Aloha Center Cafe

Came for the cupcakes and decided to be adventurous. Got the carrot and pineapple cupcake, also grabbed the tiramisu and a free strawberry lemonade. Lemonade was good, but the tiramisu had raisins and I hate them, if you like raisons then it may be good! The cupcake was dry and not to my liking. I would go back to try a few items that looked interesting. Plus the location is great and the service was perfect!!!

Janice was very nice !! Great customer service !! And the strawberry macaroons were amazing

After hearing about the croissada’s, I had to venture out here to try it out. It was not what I expected. The flavors available were chocolate, macadamia nut, and cream. I decided on the chocolate and macadamia nut flavor to take back to the folks.
The texture of the croissada was not what I expected. The texture was a hard, as they keep it refrigerated. What I didn’t like about it was the filling. Both the chocolate and macadamia nut filling were creamed. I was expecting a pure chocolate sauce filling and a macadamia nut butter type filling, not a cream based filling. If I wanted a cream filling fried pastry, I would have gotten a malasada.
Glad I tried it, but won’t guy it again.

This rating is for service + cupcakes!
Shoutout to Janice who was super sweet to me on my first (but not last!) visit.
Soooo as I have a new project coming up, I kept passing by this little stand which is outside near the entrance of the Pacific Beach Hotel. There are signs inside the hotel that will also help you find it. So during one of the many times I had walked by, I noticed there was a deal on the cupcakes! 4 for $ 8! This is a good deal considering most cupcakes are $ 3 and up. And then while I was reading other reviews on Unilocal,I saw a lemonade freebie if you check in! A good deal + free drink??? I’m IN!!!
Note: the lemonade is free with minimum $ 10 purchase but Janice was really sweet and gave it to me even though my total was short 5 cents. And may I say, I would come back again and pay for their lemonade!!! (But the freebie is such a steal since I’ve paid $ 10 for the same thing at farmers markets!!!) I drink lemonade at almost every restaurant I go to so I’ve tasted some not so good ones but I really liked their strawberry flavored one I couldn’t put it down!!! Lol. And it comes in a big mason jar ice cold which is always perfect to take with you to the beach!!!
I took the cupcakes home and tried the peanut butter banana chocolate first. The cream was rich in peanut butter flavor and the cake was moist and not too sweet I really enjoyed it! I think the second one I ate was like an apple crumble and it made me like really appreciate whoever makes these cupcakes! Lol they are more than just bake & put cream on top.
A great first impression, I’ll be back to try more! :)

Mixed review. If you don’t see them cooking outside there’s no hot food. They will warm up some breakfast sandwiches for you but be warned they are kind of cold in the middle and are not very tasty. They were kind and rewarmed ours when we asked. Now the good stuff. The garlic shrimp at night smell terrific and the pastries in the morning are really great. The lemonade and coffee are also terrific.

Not a bad place to get a snack right on Kalakaua Avenue, right outside of the Pacific Beach Hotel lobby. For breakfast, I’ve had their protein pack, which is similar to the Protein Bistro Box at Starbucks minus the little piece of bread and peanut butter. I’ve also had their croissada which is what I think put them on the map. The croissada is basically a mashup of a malasada and a croissant and it’s pretty delightful if you ask me, especially if you like sweet, crispy, flaky pastries.
On another visit, I tried their turkey brie sandwich which wasn’t bad at all, it had sautéed onions and thick turkey slices but there was really no hint of brie in the sandwich so… maybe just call it a turkey sandwich going forward? For dessert, I couldn’t resist but to try a macaron because they’re huge and priced reasonably (only $ 1.50 each). I guess the macrons could use a name change as well because it basically has the taste and texture of a whoopie pie. Seriously, it didn’t have the texture of a normal French macaron shell and the filling was on the thick, heavy side instead of the light, creamy side like a conventional macaron.
The café also has a bunch of specialty and beautifully decorated cupcakes, smoothies, coffee, tea, etc. If you just want some regular bottled drinks, there are two refrigerators filled with bottled drinks next to the counter. Seating is available in the shade fronting the café and there’s a large flat screen TV that is usually on ESPN. The customer service is OK and by the way, they have a pop-​up tent that goes up on Wednesday thru Sunday where they serve their garlic shrimp and chicken wings. (See my review for Pacific Garlic Shrimp here:
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P. S. Don’t forget to check in on the Unilocal app for a free lemonade-​filled mason jar!

A new pastry experience for me: the croissada, and it rocked my world. Only wish there was an option without any filling but both chocolate and macadamia nut were good even though I normally don’t like fillings. Their americano was also a very nice surprise, great shots that would stand out even in my coffee-​crazed home town of Portland, OR.

Went to check out no dollar beers no bbq. They apologized said they have not changed their Unilocal.I would not use Unilocal for this place as it is not as advertised.

I do not know which was better… the croughnut or the garlic shrimp. Both definitely had great flavor but I think the guava filled croughnut takes the cake. This place was located In a stand right outside the Aloha Café, so I am assuming they are affiliated in some way.

Heard about their invention, the croissada, a cross between a croissant and a malasada, their version of the NYC cronut craze. Had to give it a try. Definitely worth it. Had the flakiness of a croissant and the fried flavor of a malasada. And it was filled with a nice polynesian vanilla bavarian cream inside (don’t understand what makes it polynesian — the fact that it was in Hawaii?).
The Pacific Beach Hotel was a short walk from where I was staying. Nice walk to get there. The Aloha Center Café is outdoor and right across the street from the beach. Got there just in time in the morning to get the last 2 croissadas. Got a couple of sea salted coffee drinks (sea salted… yum) and walked across the street to have our breakfast on the beach.
Our teens didn’t come with us and were disappointed that they didn’t get a chance to try the croissadas and that we got the last 2 of the day. Called the Aloha Center Café and found that they had mini versions. So went there later just in time to get the last 4.

New York City was recently struck by the Dominique Ansel’s croissant and donut hybrid, the Cronut. The «Croissada» is a cross between a croissant and a masalada, which is a Portuguese pastry that is very popular in Hawaii.
I picked up a coupon for a free coffee with a Croissada at Moku surf shop just 2 blocks away. The classic is lightly coated with granulated sugar and filled with Bavarian cream, but you can ask for one with chocolate. The layers are fluffy just like a croissant should be. It’s very sweet, but goes perfectly with a steaming cup of their local coffee and just a splash of soy milk (it’s behind the counter, so you have to ask for it).
I came around 10am and there were a handful of people having coffee or breakfast. The outdoor coffee bar and seating makes this a great place to relax with a breakfast pastry and coffee in the morning.

Located in the Pacific Beach Hotel, this outdoor café serves as a coffee shop and counter service eatery. The most notable moment of the lunch was the croissada. A cross between a croissant and a malasada, the croissada consisted of flakey layers of dough, fried and covered in sugar with cream sandwiched in the middle. Prices started at $ 2.25 for the mini croissada and increased from there.
Everything else panned in comparison. The iced coffee had a metallic taste to it at 11 am, as if it’s been sitting in a metal pitcher for a really long time. The hot food itself (no BBQ at this time) took awhile to arrive, arrived in styrofoam boxes, which I wasn’t expecting, and seemed to be reheated. We ordered the bbq chicken and meat lovers pizza and garlic fries. The pizza crust was soft and doughy, not a crust that would have been pulled from an oven. The garlic fries were so-​so, but did not have enough garlic to pack a real punch. You HAVE to try the croissada though if you are in the area.

One Saturday morning, my friends and I went on a Croissada hunt. Croissadas are the Pacific Beach Hotel’s signature pastry, a half croissant half malassada Polynesian Vanilla Bavarian cream filled creation of yumminess. They are sold at the Aloha Center Café and also come filled with chocolate cream. You would think that being the hotel’s signature pastry, they’d have an endless supply, but by noon, we had bought the last 5 vanilla and left only 2 chocolate ones behind. The pastries are yummy and I preferred the vanilla over the chocolate. I thought they were a little oily, but I didn’t hear that complaint from anyone else in my household. They are priced at $ 3.75 each and you are supposed to receive a small coffee with the purchase of one, but we didn’t get any coffee and I didn’t remember to ask.
The junk thing is that they don’t validate parking at the Aloha Center Café so we paid $ 10 for about 20 minutes. Valet parking might have been cheaper so be sure to seek other parking alternatives.

Hybrid pastries seem to be all the rage this year. In Hawaii, this is the home of the «croissada,» a hybrid of the croissant and a malasada. There’s Bavarian cream filling in the center. You can opt for a mini version, in case you wanted to watch your sugar intake.
It has the layers of a croissant with the flavors and sugary exterior of a malasada. Enough sugar to keep me up for 17 hours. $ 3.75 might be a bit steep on a pastry, but I think it was worth it in this case. Delicious.
The turkey sandwich here was good, but dammit, I’d rather not spend $ 7 on it. Vintage Waikiki!
My friend got the «South of the Border» burger, which has pepperjack cheese, guacamole, salsa, and jalapenos. Kiawe burgers sound great, but $ 15? Vintage Waikiki!
Not surprisingly, a bird got very friendly and wanted some of our food. Vintage Waikiki?
The food is good, but the prices might cause my wallet to have a heart attack. Yup, vintage Waikiki.

They have the best staff and great food! :)

When I heard the news about a new pastry exclusively for the Pacific Beach Hotel was being added, the Croissada, I immediately made up my mind to pay a visit to this hotel in Waikiki to sample this unique treat.
I found out that the Croissada can be found at their outdoor café, Aloha Center Café, which is located on the ground floor (ewa, makai end) of the hotel on Liliuokalani Avenue. Right around the corner from the Haagen Dazs ice cream shop.
The Croissada is the merging of a croissant and a malasada all rolled into one. The flaky and buttery layers of the croissant is combined with the delicate light and fluffy malasada.
On my first visit to this café I found out they were completely sold out. So about one week later I went back again and lo and behold the Croissada was available.
I ordered my Croissada with vanilla Bavarian cream filling and handed over my $ 3.75 in cash.
First thing I noticed was that this pastry was heavier and slightly larger than your usual malasada. It also was deep-​fried until it was golden brown and coated in granulated sugar. The other difference was the outside shell of the Croissada is much firmer and crispier than the soft and airy malasada.
Upon my first bite into this pastry, I was a bit disappointed that it was very chewy which in the end made it difficult for me to eat.
Although the creamy filling had a nice flavor and was not too sweet, unfortunately I felt it tasted okay with nothing really special about it.

The only reason I came down to the Aloha Center Café was because I was staying in the Pacific Beach Hotel and was supplied with breakfast vouchers that were good for a drink, a pastry, a fruit, and probably something else (I just don’t remember anymore). Anything particularly special? I don’t think so.
It was quite intriguing to see what happens to this café at night. Karaōke starts and tourists cram into this small room to let loose. It’s fun to watch but I didn’t have the courage to join the crowd.

This review is for the croissada:
A deep fried croissant/​malasada hybrid in the shape of a malasada, injected with bavarian crème and coated in sugar. Is this Hawaii’s answer to New York’s cronut craze that has people standing in line at Dominique Ansel Bakery two hours before opening just to get their hands on a limited supply? Ummmm, no. Don’t think so. I did have to check it out though because the croissant/​malasada combination sounds like a winner.
This intriguing pastry ($ 3.75) is available in the pastry case at Pacific Beach Hotel’s indoor/​outdoor Aloha Center Café. I decided to make breakfast out of this considering the caloric fat bomb I was about to consume. You have the option of having them heat it up for you which is what I did. I also ordered a tall iced coffee ($ 2.00) which turned out to be free because of the croissada’s introductory promo. Score. I love to save money! They have a little counter off to the side so you can add your own half & half and sweetener for your coffee.
I was hoping I’d get the buttery taste from the pastry, since croissant = lots of butter. But nope, didn’t get that. The outside is very crispy, (more on the tough side), I suppose to ensure the inside gets cooked properly. It kind of reminded me of Zippy’s flaky doughnut, which I like btw. The crème filled middle was okay. See my pics.
Overall I rate it A-​Ok. Nothing to fawn over.
As for the café itself, it’s a very casual indoor/​outdoor seat yourself type eatery. Nothing fancy. I wonder what happens when it rains though. It’s pretty breezy so I can just imagine the rain blowing into the indoor area. Good place to people watch although the café fronts a pretty boring Liliuokalani Avenue.

I saw the sign for kona coffee and was in need some caffeine. So we stopped into the check out their coffee stand area with baked goodies as well. Thankfully they were a bit busy so we had time to think about what we wanted to order. I asked the man working there what drink he’d recommend for someone like me that wanted an ice coffee that was sweet. He recommended the vanilla latte (with soy since I cant have milk). It was DELICIOUS! It was sweet and the coffee was SO SMOOTHE. Way better than any coffee I’ve had on the mainland.
Another great thing they have here besides the coffee is their macadamia nuts sticky bun. If you nuke it for about 20 minutes, its warm and gooey and sooooooooooooooooooo WONDERFULLY YUMMIE. We came back a few times during our trip so I could stock up on these buns and of course get more iced coffee. Definitely come check this place out

I must have passed by here 100 times before we decided to give it a try. The kiawe wood grill is more than enticing, and filled the air with smokey rich flavors of barbecue. I have no idea why I didn’t go sooner.
We decided to head here for breakfast and try out their local plates. Their version of the loco moco came with a nice juicy patty (of course cooked over kiawe wood), topped with scrambled eggs, all set on top of the brown rice and then came the most tasty teriyaki-​like spicy sauce drizzled all over the brown rice. Holy cow, this stuff was delicious.
We also ordered sausages (not your norm, but again full of flavor), scrambled eggs, bacon with brown rice. I would say the breakfast is decent to larger size and quite filling.
You can see the chef cook up your breakfast, and they have seating area that faces a semi large screen TV for entertainment while you wait for your «cook to order» local grinds.
With the meal and 2 choice of drinks came to a total of 20 bucks and some change. If you need more convincing, they make these fresh plates of their specials and display them near the cashier/​scones display case. Oh yes, they have scones, muffins, all that sweet stuff to satisfy a sweet tooth!