Primo’s Donuts

Just came back from Primo’s. The shop is super cute — very teeny tiny, very homey, with smiling, happy employees interacting with customers. The range of donuts was as you’d expect with glazed twists + regular O donuts, long johns, raspberry filled. They also have «cake» donuts which have a heavier dough — less airy, fatty Dunkin Donut type, definitely more of a cake consistency. Those came in a variety of glazes: cherry, orange, vanilla, chocolate, and cinnamon sugar. I bought a handful for friends staying over at my apartment and they loved the bright pink box. My favorites were the cinnamon sugar and the maple long john, which was still warm and so, so good.
I’d love to come back in the early AM to buy the baked goods, which sound great, although the selection at 11 AM was still pretty bountiful. Price for 7 donuts and a small coffee was 9.80, which you just cannot beat, and it is very close to my apartment (I live 4 blocks from the beach in Santa Monica), and the trip to Primo’s is relaxing. I took Airport Avenue to Centinela to National and the drive is pleasant.
Just do it, go to this place in the morning when you have nothing better to do than eat a donut. You will not regret it, and the price is unbeatable.

Still awesome donuts. Note that they have a bunch of twists and bars sometimes on a separate tray/​stand instead of in the main glass display case.
Glazed, maple bacon, cinnamon twist, all NOM.
Plus they take credit cards too. (they didn’t a few years ago)
Main issue? They seem to run out of the basics (raised glazed, raised chocolate, etc.) much too easily, even at 7am…

Not a donut fan but they have amazing croissants!
Every once in a while I wake up early enough to drop by Primo’s on the way to work to get their croissants — flaky on the outside, warm and chewy inside; the thickness of the dough is just right and gives you enough «meat» (I don’t know what you call the inside of a bread…)
$ 1.90 for a HUGE one. They run out so quickly though. Please make more!
Tiny store with a couple tables and chairs so I always take mine to go. Cash only so be prepared, but there’s also Chase in the same little plaza.

I just died and went to donut heaven! Primo’s donuts thank you for bumping into my life. I am truly impressed. My coworker picked up some donuts from here for a friends birthday and the donuts here literally blew me out of the water.
I mean, how can donuts be that good? They are just donuts right? WRONG! These donuts came straight out of the oven and it was still warm when I took my first bite. This cinnamon looking one, melted in my mouth. The fluffy and crunch donut was so scrumptious. You taste the sugary flavors fly right pass you. Your mouth buds start to wander and ask for another bite! Bön apetit.
Seriously, I was a huge fan of DK’s donuts, then SK donuts, then Sidecar donuts, but man Primo’s Donuts you guys knocked it way out in the ball park and scored a definite 1 in my books!

Adding a star because the glazed donut for National Donut Day was yummy (and free!). I would recommend that, the Nutella croissant, and almond pastries here.

I wanted to bring some donuts home for my brothers graduation yesterday, so I pulled over off the 405 onto Sawtelle. Oh man! For a place right next to a freeway entrance, I was surprised at literally how awesome this place is! All the workers are so nice! They were patient when I wasn’t sure what I wanted and even asked what the occasion was and congratulated my brothers! Also these donuts! Oh my goodness they were just that – pure goodness! The buttermilk literally melts in your mouth! All the donuts are so light and fluffy. I got a mixed dozen which came out to $ 12.50, half specialty donuts and half classic donuts. FOR THIS QUALITY OF DONUT??? WHAT A STEAL! I would recommend this place 100%! The selection is fantastic at 6 am and the line was nonexistent when I went. Always people in there (of course! It’s so good!) but you will be helped in a very timely manner! Thank you for great donuts and service!

Primo’s makes a really good buttermilk donut, with a moister center and crunchier crust than any other version I’ve tried, but is it worth the drive all the way to Sawtelle for one donut? In a city like LA where quality donut shops are a dime a dozen, I’m not sure.

Primo donuts is on the list for one of the best donuts in LA. They sell until they run out so they may close earlier than the time listed. I tried five different donuts. Their famous buttermilk bar was pretty good. It tasted like a buttermilk pancake and wasn’t overly sweet as some buttermilk bars can be. My favorite was the vanilla crumb donut which had a citrus taste to it. My bf liked his strawberry jelly donut because the filling was real jelly. The dough here is a little too dense for me. I like a fluffier dough, so It’s a solid 3.5 for me!

landing LAX August 23. Will be there August 24^th 8am. :)
Best donuts in L.A. no doubt. we love us some Mrs. Primo’s donuts. Especially the maple bars. Oh and the buttermilk’s — so ono with coffee.

Wow! I just came back from Primo’s Donuts, and I gotta say, they are amazing. If I could give them more stars I would!|
Today is my husband’s birthday, and I wanted to do something extra special for him. His favorite treat in the universe are cinnamon rolls, and so I decided to research for the best one in LA which lead me to Primo’s. When I ordered a dozen of their baked cinnamon rolls, I also explained it was for my husband, and how excited we were to be visiting their bakery.
When I got to the bakery by the scheduled pickup hour, Ralph Primo Jr came out from the back to greet me! He thanked me for my order, and also explained that they had read my note, and because my husband loved cinnamon rolls so much his father came out to bake the batch himself!
We are so grateful, and the experience of enjoying our cinnamon rolls were made special and heartwarming. Not to mention, the rolls were delicious! They were the perfect balance between cinnamon taste and frosting. Primo’s went the extra mile to add more love for my husband’s birthday, thank you so much!

This little shop is amazing.
Fresh donuts, the line is out the door in the mornings! They sell out of the good ones, like the maple bacon, super early. I was there at 7am and they were all already gone :(I’m still trying to get there earlier to catch them!
Their almond pastries are also out of this world good!

The best local donut shop around! Their dough is a force to be reckoned with. You can’t beat their prices for the quality you get. Better than famous gourmet donut shops — this is the real deal! Must try the buttermilk, cinnamon roll and butterfly donuts.

This is a tiny, old-​school (white-​washed interior, two or three tables coming from the wall) donut shop. It advertises, as you’re zipping down Sawtelle, that these are the best donuts in LA. Since I heard this from a few additional sources as well, we decided to try it on a rainy Sunday when we couldn’t walk to our usual breakfast spot.
The old fashioned donuts, dipped in vanilla, chocolate, or maple icing, are excellent. You can make an entire meal out of one of these. The other ones were good as well, but the old fashioned is where it’s at. They do have the currently popular maple bar with bacon as well. They looked very fresh.

Just moved to neighborhood, read how good this place is, and went here this morning (Saturday) with husband. Holy moly, THESE DONUTS ARE AMAZING!! We LOVE donuts, but most could be a tad better — but not these! The cinnamon roll — lightest dough/​yummiest frosting ever! And not ridiculously oversized or thick. The chocolate-​glaze donut and jelly — both super fresh and fantastic! Also, they OFFER COFFEE BEAN & TEA LEAF COFFEE options — which is such outstanding coffee. We’ve found our dream donut shop! Yay!

It’s listed as one of the best donut places in the L.A. area, so I had to try for myself. The donut smell emanating from Primo’s was fabulous! When I got there in the afternoon, the selection was pretty simple/​classic: maple, chocolate, cinnamon, sprinkled, twists, buttermilk, and few others. But from other people’s pictures, they have a few specialty choices.
Basic choices but the taste was super sweet! I bought two donuts, but if I’m around next time I’ll just get one because I was on a sugar rush after. Also, the maple bar had great texture and the maple covered the bar in all the right places.

For some businesses the quality of the product doesn’t even matter because the owner is so rude and unfriendly that I don’t want to give him my business anyways. This place is a business like that.

Well, I’m not sure if they are the best donuts in LA, but they are quite amazing.
I’ve wanted to try Primo’s since reading «Maybe in Another Life» by Taylor Jenkins Reid. Now, I’m not sure if this is the same Primo’s cinnamon roll that she alludes to numerous times in her book, or if Primo’s is a fictional adaptation to another place, however, after reading the book I figured I’d search Unilocal and this was the only similarity in LA that I could find.
It took two visits to be able to sample the sweet incredibleness that is the cinnamon roll, but two very well-​worth-​it visits. The first time I stopped in (a Wednesday morning at 7AM), there were no sweet rolls to be had so I opted for a maple bar (my second favorite). A very heavy, greasy-​bottomed donut that did not disappoint (but also made me glad that I only ordered one).
Finally made it back on Saturday afternoon (right before they closed) and to my delight, there were about a dozen cinnamon rolls left. For a small fee of $ 1.10, I was sent into a sugary, gooey bliss. It lacked the overcooked outside that typically plagues a cinnamon roll, instead offering an interior reminiscent bite all the way through. I was dismayed when I reached the end at the center but now look forward the the next time.

We have been coming to Primos since the 60s. The best buttermilk donut anywhere. People at work would come to work on Saturdays just to have the warm buttermilk. Just love the bacon but cannot give up the buttermilk.
Mr and Mrs Primo you are the best.

I just finished a Nutella stuffed croissant and an almond cream pastry and they were both amazing! This donut shop also has a nice assortment of muffins, cookies, turnovers, strudels, cinnamon rolls, as well as coffee, juice and milk. I love this little neighborhood weight gainer!

Happened to be back in the area and HAD to stop by! This time I got the glazed donut with raspberry jelly. It smelled so good, I ended up eating the donut in the car (sorry, no picture since I couldn’t wait.) It was THE fluffiest and freshest donut I’ve had in a while. I wish it was closer to where I lived — unfortunately it is out of the way. I’ll be back again next time I pass by on Sawtelle.

GET THE BUTTERMILK BARZZZZZZZ
Came here this morning to get buttermilk bars for our morning meeting. Sweet ‘ol Mrs. Primo told me it would be about 7 minutes until they were ready and I certainly did not mind. I loved that they have the window so you can see everyone making the goodies and I love seeing how things are made. Watching those bars get dunked, fried, flipped, and frosted almost brought a tear to my eye :’).
Grabbed 6 buttermilk bars and 6 other donuts, total came out to $ 13 even and I was happy.
I couldn’t keep my hands off the hot donuts so now my steering wheel is covered with gooey ooeey goodness.
Thanks Primo’s!

I stopped here on a Thursday afternoon at 2pm, and I am so happy that I did!
It’s a very small shop run by a very sweet, older woman who took her time with me and my indecision in picking which donuts to get.
It was two hours before they closed so they had run out of a lot of their donuts, but they had plenty of their popular buttermilk donuts and cake ones, and all of the ones I got tasted extremely fresh and delicious.
I got…
BUTTERMILK DONUT: best buttermilk I’ve ever had.
CINNAMON ROLL: tasted like pillsbury, so. delicious, but nothing terribly special.
SKIPPY DONUT: tasted like a stuffed pb&j with chocolate icing on top, so… again, delicious, but nothing I couldn’t make at home.
CHOCOLATE BAR with a super cute frosting ghost on top: delicious!
and CRUMB DONUT: delicious!
They pretty much just have your basic donuts done EXTREMELY well, with tons of free parking, genuine and friendly service, and good prices! I got all that I got for less than 7 bucks.
Minus one star only because they close kind of early in the day. Kudos to them for sticking to more traditional donut shop hours, but it makes it tough for anyone who desires a selection of donuts after noon.
I willlll be back!

LA Donut Festival this weekend is sold out so decided to go straight to the source and sample one of the vendor offerings myself.
WOW. Primo’s cinnamon crunch donut is miraculous. If you have already mentally prepared yourself to invest in the calorie consumption of a donut, might as well make it one of these gorgeous gems from Primo’s. When you bite in, expect fluffy donut, sinful cake oil moistening the edges and sweet crunchy bits reporting to your brain «Yessir, you’re enjoying the pleasures of a decadent donut, I am suppressing the guilt reflex right now so you can keep going.»
In summary, quality donuts without overly-​fancy marketing nor the $ 3.50 per piece price tag.

Such good donuts! It seems to be a thing in LA, and I can’t say I was opposed. The cake donuts were good, but my favorite was the glazed twist. Great breakfast food once in a while, and friendly staff with lots of fresh donuts!

These donuts are pure perfection! A family owned business that has been around since 1956. If they have been around for this long, you know they have mastered the art of making great donuts.
I really like their donuts here because they’re simple but executed well. The dough is light and airy and they have a variety of flavors. But you won’t find a cronut here!
They have amped up your traditional donuts. I love their maple bacon and cinnamon crumb donut. Both aren’t overly glazed and pair wonderfully with a black and bitter coffee. The maple bacon donut has plenty of crumbled bacon bits that give it that subtle savoriness. The cinnamon crumb donut has a secret layer of cinnamon that adds a nice spice and sweetness. Both aren’t too sweet either. You must try them!
CA$H ONLY HERE BTW!

I am so torn… I heard great things about this place and the pictures look amazing. This place was once voted the best donut place in WLA. However, the glazed donut and the cinnamon roll donut were so fried and oily, that when I bit into it… I literally felt the oil seep into my mouth. It made me feel sick… Maybe some people like that? They were moist and I have to admit, their signature donut, the buttermilk, was really good and if I were to return, I’d get that one. The pictures on Unilocal are also super outdated and the same donuts are not being served. I went a bit late today (around 12P) and was told that they were sold out of most of their popular donuts.
They have a private lot in the back which is nice.
One thing I did not know * quick tip *: apparently one of the employees who left at 11A (not sure when she leaves every day) has the square credit card reader… so after 11A, no credit cards are accepted. In general, no bills over $ 20 are accepted… Good thing I went to the ATM right before stopping by today!
I think I expected more from this place. I am a bit disappointed… it may have been super poppin’ a few years ago, but in its defense, over the past couple of years, donuts have been a huge craze and a lot more competition has arose out there. Maybe that is why I am being a bit of a harsh critic.

Tried this place for the first time. The lady running the shop is very nice and really welcomes you. My review is 3.5 stars.
I got in just in time to have some fresh n hot doughnuts. I had some twists; they were warm and tasty. However, I believe these were the oiliest doughnuts I’ve ever had in my life. They need to find a way to reduce the oil in the food itself.
I’ll give them another chance and hope they’re better next time.

They had me at glazed bacon covered donut. They had me until the next day they had none and I blew that off and then the next day they didn’t have them. They teased me and reeled me in only to break my heart.
If they get those donuts again i’ll raise their stars but they got me and then failed to keep up.
Lots of parking and the people behind the counter are cool.

I dropped by Primo’s because they advertise themselves as the ‘best doughnuts in LA.’
Walked into the store and took a good look at what was in the case. Now I’m no donut expert but the donuts in that case looked awful. They looked old and had way too much sugar coating on them. The jelly donuts didn’t even look right. they had a weird shape and some kind of sprinkles on top. Maybe that’s how they make them in some other country but in the US a jelly donut should be a round classic glazed donut with jelly inside.
So I decided not to even try one and I walked out. This review is just based on my observance of what was in the case, and also the fact that the place didn’t look very clean. No thanks.

I just trekked 2 miles with my dog to get to Primo’s for national donut day. I would have driven, but my new license was still in the mail and I figured the calorie burn wouldnt hurt. So here we were, crossing some pedestrian unfriendly streets while I questioned myself for the idea and wondering if they would still have donuts worth my efforts at 2pm.
Then I had their simple yeast glazed donut and all was remedied. I didn’t see the buttermilk and I was really craving a bacon glazed anyway, but here I was, with the most pillowy, stretchy piece of carb heaven, and wish I could eat five more.

I just found out about this place through a bunch of online lists and decided to check it out. Primo’s Donuts is a small shop on Sawtelle & National.
AND There’s parking behind the store!
Definitely worth finding this place to try out their famous buttermilk bar! The other donuts we had were pretty good too, but the buttermilk one was definitely their standout.
It’s like a combination of a rich buttermilk biscuit + lightness of a glazed donut. What a combination!

Very old school donut shop, in fact they have been around since 1956 and I know why.
Their donuts are perfection!
I had a buttermilk stick Saturday morning and it was still hot, everything about it was the best I have ever had.
Prices are cheap, service nice, the selection was a bit slow, especially before 9 am so there was nothing else too enticing looking, but after having that buttermilk stick I could happily get a dozen of those and not feel like a thing was missing.
The store is old and a bit run down, not much seating or atmosphere here, just good donuts, made right there fresh as can be, worth a stop of you are in the area!