This artisan plant-based doughnut shop hails from Kauai, Hawaii, where siblings Hana and Nile Dreiling first started serving fried-to-order taro doughnuts made with locally sourced ingredients. Now, Holey Grail has made it to the mainland with three L.A. outposts: Santa Monica, Larchmont Village and Long Beach. While I wouldn’t recommend these pricey, smaller-than-average doughnuts over, say, Sidecar or Blue Star, the unique texture—somewhere between a mochi doughnut and a cake doughnut—and high-quality ingredients like single-estate dark chocolate make Holey Grail interesting enough to merit inclusion on this guide. Rotating flavors and collab doughnuts with high-profile chefs keep things interesting for those inclined to novelty, but manage your expectations: Holey Grail, while tasty enough, doesn’t really live up to the hype, especially if you’re taking your doughnuts to go.
Time Out tip: Eat these fresh, right out of the fryer, or not at all. Holey Grail Donuts don’t really travel well.