The Bay Area’s Best Donut Shops

Five years ago, we read a list ranking the 100 best donuts in the U.S. of A.

In the interim, we’ve been to half of those donut shops — not bad when you consider they’re spread across the country.

Which means that when we say we know the six best donut spots in the Bay, we know of what we speak.

Ready to fill the hole in your stomach? Take heed.

Dynamo Donut
If you’re going to have one donut involving bacon in the Bay Area, let it be Sara Spearin’s Maple Bacon Apple, which is basically the best breakfast you ever had, remade in donut form. Not too sweet, not too savory.
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Bob’s Donuts
Our pick for your ultra-standard 3 a.m. glazed donut; your mileage may suggest that Happy Donuts is the superior choice. Honestly, nobody’s a loser here.
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Rainbow Donuts
Your destination when you want to express your love for a niece, nephew or similarly beloved young person whose parents’ won’t mind when you want to give the child the sugar party of their dreams.
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Donut Savant
Our choice for special edition donuts — like exquisite Christmas tree donuts, or, equally, Hanukkah-ready sufganiyot. Keep an eye on their Facebook page for the latest.
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Craftsman and Wolves
Once, stopping by for the de facto chocolate-chip-with-sea-salt sprinkles, they had donut holes with violet sugar. Were these the best donuts of all time? Maybe. (We just checked the menu, and apparently the donut holes are now sprinkled with vanilla tumeric, which are probably great — but that violet was something else.)
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Twisted Donuts
It’s easy: coconut guava donut. There, we just ordered for you.
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