This review is limited to a new item. BEIGNETS! Freshly made for you while you wait. Fluffy, hot, and generously dusted in powdered sugar. The dough was very light and puffy! Delicate and delicious! We devoured the beignets. I just wish we had fresh strawberries to go with it! (A picture advertising the beignets with strawberries are at this location, however, we did not see this on the menu!) Service is fast and easy here. The wait time was under 5 minutes. $7.95 plus tax. I think we had at least 10 beignets. There is a Kamaaina discount available. Show your State of Hawai'i ID. Penny's Waikiki Malasadas is located in the Royal Hawaiian Center's food court on the second floor. I will say that I looked at the Malasadas and it's enormous. You must buy 3 or more. No individual Malasadas are sold here. The counters were clean and inviting. The ambiance is that of an outdoor food court. Website: https://pennyswaikiki.com read more

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Penny's Waikiki Malasadas is located on the 2nd floor of the Royal Hawaiian Center's food court, and it is absolutely necessary that you check it out at least once while visiting Honolulu. Prior to vacationing in Honolulu with my brother, I'd never heard of a Malasada, but in simplest terms, it is essentially Hawaii's version of a donut. I opted for the 3-piece custard filled malasadas; Nutella, specialty, and vanilla, and each of them were very god. The key difference between the malasadas that I had and the donuts that I'm used to getting in LA is that none of the malasadas were too sweet or barely sweet at all - each of them were perfectly prepared. I also appreciated how they didn't make a huge mess whenever I bit into it, the filling would explode, but it wouldn't burst all over the place either. My only reasoning for a 4/5 star review is the customer service. While it wasn't terrible, and I do understand that it is located inside of a food court, I still think it is important not to rush any customers while they're placing an order. The young lady at the counter wasn't terribly rude, but considering that I was the only person ordering at the time I was there, I didn't think it was necessary for her to try to take my order while doing two other things. That kind of thing can make a customer feel like they're being rushed to order so that the employee can hurry up and get to work on something else. Overall, I'd definitely recommend checking out Penny's as they're malasadas are light and doughy, freshly prepared on the spot, and aren't overly sweet or messy. read more

Not the friendliest service you'll receive but it is in a good court so they most likely just want to keep things moving. The Malasadas always come out fresh and delicious though! read more

Penny's Waikiki Malasadas - 3 Filled Malasadas - Donuts Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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Yum! If you don't have a car or can't walk to Leonard's Malasadas, Penny's is a good alternative. Penny's is located in the food court of Royal Hawaiian Center. We came right at opening. You have to order a minimum of 3, they don't have just 1, probably doesn't make sense to just sell just 1. We got 2 regular cream filling and an ube one. The regular cream filling was nice hot and gooey, maybe too hot because the cream was pretty watery. The pastry was fluffy and warm, it was really fresh. It was good but the filling was too watery, but will still hit the spot if you're craving bc a malasada. read more

Penny's Waikiki Malasadas - 2 custards and 1 ube - Donuts Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

These were hands down the best Malasadas I've had. They are fresh, light and delicious. I got the coconut, ube and yuzu (flavor of the day.) the yuzu was a surprise, I didn't know what the flavor of the day was but it ended up being my favorite. Ube was a close second, followed by the coconut. The coconut was a little sweet for me but they were all delicious. It's in the food court area upstairs. Ordering is easy, you place your order yourself. It took a few minutes. The employees were working hard, very efficient and friendly. read more

Penny's Waikiki Malasadas - Donuts Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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Penny's is one of my first stops every time I visit Waikiki. We tried their ube, classic, nutella, kona coffee, yuzu, and strawberry jam flavors this time. All are delicious but ube remains our favorite. Penny's can get busy during the day (deservedly!) so you may need to wait ~10 minutes for your malasadas. Very worth it, though, and I appreciate that Penny's makes their malasadas fresh to order. They come out piping hot, fresh, pillowy soft, and delicious. Can't wait to come back next time! read more

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Still excellent malasadas. On my last visit, the order taker wasn't the friendliest, and one of the filled malasadas came out in the wrong flavor. The malasadas were so hot and fresh that the filling "melted" and was pretty much liquid inside. I enjoyed them, but maybe that was an off day. read more

Penny's Waikiki Malasadas - The filling got so hot, it was basically liquid - Donuts Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

We were having lunch at the food court when I saw this place and decided to try it out. I got the cinnamon sugar, custard filled and ube filled. We ate the cinnamon sugar and custard filled right away while it is still fresh and hot. I was blown away by how soft and good they were. I saved the ube filled for the next day for breakfast. My partner said that it wont be good but I didnt care and ate it anyway. To my surprise, it was still good and soft like it was bought just a few hours before. My partner said that "Leonard's is better". I beg to disagree. We bought Leonard's and the next day, it was soggy. I couldnt eat it and ended up throwing it away. I wish I brought back some of these with me so my niece can taste it. I will definitely buy this again when I am back in Hawaii. read more

Penny's Waikiki Malasadas - Donuts Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Delicious flavors, made-to-order malasadas, kind service. I stumbled across the shop wandering a mall (2nd floor in the Pa'ina Lanai food court), and having read malasadas are a great thing to try when in Hawai'i, I stopped. So glad I did! The gal putting together orders took the time to come out and help me choose three delicious flavors (Ube cream, Kona cream and pineapple jam). They were ready in just a few minutes. We ate them straight away and loved the experience. My husband and I both preferred the pineapple above the other two, but all of them were very good. They are rich and the cream filled are even more so. You won't need more than one per person, but getting three flavors was a fun experience! I hope you enjoy them as much as we did. read more

Freshly fried! Food taste 5/5 Service 5/5 Ambiance 4/5 If you are staying near the beach resorts and no car for the day, this is an amazing malasadas place if you want to try this! Just hit the spot eating it for breakfast or a snack and I skipped the drive to the "other" very popular malasadas place! This is a good little gem here. Bite and it feels like a soft pillow, not to sugary and yummmmmm! Must try! read more

Penny's Waikiki Malasadas - Donuts Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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POV from someone trying a malasada for the first time in Hawaii. We tried 3 pack with the ube, coconut and regular custard. The coconut was the most delicious! Really worth stopping by and trying them! Especially because of the convenient location, quick and friendly service! read more

Penny's Waikiki Malasadas - Donuts Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

We were at Royal Hawaiian Center for a performance and ate at the main food court afterwards. I wondered how the malasadas from Penny's were so I took a chance and bought a dozen original with sugar to share with other families we were with. I am not a fan of filled malasadas as they become just filled doughnuts and you lose what makes malasadas great. The slightly crunchy outside and airy inside with a little chewiness is what I consider a good one. They are made to order so be patient and it is worth having them fresh! I was surprised but how airy the inside was, not dense, and not dry. It had a nice eggy taste and can't go wrong with it coated with sugar. You know how some malasadas can make you feel full or even regretful afterwards? Not these as I had no problems eating one and wouldn't have minded eating more! I didn't though as I wanted everyone to have one to eat. I saw beignets on the menu so if they are just as airy but with powdered sugar on the outside, I'm sure they will be great. I'll have to try those the next time. read more

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Penny's is a decent alternative to Leonard'ss and easily fulfilled my sweet tooth cravings. This shop is located in the second level food in the Royal Hawaiian which was a convenient 10 minute walk from my hotel. The malasadas were fresh and made to order. Their menu board is straight forward with options for traditional or filled. I opted for the filled malasadas and chose coconut creme, original custard, and ube creme. The box of 3 cost $11.25. Their malasadas have a slightly denser texture compared to Leonard's. They are still airy and geneoursly filled. Their ube creme was my favorite. I also enjoyed their coconut creme and original custard. The fillings are more on the liquid side. Thew malasadas come in either 3, 6, or 12. They also have beignets as an off menu item. Service fast and friendly. read more

Penny's Waikiki Malasadas - Donuts Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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I wanted to try a different malasada spot before my trip ended so checked this place out. As someone who ate a bunch of Leonard's a couple days earlier, the only advantage Penny's has IMO is the convenience if you are already staying in Waikīkī. They are more expensive (3 for like $10) but not as tasty. I really didn't like the special sugar of the day (forgot the name). It's fine if you are in the area, but it's not the best malasadas you can get. read more

Penny's Waikiki Malasadas - Donuts Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

$3 Malasadas in Waikiki. This is the plain one. It's located in the food court of Royal Hawaiian. The malasadas are made fresh while you wait. Everyone seemed to enjoy it. That's all that matters. read more

Penny's Waikiki Malasadas - Donuts Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Penny is good but not the best. I do appreciate they have flavors other places do not have including seasonal flavors as well. Not only do they offer malasadas Penny's also had powdered beignets on the menu. What I don't like is they force you to get a pack of 3 instead of being able to just get one. I came to try their malasadas and got a box of 3 of them. I tried their original custard, and two of their seasonal flavors: apple and peach. The custard was my favorite. The apple was my second favorite. The peach was good but it tasted more artifical. It was fried okay but the dough wasn't as soft as their competitors. The sweetness was also okay. Not too sweet which I liked. My 3 malasadas took awhile to make but I think they make them fresh which is nice. The service was okay. I was a little annoyed I had to ask what the seasonal flavors was when I said out loud "oh you have seasonal flavors" to the lady behind the counter. They definitely were not selling. Would I come back? Eh. There's just better options. I would possibly come back if I was already at the shopping center in the food court but to come here just for Penny's is a no for me. It's located in the food court at the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center. You can park and get validated if you spend over $10. read more

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Don't let the size of these malasadas fool you- they're lighter than a feather and filled with the most airy cream! I came with my friends and we each ordered different malasadas- one coconut cream, one custard, and one ube. The ube flavor in mine was to die for- it's so fresh and has that signature nutty concentrated vanilla scent. They do get a little messy with the sugar and cream oozing out, so we grabbed some extra napkins from the woman in front! My malasada craving was fulfilled. They're one of the most perfect dishes to sum up the culture of Hawaii- a mesh of each immigrant population adapting to traditional flavors (and, in part, influencing others along the way). The history of culinary culture and how each ingredient/dish has made its way to these islands never fails to interest me. read more

Penny's Waikiki Malasadas - Donuts Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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Penny's is really good. There seasonal flavors. Penny's malasadas are shaped more like beignets but they're still good. I tried the ube, Kona coffee, cream, and cinnamon sugar. Again all of them were really good. Compared to a famous malasada place I go to, these are not over cooked and these taste good the next day. read more

When in Hawaii. Had to grab some Malasadas before I went home. Located in the second floor in the food court of the Royal Hawaiian mall. Malasada means left over dough and the left overs have become the main event with Malasadas. I have had them in the states before at farmers markets. These were good but as before too sweet and sugary for me that's just their nature. These are made fresh while you wait. Minimum of three. I got custard, ube and coconut. The coconut was my favorite. I was surprised how liquid the filling was. I think a little thicker would be better. Make sure you take small notes or all the sugar covering will scratch your throat. I have to say I liked Leonard's better as these had more of a fried flavor and less fluffy fresh. read more

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Penny's is located in an outdoor food court within the Royal Hawaiian Center. It can get very busy with no seating, so it's more of a grab and go situation. We opted for the Cinnamon Sugar, Original Custard filling with Hawaiian White Sugar, Ube with Hawaiian White Sugar, and Nutella with the Cane Sugar. I was a bit disappointed as their Malasadas are more on the airy side. Not as thick or flavorful as I'd like it to be. Depends on what kind of consistency that you prefer to be honest! I just think the taste felt short. Their Nutella filling was also misleading as it tasted more of a salted chocolate? I don't think it went well with the Malasada. Everything else tasted okay! My favorite was the cinnamon sugar. read more

Penny's Waikiki Malasadas - Cinnamon sugar, Ube, Original Custard, and "Nutella" - Donuts Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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Wow. Malsadas were awesome. Made fresh. Best filled "donuts" I've ever had. Take some time to make but certainly worth the wait!

When in Waikīkī, sometimes you just gotta follow your sweet tooth--and I'm glad mine led me straight to Penny's! First off, the POG juice... wow. Not sure if it was actually fresh-squeezed or made by magical island fairies, but it tasted way better than the one I had at Duke's. Super refreshing and perfect for that mid-walk pick-me-up. Now let's talk malasadas. We went for the coconut cream and oh man... pillowy soft, coated in sugar, and packed with filling. Absolutely hit the spot. If happiness had a flavor, it would be that coconut cream malasada. The vibe here is casual and quick, staff is friendly, and everything just feels like a "yes" decision. If you're wandering the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center and debating if you should stop--stop debating and just go. read more

Penny's Waikiki Malasadas - 3 Filled Malasadas - Coconut Cream! - Donuts Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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Fast friendly service that's willing to take the time to explain menu options. The Malasadas are incredibly fresh and delicious. What a tasty treat. read more

I'm no malasada expert, but these are the best I've ever had--made to order, so they are hot. The best part about them is that they are very light, they are like soft warm pillows! The crème fillings are also light and not too sweet. I've tried malasadas on other islands that claimed to be the best and was not impressed, the dough is heavy and chewy, fillings are to sugary and sweet. These are delicious. Got ube crème, coconut crème, and original custard. The only issue is that the malasadas are so hot that the crème gets runny, but that is a price I'm willing to pay for fresh tasty light malasadas! read more

Penny's Waikiki Malasadas - Ube, coconut, and original custard filled malasadas, $11.85 for 3, 2/2026 - Donuts Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Located in Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center in the food court on the 2nd floor. Need to get validation from establishment you visit a you have to spend $30.00 to get 1st hour free if not it is $3.00 per hour. If you call in your order for pick up the cost is $39.00 if you call in your order and if you go down and order it $31.20, the only thing is the make it when it is ordered and they only have 1 small fryer, so it will take a while for your order. If you are in a rush better to order ahead and pay the difference or go to pipeline! The coffee fill Malasadas wasn't that tasty and not much filling. The original filling was good, the Malasadas is light and not as chewy, as Leonard's or Pipeline so if you prefer the chewy type you would not care for Penny's. The custard and Ube were good and they do make daily flavors this time it was the coffee. We also tried before their Yuzu and Pina colada and Coconut which were very good. read more

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Penny's malasadas are fluffy pillow donuts with a cozy local vibe. I had one traditional and two filled (ube cream and original custard). The fillings weren't too sweet but full of flavor. If you mix traditional and filled, they charge the filled price. Cinnamon sugar the traditional side and original custard the filled side was a staff recommendation when I was there. It was perfect with simple black coffee. Overall it was delicious. read more

The malasada is made fresh to order. They don't sell individually, you have to buy a set. Order the 3 malasada, the filling was inconsistent, one malasada barely had any filling. If you're caving malasada, it will satisfy your caving but not the best in town. read more

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Easily found within the mall. Staff was rude as they informed me I had to get 3 minimum, AND they would charge based on the more expensive malasada (filled vs sugar). Doesn't make sense, but we got some anyways. We tried the Ube Creme filled, Hawaiian White Cane Sugar, and Specialty sugar of the day (Li Hing Mui). My guy and I were insanely disappointed. There was no difference in flavor between the two sugar coated malasadas and there was barely any ube creme in the third one. The dough itself was plain and there wasn't anything special about it. Considering these are supposed to be award-winning, I really hope this was just an off day for them because this was an incredibly disappointing way to end our Hawaii trip. read more

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Located on the 2nd floor and within a food court is this apparently local staple for Malasadas (aka donuts). We stopped in quickly after eating dinner nearby and there was no wait. We ordered and it seemed to take a bit so I think they are making these fresh to order. I opted for the traditional (no filling) ones since my kids are not a fan of things inside. The malasadas were really nice and somewhat reminiscent of beignets but large and instead of just powdered sugar, there were sugar options to choose from. It is a food court so maybe not the classiest place but I think these are worth it to stop in and try. read more

Husband wanted malasadas and this was the closest to us. Not too bad for a quick fix. I wouldn't say I'm a malasada fan so can't fairly judge read more

I loved that they were very light. It had a nice crisp on the outside but chewy on the inside. Original and LiHing were our favorites. I thought it was better than Leonard's which could be blasphemous. Customer service was cold and very unwelcoming, almost borderline rude. Had they had other locations I'd absolutely give them a visit but as a Kamaaina, I wouldn't go out of my way to come back. read more

Tucked away on the 2nd floor at the Royal Hawaiian Center food court lies a hidden gem. Penny's malasadas. I know everyone talks about Leonards but I think you need to try both and compare. Freshly made to order fried dough perfection. Staff was so smiley and nicer then the other place. Order: Stuffed coconut creme, original and guava. Loved all three and would order them all again. Overall: A must try when in Waikiki area. read more

Penny's Waikiki Malasadas - Guava filled malasada - Donuts Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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I grew up on Leonard's and am used to making that last mobile stop before the airport to grab a warm Leonard's custard malasada. But wow, Penny's might give Leonard's a run for their money. The dough is light and crispy, not too much sugar, and I have to say, the custard filling tastes homemade and light, with a very subtle sweetness. I MIGHT like it better than Leonard's. Their flavor of the month was Lilikoi and YA'LL it's amazing. I had the Lilikoi malasada from Liliha and there's really no comparison - Penny's tastes like fresh Lilikoi curd. It's phenomenal. If you can't face the lines at Leonard's and you're stuck in Waikiki without a rental car, Penny's will do you right. read more

Penny's Waikiki Malasadas - Malacca's - Donuts Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

When I'm at home on the mainland, I sometimes dream of malasadas. Leonard's gets so stupid busy, they can be nearly impossible to get into. I was surprised to see a malasada shop in the Royal Hawaiian shopping center, and was more than a bit leery. Rather than disappointing, Penny's was a delight. All the malasadas are made fresh to order. That means you have to wait a couple of minutes. Don't let that deter you. The malasadas are a bit lighter than others I've had, but quite delicious. Three are enough to share with your partner. read more

Penny's Waikiki Malasadas - Excellent malasadas ... Made fresh to order - Donuts Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

My very first malasada here in Hawaii and it did not disappoint! I got 3 traditional with sugar and 3 with filling (ube, coconut creme and original custard). Malasadas were made to order. The traditional one was super delicious! It was soft, light and fluffy. Definitely tasted fresh. The ones with fillings were alright. Fillings were super runny. Eating the malasadas will get super messy so prepare tons of napkins :) read more

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First time trying a Malasada and it was pretty good! I got two filled one with coconut crème and the other with nutella crème. I also ordered one not filled. In my opinion the non filled Malasada was the best. Malasadas came out hot and quick service was prompt. read more

Penny's Waikiki Malasadas - malasadas - Donuts Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Wow! After over 30 years as a Leonards' loyalist we ran across Penny's while we were staying at the Sheraton Waikiki. Penny's is in the food court of the Royal Hawiian Center and we figured we would compromise because we wanted to stay close today. That turned out to be a good thing. Penny's are made to order and piping hot delivered. The regular are light and just the right texture. We sampled the coconut, haupia, berry filled and custard. All very good but I'm a purist and the regular with white cane sugar are my thing. Service was good and everything came out quickly. read more

Penny's Waikiki Malasadas - Menu - Donuts Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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I was hesitant because I thought 3 would be too many (3's the minimum), and I only wanted 1 to try. Nope. Glad we got 3. These malasadas are a lot lighter and fluffier than the famous Leonard's. Different style, but great in their own right. They're freshly fried at the time of order and served warm. The filled ones are extremely messy to eat, the filling was liquid and tended to flow out the side when biting into the pastry. Delish though. Definitely worth trying. Workers did not seem happy. read more

Ordered ube filled and plain sugared. It would be nice to be able to order just one instead of a minimum 3. I loved how they came out hot and fresh. I didn't mind the short wait. read more

Fresh and flavorful Malasadas for when you are walking around the Royal Hawaiian center! We were craving a sweet treat but didn't want to drive all the way out to Leonard's, so we stumbled upon Penny's which is located in the upstairs food court. Though it took a bit for our order to come out, it really means they made these donuts fresh to order! My favorite was the ube filling but they have a variety of different creams and you can make your selection super customizable! read more

Penny's Waikiki Malasadas - Donuts Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii