While on the late-night prowl for some snack-age, I found to my delight that this shop was open 24 hours. I walked in and ordered what had to be one of the largest bear claws I have seen. The lady at the counter was not very friendly, no hello, no thank you, no nothing. But the Bear Claw, that was a different story. MAGNIFICENT! It was very tasty, and full of real apple pieces and cinnamon. Overall, it was a really tasty experience and I would happily go there again despite the lacking service, because the food and the price make it well worth it. read more

As a commuter with no car, I walk down Lakeshore a lot. It sometimes happens that my walks down Lakeshore occur at the end of an evening in which I have been drinking. I get off the NL, head for home, and then I smell that fried, greasy smell of pure happiness. Well, hello, Colonial Donuts! This store fulfills my needs in two ways. One, my drunk ass is craving something sweet and full of carbohydrates. Check. Two, I have to walk up a very steep hill to get home. What better than a lump of fried dough to take my attention away from the difficult incline? And I can always use the excuse that I'm working off the doughnut as I climb up the hill - calories in, calories out. But while I don't necessarily have a hangover from the alcohol the next morning, I do find that I wake up, mouth coated with old doughnut oil, blearily recalling that walk home. "Ugh, did I really eat that whole apple fritter?" read more

THIS PLACE IS A GOD SEND. For people who really have to use the restroom. I'm from socal so I didn't know that the closest Denny's is in Emeryville and that gas stations aren't always 24 hrs so their restrooms aren't always open either. This is probably the only open for 24 hr place in like a 5-10 mi radius. You get an interesting crowd in this place though. You got the group of guys who are ridiculously high with blood shot eyes. Then you got another group of people who are just chilling, reading a newspaper. And then you got me, a girl who needed to use the bathroom urgently. Whether you just want to use the bathroom, read a newspaper, or chill after smoking some bud, this place is where its at!! read more

This place misrepresents somewhat the character of colonialism, which is neither craftily glazed, filled with tasty jelly, or convenient for working class peeps needing a sugar fix at 2 in the morning. My only gripe--it's more of a fuss on the cusp of consternation--is that the donuts are so huge that I need a knife and fork to keep the donut from smudging my makeup, and they don't have plastic silverware. But I have a big purse and a magic phone which probably has an app where I can just get silverware delivered to me on the go--it's not worth docking them a star. read more

Always my "go to" donut shop since I was a kid! Chocolate buttermilk, glazed buttermilk, apple fritter, glazed old fashioned, crumb. I actually don't have much of a sweet tooth, so when I actually crave a donut, I go out of my way to get to Colonial! Thanks for being a long standing establishment in Oakland! read more

When I get to work each Friday.. I always walk by the kitchen first, trying to be as cool and calm as possible. But inside, my heart is not-so-secretly screaming "PINK BOX PINK BOX PLEASEEEE" Today, as I walked up the stairs of my building, I heard someone else coming from the flight below. Normally I would ignore it and continue to rush up to the office smiling that someone else is gonna walk in later than me. (phew) But today.. today I decided to wait. As the shadow crept.. my heart began to flutter. There was something special about the way this person was walking.. it just didn't look right. Then ever so slowly.. I saw it... A beautiful glimmer of pink. WHEEEEEEEE! Today is officially a good day. SO.. They do their raised donuts just fine, nothing special, nothing bad. Standard in my eyes. BUT.. their old fashion donuts are my FAVORITE. This is the place that got me to even like cake donuts. My loves: Blueberry cake donut Chocolate cake donut (with or wtihout the chocolate frosty) Crispy outer shells, fluffy flavorful cake inside.. but it's really the crisp in the crust that makes me happy. read more

Just being a donut shop gets you two stars automatically. The third star is for those apple fritters (you need to make a liquid version for mass distribution). Then you get a fourth star for being the only open spot at 2am in the Lake Merritt-Lakeshore-Grand Lake universe (minus CVS). The fifth star is for having those two cool people behind the counter always serving me donuts without judging eyes (I don't need judging eyes). Oh, and minus one star for being a chain. The only thing I dislike more than potentially being judged for my unhealthy choices is being judged by a chain establishment. read more

Don't try to pin them down as to which donuts are freshest. They are all fresh. Every single donut is the exact same metric of freshness.

Think I might go here in the morning. Totally forgot about this place. I love it. And mind you, I don't even like sweets at all. I'm very picky if I do eat it. Can't go wrong here. I will update my review later when I go again. :) read more

Day or night. Any day of the week. Great donuts. Parking out front or outback. Sounds crazy but 3am and the donuts are warm and then again during the day warm fresh donuts. read more

Dear Clogged Arteries, I'm sorry to have put you through the fried torture that I did the other day, but mouth and brain kept insisting on donuts. I personally cast the blame on yelp, because had we not found this place I would not have inflicted the damage I did onto you. I'm sorry. I could not resist the variety and I could not stop at one. I also want to apologize in advance because this will not be the last time I torture you with delicious, moist, yummy fried goodness. Your Body/Owner, Karen read more

After a night at the heart and dagger saloon, a group of friends meandered on over to Colonial Donuts to finish off the night. Selection was minimal at 1:00AM (no apple fritters or custard eclairs!), but we happened to come at just the right time because the entire assortment of delicious raised donuts was coming fresh out of the oil. I threw caution to the wind and had myself some bites of glazed, sugar coated, and crumble covered raised donuts. DELICIOUS. I was in donut heaven. I highly recommend the crumble covered raised donut. It was the surprise winner of the night. Don't let that $5 credit card minimum get you...otherwise you'll find yourself with 3x more donuts than you intended...not necessarily a bad thing, but your stomach might regret it later :) read more

People actually eat the food here? And all this time I thought it was just a walkway from the parking structure to Lakeshore Ave in which you could play the hold-your-breath game from door to door. Who knew? read more

This spot is for late, late night donut cravings and after party munchies. Donuts are good I can't complain. Some are greasy af, like I can squeeze the donut and have a stream of oil leak out, and some of the flavors tastes very similar where I can't tell them apart. Their croissant-wiches are good. Best thing about it is that it's 24/7. Oh, and they have a lottery dispenser so it's always fun to play while you wait. read more

It's 1a.m. and you need to get out of your home to study...You need a place that will be conducive to deep concentration, and yet be able to facilitate study food/coffee breaks and/or an entertaining junction for interesting oaklanders to lighten your academic stress, but don't know where to go? Look no further, for you have already found the answer: COLONIAL DONUTS! (@ Lakeshore) read more

I like the consistency. The donuts have not changed in years. I've been coming in since high school when my boyfriend and I didn't have any money. You can hang out here all night if you wanted to on one donut and some coffee. They pretty much leave you alone. You will definitely see some characters. Now as a grown up I like it for the late night after the club/party snack. Ham & cheese croissant and the glazed old fashioned or the blueberry cake will satisfy the munchies. read more

BOMB DOUGHNUTS!! Breakfast is served!!! Never been late in the day we always go for breakfast and the doughnuts are always fresh. Friendly staff lots of seating, you do have to pay for metered parking, but that's a given on lakeshore;) Worth checking out!! read more

Colonial Donuts - Sprinkle me, sprinkle me Man! - Donuts Near Me - Oakland, California

Whenever I go into this place, I'm looking for chocolate old-fashioned donuts. And they NEVER have them! There's a sign there, where they should be, but the slot is always empty. They are always out of this one kind of donut. No others. I'm beginning to think CD's chocolate old-fashioned donuts are a snare and a delusion. That they don't even MAKE the damn things. read more

A staple of Lakeshore. Long may it reign! So many businesses are forced out by high rents. Very sad to see the Burrito Shop go. Sad Yayu was so short lived. Hated when KwikWay left. There are many welcome additions to the neighborhood. Cana. Shakewell. Buster Michel. Lin Jao. Top Dog. Fingers crossed that gentrification push the demise of a special place. Even though I eat a donut about once every 3 years, I am very fond of Colonial Donuts as a friendly community gathering and late night (non alcoholic) spot. read more

Finding out that there's a 24 hr donuts shop existed on Earth made me really happy. Realizing it's in the East Bay made my mind explode! Why haven't I heard of this place existed sooner?! Knowing there's a place where I can get donuts at anytime of day makes me sleep better at night. I might have been a little drunk when I went here with my friends, but I know for sure that the donuts I ate were really good. It's everything you expect from a donuts shop. Donuts, coffee, and more donuts. What I thought was really cool at this place was that there were people playing chess at 2am. It was really random, but a nice surprise. It's a really nice place to chill with friends and try to get over that alcohol before you drive home. read more

Ahoy Donuts! I've been "donuting" here since I was kid. It still looks the same! It still has this retro mini 60s look to it. There is a parking lot in the back entry as well. Street parking can be hit or miss. You get the standard donut fare here... I'm a simple donut man, so my favs are either the sugar-crusted donuts and anything chocolate. Enjoy! read more

I love this place. It is reliable, and affordable. The donuts are not vegan. But if you want that, then you aren't $hit anyways. The reason you go to colonial is not because you want a five star experience, it is because you are looking for a low key atmosphere. Wear what you want there is no bouncer. Try your luck with a scratcher of just spent that on a coffee, either way. Don't go a changing colonial donuts! read more

Wonderful coffee and customer service. Love this location! Great study spot! Thank you!

What a terrible experience! I just walked in because I smelled fresh frying donuts! Asked for whatever they had that was out of the fryer because I saw 3 racks in the corner. The guy at the counter said "nothing is fresh". Was not interested in helping us even though the place is open 24 hours and there were people in there and people in line. Won't be giving these folks any of my business! It's a shame because I love to support local business but he clearly didn't want us there. read more

Simple, good doughnut shop. I'm on a quest to find good croissants - these are pretty good.

The seedy late night Donut shop ....Love the donuts and the occasional intense Chess games going on at 3 a.m. seriously ...these guys who play here are dedicated ! read more

Odd ball O-town crowd at the wee hours but I wasn't here for the atmosphere just the deep fried gooey goodness. Skip the frozen churros and doughy fritters, the stars of the show are the buttermilk "lumps" and good strong coffee. Nothing has changed in the past 30 years and that's a good thing. read more

3 of us got an apple fritter and a filled maple bar. Unbelievable. The maple bar was soft and yielding, the frosting was delicious, and the custard filling supreme. The fritter was HUGE-2 of us ate all we could and had about half left. It is cooked to perfection because the outside was crisp and toothsome and the inside soft and cakey and fluffy and apple-y. If you are a bacon person, they have a maple bacon doughnut that has a bunch of bacon on it. My go to is a maple old fashioned which were in the oven when we were there but I survived, as you can see. This place could easily become an obsessive addiction. I think they should give away a pair of elastic pants with every order. You've been warned. read more

One word... Consistent! It doesn't matter what time you come here. They will always have your favorites! Came here a few times before our early morning flights out of Oakland and they had every Donut we wanted. They also have lotto and coffee. I mean what Donut shop doesn't? read more

My daughter says they deserve a 5 star review. I can't argue with her. The donuts are delicioso and they might have the best croissants I've ever tasted. "Every bite is delicious." -My Daughter read more

Poor quality donuts and their system for making new donuts is poor. They time them instead of making them as they run out which makes no sense for a 24 hour place. The pickings were slim and the donuts were stale and dry. Came here twice to try, Don't have a clue how they have positive reviews. Might as well go to a chain place for this kind of offering. read more

Best donuts ever! Croissants are good too. Fast service and followed all COVID safety protocols. The BEST spot for a donut before a walk around the lake ! read more

Ebony will Rave about going to Colonial after any night out in the "O" ... I mean where else can she have her sweets and I get to grub on a ham and croissandwhich made fresh even at 2am! Great staff, yummy doughnuts, well priced, and always FRESH! read more

When that 2AM craving for Krispy Kreme hits, forget about it and come here. My boyfriend and I came at around 1:30AM, and we came home and had the freshest, fluffiest, most delicious donuts we've had in a while. Seriously, such quality dough. Light and airy. We got the original glazed raised, filled maple bar, and the blueberry cake. All were the perfect amount of sweetness. The man behind the counter was very sweet as well. All donuts raised between $1-$3, pretty standard. Found my new donut spot read more

A dozen donuts for $9.25 and the sweetest women behind the counter. They also do breakfast sandwiches for about $3. I didn't actually taste the donuts because I got them for my class but they looked deliciously sweet and moist! My students (and a coworker) gobbled them down in no time. Parking is free before 8am and after 6pm. Cash only! read more

I had the crumb cake donut and my boyfriend had a sprinkle cake donut. Both were delicious, and definitely hit the spot! The people working there were friendly, and the donut displays had a ton to choose from. Each one I bought was $0.95, well worth it, I say. The store was clean and had lots of tables (although I'm not sure I'd really hang out there...donuts are more of a hit-and-run type of food, I think!). Cheap, clean, friendly service, and delicious donuts...I'll be back! read more

This place brings back so many memories. When I was younger, my parents and I would come here every Saturday with their Peet's coffee, and my Peet's hot chocolate to grab a freshly baked donut. I remembering trying a different one every single week. The owners here are very nice, and used to give me free donut holes =] kekeke. I mean come on, can you resist my adorable face. Haha, jkjk. Anyways, my mom loved their sugar donuts, and my dad liked the chocolate glazed. After grabbing the donuts, we would just chill at one of the tables for a little bit while people watching and reading the news paper. Now fast forward to about 15 years later, I rarely come here now, because I want to sleep in the mornings, but my parents still religiously come here every Saturday. It's cute. I recently joined them this past Saturday, and saw nothing has changed. The donuts are still freshly made, the people are still awfully nice, and the bums still walk through to get to the back exit (I know, weird). I think I will start coming here more often again, you know to support local businesses and to bring back my childhood memories =] Parking can be a beezy. This place is opened 24 hours!!!!!! that means donuts at 2AM!!! (though you really shouldn't), also i definitely gets a little sketch after 9PM or so. I'll be back!! =] read more

This place is life man. Been coming here since I moved here two years ago and am loyal to this specific location. A smile goes a very long way, especially on a weekend morning after finding somewhere to park on lakeshore. Service aside.. I'm a simple 4 donut dude and occasionally I'll grab 2 dozen for my shop and they Always have everything! I love that!! I'm so used to places just being out of most of their variety and what not. Thank you to the nice crew colonial on lakeshore man. I work by the one uptown but it didn't live up to the one on lakeshore and only took cash so I gladly go out of my way to support this one! read more

This place is great. I got a blueberry cake donut (which I haven't had in years), a devil's food cake donut, and a raised glazed with crumbs. They were really delicious, light, and fluffy. Apparently they're open 24 hours... which is good and dangerous information to know. This will definitely be a new choice for stopping at on donut days. One PS though: their jelly donuts aren't that awesome (you should go to Hometown Donuts for these). read more

Open 24 hours: gooood 95 cents each: gooood Hot fluffy donuts fresh from the rack: amazinggggggg Standard donuts, nothing fancy, but perfect for my taste. read more