Donut Friend - Highland Park - Dessert, Ice Cream, Coffee & More — Restaurant in Los Angeles

After Thrillist declared Donut Friend to have one of the best doughnuts in LA, I had to try this place! My friend had recently bought a house nearby so I decided to bring Donut Friend as a housewarming gift. Parking is street only, but I was able to find a spot less than a block away and walk over.

They have a Dozen Donut Special, where you order a dozen doughnuts and can get a box of doughnut holes and a dipping sauce for free. I went with that option and the lady was nice and let me have two dipping sauces because I couldn't choose between vanilla and maple. Thanks!

For my dozen I got the following: -- Strawberry Lab: A traditional donut filled with whipped cream, fresh strawberries -- Strawberry Lab topped with chocolate glaze -- (2) White Chocolate Stripes: A traditional donut topped with a mixed berry glaze, white chocolate, and a fresh blackberry -- (2) S'Morrissey: A chocolate cake donut filled with toasted marshmallows, topped with chocolate glaze and graham cracker crumbs -- (2) Mango Chili Lime: Traditional donut, chili lime seasoning, candied lime -- Husker Blu: A moist cake donut loaded with fresh blueberries and a blueberry glaze -- Polar Berry Club: Lemon glaze, fresh mixed berries, and mint on top of a traditional donut -- (2) Angry Samoa: A vanilla cake donut dipped in chocolate, and topped with caramel, toasted coconut, and chocolate stripes

I would be a horrible gift-giver if I gave them these doughnuts and then ate them all, so I only sampled two of them. The Polar Berry Club was delicious, but my favourite was the Mango Chili Lime. That one was really good! I ate half of it and then chased my friend down to make her eat the other half because I loved it so much and wanted her to enjoy it too. Yum! It is one of their Limited Edition doughnuts, however, so they do not always have it in stock.

Donut Friend is also amazing because you can DIY your own doughnut creations. You pick a doughnut base, then the filling, and then toppings! I've never done this (because their already assembled doughnuts look/sound amazing enough) but this sounds really cool too! So smart of them because with this DIY option you will constantly have to come back to try more creations! I definitely need to come back to try their other doughnuts, and perhaps...

I drove up from San Diego for these donuts--a 200+ mile round trip. They did not disappoint.

I heard about Donut Friend from a YouTube video and knew I had to go when I saw green tea glaze and donuts filled with strawberries and the vegan version of cream. You'll never know it's not "real". Everything tastes rich, sweet, and artery-hardening, plant-based or no.

They're open until 10 p.m. on most days from what I remember, so they have breakfast treats and late night cravings covered. There's a wide selection of ready-made donuts in their cases; you can take singles, a box of four, or a dozen. (I took four, then saw a tray of the green tea ones come out fresh from the oven while at the register. The employee helping me kindly obliged my gluttony by fetching me one of those to boot.) You can also mix and match glazes, toppings, and donuts, which can be as traditional as chocolate or cinnamon to as adventurous as maple "bacon" or salted caramel pretzel.

Everything looked and tasted fresh. The shop itself is simple and clean. Parking can be a little tricky, but I managed with a reasonably priced lot right around the corner. Five donuts ran to $15, but if I'm willing to drive four hours to get them, price is of no consequence. Besides, they apparently donate a large portion of their profits to various organizations (Planned Parenthood is what the sign on the counter read on my visit). While these donuts might not be the best thing for waistlines, they're doing good in the...

I have been holding off on reviewing this place, to be honest and unfriendly, it's because ironically Donut Friend is simply soo great I almost didn't want to share it with anyone. 😅🍩🍩

Donut Friend is wonderful in everyway. ☕ The coffee is strong and rich 🍩 Donuts are fresh and customizable 🌾 Gluten-free donuts available 🧙‍♂️ The staff are nice and patient

Entering the donut shop you are greeted by a happy face usually, and asked how donuts in total you'd like to order for them to begin with your process #trusttheprocess. As soon as you step through the door you'll see a cop's 👮‍♀️ version of heaven 😇 as you witness a display of donuts so beautiful, you'll have a difficult time imagining how each may taste. With a variety of donuts to pick from, you can simply choose and many as you can guilt yourself into buying and go on your marry way. Or like an infomercials say "WAIT THERE IS MORE" - you can choose to THEN add and CUSTOMIZE each of your donut with a multiple choices of fillings, frostings and toppings.

In Summary:

To sum it all up when you think about Donut Friend, think Cold Stones but with donuts 🍩, or Subway but with 🍩 & ☕, or Chipotle but without e-coli 😋

Try Donut Friend as soon as you get the chance, buy a shirt and grab a sticker, you'll be a part of a new way to enjoy your donuts, and you'll love everytime you visit and ever feel-good minute of...