Best Places to Get Dessert in Honolulu

When you’re walking on one of Hawaii’s beautiful beaches during a hot tropical day, there’s nothing like a delicious shave ice, ice cream, pie, mochi, or other tasty treat to make your experience even more enjoyable. And while you may have tried some excellent desserts in the past, you’ll be amazed by the unique variety of mouth-watering flavors and add-ons you can enjoy when you get dessert in Honolulu.

Do you love visiting vacation hot spots and discovering local favorites? Then you’ll definitely want to get a GiftYa electronic gift card. This handy e-gift card uploads directly onto your debit card and lets you sample icy treats from all the eateries listed below. You’ll also be able to use the card at other restaurants, attractions, shops, and more, making your Hawaiian vacation one to remember.

Shimazu Shave Ice

Huge portions. Delicious flavors.

Why settle for only one flavor when you can make your own special blend — like this blueberry and strawberry crème from Shimazu Shave Ice. Image courtesy of Yelp.

3111 Castle St. | Kaimuki

Beach day getting a bit too hot? Then head on down to Shimazu Shave Ice where you can enjoy some of the biggest shave ice desserts on the island. And if you’re a fan of sweet flavors? Then you’ll definitely become a repeat visitor, just to try their wide array of syrup flavors, which includes everything from coconut crème, lilikoi, guava, and peach.

You can even mix multiple flavors and challenge yourself to some of their incredibly large serving sizes — although you may want to start with the kid size if you’re not accustomed to how big your shave ice can get.

“The sizes are huge, pretty soon need to start ordering the kid size, plus it comes with the holder already.” — Yelp Review

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Frostcity

Treat yourself to homemade all natural desserts at Frostcity

Desserts are beautiful and delicious at Frostcity. Image courtesy of Yelp.

2570 Beretania St. Ste 105 | Honolulu/ frostcityhi.com

Established in 2011, Frostcity has been offering Hawaii homemade all natural desserts for over ten years. Be sure to order their specialties, including Taiwanese Snow Ice and Milk Tea. You can also enjoy in-house mochi, fruit jelly, boba, and fresh fruit with your shave ice. The result is an offering of unique flavors you won’t be able to enjoy anywhere else. If you want to try quality shave ice and other fine desserts, be sure to stop by this local hidden gem in Honolulu.

“Great place for a late-night dessert. Clean, friendly service and yummy shaved ice cream! So much variety. Will definitely return to try other flavors.” — Yelp Review

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Lappert’s Hawaii

Hawaii’s High-Quality Ice Cream

Enjoy the most flavorful ice cream on Hawaii’s beautiful beach! Image courtesy of Yelp.

2005 Kalia Rd. Shop W2 | Waikiki/ lappertshawaii.com

Located in the Hilton Hawaiian Village right next to beautiful Waikiki Beach, Lappert’s Hawaii offers beachcombers just what they need on a hot day — high-quality ice cream. Choose from several different delectable flavors, including turtle chocolate, coconut, and peanut butter. You can order your ice cream in a waffle cone and enjoy it while walking on the beach. Or just relax on the benches outside and enjoy your ice cream in comfort.

Want something more than just ice cream? You can also order sorbets, flavored coffees, and even pastries. Definitely a must-visit on your dessert list.

“Lappert’s located at the beautiful Hilton Hawaiian Village is an easy one stop to satisfy your ice cream needs.” — Yelp Review

Purchase a GiftYa for Lappert's Hawaii Ice Cream & Coffee

Bee’s Dessert House

Providing delectable desserts for years

Sample a bowl of Ube ice cream at Bee’s Dessert House. Image courtesy of Yelp.

1151 Mapunapuna St. | Honolulu

Bubble teas, smoothies, shave ice, ice cream and more await you at Bee’s Dessert House which has been delighting Hawaiians for years. Order your shave ice with mochi balls and sweet beans for a truly unique and delicious treat. Or sample their many different flavors and varieties of smoothies and ice creams — like their peanut butter smoothie or avocado coconut… with boba.

Want something truly unique? Order a bowl of Ube ice cream, a Filipino ice cream that uses ube — a purple yam — as its main ingredient. Take a break from the ordinary and give your taste buds a vacation at Bee’s Dessert House.

“Customer service is always great, wait time is not bad at all… there Mochi balls in boba drink I absolutely can’t get enough of!” — Yelp Review

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Liliha Bakery

Delighting customers since 1950

Try a French donut and poi mochi donuts at Liliha Bakery. Image courtesy of Yelp.

515 N. Kuakini St | Kalihi/ lilihabakery.com

Hawaiian bakeries produce some of the tastiest pastries in the country, and Liliha Bakery has been upholding this tradition since 1950. Now an integral part of the local community, Liliha continues to offer favorites like butter rolls, angel food chiffon cakes, Chantilly cake, and poi mochi donuts.

Of course, if you’re hungry for more than just sweets, you can order Liliha’s hamburger steak, Portuguese sausage, or beef stew. Just be sure to save some room for dessert.

“Everything came out fresh and in large portions for the price and fairly quickly despite the morning rush hour.” — Yelp Review

Purchase a GiftYa for Liliha Bakery

Donut King Hawaii

Delicious donuts, always fresh

Enjoy your donuts and croissants bite-sized at Donut King Hawaii. Image courtesy of Yelp.

2919 Kapiolani Blvd | Honolulu/ donutkinghawaii.com

Located in Market City Shopping Center, Donut King Hawaii offers a huge variety of donuts from the usual cake donuts to more unique flavors like the red velvet cake donut and their trademark maple bacon donut. And if you’re looking for a really tasty snack, their bite-size donuts and croissant bites can’t be beat. Come see why this place is considered the home of Hawaii’s best donuts.

“Not only the best donuts in Hawaii, but of the best donuts in the country, hands down.” — Yelp Review

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Sugar Coast Candy

Experience a real candy shop from yesteryear at Sugar Coast Candy

Explore a candy store of wonders at Sugar Coast Candy. Image courtesy of Yelp.

274 Kamehameha Ave | Hilo

Feeling nostalgic? Sugar Coast Candy specializes in providing that hard-to-find candy from your younger years. Sample all the old-fashioned taffies and chocolates you thought you’d never get to taste again. Introduce your kids to your favorite gummies, jelly beans, and treats from yesteryear — served in the giant jars you may have only seen in the candy shops from movies. Drop by and fill a bag full of your favorites!  

“Great candy store! Lots of selection with ton of old-fashioned candy. Taffy was wonderful too!” — Yelp Review

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Hawaiian Pie Company

Freshly Baked Pies. Delicious Flavors.

Sample the beautiful and delicious Passion Pear pie from Hawaiian Pie Company. Image courtesy of Yelp.

508 Waiakamilo Rd. | Kalihi/ hawaiianpieco.com

In the mood for a nice slice of pie? Then visit Hawaiian Pie Company, a family-owned bakery that offers freshly baked pies with crisp buttery crust every day. Try delights like the Hawaiian Passion Pear, Pear Peach, Pineapple Whip, or Carmel Apple. If you want to share their pies with friends and family in a different part of the world, you can also order them frozen and ready-to-bake. You’ll even find many vegetarian options here.  

“It’s a good thing I had the mini pie, otherwise I would have eaten the entire full size in one sitting!” — Yelp Review

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Minamoto Kitchoan

Order beautiful and delicious Japanese treats from Minamoto Kitchoan

Enjoy the beauty and taste of the Sakura Mochi at Minamoto Kitchoan. Image courtesy of Yelp.

1450 Ala Moana Blvd Ste 1110 | Ala Moana/ minamotokichoanhawaii.squaresite/

Visit Ala Moana Center to sample the delights of Minamoto Kitchoan, a store specializing in some of the finest Japanese desserts and treats. Enjoy the Baumkuchen, a sugar glazed, layered sponge cake with almond powder and rum icing. Or try the Oribenishiki, a sweet potato paste with chopped chestnuts and sweet red bean paste baked in a Japanese manju cake.

Japanese treats are made to delight the eye as well as the taste buds, and this place offers a whole host of culinary masterpieces — from the Sakura Mochi to Hakuto Jelly — that you’ll want to take time to admire before devouring. While priced higher than other dessert places, you’ll definitely get your money’s worth in taste and experience.

“I buy gifts here a lot because food is always a way to travel when you cannot. I always feel that introducing people to the sweets of a culture is the best introduction to their food.” — Yelp Review

Purchase a GiftYa for Minamoto Kitchoan