Better Days Coffee & Donuts — Restaurant in Toronto

In the foreword of Stella Parks's "Bravetart," Kenji Lopez-Alt describes how Stella was able to make Lucky Charms taste more like Lucky Charms than actual Lucky Charms. That is my experience of Better Days's doughnuts: The depth of flavour is as if someone has taken the essence of the elements that define each doughnut and amplified it. To elaborate...

The chocolate cake doughnuts (whether with frosting or coconut) are an ideal manifestation of a chocolate cake donut. I actually never much liked chocolate cake doughnuts before, usually finding them dry and a bit flat--not at Better Days. These are chocolate-rich, and moist but not wet.

I hesitate because this will sound hyperbolic but the (raspberry-filled) jelly is the best jelly doughnut I've ever had. There, I said it. The jelly is smooth and generously fills the doughnut. My dream would be to put that raspberry filling inside the granulated sugar dusted vessel of the lemon filled, which doesn't just crunch but crackles like a shell.

It took me three attempts to get an apple fritter (first I was too early, then I was too late) and it's easy to understand why. The apple isn't overbearing, the cinnamon is homogeneously distributed, and it all comes situated within incredibly crunchy edges that creates a beautiful contrast with the gooey parts inside. My experience with the crueller was an echo of this: stunningly moist inside with a light, crisp envelope.

Of course, nothing's perfect and there's always room for improvement. None of my opinions about such imperfections qualifies for the attention of a reader here, however, because they are minor or idiosyncratic.

I should say that I worked for three years at a bakery that made many things, including doughnuts. The difference between what we made, and what I've eaten elsewhere, versus Better Days is that Better Days clearly focuses on the quality of its ingredients: the frostings pure, the fillings plump, and the flavourings pronounced. The doughnuts aren't flashy, they're supremely authentic--displaying a dedication to craft.

I'm very grateful that the...

Throwback to the donuts you loved as a child with classic flavours and cake donuts! Double choc cake donut is very chocolatey (although it may not be if it was only glaze) and little bit of a dense texture. Sour cream cake didn’t quite land for me, didn’t taste like sour cream. Cherry stick is glorious.

Boston cream and Maple cream are excellent. Vanilla pastry cream is exactly like the taste from the 90s and donuts are properly filled!

The apple fritters are delicious. Crispy glazed exterior with good amount of cinnamon and apples and they’re flat so you get that crispness in each bite - and big! :)

I think the glazes need to be more thorough as fritters are only half covered, and cakes donuts are spotty.

Prices are fair - fritter is more expensive but makes sense given the size.

Update Aug 2024: The apple fritters don’t seem to be consistent and what they were when they opened 6 months ago. :( The last four times I went for them, twice they didn’t have them out yet (9:30am during weekday). Once there was no cinnamon in the dough, barely any apples and hardly glazed. Last Sunday it was smaller, half glazed, no apples and little cinnamon on inside. Quite...

Sadly I did not enjoy the donuts I purchased at Better Days. I came by a few weeks ago and by 10:30 a.m. they were already sold out of all their filled donuts and the apple fritter they're known for. Ended up getting the cherry stick which I unfortunately found bland and a little dry. Should have read the reviews online that said that coming too early meant the fritters and filled donuts aren't even made yet (they come out around 9 a.m. , I got there at opening hoping to get them before they sold out). I got the chocolate dip and the sprinkles donuts instead and the artificial/chemical taste of both was overwhelming, the kind that leaves a bad taste in your mouth after eating it, especially the chocolate. I ended up throwing out both donuts after a few bites of each. So disappointed as I really wanted to love this place and the service/aesthetics are top-notch! However trying to time when I arrive to get the things I want when they're available and before they sell out is too much hassle, and the donuts I have tried aren't good enough to make me want to come back a third time to try to get the fritter or...