Best doughnut shop in U.S. is actually a Phoenix ice cream store

In a national ranking of doughnut shops, a Valley spot known for its handmade ice cream was named No. 1.

May 20, 2025

Image: Novel Ice Cream is known for its famous Dough Melt.

Novel Ice Cream is known for its famous Dough Melt. Mike Madriaga

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Review site Yelp pooled its reviews to find the top-rated doughnut shops nationwide. Out of all of the dedicated doughnut shops churning out fresh rounds of fried dough, a Phoenix ice cream shop rose to the top.

Novel Ice Cream was named the best spot for doughnuts in the country.

While not a doughnut-focused business, Novel Ice Cream does serve a doughy and delicious treat called a Dough Melt, where any flavor of ice cream can be sandwiched between a sliced, glazed doughnut. The whole sandwich is then pressed so it's warm on the outside.

Novel made its Valley debut in 2017 and currently has a location on Grand Avenue near downtown Phoenix and a small scoop shop in downtown Mesa. A third location is in the works for Peoria, where the company currently has a food truck set up.

In Yelp's list of the 50 best doughnut shops nationwide, Arizona had four spots total. The Local Donut in Scottsdale was named No. 40.

And outside of the Valley, Sedonuts and Coffee in Sedona was No. 31 and La Estrella Bakery, a Tucson panaderia, was No. 32.

To create the list, Yelp turned to its Yelp Elite members. The site explained that it "identified businesses in the donuts category, then ranked those spots based on the volume and ratings of reviews given by Yelp Elite Squad members for each business."

Novel Ice Cream

1028 Grand Ave #6
40 N. Macdonald #2, Mesa

Tirion Boan is the Food Editor of Phoenix New Times where she’s worked since May 2022. Tirion keeps a close eye on restaurant openings and closings, offers dining recommendations and reports on metro Phoenix food news and trends. She also publishes major annual lists like Top 100 Bars and Top 100 Restaurants, and contributes to the Best of Phoenix project. Tirion previously worked for publications including The Arizona Republic and The Tucson Weekly. She holds a bachelor’s of arts in journalism from the University of Arizona.

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