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    Daylight Donuts

    4.1 (73 reviews)
    Closed 5:00 am - 12:00 pm

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    Marissa M.

    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.

    a tray of doughnuts on a table
    Aaron S.

    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.

    a variety of pastries in a box
    Jill M.

    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!

    Gender Reveal Donut with Chocolate Icing and Light Angel Creme Filling
    Liz M.

    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!

    Muffins and donut holes
    Maddi S.

    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.

    a variety of doughnuts in a box
    Brian G.

    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!

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    8 months ago

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    8 months ago

    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.

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    2 years ago

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    2 years ago

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

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    6 years ago

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    3 years ago

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

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    6 years ago

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    8 years ago

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

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    11 years ago

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    Page 1 of 2

    Ask the Community - Daylight Donuts

    Love that everything is free of nuts! Are there any that are also gluten-free?

    Hi Emily. I'm sorry, but we don't make gluten-free donuts here at our shop. We would need a separate kitchen to do so as we wouldn't want to risk cross contamination. Hope we get to see you at the shop soon. Thanks, Brian.

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    Boulted Bread

    Boulted Bread

    4.7
    (432 reviews)
    8.0 mi
    $$

    A Truly Artisanal Bakery…read more I rarely leave reviews on yelp anymore, but this bakery is so impressive, it inspired me to type this down. I'm from the Bay Area and loved going to all kinds of bakery when I travel. I did not have much expectations when I came to Raleigh. I tried Paul and Jack and couple other bakeries, they were all good, but not impressive. The first thing I noticed was their Mill Room, and second I noticed that they have 100 score on hygiene. Not that I care about the score that much but still impressive. Then We got a bunch of pastries, the shortbread was the first one we tried and wow, it was so simple yet so flavorful, truly malted tasting shortbread, it has so much depth in taste. Then I had a had a ham and cheese croissant, it was on the salty side but I kept eating it when I'm not even hungry. The true winner though, is the plain croissant I got which traveled with me for 72 hours back home. I got it out of my bag, slightly flattened by all my stuff, I expect it to taste flat and meh. I put it in the oven for 6 minutes and it turned out to be the best croissant I've had. It was flaky, soft and soo flavorful. Now I cannot stop thinking about it. Lastly, I want to say that with so many pop ups, new bakeries coming up in different cities, often times we were chasing that unique flavors, that special toppings on croissants, but Boulted Bread stayed true to bread, and perfected the craft without focusing on "exotic" or "special" flavors. I truly respect this.

    The same ownership as Benchwarmer Bagels. They really know bread. I got here at almost closing…read moretime, and I wish that I had come earlier because almost everything was sold out. I got: 1. A bialy (bee-AH-lee) is a traditional Polish-Jewish bread roll, similar to a bagel but with key differences: it is baked, not boiled, has a dimpled center filled with onion bits and poppy seeds, and is generally softer and less dense. Originating in Białystok, Poland, these rolls are traditionally served plain or toasted with toppings like butter or schmear. 2. Rye shortbread. Not too sweet. Just perfection! 3. Bran biscotti. I like the idea of a high-fiber bran biscotti over a refined flour one. 4. Buchi Tepache. I got the mango-pineapple flavor. This is a local NC brand. It's a mildly fermented drink that originated in Mexico. I got the ingredients from their website (drinkbuchi.com): Organic Tibicos (Water, Organic Fair Trade Certified™* Cane Sugar, Organic Kefir Culture), Organic Apple Cider Vinegar, Organic Mango Puree, Organic Pineapple Juice Concentrate, Organic Whole Lemon Puree, Organic Mango Natural Flavor, Organic Pineapple Natural Flavor, Organic Monk Fruit Extract. 5. The baguette. Unlike a refined flour white bread baguette at La Farm Bakery, this one is made of a red wheat flour. Turkey Red flour is an heirloom, organic hard red winter wheat brought to Kansas in 1873 by Mennonite immigrants. Prized for its rich, nutty flavor and superior baking qualities, it is often used for artisan bread, sourdough, and pasta due to its unique, sometimes more digestible, gluten profile. It is commonly stone-ground and available from local Kansas millers. 6. The star of the show was the Everything Croissant. Like the Everything Bagel but soft and buttery. Topped with all the sesame seeds and seasonings with a cream cheese interior. So good! I do plan on returning!

    Photos
    Bialy and croissant
    Bialy and croissant
    Cappuccino and morning buns, perfect combo.
    Cappuccino and morning buns, perfect combo.
    Boulted Bread

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    Daylight Donuts - donuts - Updated June 2026

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