Aww Sam NYC Tour – Guide to New York’s Best Donuts!

The #1 question I get asked when people are traveling is what are New York’s best _______? Pizza, donuts, bagels, retail stores, tacos, places for photoshoots…you name it, I’m always ready to provide whatever knowledge I may have on the subject! BUT, what if I could point everyone to a post where they could see all of the best options in photo form and become more of an expert on all things New York?! Thus, the Aww Sam NYC Tour series was created! And my first category on the list is my most requested: DONUTS! Really, how could I start this without donuts being the initiation? 

As you may recall, one of my first posts was a donut tour or what have you, but seeing as there are only seven main donut shops in New York, it made more sense to lump them together into one HUGE post! So I hope you’re ready, because this is about to be one sugar-packed adventure!

Without further ado, let’s get into the most important part of the post; where each donut came from and their flavors! (The flavor list reads from left to right for each set of photos). Keep up!

Underwest Donuts
638 W 47th St, New York, NY 10036

Underwest is possibly the coolest donut shop ever because it’s in a car wash! And one of their donuts is even inspired by the colors of the car wash. They run out of donuts pretty, quickly everyday, so make sure you get there early to get the best picks! 

Favorite: Maple Waffle & Dark Chocolate
Least favorite: I don’t think I have a least favorite, these ones were all SO good

Dunwell
222 Montrose Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11206


Dunwell is only a few streets away from my studio, so it’s obviously the one I spend the most time at. AND it’s the only donut shop on this tour that’s completely vegan! They even have a vegan donut ice cream sundae. That’s right all my vegan friends, there’s a super delicious option for you too!

Favorite: Elvis (I mean, how can I not fall in love with a peanut butter chocolate donut with banana filling?)
Least favorite: Earl Grey

Doughnuttery
425 W 15th St, New York, NY 10011


These are all mini donuts! They’re a bit different in that the donut itself is all the same and the employee puts them in a bag of flavored sugar essentially and shakes it up to get it to stick. This was the most crowded of any place I went, but honestly my least favorite. Mostly because the people working there were SUPER angry. We kept calling these ones the angry donuts because they were made with such anger! How can you even be angry when you’re around donuts all day?!

Favorite: Cereal
Least favorite: Lemon Pop

Peter Pan Donuts
727 Manhattan Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11222


Peter Pan is known for their red velvet donut, and they seem to be my fellow Brooklynite’s favorite donut shop. It’s really adorable and more like an old-fashioned donut shop than any of the others. They don’t have the wacky and crazy flavors like the other stops on this tour, but they make their classic donuts to perfection!

Favorite: Marbled Crueller & Red Velvet Crueller
Least favorite: Coconut (I just don’t care for coconut that much, but these donuts were all great!)

Holey Cream
796 9th Ave, New York, NY 10019

I used to live right across the street from Holey Cream. And I’ll let you in on a little secret: they still deliver to an apartment literally next door. I was the ultimate of lazy people. Anyways, people go there for their donut ice cream sandwiches, but since I couldn’t bring one of those back to the studio to photograph, here are some of their donut options! It’s basically like a create your own donut place; you choose the icing flavor and the toppings.

Favorite: Nutella
Least favorite: Strawberry with Gummy Bears (something was wrong with the icing)

Doughnut Plant
220 W 23rd St, New York, NY 10011


Doughnut Plant is the one you may have seen photos of on Instagram because they have giant plush donuts all over one wall and their chairs even look like donuts too! They are also the only shop I’ve ever bought a square donut from. I’m definitely on board with some donut shape experimentation! 

Favorite: Peanut Butter Banana Cream
Least favorite: I don’t have a least favorite here either, these were all spectacular

Dough
448 Lafayette Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11205 & 14 W 19th St, New York, NY 10011


Dough is most similar to Dunwell in both flavors and style, but they are not vegan, so don’t get that confused. They are known for their hibiscus donut (which to be honest, I don’t particularly like), but people seem to go crazy for it, and it’s obviously the prettiest color out of any of the donuts I got! 

Favorite: Chocolate with Cocoa Nibbs
Least favorite: Tropical Chili (There’s something about a spicy donut that rubs me the wrong way)

I’m so excited to be doing this series, and I’m kind of thinking food trucks might be next up on the list. Gotta get that one in before summer is over! Pizza will definitely be an interesting one too since there’s a pizza shop here that has a normal sized slice of pizza topped with tiny slices of pizza! (Google it, it’s pretty mind-blowing)