Donuts come in all different flavors and varieties. There’s cake and yeast donuts, filled and glazed and chocolate and custard. There’s one thing all donuts have in common — they’re one of the most commonly adored treats. Kansas City is home to many donut shops, so here are our thoughts on a few of them.

Lily Carmichael

Donut King

Right when I walked in, the smell of fresh donuts hit me. They had patterned tables with pink, purple, and blue all around which made it look super cozy and friendly. Right when we walked in we were greeted. The staff were so nice and helped us choose what donuts we wanted. The Oreo Bismarck was amazing. The donut was so soft, and the frosting in the middle was so smooth, the icing on top was sweet but not too overpowering. It was super soft and moist. The icing wasn’t too overpowering but still flavorful.

Fresh Donuts

The place was cute; they had fun signs everywhere. However, the seating they had was not all that accommodating to guests wanting to eat in the store. There weren’t many places to just sit down to eat. There were only two employees, so they were a bit busy going between customers. They ran out of glazed donuts but were super nice about it and gave us frosted donuts instead. The cronut was amazing, it was flaky and soft. I loved the taste of it and how it melted in my mouth. The donut was soft and moist. The frosting was delicious and was the main player in the taste of the donut.

Ray’s Donuts

The shop was warm and welcoming, with children’s drawings around the walls. There was plenty of seating to eat in the store, and they also gave us baskets to hold each donut. The staff was super nice and patient when we were ordering. Their donut selection really only consisted of cake donuts, and personally I am not a big fan of cake donuts so that was disappointing. Filled Long John, or it being one of the only Yeast donuts, it was good. When I think of a filled donut the first thing that comes to mind is a little filling in the middle. But this donut had the filling all in it. The donut was soft and the filling was very creamy.

Ellia Mytsa

Donut King

The smell of fresh donuts  travels all the way into the parking lot of Donut King. I’m not exaggerating when I say that it was the best thing I’ve ever smelled. The interior is decorated with hot pink and purple and is overall super fun. They had a decent amount of seating inside, and it was all clean. The workers at Donut King were exceptionally nice. They were fun, bubbly people and greeted us as soon as we walked in. They were helpful and patient with us as we made our selection. They came off as such genuine people who were happy to be there. These donuts are definitely a little bit more on the heavy, cakey side. That being said, the flavors were great. They weren’t overly sugary, and mine had a really great donut-to-filling ratio. The glaze was so delicious, and the raspberry and creme fillings were both delectable.

Fresh Donuts

The interior is cute and looks like something seen on Pinterest. However, there wasn’t really much of a seating area. There were two picnic tables, but we ended up choosing to not sit there. The rest of the shop was aesthetically pleasing with light brown tones a lot of light, and the donut display was beautiful. The workers at Fresh Donuts were exceptionally kind. They were very patient and helpful while we were ordering for a large group. We got there at around 9:30 a.m., and they didn’t have enough glazed donuts for us to bring back to our class of 13, so I would recommend getting there early. Out of all the donuts I’ve had, these were my favorite. I don’t like cake donuts, but I had their yeast donuts, and they were amazing. They weren’t cakey at all and were the perfect texture. They weren’t too heavy, and I didn’t feel sick after eating them. The fillings were absolutely delightful, and the strawberry filling had real strawberries in it. 

Ray’s Donuts

Right when walking in, there’s a huge halloween themed inflatable and party streamers! The walls had many posters and donut-themed puzzles framed on the wall. There was a large seating area  and a coffee bar. It reminded me of a diner, and it was decorated and themed with Halloween colors. When walking in, the worker kindly greeted us. We had a large order, and it took us a while to order, but she was patient and nice about it. We ordered more than 20 donuts, and she made sure we got everything we needed. Another worker rushed over to give us napkins and baskets for our donuts as we sat down. Both of the donuts I ordered were filled and so yummy. The donuts were basically all filling. These donuts weren’t too sweet, and I could eat the whole thing without feeling like I just consumed a hundred grams of pure sugar. The texture of the donuts was soft, but the donuts were cold, like they had been refrigerated, even at 9 a.m.

Willow Wooldridge

Donut King

The shop smelled amazing. Right when you walk in, you can smell the sweet scent of the donuts. They had cute marble tables and a mural painted on the wall. There was a large selection of donuts to choose from, and their cases were full. The shop was also clean. The workers were sweet and very prompt. Right when we walked in they greeted us with a smile and a warm welcome. They were patient with us while we decided what we wanted. The donuts were so soft and fresh. They had the perfect amount of sweetness; it wasn’t too powerful. They were amazing.

Fresh Donuts

It was a smaller shop, but the inside was very aesthetically pleasing, they had pretty signs and paintings on their wall. Unfortunately, they didn’t have much space for seating, only two picnic tables. Their cases were decently full. They had a good variety of flavor choices. The workers were really nice. When we walked in they greeted us and immediately took our order. They worked quickly and were kind to us when we were struggling to order the large amount of donuts.  These donuts were soft. I tried both a yeast and cake donut which had a variety of flavors for both kinds. I enjoyed both of the donuts I got. They were sweet and filling.

Ray’s Donuts

They had a cute halloween blow up in the doorway, which was inviting, though they had some pretty empty cases at  9 a.m., it was on Halloween, so they may have just had a big rush before we got there. They had a decent amount of seating. When we sat down to try our donuts, one of the workers brought over some trays because they hadn’t realized we were staying to eat. We were greeted with a smile. They were ready to help and take on the big order of 24 donuts for our class. It was a decent donut. They were soft and fresh. I really enjoyed the ghost donut I got, it tasted sweet and the design of the donut was good.