Stan's Donut Shop — Restaurant in Santa Clara

Some of their donuts are pretty good, but honestly I don't understand what all the hullabaloo (fuss) is all about. They have a very limited menu and if you get there any time after 8am, their selection is extremely limited. Those standing in the line that sometimes goes out the door would probably make the "specialization" arguement -- that if you do something well, why change it, and focusing on doing the basics well allows better quality without getting sidetracked by trendy nonsense. Well, I would counter that some long-standing donut shops have a wider selection they do equally well, if not better, AND they have donuts available 24/7. Donut Wheel, for example, fits the bill, and you can get what you want at 2am!

Stan's is famous for their RAISED GLAZED -- pretty much the most PLAIN a donut can get unless you don't even bother to glaze it 😐 Sorry, Stan's Fans, but I don't care for plain flavors very much. It bores my tongue just thinking about it 😪😴💤

They only have one flavor of buttermilk donuts per day. For whatever reason, it always seems to be banana on any day I go and I don't like bananas much. They often sell out of their buttermilk donuts in a matter of hours anyway, so you might not even have that option.

The cinnamon roll is good while it's still warm, but in my opinion it could have used A LOT more cinnamon. It could also benefit from some cream cheese icing.

The jelly-filled powdered donut was also good. I did enjoy the bit of crispiness around the edge that added some texture. However, I've had better jelly filling. I'm not sure what flavor it was supposed to be. I'm guessing strawberry because it seemed to be missing that tart "zing" and flavor-density that a good raspberry pureé has to it.

THEY DON'T HAVE APPLE FRITTERS 😭 They also don't have donut holes, blueberry twists, cruellers, and more of your favorites. Why would I wait in line half an hour at 7am when I could go to Donut Wheel and get what I want at any time of the day or night? If you're looking for unique, intense, sugar-bomb flavors, I'd recommend trying Psycho Donuts.

Sorry to all you die-hard fans of Stan's, but it's just not my cup of tea. I'm sure you'll be happy about that though... One less customer means more of the limited selection left for you, and one less person in the...

I'm absolutely IN LOVE with Stan's donuts! my first visit was on a Saturday morning at around 9+, while the queue was starting to form, the queue moves very fast and i was placing my order within a short 5minute. The variety they have is amazing. The Jelly donut is so fluffy and a perfect mix of amazing. The glazed is such a wonderful classic, not too sweet, not too thick, perfectly fluffy and melt's in your mouth when you get a freshly made one.

I dined in at the counters and happily watched Abe, one of the staff, knead the donut dough. We were so happy with our donuts! Abe saw us pointing at the donut holes and asked if we wanted them (even though they typically only have it on the menu on monday, tuesday, wednesdays as it is more time consuming to cook them). We were over the moon when he decided to make us some donut holes.

Some other customers at the counter seats were also overjoyed to be able to snag a couple of donut holes that morning. The service from all the staff at Stan's is great despite their popularity and crowd. They made my day!!!

As a tourist from Singapore, I have to say Stan's donuts beats any other donuts i've tried in any other country. I visited Stan's on two occasions during my two month stay in the bay area. I'm now home in Singapore and purposefully writing a review as i'm missing the taste of their fresh donuts. Highly highly highly recommended! Whatever time you visit, however long the queue might be, it's gonna be worth it.

On a more practical note, parking is readily available outside of Stan's. Please bring cash, i dont think they accept cards. Please go in hungry and try their glazed and jelly donuts. If you are not a fan of something sweet, you could also ask for a plain one that is unglazed, unsugared. Avoid chocolate or other coated donuts if you are not a fan of sweet stuff too. They have the perfect donut for everyone and differing levels of sweet tolerance!

(In case you've heard of Randy's donuts in Los Angeles, the famous one that appeared in the Ironman movie, i have to say, i've tried that too and Stan's beats that by...

Stan’s Donut Shop is one of those spots like Falafel’s Drive-In that has fiercely loyal customers who will defend it no matter how good or bad it actually is just because it has been around for decades. I find that those kind of customers have their judgment impaired by nostalgia. This morning, I stopped by Stan’s at 6:30am expecting a long line. Instead, there were just three customers inside, and one of the customers was yammering away for ten minutes with one of the ladies behind the counter. I could tell she wanted to help me with my order as she glanced over, but was stuck listening to Chatty Charlie.

Eventually after five minutes, I was helped by another lady further down the counter. I quickly ordered a half dozen donuts: four glazed, one buttermilk and one chocolate glazed. I checked out and walked past Chatty Charlie back to my car.

So how was the hyped up glazed donut from Stan’s? It was fluffy, airy, a bit crisp and not as overloaded with sugar as the buttermilk donut was. Not bad, not mind-blowing either. Certainly not heads and shoulders above others as some locals have claimed. The buttermilk donut was dense and coated with a ton of sugar. The loony and delusional Stan’s loyalists on Reddit personally attack you while disparaging nationally acclaimed donut shops such as Blue Star in Portland, Sidecar in LA or Dutch Door Donuts in Carmel. If we’re being completely honest, Stan’s glazed donuts is better than but don’t really stand that out much from Krispy Kreme’s fresh glazed donuts. What impresses me are donuts like Blue Star’s Creme Brûlée Donut with a shot of Cointreau or the monthly rotating flavors at Dutch Door, where they don’t start frying your donuts until you place an order at the counter. I am a local, was born and grew up in the South Bay. But I’ve also lived and traveled all over the world. I’m objective enough to judge a donut without sprinkling nostalgia...