Maleko Coffee and Pastries

Visited early morning (7:15am) specifically for their vegan malasadas after seeing them listed on HappyCow. Sadly, they were already sold out despite arriving well before 8am (as suggested by staff) The Good: - They do make house-made vegan malasadas (non-custard flavors) - Has potential when items are actually available Areas of Concern: - Staff seemed unwelcoming from the start, making assumptions about customers - Serious lack of vegan knowledge...a staff member suggested a spinach/cheese + croissant pastry as a 'vegan option' and insisted "a lot of vegans will still eat dairy and eggs" 🙄 And continued to fight me when I insisted those were *not* vegan options. - Inconsistent availability of their one vegan item Bottom Line: While I appreciate that they offer vegan malasadas, the combination of poor training on dietary preferences, unwelcoming service, and unreliable availability makes this hard to recommend. For a business listed on HappyCow, there should be better understanding of what vegan means and more respectful customer service.

Coffee & matcha were horrible!

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 1

Service: 1

My husband and I wandered in this morning and tried the macnut latte! Excellent customer service and delicious lattes! Can’t wait to come back on our next trip to Waikiki.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

The owner is already working when Waikiki still sleeps. 4 AM. Most places wouldn't dare. Most places don't have Marc Bryner's particular brand of madness.

You find Maleko tucked into the Waikiki Monarch Hotel lobby, behind volcanic rock and tropical plants. Floor-to-ceiling windows reveal the theater inside—a compact space where alchemy happens daily. Portuguese donuts. Hawaiian heart. The kind of fusion that works because it's real, not because some corporate focus group dreamed it up.

Marc stands behind purple-branded counters, surrounded by walls of coconut peanut butter jars like a prophet surrounded by his scripture. This is the stuff that came to him in a dream after burying his father. Sometimes the universe pays its debts in strange currency.

The malasadas still cost what they should—accessible magic for the masses. Plain Danish runs $4.50, blueberry scones the same. No price gouging here, just honest food at honest prices. The man understands his neighborhood, understands the hotel workers and surfers who need fuel before sunrise.

He hands you a sample of the coconut peanut butter without being asked. One taste and you understand why people ship this stuff to the mainland like contraband. It's not peanut butter anymore. It's something that ruins you for grocery store versions forever.

The matcha latte arrives in paper, proper pour-over preparation. At $4.50 for specialty drinks, it's island pricing that makes sense. Drip coffee at $2.75 for early shift workers, cold brew at $3.95 when heat hits. The swamp green foam tells you everything about standards here. No shortcuts. No compromises.

This isn't food tourism. This is sustenance with story. Portuguese immigrants arrived in Hawaii in 1878, carrying traditions in their hands and hope in their hearts. Marc carries those traditions forward, one malasada at a time, one dream-inspired recipe at a time.

The space is small. Efficient. Every inch purposeful. Muffins at $3.50, croissant sandwiches loaded with ham and cheese for working people who need substance. Bear claws at $4.50 each, because good pastry takes time and skill.

You watch him work. Sixty-something, master's degree in culinary arts, thirty years of experience, and he's still here at 4 AM because this matters. Because someone has to keep the old ways alive. Because dreams that come after funerals deserve to be honored.

The tourists come later, drawn by TripAdvisor stars and Instagram posts. They pay the same prices as locals—Marc doesn't run two menus, doesn't play games. They leave clutching bags of coconut peanut butter, planning to ship jars home like edible souvenirs. But the early crowd knows the truth. This place exists for the people who need it most—the ones who understand that good food at ungodly hours is a kind of grace.

Marc doesn't just run a coffee shop. He runs a cultural preservation society disguised as a business. Portuguese tradition meets Hawaiian spirit meets American entrepreneurial grit. The result tastes like everything good about fusion when it's done with love instead of calculation, priced like a neighborhood joint because that's what it is.

You finish the malasada. The coconut peanut butter lingers. Outside, Waikiki starts its daily performance for visitors. Inside, something real continues. Something that started with Portuguese immigrants and continues with an old man's 4 AM dedication to craft.

This is how traditions survive. Not in museums. In small spaces where passionate people refuse to let excellence become extinct. One perfect malasada at a time.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 5

Service: 5

Everything is made fresh daily by the owner. Yes the owner. Coffee was fresh and the pastries are buttery and flaky. Gave a 3 for atmosphere because the guys cafe is downstairs/ lobby area of a hotel near the street. It’s small and there’s no tables. Didn’t give a two because it’s a coffee shop. What do you expect.?
Malasadas: comparing to Leonard’s.
Malekos: soft, pillowy, yet somehow dense. Melts in your mouth with coffee. Room temp so when you eat the filling dosent melt and drip everywhere. Also the sugar coating is powered.
Leonard’s: a hot Chinese doughnut with filling.

If you’ve ever been to New Orleans you understand this. Google reviews rave about cafe du monde for beignets but anyone that lives there or near by will tell you go elsewhere. Like Cafe beignet.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 5

Service: 5

Bugs all over the baked goods. Nothing looked fresh it was really awkward to walk into.

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 1

Service: 2

Cute local establishment with very nice people. My macadamia latte was excellent and my boyfriend loved the bacon croissant. Will definitely be back!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Muffins

We stayed in the building that Maleko is in, and came here several times during our stay. The coffee was made perfectly every time, and the breakfast sandwiches were delicious and filling. We tried one of almost every pastry in there and enjoyed them all. The staff are also amazing - everyone was so kind and efficient. Highly recommend!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Got some from there every day while I stayed in the hotel for 10 days 😊

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Those portuguese donuts are so good. I love that they have multiple filling options. The only problem is that they sell out so quickly!! You have to get there in the morning, and sometimes there are business events and they just sell out right when the shop opens.

Do not go here. We ordered on doordash but the owner claimed doordash was a scam and would not refund us or give us the food. Also flies everywhere inside, horrible

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 1

Service: 1

Coffee could be better…

Atmosphere: 1

Service: 2

Donuts are unreal - better than Leonards in my opinion. The baker/owner is super low key about it, but hes world class. I was stoked to happen across one morning early in my trip, and my girlfriend and I have gone several times since. He only makes three flavours- guava, blueberry and custard- but I assure you it is worth it.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Pastries

They need to figure out doordash. You can order from here on doordash but they won't make it.

Great service, Great coffee A++, great pastries and very reasonably priced! 5 min walk!

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 5

Service: 5