Donuts have always been one of my absolute favorite treats. For my fourth and fifth Birthdays, I even had a tower of donuts instead of a cake. Instagramable donuts have been a trend from the past few years that I have felt rather excluded from. Even if a shop has a vegan or gluten free option, it is rare that they have a donut that is both. Even if there is a vegan/gluten free option, it usually will not have the same Instagram aesthetics of the original.

That is why I was very excited when I was recommended to visit Donut Friend. With locations in Highland Park and DTLA, they offer a completely vegan donut experience with a gluten free option. The main draw of Donut Friend is their ability to make a custom donut in addition to many mouth-watering signature donuts.

Above is an image of the signature donuts that were not customizable (not gluten free). I had a great time customizing my donut, pretty much think Chipotle for donuts. I have included pictures of all the customization options so you can get an idea of how many options there really are.

I didn’t order any ice cream on my donut but the options were plenty.

It was difficult to choose from all of these options but chocolate was really calling my name.

I passed on jam, but gosh the raspberry habanero sounds delicious!

I got fresh raspberries!

I passed on sauce because I didn’t want my donut too messy.

I chose strawberry which perfectly complimented the raspberries!

Rainbow sprinkles were my choice, of course.

I passed on spice.

The only problem I usually have with all of the Vegan restaurants I go to is having almost too many choices when I am usually used to only choosing from one item on the menu. It was overwhelming to choose what to get for my donut but I ended up being very pleased with what I got.

For my base, I of course got the gluten free cake donut. For a filling, I got a chocolate vegan whipped cream, which they certainly piled high onto the donut. Then for my fruit, I added some fresh raspberries before they put the two donut halves together. They had so many delicious looking glazes but I went for the strawberry glaze because it gave that donut the classic Homer Simpson look. I adore sprinkles on everything so of course I topped off my treat with them. I was most impressed by the affordability of this donut, for all of my extravagant toppings and the gluten free base it cost $3.50 and if I had not customized it would have come out to a little over $2. In addition to my donut, my mom also got a donut hole and a soy latte. Donut Friend also had a adorable aesthetics including this cute mural that read “donuts done differently.”

Donut Friend also had a very eye catching curb appeal that was both simple and inviting with the bold block letter signs and yellow furniture.

Overall my donut had the delicious taste of childhood that I craved and had a wonderful photogenic quality that is so coveted these days. It was not very crowded at all and I was very impressed with the low price. Vegan or not I think everyone with a sweet tooth will like Donut Friend.