Honolulu Coffee — Restaurant in Vancouver

Based on other reviews, it seems like maybe we were there on a bad day for Honolulu Coffee. However, we did NOT have a great experience, and I don't plan on returning. The positives: I gave it 2 stars because the pastries & donuts were very tasty. The sugar jelly donut was fresh with actual jelly jam, and it was delicious. The atmosphere in some areas was nice, and I could see how it could be great under different circumstances. The negatives: Our drinks were terrible. My coffee had grounds in it, and my husbands special festive drink had an unbelievable amount of cinnamon in it - we are pretty sure the bottle accidently opened/the top fell off when they were shaking it ... if that wasn't the case, then it was just a God-awful recipe. When we first ordered, the batista was friendly. When we tried to get the attention of a staff member to let them know our drinks were terrible (didn't necessarily want new ones, but rather wanted to inform them of the coffee grounds and possible cinnamon disaster, for future customers) we were ignored and then told to wait in line to speak to someone. For me, honestly, the main issue was the cleanliness of the shop. There was garbage and grim everywhere. Especially the bathrooms ... just gross. I know it can get busy around the holiday season, but it made me uncomfortable to eat there, and that's a deal breaker for me. The location is nice, walkable downtown, but is not mobility/wheelchair accessible. It's a shame that we didn't have a great experience because the pastries were really tasty, but I wouldn't want to eat there after...

TLDR; The food and coffee ranged from average to below average. Decent atmosphere and service.

We got a chicken salad, a cheesecake muffin, a matcha tiramisu, two macaroons, a macchiato, a cold brew cream, and a mocha.

The muffin was below average, a bit stodgy with the cream cheese being the only redeeming factor. The tiramisu was disappointing- the matcha flavour wasn’t incorporated well, and it was also dense slightly sickly.

The macaroons were incredibly sweet, and texturally off - light without being creamy. Bonus points for a guava flavour though, very cool.

The cold brew was okay - nothing special, but not bad. The mocha was also okay, but it tasted more like a flat white than a mocha. The macchiato was also average - the quality of their espresso isn’t anything to write home about but it’s not offensive.

The chicken salad was mixed - relatively fresh lettuce and a good portion of chicken. The dressing was incredibly lemony which wasn’t my favourite but might be an acquired taste. The orange shredded cheese and tough bacon bits didn’t elevate it though.

The cafe is in a lovely downtown location, tucked away in a courtyard which is pretty even in the rain. It has good tables and places to work. Service was nice, friendly people.

Wouldn’t visit again deliberately but if you need a place to dodge the rain there are...

This is always a fun place to stop for a quick bite. I love the tropical aesthetic with the feel of the open air cafe! It's the best when it's a nice (or just nice-ish) day and the windows are open and you can feel the breeze while you're inside... It seems like it's always busy around lunch, when I usually come, but I've always been able to find a spot inside or in the patio area. Between this downtown location and the other cafes, I've been here many times and gotten the chance to try a lot of the menu. There are always a few very cool seasonal drinks which keeps things fresh. My personal favourites for food are the veggie quiche and the guava loaf (or whatever seasonal loaf is available), but everything is great. For drinks, I usually go for whatever is seasonal, but they also do really good matcha lattes, and lattes are very good too - again, you can't go wrong. It's a little expensive but it's all really good stuff! They have a small retail selection where you can buy their jams, dressings, beans, and merchandise. I'm not much of a coffee nerd but if you are, they have a few different unique beans from...