The Doughnut Vault

Oh my gosh, so amazing. Love coming here after working at the Merch on a Saturday.
Coffee is good. Glazed and chocolate glazed are my favorites. Mocha old fashioned was one for the books. They cannot mess up a donut. Every flavor is to die for. And they are so gigantic!
My most favorite cheat meal for sure!!!

Doughnut vault is one of my favorite donut shops in Chicago! I always try to go when I get the chance, but they do sell out pretty fast. Their old fashioned donuts is my favorite! The shop is tiny inside and they have very little seating outside, so it’s more of a grab and go place.

Probably a 5 star donut in quality but the two attempts I made were disappointing in that they were mostly out of everything. But the old fashioned I had on the first was good not great. The vanilla iced cake shorty on try two was really tasty and definitely very worth the trip up there mid day. I will return on my next Chicago trip and hopefully I can try more but as much as I love donuts wish they were easier to procure.

I love the experience of just going here. I go on weekends when not crowded in that part of town.
You walk up to the cozy little window inside the cozy little French feeling hallway and order your stuff. I can see how a line would form easily during busy periods. No line late Saturday morning.
Yes doughnuts are very good and I didn’t see any gimmicks like bacon, peanut butter or anchovies on the doughnuts like some places have resorted to.
I thought the old fashioned and the doughnut holes were the most satisfying and addictive. Heave ho!

A colleague of mine recently celebrated his 25^th birthday. Instead of following typical office protocol of bringing in Dunkin Donuts or bagels, I decided a trip to Doughnut Vault was in order… I showed up at this location at 7:45am on a Friday and I was the 6^th person waiting in line for their 8am open. The wait was pleasant as the weather was decent but I couldn’t imagine waiting in frigid temperatures just for a donut.
When the doors opened at 8am it took about 10 minutes to make my way to the front of the line. Once there I was presented with a selection of donuts, large and small and was keen to sink my teeth into one. The day’s options were as follows: the old fashioned (buttermilk), chocolate, white chocolate ganache, and the apple fritter. There were donut holes too but I can’t remember the flavor/​toppings. I went with a dozen of the buttermilk, chocolate, and white chocolate donuts but was bummed that there were no pistachio donuts. Maybe next time…
When I left Doughnut Vault there were about 15 people in line behind me lined up outside on the street. When I finally got back to the office they didn’t last long either. In the span of a few hours we were left with crumbs in the box. I loved the white chocolate and chocolate donuts but the old fashioned was far too sugary for my taste buds. The chocolate donut was also the size of a life preserver so those quickly were cut into quarters. Who could eat that whole thing without feeling some sort of guilt?
Overall, I’m giving Doughnut Vault 4 starts. I agonized over 4 or 5 stars but opted for 4. While I appreciate how delicious these donuts are, the price is a bit ridiculous (it cost me $ 37 for a dozen with tip) and that’s mainly why I give 4 stars. The guy behind the counter was polite and quickly boxed up my order. Would I go back? Certainly. But next time I wanna try a pistachio donut!

Love the doughnuts & the serve metropolis so that’s a double reason to stand in line. Even on a cold day, it’s worth it! Couldn’t decide so we brought one of each. We love them all but The chocolate mocha glazed is my favorite.

Out of all the doughnut places Doughnut Vault is my FAVORITE! I especially love the old fashion doughuts. They have great varieties to choose from and the service at this location is friendly and fast! I defintely recommend you give them a try. Also as a side note they have a doughnut truck and if you sign up for the tracker you can see where their at on any given day.

Doughnut Vault’s treats are DELICIOUS. Sinfully good. I brought my husband a bag of doughnuts after going with a friend. I left the bag in the kitchen before I left for a business trip. My husband wasn’t at home when I left the bag there. I got a very surprised text when I landed – somehow, all the donuts had somehow been cut in half and half of them were gone!
Whoops.

After I wasn’t quite filled up from my breakfast sandwich, I decided to give the Doughnut Vault a try.
The place is so tiny on the inside. There’s only room for like 4 people inside at the most. There wasn’t much line when I was there, so I didn’t have to wait outside, and they also have one of those very-​convenient-​in-​the-​winter-​time vestibule (?)/​tent things.
The guy at the register (who was the only one that appeared to be actually working there) was really nice. He was quick, but very friendly.
The doughnut itself was very good. A nice fluffy inside and a rich, chocolate-​y glaze outside, I could immediately tell that that this was nothing even close to Dunkin’ Doughnuts or similar chains.
I also grabbed a coffee which was just alright.
A very good experience at the Doughnut Vault, I’ll have to try something besides the chocolate next time I’m around.

I was visiting Chicago and friends have suggested checking out Doughnut Vault. In my mind, I had my doubts since «how good can a doughnut get?!».
When I finally strolled into the store (a bit later than recommended, around 11am, and more popular/​seasonal flavours were already sold out) so I tried the old fashioned buttermilk doughnut. How does it compare to a Tim Horton’s doughnut? It doesn’t — it exceeds it by far. The doughnut is filled with just the right sweetness, and it has the perfect density to form a nice bite. I’d eat a dozen if I could!
A shame I didn’t get the chance to try other seasonal flavours as suggested by other Unilocalers though!

Simple deliciousness. This is one of those CORE places you can find only in a big City
Things don’t get crazy. No «lets combine Nyquil and Capt Crunch». This is good doughnuts done perfectly.
We only got a plain yeast and a old fashion. The service was awesome (my wife asked about the old fashion and the guy said. . hmm lets try it and cut it up for both of them).
they have coffee and water available, in addition to the donuts.
Be warned, it may be easy to miss. Imagine a little hole in the side of a building and you enter and there is just a little room for a small counter.

$ 1 coffee which is a plus
This place is tiny! TINY TINY!
I didn’t expect it to be so tiny. I wanted to be able to see the donuts on display so I know which one I could chose from and not remember what they have when they speak it so quickly…
The pistachio donut was delicious! The chestnut and vanilla was good. Donut holes are 2 BIG donut holes. Good quality. I wish they had more flavors when I went. or at least more time to decide what I want and not feel rushed.

Doughnut Vault’s been on my list for quite a while, so I was extremely excited when I stopped by a little after noon on a Sunday and they weren’t sold out yet. Unfortunately, I was pretty disappointed that they didn’t quite live up to the hype. I got the chestnut old fashioned (daily special), which had a nice consistency of the donuts as well as the hint of chestnut flavor, but I found them overwhelmingly sweet, almost as if I were biting into a really fluffy ball of sugar.
Definitely a solid choice for an extreme sugar rush; I just personally prefer my desserts to be on the less sweet side.

I’ve been dying to visit this place for a long time and finally got around to it. People aren’t lying when they say this place is tiny, it fits maybe 10 people max. After waiting outside for a few minutes, I ended up ordering the Chocolate Glazed and Buttermilk Old Fashioned. Although both were good, neither were anything I’d be dying to get again. Sure, the chocolate one was huge and fluffy, but it wasn’t good enough to justify going out of my way/​waiting in the cold for it.
Going into it, I was concerned with the small menu/​few options that they offer. I’m more used to places like Glazed & Infused, that offer tons of options and also really focus on the decorating/​making them fun and festive. I was hoping the small and basic menu meant that their focus was just on doing the classics the best they could possibly be, but they fell a little short.

This place was popping around 8 am. People arrived earlier to wait in line for fresh donuts. I know I have mentioned a lot of times but so far I still can’t find a comparable donuts place as Mister Donut from Japan. However, this place does have some unique flavor of donuts (Gingerbread Stack, Glazed Chestnut, Strawberry shortcake old fashioned etc) which I can see why people coming back.
When I visit a donuts place, I always try their original flavor because it allows me to taste the flavor of dough and every donuts place have their unique original flavor. I tried their Buttermilk Old Fashioned here. The donut was great when hot but after few minutes once it started getting cold, I just did not find it tasty anymore. Mister Donut always keep the awesome texture and flavor even when eating cold. Also this place has small storefront and probably only have room for 6 – 7 people max.
Overall, I think this place is overrated. Their donuts flavor are average and price was a bit expensive. I would rather go to Krispy Kreme for warm original glazed donut than suffered the cold at 8 am and waited for 20 minutes for average donuts.

Step into my office (says The Donut Vault)…my very tiny, aromatic office full of secret, delicious treasures also known as some of the fluffiest donuts ever. The donuts at the Donut Vault (which truly is essentially a hole in the wall) have a fluff factor that’s totally off the charts and their huge, sweet flavor makes up for the tiny, crammed space. I can understand how this place runs out of donuts so quickly — it doesn’t seem that there’s much space to store the donuts. There’s a baker’s rack of donuts behind the counter, but it seems to be the only donuts available to the public.
Speaking of the availability of donuts — you better get your butt in line when they open because otherwise there will be very little donuts to choose from, if there’s any at all. The first time I’d wandered to The Donut Vault it was around 12:30 pm on a Friday and they were completely sold out of donuts so my fiancé and I made a second attempt on a Sunday around 10:15 am, and although they weren’t sold out we did have to wait in a line… outside. Yes, it really is that small inside that you can barely stand inside without ordering. I have to say, though, I was scared that they were going to sell out because people kept walking out with boxes and boxes of donuts… but finally we got in there and joy to the world there were still donuts left!!! Yayy!!!
With that being said, though, there weren’t all that many donuts left however the essential ones, like the vanilla bean and and chocolate glazed cake donuts, were left. I had wanted to try that salted caramel old-​fashioned donut, but none were left. Despite this minor letdown I was happy with the donuts we got… these donuts were so damn big they were like the Big Mac’s of donuts. These donuts were thick and fluffy — I’ve never seen anything like it. They were so good that my fiancé and I stuffed our faces with the donuts as soon as we stepped foot out of the vault. (Those poor people in line had to watch us stuff our faces with donuts while looking like sad little puppy dogs — sorry, but they’re sooooooo good).
I have to say, though, although these donuts were freaking amazing they were also freaking expensive. It’s about $ 3 for one donut — I can only imagine what half a dozen or a dozen donuts would cost. Jeez! To offset the cost of these specialty donuts The Donut Vault does offer $ 1 coffee to wash down these donuts.
Remember to get here with plenty of time to spare because otherwise you may be disappointed… but once you taste those scrumptious donuts you’ll be anything but disappointed.

My friend told me about this place. A tiny doughnut shop with a wait that goes around the block?! I had to check it out. The Doughnut Vault is indeed tiny. Pretty much 5 people fit inside and the rest have to wait in line outside the store. The menu is short and simple and it is painted right next to their entrance. We got here at around 930am and we had to wait about 1 hour before we ordered.
Buttermilk Old Fashioned: Very good. I like the simplicity and cleanness of the doughnut.
Chestnut Glazed: Meh. Not sure whats so good about it. To me, the Chestnut Glazed tasted weird and gave me an undesirable after taste.
Overall, doughnuts are pretty average. I really don’t understand the hype and why people wait for over an hour for it…

While I was expecting a gourmet doughnut place, these did not disappoint. If you’re someone who likes a traditional doughnut, Doughnut Vault does it right. The buttermilk was absolutely heavenly; I would suggest trying this over anything. Both the vanilla bean glazed and chocolate were huge and fluffy.
As everyone else said, get here when they open as a long line does form. Here’s to hoping they have the pistachio next time I’m in town!

This place was completely worth the wait. Frankly, I don’t know how anyone could give them less than 10 stars because everything we tried was absolute donut perfection!
Better to get there early as a line forms quickly and once they sell out that’s it for the day. We got there 15 minutes before they opened and were the second people in line. By the time they unlocked the door the line was halfway around the block.
It’s extremely small inside (only enough room for about 4 people) so know what you want ahead of time to keep the line moving. Check their webpage for the menu and don’t forgot to follow them on Twitter for their daily specials. They are now offering a special jelly donut of the day too.
The specials when we went were a key lime pie old fashioned and a blackberry donut. We went for the classics and ordered two buttermilk old fashioned, one glazed vanilla, one glazed chocolate, the gingerbread stack, and one of the key lime pie donuts. The total came to around $ 17. For being as delicious as they are I feel the price is reasonable. They also have coffee for only $ 1 everyday.
These were the best donuts I have ever had. That buttermilk old fashioned made my eyes roll into the back of my head! The vanilla glazed was as big as my face and had flecks of real vanilla beans in the glaze. Dreamy! The gingerbread stack was another winner and had the sort of cake like texture that made them perfect to dunk into our coffee.
We tried our best but between us couldn’t finish everything. I can’t wait to see what their special flavors will be next time we are in town!

Mission Impossible 6: Deadly Donut Deluge happens at The Doughnut Vault every morning (seriously, you have to get there really early or they sell out).
Mission Commander: Good morning Alma C. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, involves capturing your pick of the diet destroyers designated «BAD» (booty amplifying donuts). You may select any one team member that you choose, and only one, because BAD causes even the healthiest of grubbers to turn to the Dark Side. As always, should any of your team get caught stealing bites or gaining excessive muffin tops, Mission Command will disavow all knowledge of your actions. And, Alma C., the next time you go on a donut crawl, would you be so kind as to let us know where and when you’re going so you can pick us up a baker’s dozen. This message will self destruct in 5 seconds.
Alma C: If I let you know when I go on a donut crawl, you’ll go rogue too. Plus, I don’t share.
MI6: DDD Strategy: Wake up at the crack of dawn, grab my team sidekick, fight traffic to get to 401 ½ N. Franklin Street before it opens. Park. Pay meter more than you think (Digression: gosh darn obscenely efficient meter maids and broke ass City of Chicago contracting out their meter licenses to a for-​profit foreign entity).
Mid-​Mission — Survey the line. Try not to throw eye daggers or intimidate the people ahead of the line to not get all the donuts. Contemplate Bowtruss Coffee on the side. Get one of everything, at least. Buy sufficient number of donuts to prevent sidekick from stealing all of any one donut without getting a taste. Eat all the donuts designated for personal use mission sustenance. Especially the classic buttermilk and fluffy chestnut OMG THE CHESTNUT. SO BIG. SO FLUFFY. Try not to choke. Try to stay away from Mission Command’s baker’s dozen.
Alma C: Mission Accomplished, Mission Commander. Time to get your donuts… I’m absconding with your portion of the take…
Mission Commander: You, you BASTARD!
Alma C.: I warned you that I don’t share. BTW. please treat my sidekick for blissed out overconsumption and possible diabetic shock. She said it was worth it though. She also wants to be reassigned for a redo MI7: DDD to go back for more Buttermilk and Vanilla Bean.
Over and out. Really. Get your own.