The Ultimate Guide to Breakfast & Brunch in Honolulu, Hawai'i

In Honolulu, food is everywhere, so this guide is organized by location — that way, you’ll know where to eat wherever you are.

Waikiki

The chances are high you’re staying in Waikiki. If you’d like to get your steps in early and eat sans car, these are the places to go:

• Barefoot Beach Cafe: For gorgeous ocean views with a chill vibe and ono grinds, look no further than this beachfront cafe. With breakfast from 8 am to 2 pm, you have plenty of time for a smoothie, Hawaiian sweet bread French toast or a breakfast burrito. This place is open until 8:30 pm so you can come for breakfast, lunch and dinner, trying something new — but equally as delicious — every time.

• Cream Pot: Perhaps the most Instgrammable breakfast you’ll ever have. This cute little cafe looks like it’s straight out of a Studio Ghibli fantasy, but it’s the soufflé pancakes that really steal the show. It’s always busy here, and easy to understand why.

• Goofy Cafe + Dine: This anytime cafe uses all local ingredients, and you can taste the high quality of the ingredients. They’ve won awards for their breakfast and brunch specifically, making it a popular spot. If possible, make a reservation as it’s a small place that often has a long wait.

• Heavenly Island Lifestyle: The name says it all. This is the place to go for island vibes and food made with local organic ingredients. Anything you order here will be tasty and I recommend washing it down with a glass of lilikoi (passionfruit) juice.

• Island Vintage Cafe: Located in the Royal Hawaiian shopping center (not to be confused with the hotel), don’t let the long lines deter you. It moves quickly and it’s a small price to pay for the best açaí bowl on the island and a food menu that uses only the freshest ingredients. If you’re a super planner, you can order ahead online.

• Lilliha Bakery: A Honolulu classic (with multiple locations) that specializes in diner classics with an island twist — think: mac nut waffle and chicken karaage, smoked pork belly and eggs, and kimchi fried rice and eggs — along with the standards you know and love — pancakes, omelets and bacon and eggs. Whatever you do, don’t miss out on their signature pastry, the coco puff.

Ala Moana

If you’re looking to fuel up before you shop till you drop, look no further than:

• Brug Bakery: Are you a bread person? If you answered yes, get up when you hear jet lag’s first call and get here when it opens. Brug specializes in Hokkaido milk bread and this pillowy soft loaf is the stuff dreams are made of, which explains why it tends to disappear within an hour or two. Their other pastries are not to be ignored either. Get it to go or grab a table at the seating area in the Lanai food court.

• Island Brew Coffeehouse: If you’re at Ala Moana Center and you’re looking for a place to caffeinate, look no further. They brew 100% Hawaii coffees and have fun drinks like a haupia (coconut) latte or a piña colada shake. It’s cute in there, which makes it perfect for getting some work done or having a catch-up with friends. They have multiple locations, so you can check them out across the city.

• Scratch Kitchen: If dishes like milk n’ cereal pancakes, brulee’d French toast, pork belly Benny or teppan gandule rice sound good to you, head straight to Scratch. The food here is creative, flavorful and caters to an array of palates. Their tropical lemonades are a great accompaniment to any meal and the best part is that if you love it, you can come back for dinner.

• Tangö: The best kept breakfast/brunch secret in Honolulu is Scandinavian-inspired Tangö. There aren’t many other places where you’ll find Swedish pancakes, house-made yogurt or a duck confit hash. The real winner here is the coffee, which is made via a very fancy — and expensive — French press and comes with unlimited refills.

Kapahulu

Only five minutes from the eastern end of Waikiki, Kapahulu is a neighborhood for food.

• Kono’s: Kalua pork is the name of the game here. Originally from North Shore, Kono’s has luckily come to Honolulu with locations in Waikiki and in Kapahulu (well, lower Kaimuki, which is not Kapahulu). Slow-roasted for 12 hours, this is the good stuff. Everything is good here, but they are known for their “bombers.”

• Leonard’s: If you come to Honolulu and you didn’t go to Leonard’s, did you even come to Honolulu? Leonard’s is an institution for malasadas — basically a ball of yeasty dough that is fried, coated with sugar and often stuffed with a delicious filling, and their original location is in Kapahulu. That pink box will have everyone squealing with excitement. Classic flavors include chocolate, custard, macadamia nut, guava and coconut.

• Sweet E’s Cafe: This is a place everyone in the family can get excited about. Whether it’s a breakfast burrito with kalua pork, French toast made from sweet Hawai'ian brioche or a stack of banana pancakes, you will leave satisfied, and there'll be a long line of people waiting to take over your table. Their hash browns are elite — definitely not to be missed.

Kaimuki

Kaimuki is for foodies — I would buy that shirt.

• Koko Head Cafe: This is my favorite breakfast not just in Hawai'i, but anywhere. Former Top Chef contestant Leanne Wong has created a genius cafe where everything is made from scratch daily. They are renowned for their dumplings of the day (I mean, who doesn’t want a different dumpling every day?), cornflake French toast (it has billionaire’s bacon, not just millionaire’s bacon!), and koko moco (a chef-y take on the loco moco). If you can only go to one place, let it be this one.

• Mud Hen Water: A phenomenal restaurant for lunch and dinner, but if you’re lucky enough to make it to Honolulu on the weekend, you can catch their brunch menu. With a creative menu inspired by local ingredients and Hawaiian dishes, you’ll want to come here for every meal.