Madsen Donuts

My wife worked here while she was in high school. She tells me they make the donuts the same way, over 20 years later. She brought me here after we got engaged, on my first trip to GOTL. I’ve been to a lot of donut shops over the years. These are the best donuts around. Don’t come to GOTL without coming here first thing in the morning to get them while they are fresh and hot.

Last week a local resident of Geneva suggested we visit Madsen Donuts and we’re so glad she recommended it. This place, during the summer season, makes the best donuts ever! We liked them so much, we went back the next day. Service, not so great, but the donuts are worth driving for. We’ll be back!

The donuts are great. They are more the traditional, heavy donuts than the air-​fluffy machined kind you get at places like Dunkin, and so one donut is very filling. I like that they sell donuts all day long in season, so you can get some at noontime or pick some up as you’re leaving to have for breakfast next morning, as opposed to many donut shops that are «sold out» and closed by noon. Plus they are making batches of fresh donuts all day, so what you buy at noon or later hasn’t already been sitting around for 12 hours. You can even see the staff making them in gigantic bowls right behind the counter! Worth a peek through the window to watch the process even if you don’t want to buy one right then.
Warning: check your order before you leave the store. I ordered and I think, paid for 2 donuts, got the bag down the block and discovered I’d only been given one. Probably an honest mistake but still. We chose to split the one donut rather than go back to the store and argue about it since I don’t think we got a receipt either, so how to prove that we paid for 2? Also when you order coffee here you have to ask for cream and sugar and then they are stingy and give you one pack of each for a giant cup unless you ask for extra. Given that this place is doing a good business in donuts all day, I don’t think it would kill them to put out the sugar and cream so we can get the amount we like without having to ask and ask again.

the best donuts in town!!! by far the freshest and tastiest you will find!

I got the peanut donut, and it was way better than any dunkin donut I’ve ever had! They made them right in front of you too. I would definitely suggest a visit!

Very good donuts. Perhaps I’m fortunate (spoiled?) to have a few great, homemade donut shops near my house, so Madsen doesn’t blow me away when we visit GOTL. They are very good, very fresh, don’t get me wrong. They lose a star because they don’t have the variety of other places and are slightly on the smaller side. Also, they seem to make one batch of donuts in the morning and when they’re gone they just close their shop I think. We’ve visited during afternoon hours and found the place closed. So go early in the day.

The peanut here is the best doughnut ever. Melts in your mouth with frosting made daily. Have to get at least six for relatives in Chicago, where we are headed from North Jersey. Dunkin Donuts is like T-​ball to these guys!

After some great foot longs and root beers at Eddie’s, we decided to walk off some of the calories and take in GOTL (which we came across by surprise). We saw a lot of people carrying these blue and white boxes. I knew instantly that Madsen Donuts had to be one of those places that all the locals loved/​grew up on etc.
$ 9 and a dozen donuts later, we walked out with some of the freshest and tastiest donuts we’ve ever had. Madsen’s box says they’ve been there since 1938. After eating a couple, there’s no wondering why.

Best donuts EVER!!! I grew up in the area and frequently had the fresh, delicious donuts. Now it’s a must-​visit whenever I get within 30 miles of the place. They make the donuts fresh all day long. Never disappointed.

I love this donut shop! It reminds me of when I would go here with my grandma and pick out a bunch of donuts to take home. Delicious donuts and I always look forward to stopping here when I am in the area!!! YUM!!!

Yum! My family has a house on the strip, so we’ve gone to GOTL on vacation for a week in the summer for the past few years. These doughnuts are part of what I look forward to every year. :) We always stop by on the way home to bring a box back to the east coast as well!

Probably the best doughnuts I have ever tasted.
Fresh, home made, not greasy or overly-​sweet at all.
They only have a few (6 or so) varieties, but they are delicious.
I highly recommend stopping in here for a treat when you’re in GOTL.
Letter grade: A

A trip back home is not complete without a trip to Madsen Donuts for some cream sticks. The weird part is I never liked them as a kid, back then I always got the cake donut with icing and sprinkles (which is still really good.) The fact that I can only get my Eddie’s Grill/​Madsen Donuts fix from Memorial Day to Labor Day is reason enough to brave the Ohio heat and humidity for a summer visit. Their donuts are always fresh, in the summer they make them twice a day. I love the fact that the chocolate on top of the crème sticks is just barely set and the cream filling is a perfect balance of sweetness. This place kicks Krispy Kreme’s butt.

MMMMM. What could be bad about a donut shop, and specifically, one that is one-​of-​a-​kind and not owned by a huge corporation? I tried the glazed, the sugar of which seriously stained my clothes when it dropped all over me (with every bite). My husband tried a cake-​like donut with some sort of creamy frosting and «peanuts,» which I think were actually pistachios since the donut reminded me a LOT of spumoni. Maybe that was just in the frosting.
At 10:45 am, Madsen’s already had a line outside the door. You can tell that the locals take pride in their donuts here!

Fantastic, homemade donuts. I always loved coming here and getting a donut to eat and carry around me in the magical world of Geneva on the Lake. I love a donut place where I can smash my face against the glass and watch as they’re deep fried before my very hungry eyes.