Colonial donuts are fresh and delicious! They are not precious, nor complicated, nor expensive. They are not wedding cake. Here's how I roll: 1. Maple Buttermilk 2. Apple Fritter 3. Chocolate Old Fashioned Depending on my stress levels, and weighing any residual self-loathing upon devouring the above, I'm prone to return for: 4. Blueberry Cake 5. Chocolate Cake 6. Maple Bar Sometimes there's a 7 and 8...do not recommend going past 8. Enjoy :) read more

Colonial Donuts is a staple near Lake Merritt. I cannot eat donuts, but I can enjoy the aroma or good conversation over some green tea. This location is spacious, the servers welcoming, and the variety exciting but not overwhelming. I usually come here for meetings or to watch people sometimes play chess. I am a writer, and writers love to people-watch. Great space to get inspiration for my next mini-story or lesson-plan. If you have a twenty in your pocket, then you are rich in donuts. read more

Colonial Donuts - Iconic logo - Donuts Near Me - Oakland, California

We enjoyed all the donuts we purchased. The staff was super sweet and it was a great late night fix for a sweet tooth. My favorite donut was the Ube donut. It wasn't overly sweet and great cake-like texture. Definitely would recommend to all of the donut lovers out there. read more

Came here late at night to check out what they have to offer. Asked for the freshest donuts. Tried the chocolate cake and maple cake donut. Good for the craving at the time but more oily than I prefer. Update: I guess I'm not a fan of their chocolate donuts but all other donuts are insanely amazing. The buttermilk collection of donuts just melt in your mouth. When they are fresh out the dryer they are Heavenly !!! Especially the maple variety. Also enjoy their crumb cake donuts - the red velvet is super rich. Important tip: make sure to eat donuts right as they come out of the fryer as the insane warmth and gooeyness inside make them Hugh addictive read more

Lake merritt location open 24/7 Best.dounuts.ever Worth the calories! You are able to eat your donut there or pink box it! They also have great big breakfast sandwhiches. On saturday they have Ube donuts too! It was good! Fresh, amazing and worth it! read more

What can I say, I love Colonials. My go to bakery that opens 24 hours 7 days a week. Best French glazed donuts ever. Always buttery on the inside and sweet/crunchy on the outside. Always heat it up for 10 sec. It's what I dream about! Good people running this business. Miss the chess playing days prior to the pandemic. Always a safe place to be with comforting goodies to top it off. read more

If you your craving a traditional doughnut after 2pm and not waning Krispy Kreme or Dunkin Doughnuts - this is your place. Lots of variety, plus they offer the coveted buttermilk doughnut. My gripe with this place is that the doughnuts are hit or miss with their flavor/freshness. Sometimes you bite into a very moist heavenly doughnuts and others time you are biting into a somewhat dry option. If they had a sign stating which selection was just out of the oven, this place would hit it out of the park. read more

Good American standards with prompt service following COVID procedures. Maple bacon was great as was the maple cake donut. Worth popping in.

Solid donuts! Lots of flavors to choose from. I like that it's 24/7. Super convenient. My favorite was the classic raised glazed!

Te donuts are yummy and fresh! The White Chocolate Chip cooooookies are MY FAVORITE! Not nuts

Love the donuts, the coffee, and most importantly the open 24 hours part! So glad I discovered this place because I frequently pull all nighters and most places that serve coffee close wayyy earlier. Also they have a great assortment of donuts and other sweet treats, lots of options. read more

A friend brought these donuts to my house, so I can not comment on their staff or establishment but I can say these are some of the best donuts I have had in a very long time. They were moist, soft and fresh. We put the leftovers in an airtight container overnight and they tasted just as fresh the next morning. Next time I am in Oakland I am going to have to stop here. read more

Love this as a late night "24" spot for donuts... the key is to "call ahead" to find out what they just made fresh! Mmm... fresh soft cake like perfectly sweet but NOT "Krispy Kreme" over the top sweet donuts... I prefer their glazed, chocolate is a close second... others really love their old fashioned... I guess it's a texture thing? They actually have a wide variety. I've ordered their sandwiches on a few occasions. They hit the spot if your hungry but not what I'd really want to come here for. Service is attentive, coffee is fresh. The location is relatively clean, there always seems to be people just hanging out at all hours of the night. During the day parking is crazy, use Trader Joe's lot and use the back door into the donut shop.... otherwise ample parking at night. It's pretty well lit so we feel safe at night when we make donut runs from work. read more

A good late night open donut place which was cheap as well. I tried their french donut and it was nice and fluffy.

I love this place. Minimum of 3 donuts every time I go. There have this french crueller that they fill with custard. It is my favorite. A plain sugar and a glazed old fashioned usually hits the spot. The service is friendly too read more

Nice customer service and donuts are variety of choices. Like the Voodoo in Oregon. OK

The absolute best donut place in Oakland. I usually go to colonial pretty late at night, and I've never been disappointed. Pre Rona there was always people playing chess games, which was fun to watch while waiting for donuts. Five stars! read more

Their donuts are sooo good! Their donuts are perfectly dense and moist, highly recommend. Their old fashion donut was also very traditional.

Donuts at any hour of the day! Gotta love that. Oh and did you know they also sell their day old bagels four for a $1! It may be one of the best kept secrets in this part of town. And I guess now you know :D So if you are fiening for a donut or perhaps a bagel, stop by get some! These guys got you whenever the craving hits. read more

I fell in love with the Maple Doughnuts so mad I didn't know it was only on the weekend and I came all the way from Brentwood I happened to have to go to Oakland but it 24 hours NEVER PARK INTHE FREE LOT IT STINKS!! But all the doughnuts I picked tasted great fresh and the apple filled was perfect and the the sugar doughnuts loved them! read more

The donuts from here were pretty standard- the yeast donuts are nice and fluffy, the cake doughnuts are super moist, and the old fashioned have a good crispy exterior. They also have some other classics like the buttermilk donuts. The fancy flavors like red velvet and ube didn't really taste any different than regular cake donuts, but at least they were pretty! The apple fritters look super impressive, but I was disappointed about how little apple was in that thing. Solid donuts, but don't expect anything life changing! read more

Colonial Donuts - Donuts Near Me - Oakland, California

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Amazing customer service! They put some donuts on hold for me because I was scared they'll run out. When I came in, I was greeted with kindness. They just have a super homey vibe to their donut shop. I'll definitely be back! read more

Storytime. My family was on the way to the beach. Girl wanted to eat at Top Dog, so off to Lakeshore Ave. we went. No parking near Top Dog, so we went up Trestle Glen. Went down a dead end, only to find a cop there making sure no one parks illegally. I thought, the police are having a hard time lately. They're getting shot and murdered, and the Black Lives Matter crowd is encouraging this. Why not buy him a donut. My wife rolled her eyes at my thought. On the way to Top Dog, I saw Colonial Donuts. On the way back, we went into Colonial Donuts. I got a cinnamon roll. Girl got a raised chocolate, with the understanding that, if the cop is still there, he gets it. If he's not there, she gets it. Unfortunately, the cop was gone. I would have loved to thank him for his good service to Oakland, in a tough job that few would want. Oh well, now I have another place to review, once I eat the cinnamon roll. My daughter said the donut looked good. She changed her mind once she ate it. She LOVED her donut (must be the chocolate). I loved my cinnamon roll. A good helping of cinnamon, this made it tastier than most. Not as wide as I'd prefer, but it was thicker, and I loved how it sprang up like a spring when I grabbed the middle :-) Soft, tasty, filling, just the way a cinnamon roll should be. Colonial Donuts appears to serve other food too, such as sandwiches and ice cream. I could be wrong. But it's large for its location on Lakeshore, with plenty of tables to sit and enjoy a donut or two or ten. And it will hardly dent your wallet. Let's see, donuts do fit in your diet, right? Colonial Donuts, a good choice for donuts. And support your local police! read more

Delicious donuts! The people that work their are so friendly! They even remember my our names. 24 hours is great when you get that random late night craving. Even better, almost every time we've gone late (11pm+), we have ended up catching the fresh and still warm donuts, amazing! Their ham, egg, bacon and cheese breakfast croissant is delicious! Go to's: Breakfast Sandwich Old Fashioneds Apple Fritter Butter Milk read more

I ended up here around midday yesterday with 3 bratty teenage boys in tow. I had intended to take them to Fenton's, but yet again there was a line out the door and I didn't have the patience for that, plus all the whining that was going on in the back seat. The later must have been really distracting since I can't remember how or why I ended up driving from Piedmont to Lakeshore in heavy traffic for a doughnut. In any event, a little sugar in those young tummies did the trick. Unfortunately, I haven't tried the late night entertainment version of Colonial Donuts. And since I'm a morning person, only a 5 AM stop on the way to work would be a true test of fresh pastry, local colour, and perhaps a cop or 2. Until then, the donuts are fine and this place seems just OK. read more

Colonial Donuts is open 24/7. they have a maddening selection of donuts, crossaints and cookies. wish they were all outstanding. not happening. pour: "america's best coffee" (1.5) -on the semismooth side, a tad harsh. 2 stars eats: -white chocolate cookie(.95) chewy, hint of white chocolate, sweet tasty. dough not distinguished. -blueberry cake(.95) blueberry juiciness thruout -devil's food cake(.95) pretty sweet 3 stars crumbs: -panhandled by teary eyed overweight woman for "diaper money" -gave her a few coins, attributed it to donut tax. -observing from my car, she appear normal minutes later. gave me a look before waking off. read more

Whenever my preschooler talks me into visiting Colonial on our way to school (I'm afraid he's going to become a lawyer -- a chubby one -- when he grows up), I am always impressed at how pleasant this place is. Most donut shops seem depressing to me, but not Colonial. There are always wholesome-looking people here, and there's free parking in the back. And the best compliment comes from the boy himself: "Mama, this donut is really FRESH!" read more

**3.5 STARS** After our impromptu date in OAK China Town... the S.O. said he was craving some Colonial Donuts and asked if I would be down to get some... I said sure... and asked him where it was at... he was shocked that I have yet to go to this spot... thus... we trekked out here in the middle of the night! We got there and it was semi busy... since I have never been there and have never even seen it ever... I was pretty shocked at how the place looked so run down and definitely had the usual donut shop smell... plus all other smells from its patrons itself! S.O. knew what he wanted but the man behind the counter kept telling us that it's old. I guess he only wanted the patrons to get the freshest batch. I didn't listen and so I got two "old" donuts... S.O got one fresh and one old. He definitely said the new one makes a difference... he was in heaven... Me? Uhm...first bite: I might as well drink oil. It's weird to eat something so oily after not having it in your diet... but I "man(ed) up" and ate it. I definitely would want to go back and check out the freshly out of the deep fryer donuts... but I think once you have your token donut spot, it's hard to get it replaced by others... and since I'm a Dunkin Donuts gal... that's where my heart will always be BUT I am looking forward to trying it out for the S.O's sake =) PS: I don't think the saying "the freaks comes out at night" applies to this spot... I think they come out 24/7! read more

Not too bad for 85 cents a donut, and even cheaper if you buy a dozen. However, the chocolate old fashion wasn't as soft as expected. Also, I asked for the chocolate old fashion but they gave me the chocolate "glazed" instead. But at the end of the day, I can't really complain for a breakfast treat that cost less than $1. read more

Colonial Donuts - Donuts Near Me - Oakland, California

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Before I went 100% vegan - this was one of my favorite late night treats - if you phone and ask, they will tell you at what time that night some sort of donut will be coming out of the fryer or warm glaze so you can arrive for warm donuts. Just call first - nothing beats a warm glazed donut. After you've spoiled yourself with those for a few visits you may agree: once they've cooled, donuts are just stale. read more

USED to love and adore this place but yesterday's customer service during the day (1:00pm) was so bad... The lady that was taking my order and handling the register seemed liked she hated her job so much that she talked to the customers really rude and even rushing at a point. Learn some manners or work elsewhere instead of making people feel not welcomed. The cookies were not good either, very floury..texture read more

The biggest draw is maybe that it's open 24/7, but their 'nuts are still pretty legit. If you come post-11pm, the crowd is maybe a little... not customer-y and more homeless and seeking shelter. You might see some sleepers with their butts out, but that's the Bay, I guess. The basic donut with chocolate icing or frosting whatever its called is my pick. I'm perfectly fine being basic. I like what I like and theirs is great. I was seeing a guy who liked the cinnamon butterfly donut. It was a real cute request and also p exciting because before this I didn't really think he was into any kind of unhealthy or processed foods but man did homie love dem donuts. The place itself isn't very cute. It isn't very clean. The service isn't very friendly and the coffee isn't very good. But man, those donuts... they don't look like much but they make one good classic donut shop style donut that won't break the bank. read more

This is a pretty old school style donut shop with all of the classics. Get one of the maple donuts if they haven't run out when you get there! I would say it's an excellent spot to hit up when you have a hangover. Definitely recommend. read more

Donuts from here are just a perfect way to start your morning! I love the standard glaze yeast donuts here. They are so fluffy and have just the right amount of glaze. Service is also really fast. The line may look long sometimes, but they are super efficient. No gimmicks here. Just standard, delicious donuts. read more

Colonial Donuts - Glazed donut with iced coffee - Donuts Near Me - Oakland, California

Great spot for a donut. The cinnamon sugar cake donuts are the best. I could eat 12 in one sitting and not even regret the three days worth of calories. read more

Love this place- right by the lake. Great place to find traditional donuts and a few flavors you might have never thought of but are amazing. read more

The doughnuts here are fine. These are the old fashioned boring ones, not the fancy schmancy ones that hipsters are making nowadays. Nothing spectacular but not bad, either. The place is dingy and does not have much ambience. I don't think it's been remodeled or upgraded since I was in high school which was decades ago. A lot of people hang out here and play chess or read the paper during the day. I like to come in for the lottery tickets more than the doughnuts. read more

The Mochi donuts are superb. The cake donut are heavemly. The ube donut with crumbs are so sweet, will order the plain one next time. A bit pricey, $78.+++ for 28 pcs donuts. Very busy street, parking is hard. read more

Best 85 cents spent on an old fashioned chocolate donut. Who says you can't buy anything good with a dollar these days? read more

After watching a show on donuts, I was on a hunt for some of my own donuts (thanks Yelp)! The first thing that got my attention was that this place is open from 6am-5:30am... Crazy right? This place is surprisingly big! Besides that, the lady behind the counter was really nice and patient. We got raised glazed donuts, blueberry donuts and a chocolate custard filled donut. All these donuts came out to about $6.00, their donuts range from $1-$1.50ish. The blueberry donut was mouth watering! It was even better the day after when we put it in the oven. My point is, go here and try their blueberry donut, you won't be sorry. read more

Colonial Donuts - Raised Glaze Donuts, Blueberry Donuts and Chocolate Custard Filled Donut - Donuts Near Me - Oakland, California