Panya Bakery & Cafe

I LOVE this place! ultimate Asian comfort food and amazing desserts and baked goods. I just wish there was one on the east side closer to me!
Best dishes: Taiwanese beef noodle, Thai beef salad; chicken pesto sandwich and all the desserts!

OH NO! Panya Bakery in Waikiki is CLOSING effective July 28^th, 2014!!! Get your fix before they close. So sad another good, affordable eating place is leaving Waikiki. Doesn’t leave us locals too many options for affordable dining…

I really enjoyed my pastries but for the price we paid, I knew we could get more and better. It is a good place if you have the money and like the convenience. It is on the road next to the beach so it will cost you.

As soon as my sis and I saw this Japanese style bakery, we darted inside. The bakery is tiny with a decent amount of sweet and salty pastry options for its size. Unfortunately they don’t restock/​rebake the breads and pastries they run out of. When we came in at around 11am, a lot of trays were empty. I’m sure they do it to ensure they aren’t losing money at tbis location, so I can’t really blame them for that.
Cashiers were nice and put up with us bickering in their store over which bread to get LOL.
In the we decided on:
— Corn and ham bread. The pastry was circular and the corn was piled on top of a mound of sweet milky butter and mayonnaise mixture! I was so happy. We got another one the next day.
— Bacon and potato bread. Also circular shaped, the bread was of the layered variety. It probably would have been flaky if I had a toaster oven. The potatoes were mashed, but not with butter. It was slightly sweet, so perhaps there was a tiny bit of Japanese mayonnaise in it. A good amount of bacon was piled on top of the potato.
Other pastries we tried:
— Chocolate dipped butterscotch cream cornet (only around the fat end) with chocolate sprinkles in the hole. The pastry was smaller and less pointy than the typical cornet. Though the bread was soft and chewy, I didn’t like the cream because it tasted like dense/​eggy American pudding. I would prefer if they folded in whipped cream or something to make it lighter.

Their pineapple/​ginger/​lemon juice is very good, but everything else is just alright in my opinion. The staff also isnt very welcoming and does not smile a lot. The salmon salad was very very basic. However, it is an ok stop to chill for a bit and get a quick snack. The quality of their pastries? Well. I would rate it as average.

Quality of 2 stars, price of 3 stars. Not horrible, but also nothing to write home about… Pastries looked very inviting, but after sampling 4 different pastries we were not that impressed…

what: delicious home-​cooked style comfort food at reasonable prices in a trendy, yet comfortable atmosphere.
something good: first time to this location! it is a cute, little corner store. i really liked the look of the place! there isn’t much of a bakery here because it’s so tiny! but, they do have the popular baked items so that’s what matters the most! i crave for the pastry at panya! i still really miss the ala moana location with their huge assortment! but this location will have to do! :) glad i got my panya pastry fix!
something not so good: small selection, but still they have a yummy selection available!
something to try: pastry!

What? No reviews for this place! Asian pastries, coffee, juices, and deli sandwiches. Yum! These were the pastries that I missed and I love to eat when I visit. Sit outside near the koi pond or the tables and chairs and enjoy yourself, knowing that you are in Hawaii. This place is small, but conveniently located in the center of the first floor of the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center.

This review is solely based on Panya’s pastries.
My family visited Panya several times on our visit to Waikiki to buy pastries for dessert. Danishes were priced around $ 2-​$ 3 each and there was no denying that everything we tried was DELICIOUS! The only reason I didn’t give Panya five stars is that a lot of their products are really similar. It seems like they use the same dough for nearly everything and just bake it in different shapes. My family quickly got sick of going there since there was nothing really new to try.
However, I still highly recommend checking them out because even if there’s not a huge difference between their products, everything still tastes really good.
Favorites:
–The cream cheese filled mini doughnut and cream cheese filled «football»
— the blueberry scone (but it was also more expensive than the other items and wasn’t THAT much better than other things)
— the corn and ham danish
— the twisted sweet bread

Love the pastries at Panya. Today we visited the Waikiki store and the clerks were very helpful and friendly. Now that’s the kind of service we kamaainas like to see.
The tuna on the bun was delicious. It was a disappointment that they ran out of the hot dog with ketchup that my grandson loves. He had to try the hot dog in the crescent bun… I think that was ok. This place also has spam musubi which the kids just love.
Yeah, parking validation was discounted with my purchases. But, starting Aug 1 you will need to spend at least $ 10 to get the validation… which is not hard to spend at Panya.

Where is the manager to this place? You can’t have ONE employee manage both the register and make food at the same time. It took 30 minutes to receive my 2 iced milk tea with pearl and there was a long line not only waiting to pay but to receive their food/​drink. Management needs to be worked on but for this one employee… I think she did pretty good keeping calm under pressure and making sure customers were ok.
The drinks I got we’re ok, I recommend the milk tea from either Bee’s Dessert House or Taste Tea over this one!
I wouldn’t recommend this place if you don’t have time to wait.

I walked in here today intent on having lunch. I ordered the Vietnamese style chicken sandwich. The cashier looks at the board, and I quote, says, «Which one is that?» :pauses: «Oh I don’t think we have that one.»
Ummm, okay then. I pretty much eat anything so not a big deal to pick something else. So then I opt for the vegetarian with grilled portobella mushroom sandwich but to my surprise they were out of mushrooms.
Finally I just get a green tea latte which thankfully they had! Hooray!
I pay the lady, wait for her to make it, and walk out happy UNTIL I take a sip. It was so unappetizing that I literally threw it away. I paid $ 5.13 and I friken threw it away!
Needless to say I’ll never go back here.
The only reason I gave this 2 stars was because I feel bad for the employees. I feel like they just weren’t trained well. Get on it Panya!

Its located in the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center, right in the middle bordering the courtyard where they have their «hula shows».
Perfect spot if you just want to get a quick snack. Its a normal visit when the kids want to eat at Cheesecake Factory and the wait goes over an hour long!
The hotdog never disappoints them but at $ 2.25…a little pricey!

I asked the guy at the counter, «Do you have decaf tea?»…and all he did was stare at me until his co-​worker saved him and said, «Yes, we have this one here and this one here,» while pointing to these individually wrapped tea bags.
One had a description right there, but the other didn’t so again I asked the guy at the counter, «What does this one taste like?»…and he turns around, opens a cabinet and totally flustered, turns around and say, «I don’t know.» Then he goes and asks his co-​worker that saved him the first time… and he answers my questions.
I wish it stopped there… but it didn’t.
So I asked, «Can I get this iced?»…and he said, «Sure! Which cup, the hot cup or the cold drink cup?» Um… O_​o I just asked for iced tea… why would I want it in a hot cup? So, I point to the cold drink cup. He then opens the tea bag, puts it in the cold drink cup, pours water on it, and dumps some ice into it. He holds it up thinking O_​o why isn’t the tea coming out of the bag. Why is the water still clear?
So he looks at me and says, «I should put it in hot water first, huh?» Um… ya! So he grabs the hot cup, and puts the tea bag in there… and pours hot water into the cup. Then he immediately puts it into the cold drink cup and stops before putting ice into it… because it is obvious that it will over flow if he did… so he grabs a bigger cold drink cup, pours it in, drops some ice, and hands it to me.
It was luke warm. Hello? I asked for iced… and yes, the minimal ice that was in there melted instantaneously and I had to sit through my meeting with room temperature tea. Gross. And I had to pay over $ 3…WT…
I sure hope Panya trains their staff a bit better.
Unilocal 365 Challenge #196/​365

How long does it take to make a milk tea with boba? apparently about 15 minutes. I actually think they cook the boba when you order it as opposed to cooking it before and scooping it out of a jar. You would think the boba would taste amazing since it was made fresh and all… NOPE. Worst boba I have ever had.
I would stick with the pastries when you go to panya, or the cookies, the cookies had really cute designs for chinese new year. But definitely get boba somewhere else… like juice factory in shirokiya at ala moana center.
p. s. When I need to venture into waikiki, I usually park at the royal hawaiian and get validation at the ABC store. Panya is a great place to get a snack and 4 hour validation too!

Came here to get our parking validated. It was near closing and the two guys who were working were cleaning up. The selection is not huge, but there is ample variety. We purchased two pastries and asked that they be warmed. After we walked out-​I realized that they were still cold. The pastries were disappointing and I do not see myself ever coming back to Panya Bakery & Café. For the price they charge-​I expected to be wowed a bit more but the fillings left me cursing myself for not going to Starbucks for validation.

This Panya location is about half the size of the one in Ala Moana and doesn’t have any seating except a few tables outside. They do sell most of the same breads, cakes, and some sandwiches so its convenient to stop by and pick up something before or after work. Unfortunately since they are smaller, they run out quickly but don’t worry they get another batch around 1:00 pm.
The great thing about this location is that they hold things for you if they are out in the morning. For instance, I’ve asked them hold their famous hokkaido rolls for me cause they run out so quickly and when I came back at 9pm, there was my hokkaido roll waiting or me!
Unilocal 365: ⁰³⁰⁄₃₆₅

Great teas and food at a Waikiki price, so be wary.
Got two teas, two pastries, and a sandwich for $ 25.00.
They were all delicious, but I think I could have spent $ 25.00 and gotten way more somewhere else.
Oh well (:

I love panya specifically for their Japanese Cheesecake which is delicious! It’s not as heavy as a regular new york cheese cake and comes with this really delicious sauce.
The guy that helped me and my friends pick out an assortment of dessert was really friend, nice, and helpful.
For parking, park in the royal hawaiian. Don’t forget to ask them to validate your parking ticket. It’s free for the first hour and a dollar for every hour for up to 4 hours (something like that).
Every time I’m in the area, I think of stopping by for some addicting Japanese cheesecake. YUMMMM! It’s the shizzzzznits yo!

Panya Bakery is a fantastic Asian-​style bakery which showcases truly delectable baked goods and great drinks in the hustle and bustle of Waikiki. They offer a great location, good service, and fantastic products which make it a sure win in my book.
Note, unlike the other locations this particular store is a bakery and café only. You won’t find their restaurant and food items here like the other locations. That being said, the bakery goods are phenomenal with some of the best croissants in town, great donuts, and of course amazing bakery treats. Their green tea and azuki roll is fantastic with the sweet azuki complementing the robust green tea flavored cake which is beautifully moist. The mango mousse is wonderfully fragrant with the robust fresh mango taste coming through, while the chocolate gâteau is a burst of chocolate flavors to your tongue.
The location is on the smaller side with outdoor seating. Note, it is easy to miss it from the street, but it is right under the escalators by the center hula stage area and it is wonderfully appointed and great outdoor seating areas which is wonderful on a beautiful day.
Service is good with the staff working in a quick manner so the line is constantly moving and the wait not overwhelming.
If your sweet tooth strikes you and you are in Waikiki, be sure to check out Panya!