Gold Star Donuts

Gold Star Donuts

Reviews Summary

Gold Star Donuts is consistently praised for its fresh, high-quality donuts with a perfect texture—light, fluffy, and delicious. Customers rave about the apple fritters, Bavarian cream, and classic glazed varieties, often calling them the best in the area. The family-owned shop offers friendly service, reasonable prices, and a nostalgic atmosphere. Many note the importance of arriving early for the best selection, as items sell out quickly. While most reviews are glowing, one mentions slightly smaller portions recently. The shop is a local favorite, with loyal patrons driving from afar and declaring it their go-to spot for donuts.

About This Listing

Who Can Visit?

Most donut shops welcome all ages—perfect for families and kids
Some locations offer sit-down areas, while others are grab-and-go
No prior ordering knowledge needed—staff can help you choose flavors
Casual dress is welcome—some shops may have outdoor seating
Allergy-friendly options may be available (ask in advance)
Group orders and celebrations welcome—pre-orders may be required

*Note: Seating, menu, and accessibility may vary by shop. Contact your local spot for details.*

First-Time Visitors

First-time guests can simply walk in and browse the display or menu. Staff are happy to offer recommendations and explain specialty flavors. Some shops even offer sample bites or combo deals for newcomers.

Common Considerations:

Allergens Some donuts may contain nuts, dairy, or gluten—always ask if unsure
Availability Popular flavors can sell out early, especially on weekends

*Note: Menus and specials may vary. Ask staff or check online for daily options.*

What to Bring

Cash or card—most donut shops accept both, but some are cashless
Phone or camera—perfect for snapping and sharing your sweet finds
Appetite! Fresh donuts are best enjoyed warm and on the spot

*Note: Payment methods and policies vary by location. Check signage or ask staff.*

Preparing for Your Visit

Check store hours and peak times—early visits offer the best selection
Call ahead for large orders or special boxes
Bring friends or coworkers—sharing a dozen is half the fun
Dress casually—many shops are walk-up counters or offer outdoor seating
Leave pets at home unless it’s a pet-friendly location
Check for limited-time flavors, holidays specials, or preorder events
Set a treat budget if you’re shopping with kids
Bring a reusable bag or box if buying in bulk

*Note: Each shop may offer different experiences—check social media for updates.*

How to Get Started

Most shops accept walk-ins! For custom orders, pre-ordering is best. Ask about gift boxes or subscription options.

Other Helpful Info

Visits usually take 10–30 minutes, unless you're sitting down to enjoy
Weekends can be busier—plan ahead for quicker service
Seasonal or limited-edition donuts often rotate monthly
Some locations offer donut decorating kits or workshops
Gift cards, boxes, and party platters are often available

*Note: Features, pricing, and offerings vary by donut shop. Always check ahead.*

Contact Information

Address

1246 Whitfield Ave

Sarasota, Florida 34243

Hours

Monday 5AM-2PM
Tuesday 5AM-2PM
Wednesday 5AM-2PM
Thursday 5AM-2PM
Friday 5AM-2PM
Saturday 6AM-2PM
Sunday 6AM-2PM

Customer Reviews

The owner and staff is always friendly and so personable. They have great options and everything is made fresh. They even customize donuts for you. Definitely love this spot!!! You can literally taste the freshness

Best donuts I've had since moving to Sarasota. Clean store, no lingering oil smell, friendly service. I picked up an old fashioned, apple fritter, plain glazed and spinach feta pastry. Everything smelled fresh when I opened the bags at home. Old fashioned had nice vanilla smell and the odd shape was perfect for breaking pieces off to dunk in a beverage. Crust had a little snap and texture was excellent. Raised and glazed was tender and the donut bounced back after it was torn or bitten. Apple fritter had a

Gold Star offers some of the best donuts around! They are locally owned as a mom/pop shop. As soon as you step inside the quaint shop, you are greeted warmly by the owners. Needless to say, service is excellent. The shop is a bit small, so most are ordering to go. Donuts are made fresh each morning, and it shows - the donuts are so fluffy and delicious. We love the jelly filled donuts, as well as the chocolate glazed donuts. We tried nearly all of them (we ordered two dozen) and have no complaints about any

Very kind gentleman providing service. Make sure you get an assortment, because if business is slow it?s impossible for a donut shop to have all fresh options. Out of the 5 donuts we got, 3 were very fresh and super good and pillowy! The two that weren?t very fresh were still good. Again, because of the the way donut shops have to operate, I didn?t hold that against them. Very very good donuts! Blueberry donut was UNREAL.

Me and my family tired them today based of someone?s recommendation and it was a hit! We will be regulars from now on! Bear claw, glazed, old fashion, ice coffee and a few other things we tried was 10/10!

If you want warm, pillowy donuts that will melt in your month, then this is the place to go in Bradenton. It will curb any sweet cravings and to top it off, excellent service! They also sell breakfast items such as croissants, strawberry and cheese pastries and large pigs in a blanket ( I think I?m going back for those). Coffee, fruit juices and can soda is also an option. They have a variety of amazing donuts, some covered in coconut flakes, chunks of chocolates. and there is always the plain donuts for th

Stopped here on a whim just passing by and really glad I did! Service was very efficient and kind! Shop was clean. And the donuts were DELICIOUS! SO much better than the big chains! Big, fluffy, and melt in your mouth. Also got an iced coffee with vanilla that was pretty decent! If I?m ever over this way I?ll be back!

LOVE LOVE LOVE these donuts ?? The croissant breakfast sandwiches are incredible, too! From the moment you step inside, you're surrounded by the irresistible aroma of fresh baked goodness. Just thinking about them makes my mouth water! It is an absolute must-have every time I visit Sarasota.

First time visit and definitely will return. Service was exceptional!! Purchased a variety of donuts & apple fritters. Plus a sausage & cheese roll.It was all delicious! Family member stated the apple fritter was the best she had ever tasted/ ate. We went right @ closing . The lady employee was so patient & sweet. Everything behind the counter looked soooo good. Highly recommended. ?????

This place is a tiny little donut shop with amazing donuts. I have never been disappointed with the quality or the service here. Highly recommend the glazed. Everyone at work knows the white box when they see it coming...

HOLY MOLLY!!! Drive here NOW! How anyone can say this is not a 5 star++++++++ is someone that shouldn't be going to a Donut Shop. I am so happy I found them. Even if you live an hour away, get in the car and come try a donut! You'd never know they were fried. Perfect texture, light and fluffy, even the plain donut is crazy delicious.

I found this place online while looking for a local mom/pop shop. I called ahead to see if they still had fresh donuts since it was one hour to close time. To my surprise, they were still baking fresh donuts. When we arrived, we were greeted by the gentleman in the pictures whom I had spoken to on the phone. Very pleasant and patient as we made our decision on what to buy. The place seems recently remodeled and clean, which is a big plus. I would recommend the "Kolaches," especially the one with Jalape?os

Great service and no line at this locally. Famous donut spot. Open early and with a nice selection of more unusual donuts. Try the spinach feta croissant!

It is a great place. All the employees are very friendly and helpful. All of my purchases are very Fresh, good size and delicious. This is my 2nd time there and I must say, they have a customer for life. Please don't change.

Best local donuts! Small family business, great customer service, can do big orders (2 dozen or more) if called in advance. Anytime my family wants donuts this is where we go EVERY TIME!

This was my first stop after flying in from Indiana. Gold Star Donuts is a nice local place that has very good donuts. And the service was very nice. I highly recommend.

The 6 am Sunday service was friendly and fast. I ordered a dozen for the kids, and they were all great. The still warm apple fritter is the best I?ve had in Florida.

So happy I finally stopped in to try some donuts. They are delicious and you can tell they are super fresh. They have a great selection and very friendly service. I will definitely be back!!

A cute little place that I adore. They always greet you with a very sincere hello. I usually get the same thing every time, & it's always good. I love the croissants, creme filled donut, & once in awhile I get the applesauce donut, which I've never had till I came here, but they're so good. This place is a must try!

I just love this place. ??????Everything is so delicious??????

What can you say about a donut shop? Either the donuts are good or they are not right? THESE donuts are FANTASTIC. Soft, fresh, and delicious! You can tell they are made with a love for the craft. The people that work there (the owners?) are super friendly and act like they are genuinely happy you chose their shop. That kind of humbleness is severely lacking these days. Definitely makes me want to go back and spend money with them often. Well that and the FREAKING FANTABULOUS DONUTS!! It was all the grea

Awesome donuts, super soft and pillowy

These are the most mouth watering awesome donuts in town!!! I always buy the apple fritter. Plus the size will put all those chain donut places to shame!!! Before our plant finally closed its doors. It was real treat for Suzie, buying these donuts each month us all!!!

This is where the locals go to get amazing donuts! We love this place!

Literally the best donuts! I got the raspberry filled donut and the strawberry and cheese croissant. All I can say is ?Wow?! It was so good and the donuts have a crunchiness to them and so soft on the inside. ????? The service is great as well.

Best donuts!!!! Great selection!!! I also love the kolaches!! ??

One of the best local donut shops! Their plain glazed are always a hit, they?re freshly baked and the staff is always friendly and welcoming.

Not open even though Google says they are supposed to be. It?s ok to be closed for a week but updating Google so that people know not to drive to get donuts is an IMPORTANT part of owning a business.

Love love love love the donuts! So fresh fluffy! I love the plain donuts and they are so good, not dry , very light not heavy!!! Love this donut shop! It's not one of those fancy frilly donut shops, but they have the best donuts!!!! I'm from Minnesota and I give it a A+++++.

Most amazing donut shop! Don?t let the building exterior keep you from going in! It?s emasculate and the lady who owns it is amazingly helpful. Not the largest selection or crafty stuff you get a five o but for this spot they have classics that cannot be beat! You can taste that the frying oil is fresh and that crispness comes through on the outside of the donut and fluffy and delicious on the inside! You must try this place. The reviews speak for themselves!

Such a good experience and the apple fritter was delicious!

The donuts are fabulous. Try em, you'll love em.

Absolutely best donuts ever!!! Hated that they were closed while I was in town.

Best donuts around, don't pass up this family owned and operated business! Try one of everything trust me. Strawberry cheese croissant, and jalape?o kolaches are my favorite, as well as all their donuts...!

BEST DONUTS IN MANATEE COUNTY!! Very friendly, gracious, humble and absolutely the best Customer Service. Always clean inside and our family just love the Lady that owns it. We?ve been going there for over 25 years. You won?t be disappointed.. I drive 25-30 mins for the donuts. Longhorns are my Fave..????????

Super friendly service. We came here on a whim this morning, and were very excited about the donuts and service. All the items we got were delicious. We will be back!

We've been a number of times and they are always consistent (donuts and service). Best donuts around - simple and tasty, and at a very reasonable price. Love supporting a local business who does good business!!

We?ve been searching and searching for THE BEST donuts since moving here almost three years ago. Finding this gem turned out to be one of the best days ever! Fresh, tasty and just like a donut should be!

Goldstar Donut Shop is a staple in this area, I remember bringing my kids to get donuts. Not a cookie cutter store. I highly recommend if you a craving something sweet.

This place has the best doughnuts in Manatee County! If you show up with a dozen of these, people will be impressed and want to know where you got them. The service is extra polite, too. The owners take pride in their craft. I have never been disappointed. Arrive early for best selection.

One of the freshest donuts I?ve had in a long time. Raspberry jelly filled had a great amount of filling and the dough was perfect. I always order a regular glazed when I try a new shop, and it was delicious. This will now be our go-to spot for donuts!

The best donuts in the area. Awesome/Friendly staff and bakers, always smiling and cheery. Don't forget to try the sausage kolache!!

We stopped here while on vacation and these are the BEST donuts we have had in a long time! High quality donuts and very friendly service!

Looking for some great donuts this is your place. The service is friendly and price is reasonable. Everything is always so fresh. It is such a great place to grab breakfast in the morning.

I work near this place and had always been curious to try it. I had time before I started my shift today, so I decided to and I?m so glad I did! Super affordable, I got 3 donuts for less than $5, including the tip I left, that were delicious and soft. I never got the name of the man working the counter today, but he was so friendly! I highly recommend Gold Star Donuts.

Love Gold Star Donuts they are the best donut shop in town but going here for years they always make you feel welcome and always feels like the neighborhood donut shop love going there every Saturday morning talk with the owners they are truly the best we love you guys hopefully it will never leave it will be here forever and ever Turner's Donuts in Bradenton has nothing on Goldstar truly the definition of a gold star always your customer the big guy Brian

Best donuts I've ever had. The chocolate-on-chocolate ones are amazing. Also they're insanely cheap, got 3 for $2.25. They do big orders but call in advance. Edit: RIP best donut shop in FL. You will be sorely missed. Edit 2: They're back!

Best donuts in the area! Try the bear claw and apple fritters if you enjoy apples. Absolutely delicious. Very nice staff as well

This place gets 5 Gold Stars! Everything was delicious. It's clean and the staff are lovely. They have the classic varieties of donuts, all the standards and a few specialties. Prices are very reasonable. Get there early or they'll be gone! Let me recommend the enormous glazed apple fritters!

This place will never disappoint! Love there doughnuts. They are in my opinion the best around. Probably in the top 3 places I've had anywhere my whole life. The regular doughnuts are light and fluffy and so good no matter what variation you choose. My favorite are the custard filled, lemon filled, and the raspberry filled. The old fashioned doughnuts are my all time favorite. The are so moiste and yummy. They have that little crunch on the outside oh so good! My mouth is watering typing this ?? My daught

Been spoiled growing up along the donut trail in Ohio with some of the best donut places in the country. When we moved here we desperately tried to find the best donuts and this place is at the top with no question. Some claim other places in Sarasota to be the best, those people clearly haven?t been to Gold Star!!

Best donuts in bradenton. I cheated on them with a different donut shop closer to my house and it was a mistake. The quality is consistent and delicious here.

Their donuts are so good. It's a great place to get breakfast if you're in a hurry. The apple fritters are my personal fav

The people working there were SUPER friendly. Much appreciated. Also, the coffee was really smooth with a nice flavor. Cake donuts were great

Delicious donuts, extremely fresh, and the friendliest staff! It's great to buy from people who really care about the food they serve!

Happy to support a local family-owned business that has been around for so long. This place has great donuts, friendly service, and unbeatable prices. I learned that they recently started selling kolaches which I will definitely try. Personally, I would much rather shop here than the over-priced gimmicky donut places that are popping up all over town. What else could you ask for other than a great product for a great price? Don't ever change!

Barely any filling in the donuts, like somehow dunkin donuts puts more filling than this place, the glazed was also Barely glazed. The dough is soft, I'll give them that. Finally they forgot the milk with the order

This place rocks! Prices and quality of their donuts are great. I am glad they are back in business. Take them frequently to work for co-workers and everyone loves them. My favorite is their apple fritter which is too big for one person. Do yourself a favor and give Goldstar a try.

I've been wanting to try this place forever. It's my 2nd attempt, it was 10:00a.m. and there were NO donuts in the case except for 3 plain. So disappointed as the reviews are so good and the pictures look so good, I wish they could post online that they are out of donuts for the day. The man behind the counter was apologetic, but I don't think I will try again as it's out of my way anyway.

Make this trip . We drove out from AMI , very delicious. Apple fritter and cinnamon roll personal favorites !

Best donuts around! Fresh, flavorful and not too sweet. Great customer service too!

I went to this place daily as a kid growing up. I was so excited that they had re opened and I could take my wife there while in town. The shop still looks and smells the same as I remember. The donuts are really good. Try their cinnamon rolls you will not be disappointed

Great service, delicious and fresh donuts! My office loves them. The sausage rolls are good too. Highly recommend for classic lineup of donuts.

Came late in the afternoon and was expecting them not to have a good selection but was pleasantly surprised. Picked up a dozen donuts for only $15. Definitely worth the drive!

Clean place with friendly staff. Donuts were fresh and delicious. Was happy to see a simple donut without all the crazy toppings.

Donuts have shrunk. Especially the apple fritter and bear claws. Still very tasty, but paying more for less.

The perfect classic donuts one craves

Delicious fresh donuts. Best apple claw ever. Large donuts with cheap pricing. Very clean place and friendly service. You can tell they really love their job and appreciate you

They make the very best Apple Fritters I've ever eaten! And at a reasonable price too! Highly recommend you try them! ??

Amazing way better than anything I've ever eaten in my life.. cinnamon roll big as a plate texture remarkable. Long john with vanilla creme beyond fabulous. I ate the sausage cheese kolash loved it. Literally the best ever.

Just bought a dozen at 8am today for the office. Everyone LOVED them. The price was excellent. I had the glaze, and I found the donut to be very light and fluffy. This is a good thing since a heavy feeling in the morning is not ideal. I will be returning without a doubt.

This hole in the wall donut shop is by far one of the best places I've been too. Staff is super friendly and the prices are good as well. I wasn't really a donut person maybe one or 2 a month. Now I go every Sunday morning!

Sarsota's best simple doughnut shop!

Apparently this place is a Whitfield area institution but I just heard about it. I am a donut connisseur and this place is amazing. Smells heavenly, you can tell they make the donuts right there. The donuts were the freshest I've ever had. My fave is the Bavarian cream.

I go here as often as possible. I live way down south of Sarasota but it's worth the drive up (early in the a.m.) to get these donuts!! Glazed are wonderful. Nice high raise on the donut.. Filled cream/chocolate frosted are great too. I bring a dozen or two into work to treat my coworkers. They love that :). I've called ahead too to put an order in for a 7:00 a.m. pickup two days before so I know they won't run out... Cash only.. so be Prepared!! These are very sweet people. I wish they'd open a shop do

Me and my wife are coming here for donuts almost every weekend if we can afford it and it's not that much it probably about $4.80 for both of us to get maybe total three Donuts and there's always super friendly anyways always professional you don't know about them you should definitely try

These are the best donuts ive found in the Bradenton/sarasota by far!!! There a few real good ones but these are far ahead of the rest! And the owners are always so friendly and appreciative of the business! I hit them at least once a week.

Pretty good donuts. We tried glazed, cinnamon sugar, Bavarian cream filled and the raspberry filled. Dough is nice and fluffy and fresh.

Just very high quality donut shop. They aren't over the top like a lot of the newer donut shops but the taste is much better. Prices are very reasonable.

This is a staple of a local business, great product and affordable, walking in to this place took me to memory lane with my kids. Recommend.

Always delicious and always good service. Love the kolaches and donuts.

This is a MUST , BEST Donuts I have EVER had !! The donuts are So good and So Fresh !! This is what 5 Star donuts taste like , will be coming back everytime we are near Sarasota !!

I love this donut shop!!!! Best in the Sarasota/Bradenton area. Locally owned forever. I've been going to this shop for over 25yrs. Still the same great taste always. If you have never been it's time you went.

These are some of the best doughnuts I've ever had! I would recommend this place to anyone!

I lived in Bradenton for 18 years and it was my go to. I was sad when they had closed. I am happy they reopened and are just as delicious! Great family!

FANTASTIC! Just picked up a dozen this morning (glazed, jelly, lemon, Bavarian cream) and everyone loved them. Friendly service, inexpensive; don't be put off by the shopping center because it will be well worth your time. I will definitely be back to try their other selections.

If you?re looking for truly the best homemade donuts, this is the place!

Nice people and good donuts

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Many do! Listings include details on delivery partners, online ordering, and whether you can reserve boxes for pickup—perfect for gifts or events.

I want to send donuts as a gift. Can I do that here?

Sorry, but we don't support this yet! But we are considering adding this option!

What are “limited-time” or seasonal flavors?

These are exclusive donuts offered for holidays or specific times of year—like pumpkin spice in the fall or strawberry shortcake in summer. Check back often—they go fast!

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Not at all. We’re expanding constantly, including small towns, roadside bakeries, and regional favorites. Sweetness knows no bounds.

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