The counters in Honolulu worth queuing for: bread, pastry, and the morning ritual.
Bakery counters in Honolulu worth queuing for: levain breads, laminated pastry, regional bakes and the morning ritual.
Leonard's Bakery in Kapahulu Honolulu has fried Portuguese malasadas since Leonard Rego opened the family shop in 1952, the canonical version of Hawaii's sugared yeast doughnut.
Tip: Original sugar malasadas are the move; haupia and custard fillings rotate. Lines move quickly even at peak.
Worth the queue: Original sugar malasada
Liliha Bakery on North Kuakini in Honolulu is the original 1950 Liliha shop famous for chocolate coco puffs with macadamia nut chantilly, grilled butter rolls and 24-hour counter service.
Tip: Coco puffs sell out by 10:00 on weekends. Order a dozen and a butter roll; the grill side runs all day.
Worth the queue: Chocolate coco puff with macadamia chantilly
Liliha Bakery Nimitz in Honolulu is the larger, sit-down branch of the local institution with full plate lunches, dim sum trolleys and the canonical coco puff with macadamia chantilly.
Tip: Bigger room than the Kuakini original; come for breakfast plates plus a box of coco puffs to go.
Worth the queue: Chocolate coco puff
Breadshop in Kaimuki Honolulu is the craft bakery on Waialae that bakes small batches of naturally leavened breads daily, donating unsold loaves to a local food pantry at close.
Tip: Country sourdough sells out by 14:00. Closed Monday and Tuesday; cash-friendly.
Worth the queue: Country sourdough
Cake Works in Honolulu is pastry chef Abigail Langlas's South King Street bakery for custom cakes, French macarons and tropical-fruit tarts in lilikoi, guava and passionfruit.
Tip: Walk-in for cupcakes and macarons; custom cake consultations require a deposit. Closed Sunday and Monday.
Worth the queue: Lilikoi cream tart
Ted's Bakery at Sunset Beach on Oahu's North Shore, an hour from Honolulu, is the original home of the chocolate haupia cream pie and a plate lunch counter for surfers off Pipeline.
Tip: Pies sell by the slice or whole; the chocolate haupia is the move. Combo plate lunches run until close.
Worth the queue: Chocolate haupia cream pie
Diamond Head Market and Grill in Honolulu is the Monsarrat counter where Kelvin Ro fries plate lunches and the bakery side sells the city's most-asked-about blueberry cream cheese scone.
Tip: Pair the scone with the takeout grilled ahi plate; the bakery sells out by 13:00 weekends.
Worth the queue: Blueberry cream cheese scone
Matsumoto Shave Ice in Haleiwa on Oahu's North Shore, an hour from Honolulu, has scraped fine-grain shave ice since the Matsumoto family opened the Kamehameha Highway shop in 1951.
Tip: Queue runs 20 to 60 minutes; order the rainbow with azuki beans and condensed milk. Free parking behind the lot.
Worth the queue: Rainbow shave ice
Waiola Shave Ice in Kapahulu Honolulu has scraped the finest shave ice in the city since 1940, now on Mokihana Street after the original Kapahulu Avenue lease ran out in 2013.
Tip: Strawberry condensed milk over vanilla ice cream is the canonical order; cash and card.
Worth the queue: Strawberry condensed milk shave ice
Honu Bakery on North School Street in Honolulu is the laminated-pastry bakery and cafe at Kam Shopping Center with croissants, kouign-amann and rotating viennoiserie throughout the morning.
Tip: Croissants sell out by 11:00. The kouign-amann is the move; second location on South King also runs daily.
Worth the queue: Croissant