Plenty of parking! Staff is friendly. Clean shop. The donuts are divine. Love the maple bars and maple old fashioned! Hubby is partial to the chocolate glazed and chocolate old fashioned. I also really like the nut donuts. Never been a fan of sprinkles but otherwise you cannot go wrong. read more

Decent food, terrible hours of operation. Decent food, terrible hours of operation. read more

They only take CASH for donuts. Not the friendliest of employees. Selection has diminished currently. No more French Crowlers. Bummer!

Arrived at 10:00am. Sign said 'open'. I tried the door. Woman inside rudely jestured that they were closed. Door was locked. Not impressed with this really bad service. Am going to find a different donut shop as I had to this morning. read more

The employees are rude and don't seem to appreciate their customers. The donuts aren't as food as they once were. Novato is in bed of a great donut shop, with food coffee ... this isn't it. I've been hopeful that they'd update the interior, make it more welcoming for customers, and give the place a good scrubbing. read more

Donut Works - Yummy old fashioned donuts. - Bakeries Near Me - Novato, California

Great local, longtime local favorite donut shop. They have made a few concessions to accommodate for the corona virus including the welcome change to accept visa and MasterCard! What a sweet change! Sometimes they run out of my personal faves like apple cross crossed turnovers or cinnamon rolls but they are truly delicious and I highly recommend both my fave's and other goodies! Everything appears to be baked on site (and I think they are the provider to other shops in the area based on the delivery van you can catch picking up goods in the early morning). Enjoy! read more

Donut Works - Early morning fresh hot donuts..yum! - Bakeries Near Me - Novato, California

Raining big time, the Post Office location had moved they're goods over to the Redwood Blvd shop. No problem, gotta go. Luscious raised glazed, I waited too long and jelly donuts gone, so I said throw another raised glazed. The boss threw in two! It was 12:30 pm, getting late for them. How nice was that? Five bucks for 6 fabulous donuts. Ate one immediately. Saved one for later and froze the rest. I'm going to pop a chunk of yum into the micro right now. The best at anytime. read more

See all

This Family are the sweetest people...Their croissants and donuts are AMAZING! I am a regular customer and you can call ahead and place an order if you need special quantity OR just want to secure your order. I usually need bakery items early in the morning like 6am and if I call the day before and order they are always ready and FRESH OUT OF THE OVEN WARM....yes! read more

This is a great little retro-style donut shop. They only take cash, the decor has not changed since the 70s and coffee is served in pots on a hot plate. It really takes you back! There are a handful of parking spots in front of the store, which is just across Redwood from Trader Joe's. When we arrived at around 9:30am, there were still tons of donuts in the case and they all looked nice and fresh. I hate it when you show up to a donut shop and they've only got a few flavors. Here, they had them all. We took our donuts to a booth in the back. There were several other parties eating in the shop, and others came in and out while I was there, so this place seems to do steady business. The cake donut and glazed donut we ordered were just $0.75 each. And they were really tasty. They'd clearly been made that morning. The next time I'm craving donuts, I'll definitely return. read more

See all

These are not very good. The plain was undercooked. It was almost white. It should have a little crunch on the exterior.

I would give 5 stars but I get irritated when I show up at 4:30/5am when they should be open, drive down there and find the entire place closed and a regular Tuesday. It just gets annoying and I know of no alternative location that actually makes fresh donuts daily. I see other places buy from them so I prefer "fresh" versus outsourced! Otherwise place is fine. read more

Best donuts ever! On top, these are the only place my daughter can eat donuts from. Must better quality. They have the best tasting custard. Definitely a treat whenever we go. Very consistant with taste a d quality read more

This has always been my place to go for work/ sports event donut needs but will now take the extra drive to other options. Went into purchase donuts and decided to also purchase donut holes for the swim team. Asked for 5 dozen and was told "we don't have enough""only about 3 dozen" I can obviously see the pile of donut holes in the counter but went along with it and after boxing the 3 dozen asked if she can make it four dozen because there was definitely enough. With a smirk look on her face she said"next time you need to call if you want donut holes" never before have I had to call or had such poor customer service. Customer service is so important these days. read more

I haven't eaten their donuts, though they look delicious and tempting. I did however drink their coffee and it was delicious. This is a great place to come and hang when your car is being repaired at one of the nearby shops. Eclectic crowd and a nice view of the hills! read more

Best apple fritters in Novato how come you didn't show upGreat apple fritters - best in Novato and probably in all of Marin County

Passing through Novato today on our way home from a Father's Day celebration. Super kind person working and yummy donuts! Definitely recommend! read more

Outside moving in: It amazes me that I can walk the dogs by Donut Works well after closing time and I can still smell donuts from the sidewalk. We're talkin' don-aroma staying power. Quite the olfactory advertisement. On most weekdays between 7:30 and 8:30, there is a line at least 2 peeps deep, usually more. If you're me, you usually have to wait a bit; I seem to like to attend with the masses. The donuts are a solid thumbs up. My personal favorite is the chocolate old fashioned. The cooked naught does not taste oily indicating the oil is fresh, not rancid or over-used. The presence of oil on the ring is minimal. Donut to frosting ratio is just right. Our neighbors rave about their bear claws. I've never tried them but if you want one on the weekends you better get there early--they go fast. An aside: I still pine for Skully's unbelievably scrumptious bear claws, coffee cakes, pies, and pastries--What happened to you Skully's? Novato misses you so much, but my thighs do not. OK back to the review at hand: The coffee is decent enough which means I don't have to stop again for coffee someplace else. "Decent enough" however, does not mean it compares to Peet's or Dr. Insomnia's. But of course, you don't go to Donut Works for the coffee, do you? What I LOVE about the place is the 50's-forget-the-facelift decor. It's spare, it's old, it's a little bit shaby but it's clean. And the Works has been where it is for a LONG time. Donut Works is an institution. When we tell folks who used to live in Novato decades ago where we live in town, we use Donut Works as a reference point. It's a downtown landmark. Historic donuts right here in Novato. Do not say no to donuts. read more

This place is amazing and scrumptious. Definitely would come here back. Great staffs. My favorite is the the sugar raised. It's light and fluffy and hit in all the right spot. Lastly, a cup of delicious hot coffee to wash it all down. read more

Donut Works - Go Big or Go Home! Best place to grab a quick bite before starting work. Staff are sweet and grateful. - Bakeries Near Me - Novato, California

The company's name explains it all. If you want donuts for breakfast (or any morning-ish time) this place works! Tee-hee! Okay, corniness aside, there are no frills and thrills to this place (looks about as adorned as it did when it first opened--like an old Dunkin Donuts Diner with it's hard plastic benches and linoleum tiled flooring). You come here for one thing: donuts. Well maybe a croissant...or a strudel stick, or a cake bread ...or... Okay, so you walk in wanting one thing and you end up leaving with a dozen. And it hits just the right sweet spot. Always fresh and always quick. The prices can't be beat, either. It's a local hangout for some and a great haven for one like me who needed to get a smog down the street and didn't want to wait in a grease pit waiting room. I'll be back for sure. read more

If you've ever had fresh donuts with the perfect balance of sweetness and cakebread, then you probably wouldn't give this place more than 3 stars. We stopped by because of the good reviews but were not impressed. 1) Glazed donut was much too sweet. 2) Chocolate donut had a light brown coating, which suggests not enough chocolate. The taste confirmed this. 3) No blueberry donuts. They only sometimes have it. 4) Streudel was really mediocre. Granted, the cakebread was fresh and fluffy, so the old fashioned plain or sugar or powdered are probably pretty good. I'm still looking for a local donut place that is on par with Donut Time in El Cerrito... read more

I stand corrected! This place is stellar. Donuts are beautiful and delicious. Apple fritters are my favorite so I ran with that and right away they looked perfect. Nice balance of sweetness...crispy texture...and soft chew. Also consumed a glazed donut because they looked so bouncy. It was great with nice skin and a fluffy...yeasty finish. Novato can handle two choices for great donuts...with perhaps Donuts Works having slight edge on execution. read more

It's not Jonny's donuts but old school basic donuts that are fresh. The family that owns it works hard and seems they really on that place to live. True small business read more

Very generic choice of donuts. No gourmet type. Was really disappointed. Would not recommend would not return.

Awesome fresh tasty donuts. Would not complain if they updated slightly inside for the customers and workers. However, great price, and the donuts have a real original flavor. Will come regularly . read more

Our favorite place to go for maple donuts and fresh croissants. Great customer service and easy parking right in front of the bakery.

Love the donuts here!!! Especially the apple fritters! There's always a huge selection and you can't go wrong. Plus, the coffee and juice options are great! It's super easy to drive by, pick up some donuts and head out in the morning. read more

I went to this place this morning with my kids but the lady behind the counter didn't have a good customer service attitude it seemed like she was having a bad morning she didn't even acknowledged me and my kids as she was grabbing donuts front the back she's asking us with a non friendly look on her face i noticed that she looked annoyed and was dry and short with her words like if she didn't want to wait on us I conducted my business as usual but I left the place with a very unsatisfied feeling because she didn't have a good customer service she displayed it very poor I hope they change that kind of attitude and provide better customer service. read more

Went in to Donut Works today (Father's Day) and the lady taking my order was rude from the beginning. I rarely rate places negatively, but this one impressed me to do so. I have never been to this donut shop before. I walked in and asked if I could get a box, instead of a small paper bag, since I was getting 4 large donuts and traveling an hour away. The lady was so rude in her response and said I would have to get more donuts to get a box. I mentioned I didn't want them to get smashed on the way to my parent's house and she said I would have to buy a box for a dollar. It wasn't just what she said, but how she said it. I told her it was ridiculous. So, I got the donuts in a paper bag, none of which had even been separated with paper. I won't be going back there! read more

There are two locations, both of which I visit regularly, this one and one on South Novato Blvd by the post office. This is an old-fashioned donut store notable for having really good, fresh donuts. I bring them to work regularly, and people from all over the bay area rave about them being the best donuts ever. The service is good, the staff is friendly, and the prices are reasonable. read more

This place has apple fritters that are as big as your head - bring a friend.

Great donut and pastry options, can't go wrong for a good snack! The Boston cream was filled just enough to get a little cream in each bite.

From what I see passing by, this place is quite the gathering spot for Novatans. I come here on the very occasional weekend morning when the pantry is bare and there are no eggs for french toast. I had the donuts once and they were good, but mostly I get the muffins which I think are okay sometimes and good others, depending on my mood. They sell Clover milk which is great, because if I am out of enough stuff that I come here for breakfast items, I do not have milk for coffee either. read more

This place drives me nuts. They ALWAYS run out of donut holes before 9am on the weekends. Who wakes up that early on a Sunday? Please make more donut holes otherwise I will not return. read more

Great selection of freshly made donuts and pastries. Good coffee, really inexpensive, and close to the freeway if you wanna jump off at Atherton and run down and get some. It's always busy which is a good sign. Cash only. read more

I've been coming here to get donuts for a good 8 years and not once did have a shitty donuts.... But the other day while I was enjoying my cinnamon roll I found a fucking hair right inside in the middle of it soo that's really disgusting... Like how does that even happen?!? So never again will I eat here read more

I been in twice Donuts seem fresh and good but the place is not clean. Hope they clean up their act. read more

I am not telling my favorites but they are allllll good! Okay, I will tell. Mine is the old fashioned plain. I am not a big sweets person so that pretty much does it. I love the women who work here...sweet and helpful. My kids are crazy about the chocolate glazed/sprinkled cake donuts and the receptionists where I work would kill for the powder sugar covered, jelly filled donut holes. I mean they are soooo small they are calorie free, right? ;) read more

Just the absolute best. Always fresh, so cheap, and very friendly staff.

I have been coming here since i was a kid (that's about 20 years). I love the place it's nothing fancy, but looks can be deceiving, as their donuts are awesome! Fresh baked day, great assortment and really friendly staff. I took a "donut hiatus" for a quite some time but lately I have been in the search for those stellar donuts ships and the donuts works stills reigns as one of the best! read more

I love the double chocolate donuts. We stop by in the early, early morning when we're headed out of town...fresh, warm donuts, coffee with half & half...no frills, just good, old fashioned donuts. read more