A Japanese bakery in Kakaako importing techniques straight from Okayama. The Salt & Butter Roll and Banana Matcha Lattes are worth the detour.
A Japanese-inspired bakery in downtown Honolulu turning out immaculate pastries. The custard croissant and matcha rolls disappear fast.
An Aiea cafe running Portuguese tarts and house-fried gyoza off one counter. Chelsea runs the room, which is cat-themed and unembarrassed about it, and the portions land well past what the price suggests. Get the house fried gyoza, with a Portuguese tart after.
A coffee nerd's room in the middle of downtown. Drip Studio pours single origins from small independent roasters, DAK among them, dials in every pour over, and cares about the ceramic it lands in. Order a pour over and take the bar seat.
A North Shore bakery producing some of the finest pies in Hawaii. The lilikoi cream pie and the guava chiffon are worth the drive from town.
A Chinatown bakery with forty years behind it before the current owners arrived. Wesley and Jie Mei Fang came from Guangdong and took it over in 2008, keeping the har gow and manapua in-house on family recipes while adding mochi mooncakes and crack seed. Try the half moon — the one most visitors walk straight past.
Maui's most decorated shave ice, brought over to Kapahulu. David and Ululani Yamashiro opened a 65-square-foot stand in Lahaina in 2008 and had to double it within three months; this is the brand's first Oahu shop. Ask for a snow cap and ice cream underneath.
The bakery that turned a Portuguese Shrove Tuesday tradition into a Hawaii institution. The Rego family opened on Kapahulu in 1952 and started frying malasadas the year after at the suggestion of Leonard's mother — no hole, chewier than a doughnut, sugar while still hot. Get them straight from the counter.
Seventy-five years of the same recipes, still made from scratch daily. Roy and Koo Takakuwa opened on Liliha Street in 1950 and moved to Kuakini in 1961 without dropping the name; the coco puffs now run to hundreds of dozens on a busy day. Get a butter roll with the neon-pink jelly while it's warm.
The North Shore bakery worth the drive inland. Sadamu Oka opened it in 1970, and the Snow Puffy he popularized — flaky layers, custard, a chocolate swirl under a drift of powdered sugar — has no real equivalent on the island. Come before early afternoon; they sell out.
Over a hundred test batches before the doors ever opened. Gayla Young spent a year developing her malasada recipe, ran a 600-malasada trial on Malasada Day 2015, then opened in the old Toys n' Joys space in Kaimuki in 2016 — named for the North Shore break. Get a malasada and a scoop; the ice cream is churned in-house.
A North Shore institution since 1987. Ted's chocolate haupia cream pie is the stuff of legend — grab a slice and a garlic shrimp plate.
The sit-down half of a Kailua institution that began as a 1932 general store. The Dymond family bought the original emerald-green market by the beach in 1992 and still run it; this Kailua Road room is its full-service sibling. Come for coffee and a pastry early, or stay for dinner.
A Manoa cafe opened by a Starbucks executive who thought Honolulu could do better. Eric Rose took over the old Ducky's space in 2011 and built the place around house-roasted coffee and a short, slightly odd menu. Order the mac and cheese pancakes — they sound wrong and they are not.
A cosy café in Iwilei serving specialty coffee to the industrial-district crowd. The cold brew is outstanding and the food menu punches above its weight.
New York-style bagels baked fresh daily at Ala Moana. Proper chewy crust, schmear, and all the fixings — a rare find in Hawaii.
The Korean-French bakery chain that's won over Honolulu with its consistently excellent breads, pastries, and cream-filled delights.
Reading the list is free. Getting it on your passport isn’t — that only happens in the app.