If you’re searching for the best donut in Vancouver, you’re not alone. It’s one of the most competitive (and delicious) debates in the city. But what if finding the best donut in Vancouver isn’t just about sugar and glaze, but about the story behind it?
That’s exactly what I discovered on the Underground Donut Tour Vancouver.
After living in Vancouver for more than 15 years, I thought I’d already tried every contender for the best donut in Vancouver. Yet this tour surprised me. Not just because of the donuts — but because it felt like a guided Vancouver city tour layered with history, architecture, coffee culture, and local storytelling.
If you’re visiting and want a fun, low-effort way to sample multiple contenders for the best donut in Vancouver in one afternoon, this might be the smartest booking you make.
This is my Vancouver Underground Donut Tour review and why I think it’s an underrated way to see the city.
What Is an Underground Donut Tour?
Underground Donut Tours started in Chicago and has grown into a multi-city experience operating across North America and Europe. Today, you’ll find tours in cities like Chicago, New York, Boston, Seattle, Nashville, Toronto, London, Dublin, and of course, Vancouver.
Each underground donut tour is locally guided and combines curated tastings with neighborhood storytelling. I’ve done plenty of food-focused experiences around the world — from a Portland craft beer crawl to exploring coffee farms in Colombia and street taco tours in Mexico — and the best ones always balance education with indulgence.
The Underground Donut Tour Vancouver does exactly that.
Underground Donut Tour Vancouver: My Afternoon Experience
Our Underground Donut Tour Vancouver experience began in Coal Harbour before gradually winding into Gastown. What I expected to be a simple sugar crawl quickly revealed itself as a surprisingly thoughtful Vancouver day tour.
Our guide, Julie, set the tone immediately. Knowledgeable, friendly, and clearly passionate about baking and Vancouver’s history, she arrived prepared with a donut box for the group.
Instead of eating an entire donut at every stop, we sampled one to two pieces and added the rest to the box. By the end of the tour, we had a well-stocked takeaway, which is honestly a brilliant strategy.
This format made it feel less rushed and more curated. It also made comparing contenders for the best donut in Vancouver much easier.
A Vancouver City Tour Disguised as a Donut Crawl
Founded in 1886, Vancouver has evolved from a port town into one of the most livable cities in the world. Yet on this Vancouver city tour, I heard stories I’d never encountered before, despite living here for over 15 years.
Julie highlighted architectural details in historic buildings, explained neighborhood transformations, and connected everything back to Vancouver’s evolving food culture.
If you want to extend your culinary exploration after the donut crawl, I highly recommend pairing it with a Vancouver Chinatown food tour experience or diving deeper into Gastown with this excellent Gastown food tour.
Lucky’s Donuts at 49th Parallel Café
One of the strongest contenders in the best donuts Vancouver debate is Lucky’s Doughnuts inside 49th Parallel Café.
Let’s be clear. These are not your typical Tim Hortons donuts.
Lucky’s Doughnuts leans fully into small-batch artisan creativity. You will find seasonal fruit glazes, filled brioche-style donuts, brown butter old-fashioned classics, salted caramel crullers, and indulgent combinations like peanut butter and jelly or the ever-popular maple bacon fritter.
The textures are lighter, the flavours more layered, and the presentation feels distinctly West Coast. Clean, colourful, and elevated.
This stop perfectly reflects Vancouver’s deep rooted café culture, where high quality coffee and thoughtfully crafted pastries go hand in hand. It is less about grabbing a quick sugar fix and more about slowing down and enjoying something made with intention.
As a starting point in the hunt for the best donut in Vancouver, Lucky’s sets the bar high.
Neat Donuts at JJ Bean
Next up was Neat Donuts inside JJ Bean, located inside one of Vancouver’s most iconic historic landmarks, the Marine Building.
Completed in 1930, the Marine Building was once the tallest structure in the British Empire. Its Art Deco design is unmistakable, covered in maritime themed carvings that celebrate Vancouver’s identity as a port city.
Sea creatures, ships, and intricate ocean details wrap the exterior. Step inside and you are greeted by brass doors, detailed tilework, and a lobby that feels like stepping back into another era.
On our tour day, Neat Donuts were sold out. Slightly disappointing on a donut tour, but also reassuring. High demand usually signals quality.
Even without sampling the donuts, this stop stood out for me. I am a regular at JJ Bean in my own neighbourhood and their dark roast is a personal favourite.
While I enjoy the convenience of making Nespresso coffee at home, there is something about a properly brewed dark roast from JJ Bean on a cool Vancouver day that just feels right.
Julie was kind enough to grab me a cup, which made the experience even better. Warm coffee in hand, standing inside the Marine Building while learning about its history, it felt less like a simple donut crawl and more like a genuinely thoughtful Vancouver city tour.
Even after fifteen years living here, I had never fully appreciated the story behind this building. That alone made this stop memorable.
Deville Coffee & A Canadian Classic
Instead of a donut, we sampled a Nanaimo bar, a true Canadian classic.
Now, having eaten my way through Nanaimo itself and documented my full Nanaimo bar trail experience, I feel qualified to have opinions. The version we were handed at Deville looked a little suspicious compared to the traditional ones you find on Vancouver Island.
The layers were cleaner, the chocolate top a bit more refined, and the whole thing felt more modern café than small town bakery.
However, this one was vegan and surprisingly very good.
The custard layer was creamy without being overly sweet, the chocolate had a nice snap, and the base still carried that familiar coconut and crumb texture that defines a proper Nanaimo bar. It may not have been the most traditional version I have tried, but it was a solid reinterpretation.
I genuinely appreciated that this underground donut tour includes a slice of Canadian culinary heritage. Many guests are visiting from cruise ships or from the United States, and while they may come looking for the best donut in Vancouver, they also leave having tasted something uniquely Canadian.
Julie even shared the story behind the Nanaimo bar’s origins, adding cultural context to what could have just been another sweet stop.
It is small touches like this that elevate the tour beyond simply chasing sugar.
If you’re exploring BC more broadly, I also recommend this Vancouver Island food tour experience for a deeper regional dive.
Gastown, the Steam Clock & Lee’s Donuts
We finished at Lee’s Donuts in Gastown, arguably the most iconic stop on the tour and a serious contender for the best donut in Vancouver title.
While many people associate Lee’s with Gastown today, the original and still most famous location is on Granville Island. If you have ever wandered through the Public Market, you have likely seen the lineup. It is rare not to find a steady stream of locals and visitors waiting their turn.
What started as a local favourite has become something of a Vancouver institution.
If you are already exploring the area, pairing a visit to Lee’s with a proper Granville Island food tour makes for an easy and delicious afternoon.
Lee’s was established in 1979 and built its reputation on simple, well executed classics. In recent years, it gained renewed fame after Seth Rogen and David Chang featured it on Netflix’s Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, introducing it to a global audience.
Behind the glass, you will find a wide variety of options. Chocolate-glazed, raspberry–popular jelly-dipped, seasonal specialties, and their ever popular jelly filled donuts.
The jelly-filled versions are absolutely up there in the conversation for the best donut in Vancouver, and the blueberry is my personal favourite. The filling is generous without being overpowering, and the tartness balances the sweetness beautifully.
That said, you still cannot skip the OG. The honey dip is the one that built the brand.
Light, airy, and perfectly glazed, it represents everything a classic donut should be. No gimmicks. No excessive toppings. Just a soft interior with that thin, slightly crisp glaze that gives way on the first bite. In the ongoing debate over the best donut in Vancouver, the Lee’s honey dip absolutely deserves its place.
By this point in the tour, our donut box was full and the debate was very real. Lucky’s had its creative edge. Lee’s had nostalgia and technical precision. And Vancouver once again proved it takes its donuts seriously.
My Pick for the Best Donut in Vancouver
Alright… drumroll.
After sampling several strong contenders on the Underground Donut Tour Vancouver, my personal winner for the best donut in Vancouver goes to Lucky’s Doughnuts’ PB&J donut.
I might be slightly biased — peanut butter and jelly is one of my all-time favourite flavour combinations.
It takes me straight back to childhood lunches and simple comfort food. But this wasn’t just nostalgia talking. The balance was spot on. Sweet but not cloying. Rich without being heavy. The filling was generous, and the donut itself had that ideal light texture.
That said, if PB&J isn’t your thing, Lucky’s has plenty of other excellent options — including their very popular maple bacon fritter, which often sparks debate in the best donuts Vancouver conversation.
Now, I’ll be honest — this sample size is relatively small. Vancouver has fantastic donuts scattered across the city, and crowning a definitive best donut in Vancouver based on a single tour would be ambitious.
If you want to expand your research (which I highly recommend), head out to Deep Cove and try Honey Doughnuts. Their classic-style donuts are legendary, and the waterfront setting makes the trip worthwhile.
Then there’s Duffin’s — an absolute Vancouver institution with one of the quirkiest menus in the city. Where else can you order donuts, fried chicken, and bánh mì sandwiches under the same roof?
If you’re serious about doing a proper donut crawl beyond downtown, I’d recommend renting a vehicle so you can explore neighborhoods like Deep Cove and East Van properly. You can compare options for a Vancouver car rental and turn your donut hunt into a full-day food adventure.
Because while the Lucky’s PB&J currently holds my crown for the best donut in Vancouver, the fun part is continuing the search.
And honestly? That’s half the experience.
Why Booking the Vancouver Donut Tour Is Worth It
If you simply want to find the best donut in Vancouver, you could absolutely map out your own self-guided crawl and start hopping between bakeries.
But what you would miss is the curation, the storytelling, the historical context, and the efficiency that turns a sugar run into an experience.
A great donut is one thing. Understanding why that shop exists, how it became local legend status, what makes their dough different, and how it fits into the neighbourhood’s evolution — that adds an entirely different layer.
Unless you have unlimited time (and an iron stomach), this is one of the easiest and most enjoyable ways to sample multiple contenders for the best donut in Vancouver in a structured, well-paced format. You spend less time navigating and more time tasting — and that’s really the point.
And if you do hit your limit before the final stop, you’re handed a takeaway box, so nothing goes to waste and the experience can continue later — ideally with a coffee and a proper debrief.
If that sounds like your kind of afternoon, you can reserve your spot on the Vancouver Donut Tour here before availability tightens.
Where to Stay in Vancouver After Your Donut Crawl
Looking to sleep off those donuts? Vancouver has no shortage of great places to check in and reset. If you want to stay central and walkable to many of the tour stops, Gastown and downtown are your best bets — think boutique hotels with character, stylish chains with rooftop pools, and modern high-rises with harbour views.
Prefer something trendier? Mount Pleasant offers design-forward stays surrounded by craft breweries, independent cafés, and some of the city’s best brunch spots (should you somehow wake up hungry again).
Wherever you land, staying central means you can roll back to your room post-crawl, loosen the belt a notch, and fully embrace that well-earned food coma.
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Although I was provided with a complimentary Underground Donut Tour Vancouver experience, the opinions, full belly, and newfound local insight are entirely my own.
