Donuts tasted dry and stale on a Sunday morning :( the best one was the chocolate filled (the cream was amazing). Everything else was dry and the apple fritters looked sat on. You could knock on it and it wouldn't fall apart. Oh! And it was so expensive I feel like. Three donuts and a muffin for $12. Some places you can get half a dozen for less than that! read more

Daylight Donuts - Maple donut and chocolate filled - Donuts Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

See all

Good donuts and friendly owner. Half dozen donuts for $10 still seems steep but pretty much matches other places prices. What ever happened to a $0.50 donut? read more

Daylight Donuts - Donuts Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

Best donuts in the Triangle. Favorite picks are the chocolate frosted angel cream and the powdered jelly. Wide selection of donuts baked daily and they donate the unsold donuts which I think is a nice community effort. They also have low fat muffins with the pumpkin being especially tasty. They have indoor/ outdoor seating, coffee, juice, milk etc. read more

I really enjoyed the donuts at Daylight. I love that their name fits their business hours. Opening as early as 5 a.m ! The donuts are made fresh. Very fresh, fluffy and delicious flavors. I visited today to order a dozen to share with a group as a token of appreciation during breakfast. This place was very busy with many ordering their treats and taking them to go. There is plenty of seating inside which is great. Customer service was fast and friendly. I decided on the Old Fashioned, Sour Cream, Chocolate Frosted, Lemon, Apple Crumb, Glazed and Cake flavors. My favorite is the Sour Cream ! So moist !!!!! So delicious. I also enjoyed the Old Fashioned as well. I was looking forward to a French Crueller but learned that they no longer make those. I can't wait to return and try their other goodies. read more

See all

This is my favorite donut place of all time. You don't get the frills of "gourmet" donuts, but you get all the classics (and a few non-traditional) that are made right. The donuts are always fresh, soft, and moist. They make the best chocolate glazed around, and you can't beat that all-time classic when it's done right. My family also loves the cinnamon pine cone, the sour cream, and the Dutch crumble. The muffins, scones, and crumb cake look really good, too, but I can never make it past the donuts. There are several other donut places nearby that have popped up, and some of them make fancy-flavored donuts that taste more like a gimmick to me than a really good treat. Daylight donuts does it right without the hype. I think it's technically a chain, but it definitely has a local feel, the owner is the often the one serving the donuts in the mornings, and the other staff has been the same for years. read more

Daylight Donuts - a tray of doughnuts on a table - Donuts Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

Great place for delicious doughnuts and muffins People here are super friendly, everything is fresh. I used to come all the time for the cherry muffins now they add chocolate or vanilla chips to almost everything-- yes even to the cherry one. I personally don't like white chocolate but if you do you are going to love these muffins. read more

What a great selection of donuts and pastries! I loved the yeast donuts in particular. My wife was a big fan of the apple fritters.

The service was pleasant and I enjoyed the doughnuts I purchased there. Ordered 1/2 dozen various doughnuts. Personally I enjoyed the angle crème but I'm a sugar fan. The old fashioned and chump were my next two faves. read more

Small donut shop. We got there at 9:45 and the selection was limited. The staff was super nice. The donut holes were fantastic plus the a.k.a. tiger twist :-) I would definitely recommend this location but you need to come early! read more

Daylight Donuts - a variety of pastries in a box - Donuts Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

I am so glad to be in a time line the same as daylight donuts. they are the best donut restaurant. the smell in there is so good. such an amazing shop. i hope they last forever. read more

I had a fantastic experience with Daylight Donuts. I was searching and searching for a local donut shop to make some gender reveal donuts for my husband and I. I wasn't able to find any local shop to help (how difficult is it to color some icing and pump it in?!), until I asked Daylight. They were more than happy to help, and explained their whole process. I love a good yeast donut, which they have, but the day I went in to place the order for the 18 gender reveal donuts, they gave me a FREE cake donut. It was incredible! Fresh as could be, soft, and completely melted in my mouth. It's my new favorite donut spot. The owner, Brian, is extremely kind and generous, and the staff there is so helpful. They all had masks on and took care to label the floor for where patrons can stand to maintain a safe distance from one another. For the overall experience, especially the quality you get for the low price, I highly suggest Daylight Donuts to anyone looking for a quaint, local donut shop that knows how to take care of their customers! P.S. They are the only donut shop in the Triangle that doesn't use nuts, so if you have a nut allergy, this is your spot! read more

Daylight Donuts - Gender Reveal Donut with Chocolate Icing and Light Angel Creme Filling - Donuts Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

Daylight donuts are the best donuts in the city. Now there are those who won't eat any other donuts, but Krispy Kreme, and I will admit Krispy Kreme is very good. I'm just saying that once you've had a daylight donut, there's no going back! Lots of filling in their jelly or any filled doughnut. Their pricing is good no higher than others and they're well worth it! I just get so mad when you get a fill donut and there's like a teaspoon of filling in them... What's that all about? Daylight donuts knows how to fill their donuts. It's right down the street from duck donuts, but duck donuts they're good because they're warm but then the topping just drips right off. I'm not a big fan of duck donuts. I'm just telling you you got a try daylight because there's no going back. read more

I was so pumped to try this place - a donut shop near my house?! I'd seen good reviews and couldn't wait to check it out. Unfortunately, the experience wasn't as good as I was hoping for. I ended up getting to try the regular glazed, the maple frosted, and the mini cinnamon roll. The "mini" cinnamon roll is actually the size of a regular donut - not mini at all, which is great! They have another, larger cinnamon roll. Hence the distinction. Flavor: The smell and taste of the donuts were good. I enjoyed the ratio of glaze to donut (not too sweet), and the flavor of the maple frosting was delicious. Texture: This is the area that left me disappointed. The donuts were more "bread-y" than I expected. I love a chewy, tender, and solid-sized donut, like you'd get at a SoCal donut shop. However, the donuts I had here were closer on the glutinous spectrum to a bread roll. Not that the texture WAS like a bread roll, but more in that direction. All in all, it was OK but not my fav. Service: The person working the counter seemed unhappy to be there which was too bad. Overall, this place is solidly OK. The donuts didn't blow me away, but it's a fine donut shop if you're in N Raleigh. read more

See all

This was my second stop on the Triangle donut tour in an effort to find the best donuts the Triangle has to offer. I am DEDICATED to my craft and working diligently at providing the necessary answers to life's most pivotal questions. I will not back down to no man nor donut. It was a beautiful weekend day, smooth 70ish degrees with birds chirping and the leaves majestically flowing through the wind. Work was a disappointment (as usual) and I figured what a better day than to pull up on my local donut shop Daylight Donuts. Conveniently located just 5 mins from the crib. Walked in and there's a beautiful display of mouth-watering savory donuts just waiting for the taken. They also sell muffins and scones here too, but that's not what I was here for. I have to admit it was difficult to select my half dozen as I was going to be the only one eating all of them. Judge if you may. Anyway, I selected my 6 and was out the door. One thing I learned about this place is that some of their donuts and regular yeast based and some are cake based. I personally have learned I prefer regular yeast based donuts out of all my detailed donut history taking. So if you like a certain type then make sure to ask for which is which. Regardless, you still really can't go wrong with your donut selection, just pick to your flavor convenience. I think I ate 4-5 out of my 6 donuts that same day. So that goes to show you THEY ARE GOOD. Will be back again! read more

Daylight Donuts - a variety of doughnuts in a box - Donuts Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

Always fresh, add new donuts , muffins to menu. Service is always welcoming and happy to see customers ! For a nice change they have enough employees to handle the customer request . read more

Donuts awesome the couple that started it were so nice it was a pleasure to support them, the younger family members especially the guy are cold and always act like you have cheated them by not buying enough , it has caused me to cut down visits by 75% just dont want to give money to someone who seems to hate owning it read more

You can't really go wrong when you start your morning off with donuts. We stopped by Sunday morning around 10AM and they still had a great variety of donuts to try. We got a couple of the filled donuts and a couple of apple fritters. I wasn't particularly wowed by the apple fritter since it wasn't as fluffy as I typically like. But I really did like their filled donuts. I tried the lemon filled and the strawberry crumb. Both had a generous amount of filling and they were tasty! Nothing is more disappointing than a barely filled donut and Daylight Donuts definitely didn't skimp on the filling. The prices weren't too bad and I liked that it was a more quiet and less chaotic atmosphere. There were plenty of places to sit and it was very clean. We'll definitely be back when we are craving filled donuts. read more

Classic Donut shop. Well baked with great flavor: not overly coated with sugar. Great selection.

These are the best doughnuts in town! They did doughnuts for my daughters wedding and they were such a hit. Highly recommend. read more

This morning after my fiance went to the Stonehenge shopping center for our first Pumpkin Spice Latte of the season we skipped the overpriced pastry at Starbucks and took our coffee over to Daylight Donuts. I am so glad that we did! Individual donuts are only $.99 and they are fresh! The Daylight Donuts shop is tiny. Behind the counter there is a double rack of donuts with labels. There is also a full pastry counter with eclairs, crawlers, muffins, cinnamon rolls, and more. They sell regular coffee and drinks from a refrigerated case. There is a seating area in a hallway, and even though it is small, it was comfortable to sit in to enjoy our donuts. I can't wait to go back and try different donuts! read more

Daylight Donuts - Donuts Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

See all

Long overdue review. I'm ashamed! I've been buying donuts for my family and friends for years from Daylight. There are plenty of donut options in the area. I've tried several. I just don't like any other donut places like I love Daylight. Donuts are fresh with a bit of a chew. Pinecones and other special donuts are beautiful and taste great. If I'm going to have a treat or buy donuts for work/social, I'm definitely ordering from Daylight. Big fan. Oh, look. Now I want some Daylight Donuts! ;-) read more

If I could 0 stars I would. Aside from the fact the donuts are decent, I just experienced the worst attitude and customer service ever. Had my twin daughters with me and we got two star sprinkle donuts, then I proceeded to order two dozen donuts for my sons 9 birthday ( didn't decide to do this for him until we were at shop) one of the employees (the bald one) decided to react as if it was the end of the world I was paying for and purchasing most of the glaze. I then decided to give him a talking to, "is it really the end of the world I just bought that many donuts for your business?" He then decided to backpedal his sour behavior and complaining as he was merely trying to educate me that I need to call ahead...like I said, it was a last minute decision. What he needs is an education on customer service! Remember you have an early morning business establishment, people start their days there. Remember that!! Not going to let this goon ruin a positive day and my sons birthday, If you want just an ok donut go for it. If you want to avoid nasty business and customer service don't go here. What a disappointment the owners are...we definitely will be getting our donuts elsewhere! read more

I had a solid first visit to Daylight Donuts today. I arrived at 11:30, right when the store was about to close. There were not a lot of donuts left to choose from! I settled on 3 donuts and a dozen donut holes. Everything was good. I also added 2 coffees. I was hoping for iced coffees, but they do not make iced drinks there. Everything was great. My only regret was not getting a plain donut. I feel like getting a plain donut is a great way to judge a donut place, and I missed out. The texture of the donuts and donut holes were great, and so was the flavor. I would say, at 11:30, you could tell they weren't fresh out of the oven but that was my bad. I can't wait to try again, hopefully earlier in the morning next time! read more

donuts are awesome but the old guy behind the counter has a bad attitude most every time I've been there.

Some of the best donuts in the Raleigh area! They did curbside pick up very quickly and effectively even though they were busy inside. I will be back! read more

Beat doughnuts in Raleigh!! They work so hard all the time and super friendly!!! Please go support them during this time. They have great prices! read more

My favorite place for glazed donuts. While the majority of folks want their Krispy Kremes, I prefer my glazed not to be that sugar-coated. I prefer a coat that allows me to taste more donut with a hint of sugary glaze. The donuts themselves are soft and doughy, that have the texture and flavor I enjoy most. read more

I'm not a big donut eater, but if I do eat one, I usually head to Krispie Kreme. I had never heard of Daylight Donuts before as it didn't exist in my old town. Well, when I moved to the Triangle area, all my coworkers were on a campaign to change my mind. And boy, have they. I've tried DD a couple times at work before actually venturing to their store myself. Their donuts are heartier and denser than KK's but are just as delicious. My favorite is the classic glazed, but their barvarian creme is very good as well. DD is always a hit at my office. The store itself is small and only opens until noon (except on Monday, which it is closed). I came on a Saturday around 11am (it was snowing, so I got there later than I wanted to) and they only had half their selection left. I hear they run out FAST, so if you're hoping to get a lot of donuts, go early! They take phone orders, so that you can just pop in and pick it up if you're in a rush. If you want a melt-in-your-mouth warm donut, I'd still go for KK, but if you want something more donut-y and hearty, DD is definitely a must. Either way, it won't hurt to just stop on by and try it out, I'm sure you won't be disappointed. read more

This is our go to donut shop in Raleigh. The donuts and muffins are terrific. It is a locally owned and operated small business. They are nice folks taking care of other nice folks with delicious treats. Give them a try but not on Monday as they are closed then. read more

I have been going to this donut location since I moved down the road 3 years ago. From day one, donuts are yummy. Customer service...basically sucks. On multiple occassions I have been made to feel like I'm putting the employees out by asking them for donuts. I've found the owner & family employees are only friendly to people they personally know or customers that have been coming in for a long time. This morning took the cake. I asked the owner for 3 large donuts. I told him which ones I wanted and asked if he could put cream in the maple bar. He proceeded to sigh, give me a dirty look and tried as hard as he could to refrain from rolling his eyes. Seriously?!?! Sorry for putting you out. They can keep their donuts, I won't be going back. read more

The donuts are alright, Di Stefanos are better, but donut still equals delicious. Just to point out though, the previous reviewers are mis-informed when they said that this place was independent. This is part of a chain, just the same as Krispy Kreme or Dunkin. Here is the corporate web site http://www.daylightdonuts.com/index.asp read more

I've been in and out of Raleigh for the past 9 years and during the periods where I haven't lived here I've still been coming back. For about 4 years I would stay at a friend's house near this donut spot. Once I discovered it, it was my favorite place to go get breakfast treats at on Saturday mornings. I got so excited about it. Their weekend morning hours zoom by though. I wonder whether they close when they run out. They're always busy and it's always good. I've always had the impression that it was a Mom & Pop type place since it's so tiny and the hours are so odd until Kirby noted the website link. Wow! What a surprise! They websites says, "In 1954, Tommy and Lucille Day set out to create a new kind of donut mix -- one with a distinctively light texture and flavor. The Day's light donut recipe became Daylight Donuts. And over the years, their Tulsa-based enterprise grew into a worldwide network of independently owned retail outlets numbering 900 strong... and growing." What a neat little story! There's a great variety of donuts, pastries, and dessert treats. They're not outrageously good, but they're good. This morning my office shared a whole bunch and tried different kinds, which rekindled my excitement for this not-so-local chain after all. Good selection of juices, coffees, and other beverages as well. The store is nothing special at all, but there's a reasonable amount of parking and the staff is always very smiley and sweet. Check 'em out! read more

When you're in the mood for doughnuts, but don't want to get that's stuff from all the chain stores like Dunkin and Krispie Kreme, then daylight Donuts is a refreshing alternative. They have all your typical doughnut fare, but created on a much smaller scale. There's something nice about knowing your doughnuts didn't arrive on a truck in some pre-packaged way. All of the donuts here are amazingly fresh, and you can call ahead and place huge orders for things like school and church groups. read more

Pros: open really early; cheap; stuffy Cons: stuffy( too stuffed with flour for me to eat) , service attitude is ... So I just finished my apple fritter made from this store - surprisingly disgruntle with the product. It tastes like a glazed pita. And it looks like a glazed pita. For god sake.... read more

Friendly staff and great doughnuts! Personal faves are the glazed knot and French cruellers.

Stopped in this morning because I was looking for something a little quieter than Sola Coffee. First of all, I love their maple frosted doughnuts and long johns. And today I was totally surprised with their 2 doughnuts and a med. cup of coffee for $3 (3.23 w/tax). It was a perfect morning to get some writing done and have a tasty doughnut (or two). read more

Decent donuts. A bit doughy but good. We bought a half dozen donuts of different variety and a dozen donut holes. The kids really enjoyed the holes! Overall, it's a good priced place with nice staff and good selection. read more

Daylight Donuts - Blueberry, Devils food cake, cinnamon roll and chocolate glazed cake donuts from Daylight Donuts - Donuts Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

The best FRENCH CRUELERS. They are hot, lightly crisp on the outside, and melt in your mouth delicious. Don't miss these marvels. read more

Daylight Donuts - FRENCH CRUELER: melt in your mouth delicious. - Donuts Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

Really good product. Great break from the normal chains out there. Apple filled was my favorite. read more

Daylight Donuts - Donuts Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

Old-fashioned donut shop! I went on a Sunday morning and they were already getting a line. This place reminds me of the donut shops from up-north where I grew up. Definitely better than your typical Dunkin-Donuts. I had sour cream (delicious!), double chocolate, cinnamon, French-toast, toasted coconut, and a cheese Danish. read more