Acme Donuts

Came from out of town. Already tried voodoo and was meh about it. This place is 50x better. WAY Better donuts and coffee (hot cocoa is AMAZING) and a friendly staff. In general a great donut place. I recommend the shizzle. So goooood.

3.5 stars if I could on Unilocal.
They are known for flavors like PB&J and for a great selection of vegan doughnuts. I enjoyed the quick service, knowledgeable staff, the assortment of doughnuts to choose from, and how the doughnuts were not too sweet.

They did cake donuts RIGHT! It’s really a shame to see the place closed. I could tell on my visits in 2012 that it looked like they were having a tough year, though. I wonder if Coco branching out and opening more locations did them in? :-/
So, looking for donuts in Portland? Coco Donuts is choice #1 in my book now.

This place is CLOSED! :-(
We go for donuts only every few months, but were very sad to learn our favorite local spot was gone. Apparently they’ve only been closed about a week. Now we wish we’d eaten donuts more often to help them stay in business. RIP ACME!

The bomb, dark fix, and a cup of Meaning of Life coffee. These are a few of my favorite things. In a funny shaped strip mall (like a crescent) is this nice little doughnut shop. The woman working there was friendly and has great taste in music.
My daughter had a doughnut called Soft Kitty, a cake with fudge and marbled vanilla frosting. This doughnut can only be eaten once you sing the Soft Kitty song. Which we did in the most enjoyable off-​key way. Then it was gone in seconds. We got a bakers dozen to go. The selection was so varied that we picked one of each and still didn’t pick all the choices. Guess we’ll just have to go back sometime and take care of that.

I don’t eat donuts very often. I like them well enough, but there are other ways I enjoy getting my sweet fix when sweets are what I crave. A friend of mine had been here a few years ago, but she didn’t have a very good experience. I finally decided to give them a try and was very happy I did.
I was here early in the morning so the donuts were fresh. I ordered 3 donuts (Espresso Love, The Boss and a Glazed) and the man behind the counter gave me a box. He said the donuts had just been brought out and would have been too sticky for a bag. I didn’t complain. $ 3.25 later and I was out the door.
The Espresso Love is made with espresso and chocolate. The boss is chocolate and peanut butter and the glazed is glazed. They make all the toppings here and the donuts are cooked in zero trans fat oil with no corn syrup. So what they are saying is that these donuts are good for you, right? Am I getting that right? Probably not. Slightly better for you, but probably not good for you.
These donuts are not sweet like some donuts. No donut hangover here. Sure, I wouldn’t eat these everyday, but they were very fresh and very very good. The Espresso Love is pretty damn amazing if I should type so myself. Chocolate and peanut butter? How could that be bad. The glazed was also very good.
I’m impressed with Acme Donuts. Not very close to where I live, but if I should find myself out here again (I often do) I now know where I can cure my sweet tooth.

This great shop is located in a sad little strip mall across from a strip club but everything else about it is deluxe!
I love that I can get a vegan donut on my way to work and not have to wait in any kind of line at all, try that in the Pearl!
The apple pie donut is a diet killer but SO worth it.

Great SE donut shop.
While there is shockingly little competition for donut shops in this part of SE, that doesn’t stop Acme from turning out a superior donut. They make standard donuts that can be found in most any donut shop, but they also have what I believe to be some genuinely original varieties such as Peanut Butter glaze and Jelly donuts and apple pie donuts. I went for the apple pie donut this morning and I was not disappointed. The donut, in the style of a jelly or crème-​filled donut, had honest-​to-​goodness apple pie filling in the middle. And they don’t skimp on the filling. Oh no, this donut was SAGGING with the weight of the apple pie filling just waiting to fall out.
Very good donuts that are worth giving a shot if you’re in the area.

So glad to have Acme Donuts around! They saved the day when the ONLY specific request I had for my reception was for vegan donut holes. Nobody else would do it! (Voodoo said they wouldn’t «as a rule of thumb…»??) Acme came to the rescue! They did it on short notice and for a good price. And these holes aren’t just holes… they were good sized. We got a variety of flavors. each one was amazing. They were good for the kids at the reception and the adults alike.
I am so happy they were open to doing this for us!
Thanks Acme! I will be back and I will recommend you guys to my friends!

We wanted vegan donut holes for our wedding reception and Voodoo wouldn’t do it, so we gave Acme a call and they said it wasn’t a problem. They made us six dozen donut holes with a variety of flavors and they were all delicious. Everyone loved them.
Thanks a bunch guys. You have our business in the future.

MY FAVORITE DONUT SHOP!
anyone who knows me knows this is saying a lot. I am a pastry and treat fanatic.
I also appreciated that the kind owner educated me on the fact that the traditional donut in fact contains no real ingredients. By «real» I mean, they never contain the ingredients they are named after. Still confused? Ok. Chocolate donuts do not contain.chocolate.
But not at Acme! They use all natural ingredients to flavor their donuts. And they have tons of interesting, weird flavors you don’t normally see. Personally I think they are more creative than even Voodoo, because they don’t just throw some cereal on it and call it a day. They have truly unique flavor combinations that are meant to shock once they hit the actual taste buds, instead of when you simply look at them. This is worth more, no?

Don’t let the outside of this place fool you. Inside, you will find the most delicious and fresh donuts — way better than Voodoo.
I had the banana cake donut and the dark chocolate cake donut. The banana was the best donut I’ve ever had — ever. It was delicious. I will dream about this donut.
Acme, you’ve ruined me for other donuts.

Acme rules! Great selection of fresh vegan donuts at great prices. The fruit filling in the Peachy Keen with mango frosting and the Berrylicious is leaps and bounds better than the jelly filled crap you get at other places. If you can get your hands on one of the PB&J donuts do not pass it up!
The owners are there all day it seems and they are very nice. Sometimes they seem a little spacey, but they’re super personable and helpful so it’s okay.
Bottom line: there isn’t one. A line, that is. Unlike that other place. Great donuts at a great price served by nice people. You can go be seen and wait just to get donuts. I’ll be at Acme.

Under rated. Cozy vibe inside with good music. Friendly service. Exceptional doughnuts, good quality self serve coffee.

«Donuts. Is there anything they can’t do?» — Homer Simpson
I remember someone once telling me, «Round food is good mood food!» I cannot remember if it was friend or a relative or if it came from a TV show, but the advice has stuck in my cerebral cortex and has served me well over the years. Doughnuts, bagels, most fruit, malted milk balls… if it’s round, pound it down.
Enter the doughnut. Most likely introduced by those wacky Dutch back in about 1800 they called them Olykoek (translation, «oil cake»). Over the years it has been redefined, reinvented, refried and retailed in so many different variations there could not be a person in the country that doesn’t like at least one kind of doughnut.
So you find yourself driving down Powell Blvd every single morning to avoid the parking lot that is The Banfield Expressway and you find yourself thinking that you are hungry. Ahead is brightly painted sign that says Acme. Now, in my mind I see «Acme» and I envision a mail-​order house that sends useless weaponry to Coyote’s in search of a Road Runner meal, but this one, it sells doughnuts.
I walked in and was greeted by a gentleman behind the counter who it seems would rather have been somewhere else. However, he was standing in front of an amazing looking array of doughnuts. I made a few choices over a few days and have had an excellent doughnut every time so far. The PB & J is my favorite so far, but the dark chocolate raised has captured my heart as well. The cake doughnuts are excellent as well.
Maybe the evolution of the doughnut did not end with Voodoo Doughnut, and maybe the people at Krispy Kreme did not corner the market on light and fluffy. Maybe the doughnut is meant to always evolve, to continue on a journey to be more than the Dutch ever envisioned. Acme has done their due diligence to the doughnut… and the torch passes to the next baker…

Perfect again!!!
I left the house 15 minutes early on Friday with the sole intention of going to Acme before work. This is saying something because i hate mornings. Oh but it was worth it!
The lady behind the counter was so helpful and really patient. Like i said it was too early in the morning to even know you’re alive, let alone be making very important doughnut choices — it took me a few minutes to make my decision but she was cool about it. Great selection of vegan varieties. Loaded up on a «half dozen» –which is actually 7 doughnuts — and paid just $ 5.75. Great deal. Just like last time, the doughnuts are perfect in flavor, texture, and toppings.
Okay so why did i go to Acme so early in the morning? The previous evening, my husband was fondly remembering the last time i’d given him Acme doughnuts. Yeah, 7 months later — they’re that good.

First of all, I’ve never been to Voodoo (gasp!) Just have to get that out in the open. Most of you may now think I am unqualified to review donuts, which may be the case. Be that as it may… I went to Acme on a Saturday at closing… not the best time to get a donut. The chocolate runs and the powdered sugar is damp. but I promised my son a donut and I’ve been wanting to come here for a while.
First the pros: Nice selection; most of the toppings seem to come on both a raised or cake foundation and they have both sweet and dark chocolate for toppings (along with glazes and powdered sugar). So if you want a rich, no– too-​sweet chocolate glazed cake donut, they got you covered. Also, the ingredients are fresh and made on site. The owner was more than personable and even gave me a strawberry filled raised as a testament to the quality of ingredients. He also warned me that although my 5 y/​o chose the dark choco-​glazed, he may not like it cause the topping isn’t very sweet. My son was determined though, and wolfed the thing down just fine. Also, the cappuccino was one of the better I’ve had recently and it was cheaper than most.
The cons: The décor is not my style at all. I also think this is a case of a small shop trying to fill a larger space. A bit of anti-​cozy coffee shop feel to me. Also, I can also see where folks might be looking for the cavity-​bombs from KK and they won’t find them here. The donuts are rich and not inexpensive. Strangely enough, Acme doesn’t have a huge machine making the donuts right inside the door. They seem to emphasize the handmade aspect of making donuts. Wait… is that really a con?
So if you’re looking for a local joint that makes good, rich donuts and espresso, this may be the place for you. If you’re wanting earth tones and donuts imported from Seattle, drive thru the SB’s up the street.

Last night, I was standing out front of Vino Vixens next door and keeping an eye on Acme. It was dead in there. And what do you do when you work at a donut shop and you have no customers coming in? You bust a freaking move, that’s what. I was stopped dead in my tracks for a second as I watched a gal in a microscopic skirt seriously get down for a minute. It was awesome.
After the show was finished at VV, we bounded across Powell to walk home, but upon reaching the other side of the road, looked back at Acme and realized we were hungry. Back across Powell, and in retrospect, I realize all of this gallivanting across a really busy road was somewhat dangerous. But donuts at midnight? That’s how we roll, apparently.
It was a nice shop, really friendly people working (including dancing mini-​skirt girl) and they had a pretty good selection out for it being that late at night. I was expecting they would be down to the last dregs by that hour, but nosiree! It was not dead by the time we rolled in, they even had a little line going for a bit.
My donut was solid. I mean, literally solid. It was dense and doughy and I mean that in the best possible way. I like breadier donuts. The caramel on top was also good, good enough that I licked most of it off of the wax paper the donut came in. While crossing Powell. Again.
I will come here again next time I’m due to bring treats to work for sure. Lots of vegan options. Best of luck to these guys… I’m sure they get tired of Voodoo comparisons, but really Voodoo has become ubiquitous enough to the point of annoying, so kudos to Acme for being a little different in a donut-​obsessed town. And kudos to that girl for her sweet, sweet dance moves!

Admittedly, I came here this morning only because of a kerfuffle I saw in the Unilocal Threads today, regarding Acme’s owner contacting a Unilocaler.
I also came here because I remember in the RoadRunner T.V. cartoon, Wile E. Coyote was always ordering equipment from an Acme Company. So there is an Acme, and here it is!
Upon pulling up front, I first noticed the bright Mexican colors. Entering, I was struck by a deathly silence. Only about five minutes after I arrived, did some nondescript music suddenly start coming out of this big black speaker.
On the wall in back of the counter, I saw a cool illustration of a man’s head, inked in the style of Mexican pulp fiction covers from the 1970’s.
Two women were ahead of me in line. I think each one ordered a couple dozen assorted doughnuts. To the credit of the sweet girl who was working the counter, she realized that it was going to take a while to fill their orders, so she asked if I wanted to get my doughnuts now. I said, no, I’m not in a hurry, I’m on vacation, so go ahead and finish filling the other women’s orders. Besides, I wanted to look around some more.
I’m just not sure it is cool or trendy to have paper reproductions of Vermeer art hanging on a clothesline next to something a three-​year-​old has scrawled with a crayon on notebook paper. And what’s the deal with kiddie art all around Portland lately? This is the fourth establishment I have been to in the last two days where pre-​school art is splattered on the walls. It’s corny. I think in New Season’s dining room I saw a placard next to one 2-year-old’s piece that described the little girl’s objectives in life and art, and what she liked to in her spare time. A 2-​year-​old?
Meanwhile, back at Acme, I got myself a nutjob and a cinnamon roll. The nutjob was a cake doughnut with chocolate frosting and sprinkled with walnut bits.
I liked that the nutjob has an unexpected and original texture — more like an oat bran muffin. But it just wasn’t sweet enough and the chocolate frosting was rather bitter.
The cinammon roll, with slightly melted chocolate chips (no, those are not raisins!) was really very good, with just the right amount of cinammon and glaze.
It was disappointing that they had lots and lots of chocolate and strawberry milk in the fridge, but no plain milk.

There is a new donut in town!
Acme opened this weekend on Powell & 29^th next to Vino Vixens and across from Hopworks.
We were driving down Powell headed to Bend and saw this sign on the sidewalk. Donuts? YEAH! Around the block we went for some sugar express driving help.
They had been open for a few minutes it had seemed. Very nice people.
6 — 10 different donut flavors. They seem like homemade. Just good, clean flavors, nothing crazy, nothing fancy.
We had a classic cake with powdered sugar. Tasted like we expected; good cake.
We had a similar chocolate — good cake.
We also had a coffee-​chocolate filled 3^rd option. It was very well made; just not my favorite. Kind of tasted like instant coffee whipped with cocoa… almost a burnt coffee taste.
I say good on them for opening a new niche place in this crazy work. Give them a try if you are driving