World’s Best Coffee and Doughnuts

Most days, I can walk right past a coffee shop, whether it's an old neighborhood favorite or a well-loved chain. The coffee at these places is usually good: dark, heartwarming, and never burnt or stale because they sell so much. Morning to night, commuters dash in and out on their way to or from the subway, clutching lidded cups in little white bags. I'd join them, but I'm always running late. I'm also a cheapskate.

I can pass a doughnut shop for the same reasons, even when someone opens the door, and the smell of warm icing, fried dough, and jam drifts out, a siren's fragrance more intoxicating than any ordinary bakery.

But when the weather turns chilly and dark, I can't resist. I grab an old wool jacket, wrap a big scarf around my neck, and head to the nearest coffeehouse or doughnut shop to huddle over a steaming mug or a warm glazed (or both!), staring out the fogged-up windows, happy to be there.

It's late September, officially autumn, and the dip in temps has me wondering which coffeehouses and doughnut shops are considered the best in the world. Does such a list even exist? For coffee, definitely. For doughnuts, sort of.

World’s Best Coffee Shops 2026

Coffee is more than just liquid caffeine. It’s an essential comfort for most people. It helps us face the world and makes us nicer people. And sharing a cup of well-made coffee in a lovely environment brings people together and builds community. So, I’m not surprised there’s a whole organization dedicated to rating the best coffee shops around the world.

Coffee experts at The World's 100 Best Coffee Shops evaluate annual entries based on coffee quality, ambiance, and customer service, among other factors, using a weighted voting system.

Here are the top 5 coffee shops:

Onyx Coffee Lab (Rogers, Arkansas, USA)

• The Claim: Ranked number one globally, this flagship laboratory sets the standard for modern third-wave coffee, rigorous bean sourcing, and striking architecture.

• The Vibe: A futuristic, sleek, and scientific approach to roasting and brewing where coffee is treated with the same precision as fine gastronomy.

Tim Wendelboe (Oslo, Norway)

• The Claim: Consistently occupying the number two spot worldwide, Nordic light-roast pioneer Tim Wendelboe is a legendary pilgrimage site for coffee purists.

• The Vibe: Minimalist, intimate, and intensely focused on hyper-transparent, single-origin sourcing directly from partner farms.

Alquimia Coffee (San Salvador, El Salvador)

• The Claim: Holding the number three spot in the world, this exceptional producer-focused café highlights the incredible capability of origin-country specialty coffee houses.

• The Vibe: Warm and immersive, offering guests a direct taste of top-tier micro-lots grown in the surrounding volcanic soils.

Only Coffee Project (Sydney, Australia)

• The Claim: A perennial giant in Southern Hemisphere coffee rankings, landing high in the global top ten.

• The Vibe: Celebrated for world-class espresso mechanics, silky micro-foam, and an energetic Australian cafe culture.

Koffee Mameya Kakeru (Tokyo, Japan)

• The Claim: Frequently highlighted by global style publications like Monocle Magazine as one of the most unique coffee experiences on earth.

• The Vibe: A reservation-only, omakase-style coffee boutique in Tokyo where baristas act as sommeliers, guiding you through rare roasts and brewing methods with fine-dining elegance.

  
  

Full list: View the full list of top 100 coffee shops here.

Also: In a Class by Itself

Caffè Sant'Eustachio  (Rome)

Caffè Sant'Eustachio is a historic, world-renowned wood-fired coffee roastery in Rome. Many consider their coffee the best in the world. It is made from home-roasted 100% Arabica fair-trade blends, famously mixed with water sourced from an ancient Roman aqueduct and sweetened with their signature secret crema formula. It is frequently featured on top global and local coffee lists, but it is not a coffeehouse. It’s a walk-up coffee bar, so it’s not listed in The World’s 100 Best Coffee Shops rankings. It stands alone in its greatness.

The New York Times food critic William Grimes wrote of it: "When the need for a real espresso becomes overpowering, buy a ticket to Rome, tell the taxi driver to head straight for the Sant'Eustachio cafe. The espresso will be perfect."

World’s Best Doughnut Shops 2026

My search for the absolute highest-rated doughnut destinations wasn’t as easy. Alas, no international culinary ranking association ranks doughnuts. Reddit (r/doughnuts) is a mouth-watering fun ride, but it doesn't help rank doughnutteries overall. Instead, I went to Tripadvisor and searched current traveler consensus for best-rated doughnut restaurants around the world.

Here are the top 5 doughnut shops:

World's Best Donuts (Grand Marais, Minnesota)

• The Claim: Well, they claim to be the best, but thousands of others think so, too. This beloved shop boasts near-perfect ratings from thousands of travelers.

• The Vibe: A family-owned North Shore landmark running for over 30 years. Reviewers on Tripadvisor's World's Best Donuts Page explicitly note that the lines move fast and the fluffy raised donuts, especially "Chet's Best" with its rich frosting, are well worth the pilgrimage.

Round Rock Donuts (Round Rock, Texas)

• The Claim: Consistently referenced across international dessert platforms like TasteAtlas and global traveler threads as a "top dessert destination on earth."

• The Vibe: Frying since 1926, they are world-famous for their unique yeast-risen, hand-rolled orange-yellow dough made from an egg-rich recipe. Road-tripping travelers highly regard them and rave about eating them warm. They're rightfully famous for their giant "Texas Sized Donuts."

  
  

Doughnut Plant (New York City, USA)

• The Claim: Routinely dominating the Tripadvisor New York City Doughnut Rankings, this iconic Lower East Side bakery frequently draws international travelers who call it the "doughnuts of the gods."

• The Vibe: Known globally for pioneering the gourmet doughnut movement, travelers love their square filled donuts, crème brûlée doughseeds, and triple chocolate flavors.

  
  

Crosstown (London, UK)

• The Claim: A dominant force on the TripAdvisor London Doughnut Rankings, this local craft institution frequently draws international travelers who call it the pinnacle of modern British baking.

• The Vibe: Celebrated for completely revolutionizing the pastry scene by creating the world's first hybrid sourdough doughnut base, giving their bakes a distinctly rich, chewy texture. Reviewers on TripAdvisor's Crosstown Page consistently note that their innovative scratch-made flavors—like the iconic Tongan vanilla bean glaze and dark chocolate truffle—perfectly balance old-school comfort with high-end culinary execution.

  
  
  
  

Brammibal's Donuts (Berlin, Germany)

• The Claim: Dominating Central European pastry rankings on Tripadvisor.

• The Vibe: Celebrated for proving that vegan baking can outperform classic recipes, travelers across Europe consistently review it as a must-visit spot in Berlin for massive, innovative flavors.

Photos (from top): bestproject/app.envato.com; diner coffee, nycoffeecup.com, doughnut display, Manny Rodriguez, pexels.com; coffee shop and doughnut shop photos taken from the sites of the individual businesses described.

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