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I travel to California quite a bit, and seeing as how Canadians love to lap up landmarks, always make it a point to stop by here as it's just a few mins away from LAX.
Hands down, some of the best donuts I've ever had.
This place is the king of raised donuts, hot from the fry kettle, and always fresh.
It shames me as a Canaydeean that Timmy Ho's' cardboard chewy confections are the best we have to offer. 'Always fresh' my ass...
Take a lesson from these guys..
When it comes to donuts, my gold standard is Donut Man in Glendora, and everyplace else falls short. Randy's is the first serious contender I've maybe ever experienced. Besides the iconic giant donut on the roof, they serve some darn fine donuts.
Glazed: it was less light than I'm used to, and squished down a lot. I think I was good with it. Crumb: awesomeawesomeawesome. It was so coated in crumbs that I actually thought it was a chocolate donut at first. Chocolate old fashioned: I don't usually like chocolate cake things, but the dough plus the chocolate icing were great. Buttermilk: ok, but I'm not sure I like buttermilk donuts to begin with. Apple fritter: delicious, but it could've used more apple and cinnamon, there wasn't enough for how much donut was there. Jelly donut: real raspberry pieces in the jelly, I like that. It's like I'm eating a piece of fruit, instead of a fried dessert! Definitely could've used more jelly. Cinnamon roll: moist in the center and great. Powdered: eh, but I was eating a day-old donut.
Thank you, work, for bringing in a dozen two weeks in a row, to allow me to try a large amount of donuts at once. Screw you, work, for tempting me to keep sneaking back to the break room.
i ordered a single honey and wheat donut b/c it sounded interesting and i needed a quick bite on the way to the airport
the owner (over 31 yrs now) looked at me and said incredulously, " no one can order just one. "
it was tasty (wish it could have been warmed), the light glaze made it taste better than the name sounded.
this is the last of the "big donut" drive-in
Tasty donuts, especially after battling the 405 traffic on a chilly L.A. morning. After all these years I still find them consistently soft and moist. I never had a stale or cold donut from here and they always greet you with a smile. My favorite are the Old Fashion and Chocolate donuts, simple, pure and sweet pleasure.
Outstanding. Today I told my boyfriend I was going to buy him a dozen donuts from Randy's then throw them out the window. His response was simple and effective, "If you do that I will throw you out the window." Yea, Randy's is just that good. I LOVE THEM!
Solid donuts under the big solid donut.
Verdict.... It's no DK's Donuts (in SaMo) but Randy's wheat and honey donut and the chocolate on chocolate donut are fantastic!
The glazed is still aways from DK's,
-s
The best moment of my trip to Randy's was when my donut-eating companion and I pulled off the highway and I actually said, "Wait, what was the address again? How are we going to FIND it?" My companion, dumbfounded, nodded toward the giant donut looming over Manchester Boulevard (the donut we had come to Randy's in part to view) and I felt appropriately stupid.
No, wait, the best moment of my trip to Randy's was when I bit into their perfectly soft, light, melt-in-your-mouth glazed donut and remembered why I've never had much use for Krispy Kreme.
No, wait, the best moment of my trip to Randy's was when I bit into my first nutty, flavorful honey and wheat donut and was transported to a whole new level of Los Angeles donut consumption.
No, wait, the best moment of my trip to Randy's was when my donut-eating companion and I determined that a firing range, pool hall, car wash, and liquor store were all within walking distance and that a person could have the BEST DAY EVER right there under the shadow of the giant donut.
No, wait, the best moment of my trip to Randy's was the quick jaunt down the road to LAX that allowed me to get my donut fix and make my flight in time.
No, wait . . . .
You can't call yourself an Angeleno if you haven't been to this Inglewood icon. I was surprised it was just a drive-thru and not an actual shop but no matter - there's outdoor seating a few feet away. The whole place is so old and filthy - it looks like it hasn't been updated since the 1950s. Also, the staff are impatient assholes but you just have to go with it. The coffee is delightfully good and you can choose your donuts from a display window on the La Cienega side. I tried the maple bar and the sprinkled chocolate which were both amazing. You'd be surprised at how little volume they actually do, so each donut is made slowly and carefully.
Drive through on your way to LAX or make a trip of it - definitely worth the experience.
These people were featured on Donut Paradise... iconic landmark... something that the pilots talk about.. before they land in LAX. Although i've heard all that in the last 10 years.. i've never made the trip to this place until last year.
BOY!!! i wish i had came here and the doughnut was REALLY good.. i can't describe it but if i have to put in words... soft, creamy yummy icing.. and no coconut oil smell..
One thing i hate about some doughnut places.. they fry their donut with coconut oil.. and they have a coconut after taste..
Theirs are SUPERB... i especially drove here this morning...from Long beach... drove the extra mile since i was suppose to get off on 405 @ El Segundo. LOL...
It's kind of funny i casually ask the owner.. how he's doing.. he answered me back and said: "i've not seen you in awhile..." i was taken back.... wow.. he recognize me... ( LOL.. he's probably just saying so.. but it was nice to hear it)
anyway's this place.. it's DAMN GOOD.. :)
I came here because of the big donut on the roof that I've seen in all "End of the World" movies. That's all.
We got Apple Fritter, Glazed, Coconut Raised, Crumb, and 1 other I forget.
All in all, Dunkin Donuts quality. Nothing special. All hype!
The lady that took our order, though, was incredibly incompetent. She wrote our donut list on a post-it note and tried to calculate the $0.80 and $1 combinations of donuts. Adding $1 to $2.40 should not take you 5 seconds of adding numbers out loud...especially if you somehow figure that equals $3.60. The guy after us ordered "2 donuts, 1 glazed and 1 Chocolate." I don't know how much simpler you can get, but she messed it up multiple times, both customer and her got frustrated, and in the end that whole transaction took almost 3 minutes!
Sweet little rings of guilty pleasure deliciousness! Donuts are something I tend to avoid UNLESS they're quality, I mean, why waste calories on a donut if it's not going to be the perfect donut?
So I saw Ironman sitting in this giant rooftop donut icon in the Ironman 2 trailer at Comicon & again saw it on Travel Channel's Donut Paradise & I thought to myself, this place must be good! I checked out the reviews & suddenly, there I was for an afternoon snack.
I ordered the chocolate old fashioned (my favorite type of donut), the honey wheat, & a custard filled donut, all relatively cheap ($0.60-0.80). Add a cup of coffee & for a measly 3 bucks you got yourself a pretty darn good snack if you like sweet things. I took a bite of each one & the dough was very fresh & my teeth didn't hurt from sugar overload. I liked the texture of the wheat donut (made me feel slightly less guilty too) & the custard filling of the other. My only gripe is that the old fashioned donuts don't have the jagged edges that you can break off like some old fashions do, i mean it's the same consistency, just a different look & shape, still tasty!
Randy's is definitely worth trying if you're in the area, trust me, you won't be disappointed with these donuts like you are with grocery store donuts!
Randy's Donuts to me is as awesome a Los Angeles landmark as the Hollywood sign. The larger than life donut means fatty, yummy food while the big white letters on the hill mean tourism . . . or something, I don't know I'm not deep. Take away the sign and you have a donut kiosk that sells cheap junk food to go. Don't expect anything but simplicity here and you'll be in heaven!
Reasons to Go:
Donuts are good
The Huge donut sign
It's on the way to and from the Airport
It's famous
Reasons to Pass:
You are in poor health
It's out of the way
You dislike getting your food to go
One thing I really cannot stand is when an establishment gets a ton of hype, a ton of press and then doesn't live up to it all--or even skim the surface. This is the case with Randy's Donuts.
I've tried a LOT of doughnuts in my day and every time I visit a new city, I always research their best doughnut shop. My research for LA honed in on three places I wanted to try: Fritelli's (Gourmet doughnuts to the stars, which as it turns out, is no longer in business), Bob's Doughnuts in the Farmers' Market and this place. This one made my list because I have seen it on doughnut specials done by the Food Network, read about it in blogs and well, you can't miss it when you fly into LAX. I was really looking forward to this, after all, they'd been around for YEARS.
We purchased a dozen doughnuts to really give them all a good sampling, a fair shake. Let me dispel any misconceptions, any myths...the doughnuts here are maybe the equivalent to Dunkin' Donuts, maybe not even. The only doughnut I even semi-enjoyed was the raised and glazed. And that was a stretch.
The building is definitely unique, with its big, can't-miss sign mounted to the roof; the notion of walking up to the drive-thru is different and kind of quirky; and the owner (no longer Randy (because it has changed hands) was very affable, but the donuts themselves just didn't deliver. Of course, the prices are good, especially for LA, but you get what you pay for.
Mmmmmm...I've always wanted to stop by this place because of the big donut they have on top of the roof.
I think the experience is really fun - you go through a drive-through to order cool, cheap donuts! They have different flavors (crumb cake, buttermilk, wheat & honey...) and are cheap (all between 60 - 80 cents).
We got the crumb cake and buttermilk donuts. I wish that the donuts were a little more moist, but that could have been fixed with some milk.
I'm going to get right down to it...I have never had a better tasting donut ever, period. I don't eat donuts on a regular basis, really maybe once a year but this thing was amazing. Homer Simpson would be proud. The Coconut Raised donut was by far the best thing I've put into my mouth in a long time. I would drive across the country for another one of those. I do not say this lightly. I was not expecting to have the near religious experience that I had when I bit into this. The flavors were perfect, nothing too overpowering or over sweet and the texture was pillowy soft.
The Honey Wheat Cake donut was extremely good as well and the Maple Log French Log was not too far behind. The coffee was the perfect accompaniment to these three treats. Believe every last word you hear about Randy's, it's that good. There is no hyperbole here....as far as I know and as far as I'm concerned this is the best donut in the world and until I find otherwise I will stand by that.
Randy's is an institution in Los Angeles and is one of the last standing "Big O's" as they're called. They are open 24 hours which is good for those late night or early morning sugar cravings. One thing to note is there is no seating. They've got two drive-thru windows and a walk up window. Of course you can always eat of the hood of your car!
They've got all your regular donut shoppe options, cake, raised, glazed, filled, etc. There's certainly a flavor to satisfy any taste. Do yourself a favor and savor the Randy's flavor...you'll instantly become a craver...you're welcome neighbor!
I have photos and a more in depth review on my personal blog.
On the way home from our fictional but hilarious Gong Show styled karaoke at Rosen, I stopped for some doughnuts.
I really don't buy into the hype machines that are created for places like Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles, Tommy's (in a word, their food is shit), and In And Out (so what if your fries are fresh they still suck).
I'll believe the hype about this place.
Alcohol kills brain cells and I am at a lost as to what I ordered, but Randy's is good. Very good.
$10 minimum for card purchases.
Always busy - never very good. Cool building and lots of history. During the day it is likely you will meet Randy.
Deserves 2.5 stars, but i always round up. I finally came here after seeing it in movies and TV shows for so many years. The bigass donut place was popping @ 8PM at night.
Prices are inline with most donut shops, if not a couple cents less. I had an iced cake donut in chocolate form. It was pretty good. The texture of the cake was springier than i was used to, but that's a good thing. However, the taste was missing a little flavor, and the chocolate was barely notiable. The apple fritter was TOO MUCH. It was too much oil, too much glaze, and over fried. I had a little nibble, and couldn't do anymore.
OK, so I've passed by the giant donut towering in the sky many times, and after checking yelp to make sure it wasn't grody I finally decided to see what the big donut had to offer.
Bought:
1 Glazed
1 Sugar Raised
1 Devil's Food
1 Coconut
1 Apple Fritter
1 Coffee
Total: $5.00 exactly
So I bite into the glazed donut...nice texture and mouthfeel, light and airy like a good yeast donut should be...but it wasn't perfectly fresh out of the fryer, and was room temperature, so it wasn't the best I've ever had--but for a donut that was not fresh, I don't know what could top it.
****
Next is the sugar raised donut. Again, great texture and mouthfeel, a perfectly done yeast donut. White sugar was a nice change-up from the standard glaze, and added a pleasant crunch. My favorite of the bunch!
*****
The Devil's Food donut was next, and while I'm not a fan of most cake donuts, this was delicious. I have never had a cake donut that wasn't dry until I had this one. Good icing, too.
**** 1/2
Next was the coconut donut. I have to agree with the previous reviewer who thought the coconut flakes gave the donut a "stale" taste--they definitely did. Otherwise, the yeast donut was pretty good, if not a little too sweet.
** 1/2
Finally, the apple fritter, hyped up in review after review. I take a bite, and I'm not impressed. Bite two, same thing. Not much of the apple filling, and it just tasted like it was over-fried. By far the heaviest of my purchases. It was also sickeningly sweet--so much so that I threw it away before I had even consumed half of it. Just gross.
0
Coffee--what can I say, it's coffee, and tastes like instant.
**
Value? Incredible
Return? Fer sher, just not weekly
It is an icon-GO!
Ps-we sampled five donuts , the only one that wasn't my style was the folded crepe. The rest were incredible!
markus310(apporved) for about 3.25 you can have a very nice breakfast dough nuts with milk. yum. thank you jesus after spent an exciting time at the shooting range to put in work.
Randy's donuts is one word : Hype
the Donuts are nothing different from any other basic donut place.
Honestly its just a name. I dont see in any way how people could even imagine giving it a 5 star rating.
theres nothing more to say about this place because its just a regular donut shop.
I had just flown back from Chicago where the junk food is great. Everything- the pizza, the bagels, the pretzels- all amazing! Each bite I tasted in Chicago chided me with the thought: "why can't anything in L.A. taste this good?"
On the way back home from LAX, I remembered a great review I had read of Randy's Donuts. "F- it" I said pulling my turbocharged Japanese sport-sedan gingerly off the 405, like a housecat in the fever-pitch of a V-6 nap.
Michael Jackson had just died (I still can't believe it). I ordered a "plain cake" (meh) and a chocolate glazed.
The chocolate glazed donut at Randy's is exactly what you want when thinking about a chocolate-glazed donut. An almost perfect archetype of chewy donut and sweet, delicious frosting.
With death comes rebirth. A new chapter begins tonight at Randy's
MmmMm super moist, soft, pillowy donuts! I tried a regular glazed one as well as a chocolate one and they were surprisingly not overly sweet! I could probably chomp down a few of these in one sitting if I wanted to... and oh how i want to!!!
I forget how cheap donuts are too! $.70-$.80ish cents each? forrreals? omgaah, can I live off of donuts for the rest of my life? especially the ones from this place!! pretty please?
right off the 405, easy to spot. drive up window makes it super convenient.
drop by on the way to/from the airport and you'll be happy!
This is a tourist trap I enjoyed. It was so much fun to drive up to the giant donut in the sky and eat myself into a diabetic coma.
My sugar rush included the: devil's food cake, glazed, honey & wheat, maple glazed crueler, apple fritter, old fashioned chocolate and plain donuts.
The MUST have at Randy's?? The glazed donut! It was perfect - buttery and sweet with an almost custardy interior. The devils food cake donut is a close second. I would not get the maple glazed crueler again. It was greasy and fake tasting, like it was more artificial flavoring than natural ingredients.
I would give it five stars but the location is a bad neighborhood and I know that I won't visit this place at night, even though it is open 24 hours and met my donut expectations. This place does not disappoint - stop by after you land at LAX.
First, let me tell you that the chocolate icing on those donuts are the bomb!
Came to Randy's this morning, to participate in the celebration of 'National Donut Day' for the Salvation Army. This event gives the Salvation Army a portion of the profits 'ALL' day today to help those in need.
Today, I walked up to the window to order, as the drive up line was long. Lot's of donuts to choose from, but my favs are any donut dipped in chocolate. So, I picked up a few to bring to Coworkers for their enjoyment. I've had Randy's donuts before and they have always been good, chocolate dipped, of course. Don't know what their coffee tastes like, but someday I'll try it.
Here's a little history about today and the Salvation Army:
Donuts and The Salvation Army go all the way back to the battlefields of France in World War I when Salvation Army "lassies" made donuts for US soldiers. National Donut Day began in 1938 in Chicago by The Salvation Army as a means to raise funds for people struggling in the depression era economy.
* The Salvation Army's association with the donut began on the battlefields of World War I
* In August, 1917, fighting raged near Montiers, France, as soldiers huddled in camp - hungry, weary and drenched by 36 consecutive days of rain. In a tent near the front lines, Salvation Army lassies made donuts by filling a refuge pail with oil
* 100 donuts made that first day were an immediate success Soon, as many as 500 soldiers stood in muck outside the resurrected tent waiting for the sweet taste of donuts and, before long, 9,000 donuts were being made around the clock
That tent, operated by The Salvation Army, became the first 24-hour donut shop!
So, I live in the bay area. My hubby and I came to L.A. to visit the grandparents for thanksgiving. After visiting the Getty Villa my grannie took us to this iconic donut shop. We gave the nice gal our order and drove back home to Santa Clarita valley. We then check the donuts and realize she shorted us two donuts. I mean really. That sucked as my hubby was looking forward to eating his donuts and they weren't in the bag. Not sure if we were charged for them or not, but it was very very disappointing to say the least.
I love Randy's donuts; it is by far my favorite place to get muffins.
WHAT? MUFFINS?
Yes muffins. Randy's is famous because it has been in many movies and also for their delicious donuts such as the apple fritter and the chocolate raisin. The reason I keep coming back again and again is because of Randy's world famous pineapple muffins.
If you have never had one you are seriously missing out. These muffins are super moist and the muffin top has nice big pieces of pineapple baked into it, but that is not all. The muffin is also filled with pineapple jelly. My mouth is salivating thinking about them. They also have blueberry, strawberry, strawberry-orange, and lemon that all have the same fruit top and filling.
The donuts are good as well but the muffins are phenomenal.
In my opinion they need to remove that huge donut on the top of the building and replace it with a giant muffin.
BEST DONUTS IN THE WORLD
I've only had Randy's [delicious] Donuts once....but just one time was enough to change my life forever!
I am officially addicted.
Everytime Spiritair has one of their crazy sales I have to say I'm seriously tempted to drop everything I'm doing and get on a plane to LAX just to have these donuts. It would be well worth the 5 hours each way just for one bite of their Apple Fritter or their Maple Long John donut. MmMmmmMmmM
The Apple Fritter is HUGE. Its crispy, chewy, sticky, sweet, caramelly, heaven......and it's only $1.00!! A buck, people!
The Maple Long John is so incredibly soft; it melts in your mouth. And the maple icing is so sweet and rich it's difficult to put down in between bites. It's simply perfection.
And to think I almost missed out on these life-altering donuts. I just barely made it to Randy's at the end of my trip to LA while on my way to the airport . Needless to say, I took as many as I could along with me on the airplane ride back home. Everyone in the airport (from the TSA guys to the flight attendants, to the passangers seated to either side of me) wanted my yummy donuts.
When I got back to Miami I tried to order some of their donuts off their website (It says they ship worldwide using DHL) but I never got a response from them. I guess they're not doing that anymore :(
Yet another tourist trap the family had to visit. The neighborhood is a bit dodgy and it's really a drive through but we walked up to order.
Donuts are good and them seem to be made throughout the day.
Not the best donut I've had but their pretty darn good. If your in the neighborhood you should swing by - day or night.
cool place. old school. neat flavors. crumb cake donut? not bad.
the best in LA ive had so far, but cant say they're worth driving all the way out there for.
to be a favorite and 5 stars. you gotta make me drive there just to get em no matter the distance.
the icing is really layered on thick, and that makes me happy.
I don't even like donuts but I ate them anyway. So did the two vegans. We're all doomed and I am going to get fat.
Some of the best donuts... coffee around LAX!
This place is great. What a find!
Its right on my new route to LAX from West Hollywood, and its freaking fantastic.
Here's my beefs with the place first: 5 dollar minimum to use a card, its actually to expected, because who wants people spending 65 cents for a donut and putting it on their card. how obnoxious that would be... BUT it forced us to order drinks and a couple of extra donuts in order to purchase.
2nd... I wouldn't want to stop at this place at night, NO THANKS.. it is open 24 hours, but no thanks after the sun goes down.
OK that said, this place is alright by me. I'll be stopping here enroute to and from LAX probably every time I travel from here on out.
Randy's needs to bring that good stuff over here to San Antonio.
... I'm just sayin....
Is there anything in life which tastes better than a hot-fresh donut in the middle of the afternoon? I dare so no. And Randy's delivers better than Krispy Kreme ever did.
On a drive from San Diego to LA I forced my girlfriend to make the stop so I could get a photo with the giant donut. 6 delictable fried dough covered in various sugary delights later I was smiling like a butcher's dog and wondering why every corner in America doesn't have one of these.
Been here b4 great place to try out if your not from california.
On my trip to the World Baseball Classic in LA, I had a pleasant early morning donut break at Randy's donuts. Got there at about 5AM in the morning and was met with amazingly fresh donuts. Warm and seems like it came right out of the oven (or wherever donuts are made). While we did get a deal on the dozen purchase, I've got to say that it's hard to go wrong with any of them but my repeat flavors were: coconut, apple crueller, and glaze.
And there's a giant donut sitting on top of the building, how Inglewood is that for ya?
Hate to beat a dead horse, but unfortunately it IS tourist fodder.
The only real value I hold for Randy's is going just to take pictures with the most famous of all the large plaster donuts of Los Angeles.
I've delved three times in my life into a dozen assorted Randy's donuts and they were, quite frankly, bland. The "long johns" look nice, have a nice glossy coating of frosting, but its like eating fried bread with a light slather of chocolate.
I really dont like the coconut donuts. They just had stale coconut flakes (stale speaking in terms of texture, appearance and taste) slapped onto a normal donut.
Biggest offender is the normal cake donuts. They're overfried or stale. No. Bad Randy.
Until I win the lotto (which they DO sell here! It's what I consider to be one of their biggest perks) and I get enough money to hire a few cambodians to make really good gourmet doughnuts, the other mom and pop do-nuts of LA county and beyond will have to do. I recommend going to a random mom and pop donut shop for food rather than going to Randy's.
CONCLUSION:
Randy's for goofy pictures? yes. Randy's for doughnuts? no.
Whoo whooo!
Randy's does a good dony.
The regular glazed are worth every penny. You'll want at least 2 of them.
People here on yelp rave about their apple fritter, but save yourself the gut rot. It is SO greasy and heavy, you feel like a lard ass just looking at it. Hhahaha,
The location is kinda gross and you'll see some interesting people in line. But if you're from LA, or have been to venice beach, you'll feel fine. I sent my in-laws from the midwest over here, and then I remembered: "Oh crap...they are used to the fancy, clean, bright, and cheerful donut shops. They might not even get out of their lexus when they see this area...it's down the street from a firing range and an adult book store." But they came back okay.
Los Angeles, CA
Category: Bakeries
Neighborhood: Westwood
Category: Bakeries
Neighborhood: Mid-City West
Category: Donuts
Neighborhood: Burbank
Category: Donuts
Neighborhood: Santa Monica
Category: Donuts
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