Top Pot Doughnuts

I went in for a quick doughnut and coffee. The service was amazing, the maple bacon bar was fabulous, and the coffee was so smooth. I already had their cookbook which I use at home, but the customer service isn’t as good at my house ;p
I was so happy with my experience.

This was my first time going to a Top Pot. I was surprised at how expensive the doughnuts were. But after ordering, I realized the doughnuts were pretty huge and thick. They were delicious and after eating only one, my stomach felt content.

Wonderful service and pretty tasty coffee. I love coming to this location. It’s near and everyone who works here is so friendly. The coffee specials if they ever have them, are on point too. I had this iced hazelnut soda one that I was obsessed with for a few days.

At first the guy working needed to warm up to me and sure enough he was as friendly as everyone else at other top pot donuts.
I was super excited to come here. I love maple bars and can’t get enough. I use to eat cupcakes in NYC, but in Seattle its all about the donuts. Its been so nice to just walk down the street by my work and by my house.
I think next time I’m getting an apple fritter or an old fashion donuts… nah I will always get a maple bar. They are sooo hard to find in NYC. I tried all the donuts spots and NO one even heard of it, there are some place you will always miss and that was this place and their maple bars.

The donuts are good. Just not brilliant. There’s a brilliant donut place in Portland I suppose my 3 star rating more from my lack of love for donuts. I must they’re brilliant.

They never disappoint! The donuts are always a hit with coworkers. Large, thick and delicious! The service is friendly and I appreciated when I mentioned I wanted to share my donut they didn’t try to upsell me just because… plus they know I’ll be back!
Loved the king’s ring but my go to’s are the apple fritter, the Bavarian and a good old fashioned glazed… diet be damned.

1^st time to TopPot doughnuts. I had a glazed raised doughnut and my wife had a Bismark or custard filled. I thought they were pretty good. I come from a bakers family and have made and fried more donuts then you can shake a stick at or should I say donuts sticks. The raised donut had a very nice white raised area with the top and bottom nicely browned. The flavor was pretty good and the donut was tender a little heavier then I would like but certainly not greasy. The glaze was a little heavier then I like but had good flavor probably sat a minute or so before it was glazed. My wife’s Bismark I thought was good as well. Chocolate had a nice fudgy flavor the custard was good as well. Definitely not greasy very tender a good solid custard donut.

I feel like Top Pots are all the same.
I like their coffee. The donuts are okay. Service is usually okay to pretty good.
I enjoyed my Americano.

I was excited to try this place because of the reviews I’ve heard but I was greatly disappointed. The old fashioned donut wasn’t very good the glazed one my mom got was ok but not great which it should be for over $ 2 each. My mom got a drip coffee which she ended up throwing away it was so gross and I got a blended mocha which I couldn’t finish because of the taste. Way too expensive to not be good.

Nice Apple fritter, chai was average. Like the glass windows and hanging lights outside.

The most expensive donuts in the city. Two dozen for $ 40! Damn they were good though! They could charge $ 50… This location is pretty small, which is just fine for takeout.

Huge disappointment for me. Bad coffee (stale, week) and the doughnut was almost cold, stale and nothing to write home about. Nice staff.

I’m just going to go ahead and say it: I don’t like Top Pot Doughnuts.
I know they’re a Seattle institution, and I’ve always gotten great, friendly service. Their gear is super cute, too. But their doughnuts are SO DISAPPOINTING.
I like a good doughnut. What’s not to like? Fried sugar dough, filled with sugar, and topped with sugar. I have eaten many a delicious doughnut in my day, but I don’t think any of them have been from Top Pot. I keep going back, thinking, «Maybe THIS time…» but I’m not going to make that mistake again.
Very pretty to look at, dry, heavy, and tasteless to eat. The kind of doughnuts you expect from an out-​of-​the-​way grocery store case, where you know they’ve been siting there under the lights for a couple days, but you need a doughnut so much you get one anyhow. But those usually cost $ 0.69. The same can’t be said for the dry little bricks Top Pot serves up.
If someone gave me some free Top Pot Doughnuts, I’d probably try one again. But I won’t pay for them anymore. Their attractive looks have fooled me for the last time.

The largest maple bar I’ve ever seen or eaten is here, seriously. I’m not a huge donut fan nor picky and usually just go for the maple bar and I’d say the one here got my morning set to go. It has a thick layer of maple on top with no filling inside! Great for me because the top has enough sweetness for me already. The drip coffee was OK, one can get something better elsewhere.

I was so happy when Top Pot opened right by my work place. Disappointed to find out that they don’t make them at this location, but get them delivered. The choices are sparse at times, and I’ve had a few dry doughnuts, which totally sucks since you are paying a premium price for them. I think they missed the boat on not having this as one of their stores to make their goods «in-​house», since it is located centrally to a lot of medical buildings and offices. Staff are pretty nice, but other than that I don’t often go here unless I tag along with co-​workers.

Disappointing and dry
I love a good donut; unfortunately, this place is not where you will find one. The donuts, while having a firm, crusty exterior, were somewhat dry and unappealing. The maple stick is deceiving. I thought it was filled with cream — wrong! It is just a thick donut with a dry interior.
However, the chocolate salted caramel donut was superb. The dryness and texture worked with the flavors.

Yeah, this is just as terrible as the reviews said. Sadly, I only realized it after I got my doughnut. I tried the chocolate caramel doughnut. I liked the crust, but the inside of the doughnut was too cakey and dense. Also, the caramel made it way too sweet.
Like what some lovers had recommended, the old fashioned by my boy’s favorite. Will definitely try that next time.
A place for a quick bite, or to get snacks for the party.

There isn’t much of a selection at 1PM. When we walked in, there were only about five different cookies or doughnuts available. The bottom shelf had four empty trays. If I was a worker, I would’ve at least removed the empty trays and baked more sweets! This leads me to believe there’s no oven or way to make more food from scratch. What kind of business, which still has five more hours until closing time, has empty trays sitting out?
A friend, who’s on a gluten free diet, asked about gluten free options. There were none. In a city like Seattle where people are health-​conscious, I was quite surprised.
To quote my friend about the cashier, «She didn’t look too happy about her job.» To quote another, «The doughnut tastes like it was delivered in the morning.» I think you’re better off going to Sugar Bakery down the street!

Ok, there’s no way Top Pot can be 2.5 stars.
***See below if you want Cliff Notes.***
I’ll give you that it’s a bit pricey. And I’ll give you that not all the doughnuts are spectacular (only get the old-​fashioned doughnuts — they are money in the bank). But it’s Top Pot — a Seattle staple. And their Madison location is now the closest one to me, so I’m super happy about that.
Their coffee is also pretty good — it goes perfectly with an old-​fashioned doughnut, but it can definitely hold its own even when not paired with a doughnut.
It’s harder to find parking near this location, so that’s one downside. Another is that the seating is somewhat limited.
***Cliff Notes***
ORDER THIS IF YOU WANT AN ENJOYABLE TOP POT EXPERIENCE:
1. Pumpkin Glaze or Maple Glaze Old Fashioned Doughnut.
2. Drip Coffee, your choice in size.
Anything less would be uncivilized.

Cute little space with a nice, airy feel. You can tell they’re brand new as they are working out the kinks a little — one person behind the bar had to tell another person how to make a macchiato. It turned out just fine :)
Their donuts and other baked goods are, as always, delish. And service is very friendly, again, as always. I’m quite happy that they opened a location here — it’s convenient, near a lot of other cool businesses, and is set up for success — being so near the hospital! Much better coffee than the Starbucks across the way, as well.