49th Parallel / Lucky’s Doughnuts
by Connor Keller
Recently opened in Vancouver’s Main Street/Mt Pleasant district is a new and exciting venture from Vancouver coffee scene stalwarts 49th Parallel Roasters. They’ve continued their strong tradition in excellent coffee roasting and brewing while adding a new project: Lucky’s Doughnuts. The resulting cafe is well designed, nicely laid out and – most importantly – serves up the best doughnut I’ve come upon in Vancouver. This is the second 49th Parallel store to open in Vancouver, the first being in Kitsilano, and they couldn’t look more different – each seeming to reflect the identity of their neighborhood. The main street branch is a large, spacious wood and brick creation with some particularly attractive light fixtures, chairs and countertops. It’s a good space, one that I could see myself spending time in – which is more than you can say for the majority of Vancouver coffee stops. If the space wasn’t enough to attract you through the door, being able to watch doughnuts created fresh through large glass windows while you sip your coffee certainly should. They smell amazing too so good luck going in and not being very tempted to order one. I tried the french crueller which happened to be on special the evening I popped by, and as I said earlier, it ranked high on my (admittedly uncalibrated) doughnut scale. There was also a large selection of other more exciting doughnuts including a mango option and a chocolate bacon option; plenty of interesting choices for next time. For me though the best part about the doughnuts is the gorgeous boxes they come in if you decide to get them to take out. A solid orange box with well designed white lettering is something I’d be tempted to clean out and keep around to use as a storage box. All told, it’s a great concept and a good looking – and good smelling – spot. If you’re in the area I’d very much recommend stopping in, and if you’re in need of a box of doughnuts, do yourself a favor and go here. For a little extra information, Lucky’s Doughnuts keep a very active twitter account @luckysdoughnuts.
- CK
UPDATE: On 19 June, we changed the post to reflect that Lucky’s Doughnuts is a side project of 49th Parallel rather than a separate business. Even more impressive.
49th Parallel / Lucky’s Doughnuts | luckysdoughnuts.com | 2902 Main Street
Monday to Saturday, 7 am to 10 pm; and Sunday, 8am to 8pm
