Nashville is goin’ nuts for doughnuts. In the past 18 months, three shops have popped up along a 1.3-mile stretch of road near East Nashville’s Five Points. East Park Donuts and Coffee landed in the old Bagel Face Bakery spot on Main Street in August 2018; Donut Distillery opened four minutes away at 311 Gallatin Ave. in April 2019; and then, just four months later, Status Dough opened its doors at 921 Gallatin.
But this boom hasn’t appeared to affect the old favorites. Fox’s Donut Den in Green Hills continues to nearly sell out on a regular basis — even in the evenings, after the kitchen has had time to catch up from the morning rush, pickin’s can get slim — and Five Daughters Bakery, home of the 100 Layer Doughnut, just opened its fourth Middle Tennessee location inside West Nashville’s L&L Market.
Now that the sprinkles have started to settle, it’s time to ask the question: Who makes the best doughnuts in Nashville? Every shop is different from the last. Can one ring (of fried dough) rule them all? It’s time to decide. So gather your friends, conduct your scientific taste tests and vote for your favorite doughnut makers at nashvillescene.com between Feb. 27 and March 6.
Finally, a March Madness bracket for the rest of us. Fill out the bracket below, and read our profiles of each of the eight doughnut shops below that.
Fox’s Donut Den
Fox’s Donut Den is old-school — aesthetically, not much has changed since the shop first opened its doors in 1973. But the doughnut bakers still adapt to ever-changing trends, offering an array of treats that appeal to both Old and New Nashville. There are cake doughnuts slathered with chocolate or maple, old-fashioned doughnuts with sugary glaze pooling in the cracks, traditional yeast doughnuts covered in everything from coconut to bacon bits or stuffed fat with a rainbow of different fruit fillings, and even Fox’s unique take on the ever-popular Cronut. (Theirs looks like a unicorn horn, and it’s delicious.) And unlike most other shops in town, Fox’s prices everything in its case at $3 or less. It’s also open late, because some doughnuts taste especially good at midnight.
Be sure to try: The apple fritter. It’s the best in Nashville.
McGaugh’s Donuts
Like Fox’s, McGaugh’s is your traditional doughnut joint done right. There aren’t any Instragrammable murals or trendy chalkboard signs, but don’t let the lack of flair fool you: McGaugh’s simple glazed yeast doughnut can stand up to any fancy-pants doughnut you’ll find anywhere else, and it’ll cost you just a buck. In fact, nothing in the giant pastry case is more than $2 — from the maple bars and cinnamon twists to the Fruity Pebble- and Oreo-covered yeast rings to the glazed doughnuts filled with lemon, strawberry, cherry, raspberry, blueberry, chocolate and Bavarian cream filling.
Be sure to try: The basic glazed yeast doughnut. Seriously. It’ll leave you wondering, “What’s a Krispy Kreme?”
Donut Distillery
Donut Distillery sells its two-bite-sized doughnuts in packs of three, six, 12 or 25 (for $3, $5, $10 and $20, respectively), which is perfect for folks who can’t commit to one flavor. For an extra buck you can add a “boozy toot” (ahem), a pipette filled with your choice of booze to shoot into your mouth or squeeze into your doughnut as you eat. Gimmicky? Sure. But it’s every doughnut shop for itself out there — you have to have something to stand apart from the rest. The best part: Because the mini doughnuts are made to order, you’re encouraged to create your own flavor combinations. Donut Distillery’s long list of toppings includes chocolate, maple or whiskey glaze, Fruity Pebbles, Nutella, Oreos, grape Pixy Stix, Tang, Butterfinger, marshmallow drizzle, peanut butter and more.
Be sure to try: Rocky Road. The thick chocolate glaze pairs perfectly with the salty crushed peanuts and sweet marshmallow drizzle. I regret getting only one.
The Donut + Dog
Get to The Donut + Dog early, because the doughnuts will sell out. The bakery’s brioche dough takes 12 hours (and a whole lot of butter) to make, and while the kitchen does its best to stockpile for the rush, there are still days when the Hillsboro Village shop can’t keep up with demand. And for good reason. Flavors like the Dirty Churro (cinnamon, sugar, Oreo crumble and espresso drizzle) and Pillow Talk (guava and cream cheese, Italian buttercream and house glaze) are balanced with just the right amount of spice, salt or other seasonings to avoid tasting like a one-note sugar bomb. The bakery’s latest addition? The Brioche Donut Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwich. An OG doughnut (house glaze, cinnamon, vanilla and pink Himalyan sea salt) is split and grilled, then stacked with hot chicken, pickles, Asian slaw and “bang” sauce. Whoa.
Be sure to try: Sweet Baby Jesus. This crème brûlée doughnut is two desserts in one, topped with a brûléed-to-order shell and stuffed with a super-thick and delicious vanilla custard. It’s best eaten as soon as it arrives at the table — otherwise the shell melts into a sticky mess.
East Park Donuts and Coffee
Of all the new boutique doughnut shops, East Park has perhaps the most expansive menu. The countertop display is always changing, with daily flavors that’ll appeal to every kind of doughnut connoisseur. Want something light and tender? Grab one of the perfectly golden brioche doughnuts topped with brown butter or lavender blueberry glaze. Looking for something cakey? Try the sour-cream old-fashioneds. And for an especially substantial treat, look no further than East Park’s potato cake doughnuts, which boast an alarmingly dense base that you can (and should) dip into your coffee. East Park also has gluten-free, paleo and keto options, and there’s even a chocolate malted doughnut with 15 milligrams of CBD. Traditional cake doughnuts are $2 a pop, but the daily and seasonal specials range anywhere from $3.50 to $5.
Be sure to try: The Everything doughnut. The brioche base is topped with a not-too-sweet cream cheese glaze and everything bagel seasoning. It’s savory and salty and kind of weird, but surprisingly addictive.
Status Dough
East Nashville’s newest doughnut shop, just two minutes up the road from Donut Distillery, comes by way of Knoxville, and its doughnuts are stunning. When you close your eyes and picture the perfect chocolate-glazed yeast doughnut, it’s a Status Dough doughnut you see. The bakery’s doughnut display is simple — a small selection of yeast, cake and old-fashioned flavors, along with a few specials including fritters and filled doughnuts on any given day — but don’t sleep on the vegan options. The Vegan Snickerdoodle doughnut was one of the best cake doughnuts I’ve ever had — tender and fluffy inside with a crispy exterior and just the right amount of cinnamon-sugar coating.
Be sure to try: The Vegan Snickerdoodle. You won’t even know it’s vegan!
Conny and Jonny
The one bummer about Conny and Jonny doughnuts? They’re available only on weekends. You can find them at Crema, The Loading Dock, Tempo and Living Waters Brewing Friday through Sunday, and Barista Parlor locations Saturday and Sunday. But even given their limited presence, C&J’s creations are becoming a fast favorite. Conny and Jonny’s flavor combinations are impressive when they’re inspired by fresh and seasonal ingredients — look for peach fritters and blueberry-peach-cobbler doughnuts made with Peach Truck peaches in the summer! But the husband-and-wife duo has also mastered the basics. (How do Conny and Jonny manage to get the vanilla glaze so perfectly vanilla-y?) Follow along on Instagram at @connyandjonny to know what and where the bakery’s selling each week.
Be sure to try: Strawberry Crumb, the doughnut that inspired Scene editor-in-chief D. Patrick Rodgers to give Conny and Jonny the Writer’s Choice for Best Doughnuts in our 2019 Best of Nashville issue.
Five Daughters
When New York-based pastry chef Dominique Ansel invented the Cronut in 2013, the decadent croissant-doughnut hybrid made its way around the globe faster than Kid Rock can get kicked out of his own bar. Five Daughters Bakery was first to bring the concept to Nashville, and it does Ansel’s creation justice. The 100 Layer Doughnuts, as Five Daughters calls them — Ansel trademarked the word Cronut — are stuffed with curds, creams and custards, and covered with frostings, cookie crumbs and candy bits to create over-the-top flavors like Cookie Quinn (with a rich buckwheat cookie-dough frosting), Lucy’s Lemonade (filled with a super-tart lemon curd), and King Kong (it involves bacon). The 100 Layer Doughnut is still the shop’s star — even at $4.50-$4.75 a pop — but over the years Five Daughters has rounded out its menu with traditional yeast doughnuts, as well as vegan, paleo and gluten-free options.
Be sure to try: The Purist. No fillings, no overwhelming toppings — just a tender, cloud-like puff finished off with a delicate vanilla glaze, allowing the magical texture of all those layers to really shine.
