Strange Donuts

Great, interesting, funky, creative, playful donuts. You can’t go wrong with the classics at Strange Donuts, but the stars of the show are the donuts that are anything but ordinary. Take a risk and indulge in a Gooey Butter Donut or even the Strange Bacon. You won’t be disappointed!

I’m sorry for all you die hard fans of these donuts. They are not even close to my favorite. Maybe we went at a bad time.
When we got there it was like 11:30am and not much was left. We got half a dozen. 2 Bart’s revenge, 2 gooey butter, 1 almond joy and 1 French toast.
I tried a bite of the Bart’s revenge and the gooey butter and they both where dry and did not taste like much to me.
I might try them again if I’m around one or with my fried who really loves the place.

At 11:15 on a Friday night the line was short… just a few people. By the time we go to the counter, there were only 4 donut types available. I get it, we were there LATE and I think they close when they run out of inventory… I guess if you want a better selection get there earlier.
The donuts are strange, I saw some guy walk out with fruit loops on top of his, and the Unilocal pictures tell the story of how diverse the donut selection can be. We tried a Barts Revenge (butterfinger), French Toast, Cocunut, and Gooey Butter. The icing and toppings were unique. But the donuts itself were dry, and crumbled like a stale cookie.
The place is doing fine. They sell fried sugary treats to the late night Maplewood drunks. And the toppings are unique and memorable. But I went sober and found the product to be very underwhelming.

Strange Donuts definitely lives up to its name and was worth the try, but I won’t be returning.
I only had one donut — the Mexican Hot Chocolate. I made the mistake of breathing while taking my first bite and ended up coughing up cocoa dust for half a minute. Other than that, it was spicy and strong on the chocolate, which was nice. Unfortunately, it was a little dry and not as tender/​fresh as I thought it’d be.
To be fair, I’m not that big on donuts in the first place. I did like the concept of using unusual flavors in a doughnut. But unlike John Donut, the one other doughnut shop I’ve visited, this place didn’t hit me with the smell of hot, fresh baked goods. The glazed donuts looked lackluster and crusted over. Whether it’s lack of freshness or just a poor, dry cake donut recipe, Strange Donuts should really revamp their basic doughnut recipe.

Strange Donuts is the perfect name for this donut joint. They offer uniquely flavored donuts… my favorite is the Gooey Butter Donut!
I love that their located in Maplewood, as it adds so much personality to this upcoming, fun neighborhood in St. Louis!
They are open late, which is great! But be aware, they regularly sell out of their popular donuts near closing time! So if you’re craving something specific, don’t wait until the last minute!

Finally got a chance to get some Strange.
I had a vanilla Fat Steve (their take on a Long John– love the name!), which was the best doughnut I’d ever had. And then I tried the Apple Jelly. Amazing! The jelly filling was delicious and even had small chunks of real apple. With the thick layer of powdered sugar I made quite the mess, but totally worth it. Both donuts were light and fluffy and fresh and everything a doughnut should be! I wanted to get one of each. I will definitely be back to try others such as Gooey Butter, ‘Smores and a Chocolate Fat Steve.
The place is small. They do not have a seating area so plan on getting everything to go.
They also have drinks available include hot and iced coffee. It would have been nice if they had hot chocolate and not tea options as well.

I’m not addicted to donuts. I probably buy a half box once or twice a year when I’m going to visit family. I was on the way somewhere last weekend when I realized my first visit to Strange Donuts was in order.
It’s a small store and of course it smells heavenly. They had maybe 8 different donuts. I bought raspberry filled iced, pumpkin, gooey butter, and sweet potato. Yes, sweet potato. I didn’t try that one but the person who ate it said it was delicious. They all were. I’ll be back.

I arrived around 1pm on a Sat.
Choices were glazed and sweet potato. Bought both
Total was around $ 2.40
The dough/​bread just melted in my mouth
Frosting tasty. Careful it’s sticky and messy. Napkins
I live in Tower Grove so it will be special trips
Price was average or high if you compare it to a TG donut place.
Arrive early for more selection
I shall return

gooey butter donuts!!! Hit the nail on the head. Everything was really really good. Would love to try their weekend specials, and can’t wait to come back next time I am in town. Way better than some of the other bogus high end donuts in the area.

Not sure what the hype is about this place-​it doesn’t live up to its name of being ‘strange’ that’s for sure. Quality is less than average, cake donuts were subpar at best and dry. Don’t waste your time getting in line and go else-​where! Donut Drive-​In a few blocks away is a much better choice IMO. We got the caramel apple fritter and was all fritter and no caramel or apple! Campfire was only good for the toasted marshmallow. Had to throw away half the fritter cuz it was so bad. What a waste…

Tried their gooey butter donut this past weekend at LouFest and it was pretty good! Friendly and helpful staff and interesting flavors to choose from! Next time will try to stop in their actual store location to see a wider variety of flavors to choose from! Thanks!

I had an apple fritter, glaze, and gooey butter cake. The apple fritter was decent and I would eat it again. The batter for the other two donuts was really dry and floury (probably the same dough but fritter ingredients helped). They were some of the worst donuts I have ever tried. The topping on the gooey butter cake was okay but needed more of the cream to counteract the dryness of the donut.
I give them a bonus star for being open until 12 am on weekends because it is awesome to be able to get a donut late. However, if deciding between going to a Krispy Kreme with a neon «Hot Now» sign on or Strange Donuts, I would pick Krispy Kreme every time (and probably eat a half dozen).

We came here around 12:30pm and there wasn’t much to choose from. They tasted like regular donuts tbh — nothing strange about them, not even the $ 2 creation ones.

Late night donuts!
Maplewood is a great hood. There are a lot of creative people who make the area a hot spot for evening activity. Strange Donuts adds to the overall experience.
I don’t eat donuts that often anymore, and I frankly don’t get cute when ordering them. Until I discovered Strange Donuts. My world of round glaze and chocolate long johns was turned upside down! Not to say that a more traditional donut wouldn’t be preferred on occasion, but after a late night in Maplewood, SD has become essential.
When you arrive at SD, you never know what you’re going to get, and many things factor into this. They march to their own beat and aren’t very apologetic about it. The earlier you trek to the store, the more likely they will have something you want. Also, they usually have a special. One night I had a Chicken and Waffle Done, a large chicken strip on a cake donut with maple syrup. It was expensive but tasty!
And that would be one problem with SD, the cost. You don’t buy these donuts in volume. Half a dozen will run you around ten bucks, and even a more traditional dozen is eleven or twelve. Hint: don’t buy a traditional dozen. SD is all about unique donuts, and the traditional ones tend to be bland.
Another issue would be hours. I find myself craving their donuts at night, no surprise, but they are not always open late. I rely pretty heavily on my Unilocal app for store hours because it varies from day to day.
More than anything, I just love these guys’ swagger! I follow them on Facebook and Instagram, and they do a pretty damn good job marketing themselves. They have cool merch, and they just seem like interesting people. Definitely a fan!
Any trip to Maplewood isn’t complete without a stop at Strange Donuts. Get your dones, Yeep!

I really wanted to like Strange Donuts. I’ve heard all the hype and seen the long lines outside but after two visits, they are just not my thing. There’s no doubt that their donuts are fresh and interesting but some of the tastes are just too much. The gooey butter for example has way too much gooey on top. You need a bib when eating it. Last night we tried 6 different kinds. Each one was messier than the next. Most of the donuts are incredibly sweet and rich– too sweet and rich for my taste.
I think Strange Donuts is a fun place to visit once, but for good, cake-​like donuts, St. Louis has many other options to choose from.

Sorry to be a downer, but this place did not meet my expectations. From the get-​go, I wasn’t thrilled about their hours as I’m usually in St. Louis during the afternoon and evenings on certain days. They should call themselves ‘Strange Donuts with Strange Hours’! When I finally did make it over to SD, I was excited. But then this weirdo hipster dude behind the counter gives me a dead stare and goes, ‘How’s it going, man?!’. Ummm okay. So I browsed briefly and made a selection of four of what I believed to be the most popular donuts there: the gooey butter, campfire, blueberry cheesecake and the one with bacon shreds on top.
After the quick transaction, I started munching on them on the way to my car, and I just couldn’t believe it. I tasted the gooey butter one first, and it was one of those yeast, fluffy donuts with very little topping on it. I thought this was going to be gooey and moist, in cake-​donut form. It didn’t taste like gooey butter cake at all. Not cool, gang. Same goes for the one with bacon. I like bacon on a lot of things, but it could have tasted better on a cake donut. The campfire one was a cake-​donut, so it kind of made up for it. I gave the blueberry cheesecake one to a friend, but he had no reaction. There is one thing I learned after coming here: the big difference between fluffy yeast donuts and the moist, cake donuts. If I want fluffy yeast donuts, I’ll just go to Schnucks. Cake donuts are where its at!
So again, I don’t mean to come off as someone who is hard to please, but this was a well-​hyped place and I bought into it. And I’m from Glen Carbon, on the other side of the river. I respect small businesses and I know its a donut shop, but try to stay open at reasonable times. I also respect those who are very creative with their food and creations, so that’s why I thought I’d give you an extra star.

After Straub’s stopped carrying my lusted-​after Vincent VanDoughnuts, we came to Strange Donuts for a fix. The staff was really friendly and funny, but the donuts left much to be desired.
Honestly, the donuts themselves were just… blah. Regular grocery store quality. Not super moist, not super fresh tasting, just… kind of disappointing. Basic heavy cake donuts. The flavors of the icing and toppings were decent (maple bacon was good), but it seriously tastes like they buy regular store donuts and just dress them with toppings themselves. The shop didn’t smell like fresh baked goods which also serves to support that suspicion. I’m disappointed.
Gooey butter cake didn’t taste like gooey butter cake. It had a weird flavor to it, hard to describe. Samoa was okay. We didn’t finish a single donut out of the 12 we got. Took a bite or two of each, and just tossed them. :’(
Bummer! If you want totally unique, handmade doughnuts, my favorite will always be Vincent Van Doughnut.

Winter hours; closes at midnight on weekends versus 2am.
I was craving strange and almost didn’t meet the cut-​off because I assumed the 2am closing time was still in effect.
Nevertheless I was there by 11:45pm and snagged a glazed, 1 Razz and 2 Chocolate yeast delights.
⁴⁄₅ only because these babies are a bit pricey for specialty dough.
The staff at Strange is always cool, eclectic & helpful in describing the strange concoctions.
I’m super excited about another location in the west end soon!

Strange Donuts is not a mere donut shop. It’s a full-​on movement, and a huge asset to St Louis.
Let’s start with the donuts. Honestly, I don’t care much for the standard yeast donuts. I’ve tried a few and been underwhelmed. If it looks like regular donut with some stuff on top, I stay away.
Where this place really shines are the cake-​style (and specialty) donuts. I’ve recently had the raspberry shortcake, blueberry cheesecake, and gooey butter cake. These have all been awesome and well worth the $ 2 price. I tried their new cannoli donut which was pretty great with the filling inside. Stick with cake-​style donuts and you’ll be happy.
Now, lets talk about the Strangers. These donut-​based creations are usually collaborations with other local restaurants. Sometimes they are sweet, but often time these are savory creations, and a custom donut takes the place of a bread. The Strangers are usually available Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights from around 9 – 12 (check their social media).
The Strangers are reliably creative and delicious. The most recent one I had was a collab w/​Sugarfire BBQ, which had pulled pork on top of a donut with a lime cream filling. It was fantastic. Just recently they did a Reuben-​style creation w/​Carl’s Deli using rye-​style donuts. Sadly I did not try it. The Strangers run $ 5 and are well worth it for the amount of food you get.
There are generally lines outside on weekend nights. If you want to try a Stranger and avoid a long wait, I’d suggest coming on a Thursday around 9pm. Of course there are lots of other donuts also avaiable on these nights.
Another great thing about Strange Donuts is the cool factor. These guys just make St. Louis more fun and unpredictable. Being a 90s hip-​hop fan, I was delighted to hear some old school Tribe on the speakers one night. Last time I was there, a flamboyant local celebrity was there filming a news segment and engaging with the people in line. I think they’ve put on free punk-​rock shows in the store. They commissioned a local studio to build their own iPhone game! Check it out, it’s sort of like Paperboy. The people working there are always nice and you wish they were your friends. They’re up on their social media, always giving previews of new and exciting creations. Give them a like or a follow!
Here’s to Strange Donuts and all their successes. Lets hope their spirit of fun, creativity, and collaboration inspires other people to build great businesses and make St Louis shine.

Aww man! I really wanted to this place to be Amazing!
I have been hearing about this place here and there, and finally decided to go one morning with my wife.
Here is what we ordered, and what I thought about each one.
Gooey butter cake — I read a review that said this would be life-​changing, so I just HAD to get it. I was a little disappointed. I couldn’t taste the gooey butter cake-​ness. All I tasted was a solid cake donut.
Blueberry jam — Filling was delicious. Tasted like they made it in house. Probably my favorite out of the 4, and I’m not usually a huge fan of filled donuts.
Maple bacon — So I pretty much will get anything with bacon on top of it. I felt like the donut topping was well done with the maple glaze and pieces of bacon.
Chocolate hazelnut — My wife had to get this one. Bacon is to me, as Nutella is to her. Pretty good, just a donut with Nutella on it basically.
I felt like the toppings were good, but what was missing was a good foundation for the toppings. The donuts we had were all on the dryer side and really didn’t leave us wanting to come back for another bite. (Now that I think about it, maybe I liked the jam donut the most because there was a lot of jam to cover up the dryness of the donut itself.)
Definitely like the «strange» toppings/​filling concept, but without a solid base for the toppings/​fillings the whole amazing donut expectation is thrown off.
May come back to try their strange donut creation, but will unfortunately shy away from this place otherwise =/