THE HOLY DONUT: A DIVINE BITE IN PORTLAND, MAINE

Donuts aren’t one of our go to foods but something about Portland’s THE HOLY DONUT caught our attention: they served Maine’s potato donuts, an unusual alternative way of making the tasty treats with mashed potatoes, so we knew we had to give them a try during our day trip to Portland (Sat Aug 3, 2024).

The Holy Donut is located on Commerical Street directly opposite one of Portland’s busy waterfronts, so was very easy to find. It had a short line outside - and a delicious smell - but it didn’t take us long to get inside and be served by their friendly staff. 

Family owned, it was established in 2012 by Leigh Kellis, a single mom, who was keen to create a healthier donut for her kids using natural ingredients. With support from her family, the business became a success and now has over 120 team members with 5 stores around Maine. 

We ordered:

🥓 Bacon cheddar $5.25

🍩 Cinnamon sugar $4.25

🫐 Blueberry glazed $4.50

☕️ Drip coffee (12 oz) = $2.85

😢 Tax (8%) = $1.35

💰 Total = $18.20

The drip coffee was self-serve and I somehow managed to overfill my cup and spill it all over my hand. Ouch! The Holy Donut Blend was good and was the perfect accompaniment to the donuts. 

We took our hand-shaped treats with us to the nearby Long Wharf and sat opposite a remnant of the Berlin Wall in the sunshine. 

Still full from our breakfast of OOB’s Beach Bagels, we sensibly shared the donuts. We started with the bacon cheddar, as we had never seen a fully savoury doughnut before, and found that it was packed full of stringy cheese. Yum!

The sweeter cinnamon sugar and blueberry donuts were tasty, but like with the bacon one, were quite dry and dense. It was just as well we got the drip coffee to wash them down. You couldn’t taste the potatoes, of course, but the texture was there. We couldn’t finish the donuts off and wrapped them back up to have later. 

We have had bigger and better donuts (at more reasonable prices) from Voodoo Doughnut at Hollywood, Ca. and Orlando, Fl., a doughnut chain also founded in Portland - but Portland, Oregon, not Maine - and while the aesthetics, ethos and vision of that wacky doughnut chain were very different to The Holy Donut, we were still pleased to have visited and tried some of Maine’s unusual potato donuts made with wholesome local ingredients and positive vibes. 

---

📌 THE HOLY DONUT

177 Commercial St., Portland, ME 04102

🌐 www.theholydonut.com

---

See all our Maine photographs in a special album on our Facebook page >>> P&K USA