Let me start off saying….St. Louis donuts exceeded my expectations. In my research, I noticed there were a lot more donuts in the St. Louis area than I anticipated. Donuts were a large part of my trip but I also had to juggle exploring, hiking, and trying the local food as well. This post is to capture my thoughts on the donut shops I did visit. There were a few donut shops I hoped to stop by but I ran out of time. I can’t for sure say who the best was. What I can tell you is that St. Louis has amazing donuts.
I saw this sign a mile away.
Most donut shops in St. Louis are old school. They don’t offer crazy toppings and stick to the basics such as glazed, frosted, and jelly fillings. I found most shops did open early and close by early afternoon. So, you better get there early. Be sure to check shop hours. They make donuts fresh in the morning. Once they run out, they are done for the day. While it is challenging to get there in a timely fashion to get your fill of donuts, I appreciate the old school mindset. What stood out to me the most was that the actual donut was so amazing and fresh. Even after sitting in the car a few hours, they still tasted awesome. They weren’t the most Instagram worthy or fancy but I would choose them over most donuts I have had.
Truth Vincent Van DOughnuts.
Pharaohs Donuts
The first donut shop I checked out was Pharaoh Donuts. They are located in the downtown area of St. Louis. My girlfriend and I stayed downtown just for one night so this was our first stop in the morning. We arrived mid-morning and they were already out of some donuts. Walking up to the donut case, I was overwhelmed as usual. I had to make my selections count. I appreciate the patience of the staff. I noticed a donut that I know to be a maple bar from the Northeast. The poor guy kept saying Long John and explaining that it had caramel frosting. I just kept saying maple bar. My girlfriend just kept shaking her head with embarrassment. Donut excitement got to me.
We purchased 4 donuts and walked over to the Gateway Arch. I got the Long John, chocolate glazed (cake), coffee crumb (cake), and a raspberry filled glazed donut. The donuts cost about $1.50 each. Not bad at all. On this day, I did not expect to have one of the best donuts in my life. The Long John was amazing. The donut was perfect and chewy. The caramel frosting was dynamite and not overly sweet. Nichole isn’t a huge donut fan (ironic) but this donut had her fighting for bites with me. The perfect donut hands down. I dare you to tell me otherwise. The chocolate cake was awesome. The cake base was almost gooey because the delicious glaze was soaking into the fresh made donut. The raspberry filled donut was great. Perfect amount of filling and the donut itself was very good. The coffee cake was my least favorite but still very good. As my first donut experience in St. Louis, I didn’t know how this could get better.
the best donut in st. Louis. Caramel frosted long John.
Yes, this is real. this is not a background photo. the arch makes a great donut pic.
Donuts Drive In
The Donuts Drive In is a classic, well known donut shop off Route 66 in St. Louis. They are open 5am to Midnight on Friday and Saturdays. The shop is located in the Lindenwood Park area of St. Louis. We were driving looking to try Ted Drewes but the line was way too long. Lucky for me, the Donut Drive-In was right down the road. I saw all the lights lit up from afar. There were a few cars but then out of nowhere there was a 10pm crowd for donuts. They couldn’t even fit everyone in. All the donuts were standard (glazed, frosted, apple fritter etc) with a specialty donuts. Nothing fancy. And, completely fresh. They had racks and racks of fresh donuts ready to go. I went with a vanilla frosted, glazed bow-tie, plain glazed, chocolate frosted cruller, Blueberry cake, and Maple walnut. This costs about $6 for a half dozen, very inexpensive. We actually saved them for after our hike the next day. We tore down that box. Every donut was phenomenal and satisfying. The consistency to each donut was extraordinary. The yeast dough was exceptional. The cake batter donuts were moist and chewy. I could eat a box of these every week. I don’t recall a collection of donuts from one place that made me so happy. Again, nothing extravagant. No need for crazy toppings. Just a shop that knows to how make a bangin’ donut. Go there!
I’m ready for donuts.
World’s Fair Donuts
Another great, local donut shop is World’s Fair Donuts. This is a small mom and pop in the Southwest Garden area. This is a very crowded area with little parking. We went there a few hours before it closed and they had barely any donuts left. Rookie move. I can tell they were very similar to the Donut Drive-In as far as options. The only two types left they had was plain glaze and a strawberry filled glazed donut. They only took cash and each donut was only 60 cents! I was like this can’t be real. That’s too cheap. We took our two donuts and enjoyed them on the ride back to our hotel. Again, the yeast donut was so good. Almost like a krispy kreme type donut but less sweet. St. Louis has the yeast donut down.
donut selfie
Now, that’s old school.
Vincent Van Doughnut
The last stop on our St. Louis donut tour was Vincent Van Doughnut. There was a location only a half mile from our hotel in the Forest Park district. The other location can be found in Clayton. This shop was way different from the others. More gourmet and trendier style of donut. Not only that but they make square shaped, yeast raised donuts. And, they are pretty big. They do offer cake base donuts in the standard shape as well as vegan and gluten-free options and even other desserts and pastries. The woman behind the counter suggested the cookies & cream which consists of Cheesecake glaze and topped with scratch-made chocolate streusel, cheesecake, and ganache stripes. The french toast was the most popular, with Maple and Cinnamon glaze topped with pecans and walnuts and a dusting of powdered sugar. I went with those as well as the chocolate frosted with peanut butter. All of those were the yeast base. I wanted to try a cake base one, so I got the blueberry glaze. This shop was pricier than the rest I visited. Averaging about $3 per donut. My favorites were the cookies & cream and the french toast. I thought they were good donuts. I only tried these 4 but I didn’t have the same excitement eating them as the donuts I mentioned earlier. I like more gluttony than the next guy but the donuts were a little too big. Each donut had a different texture, one was perfect and one was too chewy. They didn’t taste as fresh. There was a higher dough to topping ratio. With big donuts, that can be too much. The consistency wasn’t similar to the other donuts I had. And, the cake batter blueberry was crumbly and forgettable. The flavors were there but the donut itself could be better.
The Donut Reviews
I left St. Louis a changed man. Yeah, I love the big, fancy, crazy topping donuts. After visiting St. Louis, I have a better appreciation for the simple donuts. Every great donut shop or bakery should be able to make a basic glazed donut taste amazing. You don’t need pop tarts, candy bars, cookies, or pancakes to make a donut taste good. But if you make an awesome donut and add that crazy stuff, I’m in! Don’t sleep on St. Louis donuts. If I ever make it back there, I can’t wait to try more donut shops.
Pharoah Donuts: 4.5 out of 5
Donut Drive-In: 5 out of 5
World’s Fair Donuts: 4 out of 5
Vincent Van Doughnuts: 3.5 out of 5
HIKING FOR DONUTS
A blog for the outdoors foodie enthusiast
Hi, I’m Mark. I live in Connecticut. I take new trips every chance I get. A good trip has a great hike, great food, and something fun to do. My goal is to search out new trips and share them to inspire others to try something new and exciting.
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