture of these donuts is so unique & unlike anything we’ve ever had! A Mochi donut is a cross between a traditional donut and a Japanese mochi (chewy rice cake).

What Else You Should Know About Mochi Donut:  

With 12 signature flavors and rotating specials, each donut is made up of 8 small circles that easily pull apart for a very fun to eat breakfast or snack!     In addition to donuts, Mochi Donut also serves several flavors of Bubble Tea and lunch items like Katsu, Bao, Teriyaki and more.   

Our Favorite Donuts From Mochi Donut:

  • Pistachio
  • Taro
  • Milk Pebble

Visit Mochi Donut on the on the web 

on the left, 3 kids stand outside the chesterfield duck donut location.  on the right, see the work area with various icing flavors and a duck donut employee assembling a box of donuts.
Duck Donuts, located in Chesterfield, makes their donuts to order with an endless amount of icings & toppings.
box of 6 colorful donuts from duck donuts including plain glazed, key lime, double chocolate, lemon raspberry, sunrise and vanilla with sprinkles
The flavor combinations at Duck Donuts are so fun! The Sunrise Donut & the Beach Ball are two of our favorites! (bottom left & center).

Duck Donuts

Location & Hours:

  • 1651 Clarkson Rd, Chesterfield, MO 63017
  • Open daily 6:30am-1pm

Top Reason to Visit Duck Donuts:

The donuts are made-to-order and always served HOT!  If you are planning to eat your donuts immediately, this is the perfect donut shop for you. 

What Else You Should Know about Duck Donuts:  

With endless coatings, toppings and drizzles, you can customize the perfect donut for you.  They also make a beautiful presentation if you are looking to bring a treat to the office or party.   Keep in mind the only donut base they have here is vanilla cake – don’t come here looking for a chocolate glazed or apple fritter!  The Chesterfield location is locally owned and part of a larger franchise that has over 100 locations nationwide. 

Our Favorite Duck Donuts:

  • Sunrise (lemon raspberry)
  • Beach Ball (vanilla icing with rainbow sprinkles & a chocolate drizzle)
  • Cinnamon Sugar

Visit Duck Donuts Online

Honorable Mentions:

These donut shops didn’t make the top 4 list, yet have something special that makes it worthy of a visit!

Old Town Donuts – This award winning spot has 2 locations, Florissant & Cottleville.  Old Town Donuts makes donuts 3x per day and serves them 24 hours a day, so you can even satisfy yours sweet tooth in the middle of the night!  They have a huge selection, and while some flavors were outstanding (try the Old Fashioned), others were a bit over the top for us.   Stick with the classics and you should be fine. 

Visit Old Town Online

Daylight Donuts – This Chesterfield donut shop is open late and has a full bar.  It’s perfect for dessert & an after-dinner drink. Plus, they have a drive thru for an AM pick-me-up😊.  We have had several experiences here and some are better than others.  Our favorite is the Blueberry Krueller. 

Visit Daylight Donuts Online

box of cut up donuts into small sample sized pieces for sharing
Why pick just one? Try all the flavors by cutting up all the donuts so everyone can taste each!

The Search Continues….

There you have it, our list of the best donuts in St. Louis!  Now that you’ve narrowed down to a few donut shops – how will you ever choose just one donut to taste? Try eating donuts like my family does – we get a box with several selections then cut them into pieces so we can taste each! It makes eating donuts so much more fun when you can enjoy a variety.  By now you are likely salivating & craving sugar, so stop reading and go try these donuts for yourself!  Comment below with your experiences and let me know your favorite donuts in St. Louis!

Did you enjoy reading this article? Read more FitnessFoodieSTL restaurant reviews here.

What are your favorite St. Louis Donut shops? Comment below!

One response to “In Search Of The Best St. Louis Donuts”

  1. Jenny avatar
    Jenny

    Great donut info! Thanks for doing the hard work, so we don’t have to. Can’t wait to try some of these.

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