Cake, yeast, exotic and more: Where to get the best local doughnuts in Lexington
READ MORE
Lexington dining guides
LexGoEat.com is here to help with a number of guides of Lexington restaurants from family meals to Italian to Mexican.
Expand All
When it comes to doughnuts, there are no few who can walk past an open box. Some people love them all. Some only love one kind but tolerate the rest.
No matter what it is, people have thoughts and preferences.
This was apparently recently when a post on the Lexington Food & Dining News Facebook group criticized a local unnamed bakery. Several people rushed to defend said doughnuts and the fray was on.
Whether your pastry of choice is cake or yeast, powdered sugar or iced, Lexington bakeries have you covered, and then some.
So much so that VisitLex a few years ago created the “Donut Trail.”
Here are some great local spots to get doughnuts. This list does not include chains, which also make fine doughnuts.
With National Doughnut Day on June 5, several bakeries will be offering sweet deals, too.
As Kentucky restaurants reopen for dining in, some bakeries are allowing customers to sit outside, but rarely inside where seating capacity is usually minimal.
Luckily carryout is perfect for doughnuts (that way nobody will know how many you eat!) and some bakeries even have drive-thrus.
Donut Days
Donut Days, 185 Southland Dr., is the kind of “old school” bakery that doughnut lovers crave to find. It’s been around for almost 50 years, and has a drive-thru. Although glaze yeast doughnuts are by far the most popular, Donut Days does lots of other kinds, from chocolate and caramel iced, to a dozen kinds of cake doughnuts.
They often have specially decorated holiday doughnuts, as well as iced cookies and other baked treats like pastries, cakes and even melt-in-your mouth butterflake rolls. Owner Fred Wohlstein said they make 200 pounds of yeast dough and 50 pounds of cake dough each day; they do 150 dozen plain glazed, 60 dozen chocolate glazed, about 8 dozen caramel and 28 dozen filled each day. 859-277-9414.
DoughDaddy’s
DoughDaddy’s, 3323 Lexington Rd., Versailles, is tucked away in a gas station. But don’t be fooled, it’s the real deal just over the Fayette County line past The Kentucky Castle. The DoughDaddy’s slogan: Doughnuts perfected. They have more than 60 kinds in their cases, so they have something for every doughnut lover. And be sure to check out the day old table where you can find boxes marked down 1/2 off. 859-873-1355
Frank’s Donuts
Frank’s Donuts, 549 West Third St., is cheap (hard to beat $7 for a dozen), good and has a drive-thru in Lexington just off Winchester Road. Don’t be turned off by the price. Sure, you can find more expensive doughnuts, but these are nothing to sneeze at. Yeasty melt-in-your-mouth deliciousness. 859-523-0399
North Lime Coffee & Donuts
North Lime 575 North Limestone (which also has a location at 3101 Clays Mill) likes to be know for their “weird” donuts. They work at it, and take inspiration from customers and from the moment, whether that is the NCAA basketball tournament or the pandemic, as in “Flatten the Curd,” a lemon filled doughnut with Gov. Andy Beshear’s face on it. And yes, they’ve been known to throw some bacon on a maple-glazed doughnut or two. 859-414-6654 or 859-303-6114
Magee’s Bakery
Magee’s has been in its spot at 726 East Main St. since 1956, making doughnuts and pastries, croissants and cream horns, and much more. They are famous for their chocolate and maple icing. It’s so thick that they have to slap the doughnut into dredge it on; no drippy glaze here. You can also grab breakfast and lunch here, too. 859-255-9481
Spalding’s Bakery
Spalding’s, 760 Winchester Rd., is so traditional that the bakery only takes cash. The doughnuts are deep fried; you either love them or you don’t. Many people do. So much so that they show up in surprising places, like wrapped around a burger at Bad Wolf burgers, which serves “The Spalding,” a cheeseburger with bacon and a fried egg. Drive-thru available. Spalding’s is closed on Monday and Tuesday and closes at noon Wednesday through Sunday. So don’t dawdle. 859-252-3737
This story was originally published June 4, 2020 at 9:47 AM.
