Punalu'u Bake Shop — Restaurant in Hawaii

If you come to 1 star to check the bakery reviews --- the bakery goods are amazing,

This review is about the service. My husband and I stopped by, attracted by the high reviews. The lady with glasses named Renee behind the counter took our orders. After ordering some hot food, we started ordering the donuts. I asked her, "What's your recommendation?" and showed her a photo I had just taken. Her response was, "I don't eat donuts." I then asked, "Oh, okay, what's the most popular one?" She gave me the same answer, "I don't eat donuts," with an impatient tone.

My husband didn't really pay attention to the conversation since our 7-year-old was talking too. He came up and asked her, "What is your favorite donut?" She gave the same answer and finally pointed to my photo, saying, "That one is the 2nd most popular donut." Realizing I couldn't get any help from her, I just ordered something that looked good.

We understand and respect that people have different diets, but she works in a bakery. She should at least know which kinds are the most popular. If things had ended there, this review wouldn't exist.

During the payment, my husband skipped the tip. First, this is a fast-food-style ordering system. There is no service—we pick our own food, throw away the trash, and cleaned the table. Second, we didn't have a pleasant experience or receive any helpful recommendations from Renee. After seeing the payment without a tip, Renee complained in a low voice, but we still heard her say, "I knew it!"

What did she mean by "I knew it"? Did she know because of her attitude we didn't leave a tip? Or because we are Asian and there's a stereotype that Asians don't tip well? She is Asian too!

We pay tips for good service, not just because there is a tip option on the payment machine.

Paying tips is optional! No...

I had horrible time in the bake shop. First thing we went to look at the malasadas an me an my mom decided to get 2 of every flavor an the lady rudely looked at us an said "we have 12 different flavors is that okay with you?" Just how she said it like we didn't have enough like bruh if we didn't have enough to spend on a LOCAL business and w HEAVY tourist attraction? We knew right out the gate it was gonna be pricey, of course! She could've just said it NICER! And I ordered a plate lunch so I waited for it an also bought two iced cinnamon loafs so I went up to the right counter by pick up counter there's a white lady red head w blueish eyes at the cashier GREAT SMILE GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE she was just great in keeping eye contact making sure my card was reading the right way her aura was so nice an I overheard was her FIRST day working there ? Like damn great job to you girly 👏 but after when I was waiting for my plate lunch. the redhead girl asks the girl doing the coffee at the time an older local lady with glasses she asks her oh I have an order for this coffee then the lady says like this "IF I GET ONE TICKET OVER HERE THAT PROBABLY MEANS IM WORKING ON EM OKAY" an I was like woahhhhh just every little thing that the red head was doing would just peeve off that local lady then it suddenly got quiet bc the rush was over for now an then the 3 other local ladies were just talking when the redhead was cleaning up. Just unreal I felt bad for that one girl . I mean if she quits, it wouldn't surprise me bc of how poorly treated she was while being trained. Honestly customer service is for people that have it or don't. The people that don't still need jobs to pay their bills so let's lighten it up on your training tactics. Like damn. I guess when I want malasadas I'll drive up to...

We stopped here as a quick rest stop on our way to the National Park, and it was an okay experience overall. The bakery was a bit busy, with lots of people stopping by, so by the time we got there around 3:30 pm, many items were already sold out. The service was fast, though it was a bit hit or miss with the staff—some were friendly and welcoming, while others seemed a bit uninterested, but I get that it could just be the result of a long day.

We tried a couple of things during our visit. The taro malasadas were... just okay. They’re essentially sweet fried bread, and they were dense; there wasn’t much flavor or the punch of sweetness I was hoping for. I didn’t really get much taste of taro, which was a bit disappointing.

We also got the veggie cheese sandwich. It was basically a couple of slices of cheese, a slice of tomato, and a bit of onion, all tucked into a sweet bread roll. It wasn’t anything special, but it was decent, especially since we were really hungry by that point. Nothing to rave about, but it did the job.

The restrooms were in need of a little cleaning—nothing too terrible, but they definitely could’ve been better. On the plus side, there’s plenty of seating available if you want to sit and relax for a bit.

There’s also a small gift shop with a decent collection of items, which was a nice touch. Overall, Punalu'u Bake Shop is a good stop if you're in the area, but it wasn’t the standout experience I was hoping for. The food didn’t wow us, but it was a nice place to...