Top Pot
Seattle, WA

In the film, Midnight in Paris, Owen Wilson finds himself transported into the 1920’s where he encounters people and places from a time period he’s been coveting.  Head to Seattle and you might find a similar experience if you head to Top Pot, where their “hand forged” donuts are based on a secret 1920’s donut recipe.

(from left to right) A Maple Glazed Old Fashioned and a Yeast Raised Glazed

The interior of their downtown flagship café gets my award for best interior design. It’s a place that makes you feel like you can sit back and relax for a while as the world bustles around you.   It has the ambiance of a rare book library, which compliments their classic donuts.

There are a few yeast selections here, but the menu skews heavier to cake donuts. My advice is to try a few of the cake donuts with their wickedly crunchy surface and an interior as moist as warm cake. The toppings and varieties are fairly standard, but the nostalgic taste makes up for that.

I first tried the standard yeast, glazed donut.  The glaze was perfect, not painfully sweet, and the donut was chewy and fresh with hints of vanilla laced in.  I also had an maple old fashioned donut.  The old fashioned cake was very tasty.  Traditional with a slight crunch on the outside.  The maple glaze had some good spice to it, but watch out because it was tooth-shattering sweet.

Inside of Top Pot’s Flagship Store (Photo Credit: toppotdoughnuts.com)

2124 Fifth Avenue, Seattle; 206/728-1966 or toppotdoughnuts.com