Top Pot Doughnuts is a Seattle mainstay and one cannot publish a donut blog without covering their acclaimed donut shops. This weekend we found the perfect opportunity to try out their Belltown location, funded by a Top Pot gift card giveaway from the Downtown Seattle Association’s #holidaylightsanddelights promotion. Top Pot has shown business acuity through its growing status as a regional chain donut restaurant (by our latest check, 19 and counting) and are several sports teams’ official doughnuts. You don’t even have to visit to one of their storefronts to get a taste of Top Pot Doughnuts! Their doughnut recipes are used and sold in QFC grocery stores throughout Seattle. In fact, Starbucks doughnuts are made with Top Pot recipes and are available at Starbucks all over the US and Canada.

We found the Belltown location’s vibe surprisingly charming with a slight industrial edge. The walls of the shop were floor-to-ceiling library bookshelves complete with decorative ladders. We expect this shop would be a great study spot on a rainy Seattle winter’s day, and even served as a great presidential campaign stop.

Top Pot’s donuts are reasonably affordable and we ordered a half dozen for a little less than $15. You can also buy individual doughnuts ranging under $3 and are priced based on a color code in their display tag. Our selection included one maple bar, one chocolate old-fashioned with maple glaze, an apple fritter, one lemon-filled, one raspberry-filled, and another raspberry flavor of unmemorable identity. The donuts were tasty, aesthetically pleasing and we enjoyed the light and chewy texture of the dough. It was also nice to see that the raspberry filling contained seeds, a notable difference from many donut shops we have patronized. It is no surprise that this Seattle chain continues to attract customers and has been unwittingly sampled by countless Americans and Canadians through their business dealings with Starbucks.

One of the more unique aspects of Top Pot Doughnuts is their box. It is the sturdiest box we have ever gotten for doughnuts, and handled the 2.2 pounds of doughnuts that we ordered with no chance of breakage. Their box is also nicely designed with their slogan “Hand-Forged Doughnuts & Coffee” and lists the majority of their flavors.

Bottom line: Top Pot Doughnuts serves great classic doughnuts that are light yet chewy.

4 stars from us