Dunk Donuts

When the Ike is gridlocked and you find yourself on Lake St. You would be remiss not to stop here. Great price, great service, great donuts and great old fashioned stand alone donut shop feel.

The donuts are not fresh. Not a lot of selections in the late afernoon

When I was a 6, I was prescribed ocular therapy (aka eye exercises). I had to visit my eye doctor twice a week for what seemed like an eternity (being a child, I’m guessing it was more like 6 months). The one bright spot was that my mom, probably bored while waiting on me, discovered Dunk Donuts around the corner and would pick up doughnut holes and other goodies as a post-​therapy treat. Many moons later, I still see the same eye doctor (he’s since moved) and we still make the trip to enjoy Dunk.
I’m not sure I enjoyed the fritters back in my formative years; I like to think if I had, I would have remembered them. When David R., a fellow fritter fiend, praised the them, I knew I had to make a visit to Dunk Donuts. Not wanting to waste a trip, I called ahead and asked them to hold one aside for me (I found out my mom has been doing this pro trip for quite some time). I also decided to get into the holiday spirit and get a dozen doughnuts for my coworkers.
The manfriend and I split the fritter; they are quite large. I knew I could eat the whole thing on my own, but in the throes of the holiday season, I thought it might be good to practice a little restraint. (And that it might be nice to share with him instead of keep all of the appley goodness for myself.) Prior to Dunk, our favorite apple fritter was Glazed & Infused; now, I qualify G&I as my favorite city fritter. When you bite into the fritter, you can see the layer of apple and cinnamon woven throughout. The fritters keep well; we weren’t able to enjoy ours until that evening and it was still quite excellent. I can only imagine what they’re like fresh from the oven. The doughnuts I brought to work were pretty good too, my coworkers devoted them in minutes. Personally they don’t hold a candle to the fritter. I didn’t order them this time, but I think the doughnut holes are still my second favorite menu item there.
Dunk Doughnuts is a true gem and the prices are great too. I walked out with a dozen doughnuts and a fritter for under $ 15 (fritters will only run you $ 2 — such a steal).

Good apple fritter, great customer service.
Melrose Park is pretty far out of my way, but as a fiend for apple fritters, I found the opportunity to swing by one Saturday morning to try Dunk’s version. Heartbreakingly, they were out of apple fritters! At 9:30am. The clerk told me that sometimes a customer comes in and buys the whole stock. I want to track this guy down and stuff one of those doughnuts in his tailpipe. What an a-​hole.
She mentioned that next time I could call ahead and ask them to put one aside for me. So on my next suburban road trip morning, I did just that. At 6am, they had six fritters left, and without my prompting, the clerk offered to set one aside. I swung by the shop around 9, and there it was, waiting for me, like an date with whom I’d been chatting online but was meeting in person for the first time. There was so much expectancy, a pulse-​quickening anticipation. Would our encounter live up to the halting dance that had preceded it? We already knew so much about each other, but would there be chemistry?
Well, it wasn’t a ‘10’ but I think that with a few tweaks it could be. The fritter is very sugary; other customers might like this, but to hit my, um, sweet spot, they could reduce the glaze by about 20%. It is generously sized, about six inches in diameter. It is also somewhat thinner than most other versions, which makes the edges quite crispy (a-​ok with me) while the center manages to remain very, very moist. That takes a lot of skill, so kudos for that. There are plenty of apple bits and the overall flavor is very nice. There isn’t much cinnamon, but I detected something which seemed like amaretto. Is that possible? If so, it’s a pretty genius idea, although in this case it was a little too much. I think that they could tone down the glaze and the amaretto just slightly, and they would have a perfect apple fritter – marriage material. Although I couldn’t seriously date a fritter that lived so far out in the suburbs.
I tried a couple of other doughnuts which were a-​okay; in particular the chocolate cake with chocolate icing and coconut is really good, not as rich as it sounds but just right. All three of the girls that I dealt with on both occasions were sweet as can be, just like the fritters. Big thumbs up for the customer service here. They seem to have a steady stream of regulars, and I would certainly be one if this shop were in my neighborhood.

No frills really good doughnut shop. Not as eye catching as some of the doughnuts I’ve seen from spots like glazed and infused but really impressive doughnut to me.
Walked in and was greeted with a «YOU MADE IT» smile. Really friendly owners. The only drawback for me was I wasn’t sure what some of the doughnut’s I was picking were so kept having to point («no, not that one… over, over one more… yeah that one.) I’m sure after one or two more visits. I’ll get the hang of what’s my favorite.
Ordered ½ dozen and was given three free doughnuts. but I’m a Unilocal elite free things don’t impress me (can’t hold laugh any longer) but really enjoyed the doughnuts as they literally were fresh despite me coming in at 4pm, Hope to get their early and have a better selection to pick from next time.

Best chocolate glazed doughnuts ever. Yum! And the service is quick. Always have a good variety to choose from.

This place surprises you. walk inside and smell the donuts, fresh coffee, bacon. The donuts are fresh and tasty but not heavy. I’m definitely going back to try a sandwich and coffee. It’s cash only, just so you all know. It’s supposed to be 24 hours except Sunday, but I did go at 10:30pm on a Saturday and the place was closed. I would call ahead if you’re going during the off hours just in case.

the donuts were to die for. the apple fritter was definitely worth the trip alone. i enjoyed the chocolate frosted french cruellers. the server was doing her nails when we arrived but was very pleasant. she wore gloves so i was ok but others may not be ok. the neighborhood seemed sketchy but the donuts were fabulous. at an off time, get your coffee somewhere before or after as they didn’t have any when we went in the afternoon.

My friend from Michigan introduced me to the concept of a 24 hour bakery — something I could only have dreamt of. In Ann Arbor, they have a place called Doms where the locals go for fresh baked goods and coffee.
The baked goods this place cranks out is just as good as Doms in Ann Arbor. Cake donuts, apple fritters, baked diabetes. Holy crap. Amazing. When I bring in donuts to my office I stop here and then parade around exclaiming how amazing this place is during work hours. Then I get weird looks when people think I mean Dunkin’ donuts. Not Dunkin’ donuts lady — DUNK DONUTS *eye roll*. I should probably get a cut of the profits this place generates *nudge nudge*
If you’re looking to load up on frosted carbolicious NOmz, dunk donuts should be your go-​to.

These are the best donuts in town. Hands down! The owners and their daughter are always there, working. Sour cream and blueberry donuts are my favorites! If you go at night, order a dozen, they usually give you 4 free donuts!

There’s no debate. Dunk is the best family run donut shop in the Chicago metro area. Family run for more than 40 years. I wouldn’t go anywhere else if I lived nearby. Been coming here since the 80s.

Been coming here for YEARS. Love this place. This is where you come when you want a FRESH, homemade, non-​conveyer belt donut. The apple fritters taste like REAL apple fritters, they’re so good. I’ve tried just about every donut they have on the racks and they’re all good.

These are doughnuts! So rich and fresh!
The lil Asian lady whos the owner is so sweet! She gave me 2 free doughnuts with my dozen probably cuz Im 9 months pregnant and huge :)
Support this place its a gem!

Great donuts! We’ve lived in Melrose for 14 Years & have always wanted to go in but never did until I mentioned it to my hubby. He went in 1 day & came home with a box of these delicious things. We had an assortment of donuts & muffins. Everything is yummy. Now he goes in so often they know him by name. They’re always fresh & always open (but close early on Sunday). They even told him that if there is something specific he wants that he can call them & they will make it. They make a jelly donut that is actually a yeast donut with the hole in it covered in sugar & filled with jelly rather than a round without the hole jelly Bismarck. It is also fairly priced, cheaper & better quality than the DD chain

Awesome apple fritters and service. The Asian lady is super nice, courteous, and friendly. This place is definitely fresh and better than your chain donut place (Dunkin Donuts ahemmm) but pretty average in taste and quality.
Definitely try the fritters, this is the best from this place. Otherwise you can really skip the donuts.
Say hi to the nice lady =)

I only can say one thing.
Best donuts I ever had.
Get them, Eat them.
Get there early before they run out.
The Rush on Roosevelt

I LOVE when I find independent donut shops — but they are as hard to find as a needle in a haystack — because I am sick of Dunkin Donuts, and the stale, tasteless donuts they serve.
Dunk Donuts, on the other hand, are made from high quality ingredients and are always fresh.
As much as I love their donuts (and I do!!), I love their brownies even more! These must literally be the best brownies I have ever had in my life.

I was introduced to Dunk Donuts awhile back. It only took lots of whining and begging and persistence before I was brought a donut, but I finally understood the goodness that is a donut from Dunk. Can I call it Dunk? I feel like this is when my charge calls Mickey Mouse «Mick», because they’re apparently buds. I digress.
It wasn’t until this morning in my half awake state that I finally WENT to Dunk Donuts and in the car on the way to the airport I discovered what I like about them so much. It’s not that the donuts are so soft and fresh. No. It’s better. It’s the slight crunch in my long john. It’s not like the crunch in other LJs. They have perfected the long john. They’ve probably perfected other donuts, but the long john is definitely my favorite. Oddly enough, everyone always says Old Fashioned has the best apple fritters around, and they are good, don’t get me wrong, but there is something about Dunk’s fritter that I would actually prefer them over OF’s. Yeah, I said it. DD’s apple fritter is better.
The actual place is small. There is more room to make donuts and serve donuts and stand around behind the counter than there is to order, but I’m sure that’s part of its charm. I’m sure if I lived or grew up in the area this place would be special to me, because it just has that feeling. I think I «get it», in regards to Dunk, at least.

I recognize that I have a thing for crullers. This tiny donut shop had three varieties– glazed, chocolate-​frosted, and white (vanilla?) frosted. I tried the chocolate and white, and they were fresh with a light, eggy texture on the inside. Delicious, but not the best I’ve had. Not as much frosting on them as the other shops that I’ve tried, and the chocolate frosting wasn’t chocolatey enough for me.
Chocolate cruller — 4 stars. I liked the light & eggy texture, but the frosting wasn’t chocolatey enough. Compared to the heavyweight of Spunky Dunker’s cruller, Dunk’s is not a serious contender. Spunky’s has an awesomely thick & chocolatey frosting, and their crust is superior with a fine crisp. Dunk’s crust is more of a toughened shell. Analogy: American muscle car’s frame (Dunk) vs. Japanese compact car’s frame (Spunky). Dimples Donut’s cruller would be like a Hummer lol.
White (vanilla?) cruller — 3.5 stars. Good, but I preferred the chocolate.
Chocolate frosted yellow cake donut — 3.5 stars. Good, but again, the frosting. The cake wasn’t dry though.
Glazed chocolate cake donut — 4.25 stars. I took one bite and it was so light & soft that it felt like I was eating a cupcake.
I originally picked out 2 crullers, and then added a cake donut last minute, and wow, she added in another free!

Having grown up in this town, my family and I always anointed Dunk Donuts as THE place to go for Donuts. If you had anything bad to say about Dunk Donuts, we would literally fight you.
These donuts may not look like anything special to the naked eye, but one bite of these melt-​in-​your-​mouth morsels will have you on cloud 9. 9 is the approximate number of pounds you will gain also, but don’t let that deter you.
Pretty much the epitome of a hole in the wall, don’t expect irrational things like outstanding customer service or a big, fancy menu. That stuff is overrated. For example, they claim to make breakfast sandwiches, but I can’t seem to get them to make me one. Last time I asked for one, and the lady just shook her head and mumbled some incoherent broken English to me. Fine, coffee and donuts it is.
If you’re in the area and want an alternative to the huge Donut chain, check out one of my childhood spots. They still go hard.