Stan’s Donuts

As a student from outside of LA I thought it was ridiculous that I paid a whole dollar for a donut here. Sure, that’s probably just what I have to pay around here but I still didn’t think the donut was to my tasting.

5 stars without a doubt… Perhaps that’s because Stan is my cousin or perhaps it’s because these really are the most amazing doughnuts ever! They are world famous for a reason. Stan, the man, has been in the bakery himself, bright and early, every morning for 50 years making these dense, delicious gems before the speciality doughnut thing was even a thing. Stan’s Donuts has maintained an impeccable reputation over these last 5 decades and is a true classic, both sweet, hardworking Stan and his treats.
The chocolate peanut butter is so insanely delicious! A must try! I’m going to go ahead and say it’s THE most delicious doughnut I have ever had. In fact, I’m drooling right now just thinking about it. It has always been my absolute favorite flavor my entire life although they all are fantastic. I grew up wearing oversized Stan’s tees as nightgowns at night when I was a little girl… these doughnut are what dreams are made of :) Stan has shipped them here to the east coast just so we could satisfy our Stan’s cravings because really, there’s no doughnut out there like Stan’s! An absolute must stop when in Westwood, although I do believe he still ships them worldwide!
Oh, and make sure you look camera ready when you head over… the last time I was here I ran into Goldie Hawn outside. I was oddly enough carrying her biography which I was going to read on the plane I was getting ready to board. I felt like a total stalker or something showing her the book but I had to right?! I mean, really. I gushed about how in love with and obsessed with her daughter I was. She agreed with everything I said. Such a fun run in! Seriously though, these doughnuts are celeb worthy!

Stan Berman, the owner of this little donut counter that shares a space with Flame Broiler, has been around for 50 years. The donuts are okay quality and taste good, but are not special. The prices are a bit high for a donut. For a twist donut they charge $ 2. The same thing is .69 at Ralph’s just a block away. Their coffee is well priced for the area. A very large cup Is about $ 2.00. A smaller but still decent size is $ 1.00. Their drinks are well priced for the area.
I come here on a daily if I’m on Westwood for just the coffee. The ladies who work here are friendly and here is a trick: Order a large cup of coffee and instead of paying $ 2.50 for it, offer them $ 1.00 as a tip and they’ll give it to you. Since I come here often I get a perk of free coffee once a day here.
The reason for the two star knockoff is because they share a place with flame broiler and I don’t know how they divide the floor here but THESE TWO BUSINESSES NEED TO CLEAN THAT DAMN FLOOR. Seriously I’ve contemplated leaving sometimes due to the number of black stains on the floor. NOT GOOD. Cleanliness and fancy are not akin– clean your shit!

Stan has amazing donuts. Everyone know this to be true. You can’t go wrong with anything you order but my favorites are the apple and blueberry fritter type donut. Once you start eating it, you can’t put it down.
Parking is difficult and depending on the time of day there’s a line out the door for the donuts.
Stan is super sweet and you can tell love goes into the recipes. Well worth getting a baker’s dozen.

I really wanted a chocolate sprinkle donut and Stan’s donuts satisfied my craving. It’s your typical donut shop, except this one shares a space with Flame Broiler.
Donuts (with holes) = $ 1.25
Twists/​bars = $ 2.50
Special donuts = $ 3.50

Ever since the late Huell Howser showcased Stan’s Donuts I’ve been totally obsessed with «The Huell”-a giant chocolate glazed doughnut stuffed with peanut butter and topped with chocolate chips.
I haven’t tried any of the other doughnuts here because I’m so in Love with «The Huell». However, I’m giving 5 stars because ALL the other doughnuts in the case look so good. I can’t imagine any of them being a let down.
If you are a fan of peanut butter, «The Huell» is a must try. You’ll be hooked!
(H.H. forever loved-​RIP)
⁰⁹³⁄₁₀₀

I always go for the chocolate raised donut. I love how affordable it is. Keep in mind they take cash only.

I went for a nursing conference in UCLA, and this little donut shop was nearby. It has a big sign outside but actually its just a small corner inside flamebroiler restaurant.
I went to get the chocolate with peanut butter and bananas inside. I got it late in the afternoon so it wasn’t fresh anymore but it was still good. Im sure ot would have been 10x better if it was freshly made.

I tried the pink sprinkle donut (I think it’s called Simpsons?) and it was good, but not fantastic. It was pricier than your average mom and pop donut place for the same taste. I’ll probably try one of the blueberry ones, or the maple bar I’ve been eyeing and update my review accordingly, but stay away from the Simpsons! It’s cute but that’s about it.

A lot lower than my expectations. After all, you read thru the reviews from my colleagues, and you’d expect a fricken out-​of-​world experience, seeing a savior, or at least attending a carnival coming here.
Upside (s):
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1. Peanut Butter & Jelly ($ 3.50) — way overpriced, but way good. Not a thin layer of pb, but a huge chunk filled inside, beautiful cakey donut, with jelly atop. Wow. (4.5 stars)
2. Strawberry Old Fashioned ($ 1.25) — Didn’t look like much with a thin strawberry glaze all around (obviously dipped), but unlike any I’ve had before. Not quite crispy, and not quite soft — it was just right. (4.5 stars)
Downside (s):
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1. Dirty: just come thru the Flame Broiler doors and don’t ask questions. Do not walk along the outside and peer thru the kitchen window. I repeat.
2. 530am arrival: yes, they are open. But the donuts displayed are ¹⁄₃ of their normal capacity, and what they do have do not have the silly signs or any signs at all. Plus, they still have day old donuts that they’ll mention if you order. Tip: arrive after 7am for the full Monty.
I’ll be back:
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Peanut butter, and then the choco-​banana has my name all over it!

Couldn’t understand why this place was a big deal and why their goods are so expensive. Hubby bought an apple and an blue berry fritter to try. $ 3.50 each. Hmmm.
Took my first bite. Then a second bite. Then a third. So good! Crispy and buttery and sweet. I could get sick on this stuff because I could see myself eating a dozen.
I would come back again. And get a bunch. Not for myself but to give as treats to friends. Smart way to save myself. I think.

Stopped by one night after watching a performance at the Geffen Playhouse. I wanted to get tomorrow’s breakfast. I picked up a couple glazed donuts. To my surprise, it was still light and airy the next morning. I was impressed. I would definitely come back to try their other flavors.

I’ve been working at UCLA for a while now and I didn’t try this place until today. What a mistake!
First, the space is shared with flame broiler so when you enter, Stan’s is on the right and flame broiler on the left.
Today I got to try the old fashioned blueberry and banana donuts.
The blueberry donut was soooooo good. May be the best I’ve had. The really good thing about the donuts here has to be that they have a crisp on the outside. Even with the glaze, it still maintains really good texture. Flavor was great too. This is a really good donut.
Banana donut was really good too but not as good as the blueberry. Again, there was a nice crisp to the outside even with the glaze. I think what fell short was the banana flavor. While the donut was obviously a banana flavored donut, I feel the flavor could’ve been a bit stronger. Again, still a really tasty donut.
Overall, this place is popping out some tasty and good donuts and I can’t wait to try more things on their menu!

Stan’s Donut is great. I love the Blueberry donut that they have. The disadvantage here is cash only transaction. The place is also small and nowhere to sit.

Whenever we are in Westwood, my husband and I always make a stop here. I’ve frequented Stan’s since 2004 & the donuts are consistently delicious and non-​greasy. My favorite is their chocolate with peanut butter filling!

Came here again to try their other donuts… this time, I got the blueberry old fashioned donut. It is a pretty big donut, not bad for $ 3.50, but it was soo incredibly oily/​sweet that I couldn’t even finish it in one go. I like the peanut butter huell one I had last time better. I might try this place again but only because of convenience since I live so close.

My first visit I encountered horrible customer service. The lady who attended us was extremely rude. I thought i wouldn’t come back. The donuts weren’t great, not your regular size donuts. They are extremely small and over prices. I went again today and they’re weren’t many options to chose from. Not even the classic ones like, chocolate bar or glazed donuts. Service wasn’t the best again. So i gave it a second try and won’t go back.

At $ 3.50 per donut, they should be a lot better than they are. They’re decent donuts, but they simply aren’t THAT special. I cannot believe I just forked over $ 15 to bring home four donuts for my kids. Sheesh!

My trip to CA presented a lot of firsts (Pink’s, Roscoe’s etc). One of the firsts was here at Stan’s Donuts. I had read about them for years prior and finally had a chance to stop by here on my way out of town (its only a couple of exits up the 405 from Tito’s Tacos). I found a metered parking spot across the street and walked over. It’s a little weird at first because this doughnut shop shares a retail front with Flame Broiler. Like there is no separation of walls. You walk in the door, Flame Broiler is straight ahead and donuts are to your right. A little strange, but whatever. I actually walked around the building at first, looking for a door for just Stan’s Donuts. Anyways, I browsed their selection and went with what they are famous for… Peanut Butter filled donuts. I went with a PB&J donut as well as a Blueberry Buttermilk Bar. Total was $ 5.25…a bit steep, but whatever. If they are good donuts, price doesn’t really matter. Here is how they were.
Peanut Butter and Jelly Donut– This thing looked great! It was a squarish shaped donut, with white glaze and a pocket of jelly on top. I took a bite of it and noticed a nice little crunch which signified it was fried properly, then I got to the center with the peanut butter in it. The peanut butter was a tad hard from being congealed after the frying, but it still tasted alright. There wasn’t a whole lot in there though. The jelly, glaze and dough of the donut were delicious though and made up for the skimp amount of peanut butter. If you got one of these things right out of the fryer, and the peanut butter was still warm and runny, this would have been a GREAT donut. Once that peanut butter cools down though, it’s just a good donut.
Blueberry Buttermilk Bar– In my opinion, when you find a good buttermilk bar, there aren’t many donuts out there that are better. When I saw that Stan’s had a blueberry version (never seen a blueberry buttermilk bar before… usually only plain, glazed or chocolate covered), I knew I had to try it. This thing was shaped like a mini football almost. It had a nice glaze on it and when I bit in, I got a good crunch. That was followed by the soft innards of the dough that was stuffed with actual blueberries, and the distinct buttermilk tang that you get from buttermilk bars. This donut was freaking awesome! I would come back just to get this. I thought that I would never see a better buttermilk bar than Bosa donuts in Phoenix. I think this one might have topped even theirs! It was awesome!
Will I come back? For the blueberry buttermilk bar, yes! The peanut butter donuts? Eh.maybe. At almost $ 3.00 a donut, they are a bit steep, but as an occasional treat, I guess you could say they are worth it. Stan’s has been there forever and is another «LA Institution» pumping out pretty darn good donuts!

OH MY GODDDDD!!! I cannot believe there is stans donuts shop here in Cali! I moved to Chicago for pharmacy school, and I found stans donuts there. My all-​time favorite donuts in the United States!
This original donut shop is smaller than the ones in Chicago. They have same donuts but some have different names, like the chocolate peanut butter aka «the huell.» I notice they don’t have one of my favorites– pistachio glazed. But it’s ok cuz they still have apple fritter, another favorite of mine :) i also got «the Simpson» which Chicago does not have. They all taste the same, still delicious! (Thank god!)
I’m coming back for more but hope they gonna open a new one closer to my house, maybe in Pasadena? ;)

A little on the expensive side, I bought a twisty and it cost me $ 2.
I don’t like the price, so I am not sure that I will go back again…

Donuts are in my top 5 most favorite things in life. It’s ridiculous how much I love them. Most of the places I visit have delicious donuts… how can anyone go wrong with fried dough covered with an insane amount of sugar?! I am perfectly happy with a glazed donut from the hole in the wall around the corner. And so I don’t bother writing a Unilocal review every time I go.
Stan’s donuts changed my life. And it was by chance that we even came here. I like finding new donut places to try. We were visiting the SoCal area. It was the day after Thanksgiving and the (highly rated on Unilocal) donut place I had planned to visit was closed. Closed! Crestfallen, I called around to see who WAS open and Stan’s happened to be PLUS it was on our way to where we were going. The lady on the phone was like, ‘oh honey we NEVER close’. :) Thank goodness.
Well it turned out to be our lucky day because I had not one but TWO of the best donuts I’ve had in my life. The Huell and the banana donut. Being from NorCal and about six hours away from these two lovely creations almost brings me to tears. I’ve never had anything like The Huell. I love peanut butter desserts and the peanut butter on this is spread on THICK… the sweet and salty combo is perfect. Just perfect.
AAAAnd Stan The Owner himself, happened to be sitting outside when we visited! He was talking story with everyone coming in and out of the store. He mentioned he was big in Chicago and had more stores there. Its really no wonder why he is so successful. The product is amazing.

Some of the donuts are pretty tiny. We got two glazed twisted, a regular glaze (tiny), a chocolate cinnamon roll, and a chocolate, peanut and banana donut!
I thought my chocolate, banana, and peanut one was pretty good, a type of donut that is for people with a specific taste. It’s not like a glazed where (almost) everyone likes glazed.
My parents weren’t too impressed with their donuts. My mom got the chocolate cinnamon roll but she didn’t like it that much. My stepdad had the glazed and said they were alright but pretty dense.
I would definitely come back to try other ones that looked yummy like the pretzel ones or the Danish like ones.
But a lot of the donuts look pretty tiny. Just know that the glazed twists or something are probably a better deal because they’re bigger

Best Donuts on the planet — Best Jelly Donuts in the Galaxy!!!
Kind of pricey but you get what you pay for. If you want the very best donuts, stop in and see Stand. You won’t be sorry.

Wherever I go I always Unilocal dessert places, and stans has been on my bookmarks for awhile. I went pretty late in the day so there wasn’t much selection left.
After seeing all the pictures on their Unilocal page I decided on the banana and peanut butter chocolate donut. Even thought I don’t like peanut butter much I actually really enjoyed the donut! The peanut butter was on the dryer side but the banana made up for it. If they had just a banana stuffed chocolate donut that’d be ideal!

These donuts are something! They all look so good, it is overwhelming deciding what to get.
Would it not be so pricey at about $ 3 a donut I would have gotten a dozen, but I think the price really does not reflect the quality, I have no problem paying that for gourmet, made in small batches with organic ingredients donut, but these are for sure not that.
The quality and taste just like any other donut place, they were tasty but for sure not the best.
I went with the Huell, the chocolate peanut butter and it was dense and a bit hard.
The blueberry cream cheese ok, really just like a danish.
The cream filled was my favorite, it tasted the freshest and I really loved the cream they used.
In all, I would be back to try more, I did like the service and selection was insane as well.
Must try while in the area, they have been around for over 50 years and are still busy and popular as ever!

A Westwood institution for a reason. There’s a huge variety of donuts here, so you’re bound to find something great.
That being said, be careful stopping by in the late afternoons, as many of the flavors will be missing due to high demand earlier in the day.
I love the Buttermilk Bar, Maple Glazed, and Cinnamon Roll. You can get coffee, tea, orange juice, and soda too. Limited seating and shared space with the Flame Broiler, but absolutely worth every penny.

As always, Stan’s donuts does not disappoint. I’m not local so I tend to buy quite a few because it’s so hard to decide with so many donuts in front of you. I’ve noticed that if not eaten all in one day (I’m not that big of a fat ass!) it does taste a little stale. But, if you preheat the oven to 325 degrees, pop the donut in and turn off the oven, it’s perfect in a few mins. Tastes fresh again! Problem solved! Buy as many I would like, reheat them in the oven to get them tasting fresh again.
I had the banana with peanut butter, peanut butter, peanut butter and jam, lemon filled, and glazed. Pb and banana was a disappointment. Not much banana. Maybe I got it on an off day. The blueberry was delicious as well as the pb donut. Absolute favs. Would def return. Good stuff!

So many donut areas in LA but I decided to come here in person after trying Stan’s numerous times when coworkers brought it in to work because I figured it was time for me to return the favor. I was confused because it’s located within Flame Broiler but I followed the short line and found my way to the place that smelled heavenly.
The trick is to come here before 8am because not only are all the meter spots around available, they are also free since meter begins at 8am. You also get the fresh donuts and don’t have to worry about running out of choices, though they did seem to be busting out a bunch more freshly baked donuts.
I got two boxes of baker’s dozen (13 donuts each) and let the woman choose whichever she wanted. As I remembered, nothing was amazing in taste even though they all looked picture-​perfect. It may be because they were not the «gourmet» donuts but still, even the normal maple glaze, which is usually a standard favorite, was nothing worth the trip. Oh well.

I’ve given Stan’s the ol’ college try… twice. Steps from UCLA, this is the only free-​standing doughnut shop in the area (there are a few coffee shops on campus where you can purchase doughnuts) which makes me sad since it isn’t all that great. It has been around for 50 years and doesn’t look like it has had a remodel in just as much time except that it located in a shared space with Flame Broiler (which, obviously opened less than 50 years ago). Parking is difficult, which is standard in Westwood.
The first time, we ordered a few different types to sample — Peanut butter and banana with chocolate chips, peanut butter and jelly, apple fritter, Simpson’s doughnut, chocolate custard filled. This last time, I ordered the apple cinnamon log.
The peanut butter filled is their trademark, but is overwhelmingly rich. During the frying process, the peanut butter becomes hard and as you bite into the dough, all you can taste is the slab of peanut-​ness. Not for the thrifty, each «gourmet» doughnut will set you back $ 3.25. I use gourmet loosely, as you can get many of the same doughnuts at another mom & pop shop for ¼−1/3 the price.
It seems as if they do not change their fry grease all that much, causing a bitter taste to the exterior of the dough.
Not really worth a revisit when there are several other great doughnut shops a bit further away. Oddly, they also offer FedEx shipping of orders… I wouldn’t want to pay another $ 3.25 for one of their doughnuts, much less, $ 70 for a dozen…

On the corner of Weyburn Ave., Broxton in Westwood there sits a local institution in the world of Los Angeles dough-​nuttery.
Stan’s donuts has been around pretty much forever here. I stop in when I want a guilty treat that is completely off of my insane low carb dietary hell.
The donuts here that I have gotten always taste quite fresh and not stale in the least. The cream tastes like real cream the feelings for the jelly donuts taste like something grandma would have made and then filled a doughnut with. None of that fluorescent red or blue or yellow goo that you might find at another «dunkin» spot.
They are a little bit on the pricey side guys and gals, but when it comes to a guilty pleasure like a doughnut or similar pastry I don’t mind paying a little more for the quality.
I will definitely return to Stan’s donuts, but not too often, and only when my trainer and nutritionist are looking the other way. Hehehe.

We were on a donut run! Decided to stop by while we were on the way to SK Donuts. I’ve been to Stan’s before maybe 18 years ago or so. Now, I know remember why I haven’t been back. I chose the peanut butter chocolate and the same version with banana. Famous from being on Huell Hower’s show from PBS. Honestly, didn’t care for it too much. Not sure if it’s because it was in the evening and the donuts were probably a little older. The peanut butter was stiff inside and the donut itself wasn’t as good as I thought would be.
The set up is a bit weird. Half the store is the donut shop and the other a Flame Broiler. With so many donut options in LA, definitely worth skipping. Good luck finding parking in Westwood.

In a nutshell: Long-​standing donut shop just south of Fucla in Westwood.
I’m a Trojan, and my brainwashing was such that I don’t like traveling to Westwood because Westwood High (aka Fucla) is located here. However, the food in this area is awesome. I’ve been going to staples like Gushi and Diddy Riese for years. It’s been a while since I’ve been here during the day so I never noticed Stan’s.
I ran a rivalry 5k for Special Olympics on ucla’s campus, so we decided to grab some Diddy Riese. Unfortunately, they didn’t open for another hour, but fortunately Stan’s was across the street.
Maybe it’s because the Flame Broiler shares the establishment that I never went in before. There is a plaque on the outside commemorating 50 years of business from Mayor Garcetti from 2013.
Once you walk in, you see the Flame Broiler counter about 10 feet in front of you. Turn your head to the right and walk 5 feet. Yeah this place is small. The counter and display case are about 8 feet wide, but hold enough variety to keep you coming back.
They have a couple standard donuts, but you should definitely try the specialty donuts. I bought four donuts: Chocolate Peanut Butter, Chocolate Banana Peanut Butter, Blueberry filled and Blueberry Cream. I ended up giving away the two blueberry donuts. The two chocolate peanut butter donuts were awesome, though.
I will probably come here again, but not this week. It’s Troy Week, so we prepare to beat the bRuins. Maybe when football season’s over I’ll take a dessert tour and hit up Stan’s and Diddy Riese.