Overview
Waffle and Berry is a counter-service dessert-and-breakfast spot in Waikīkī, centered on made-to-order waffles and açai bowls. For a traveler, it reads as a sweet-stop destination rather than a full-service brunch restaurant: a place to grab something colorful, fruit-forward, and Instagram-friendly, with enough savory add-ons and drink options to stretch into a light breakfast.
Identity checks are mostly aligned across the supplied Google Places record and the restaurant’s own site: the business is operational, uses the Kalākaua Avenue / Royal Hawaiian area address, and presents itself as Waffle and Berry at LL104. The biggest thing to watch is address wording drift: some sources describe the location as being in or near Waikīkī Shopping Plaza / Ohana Hale Marketplace language, but the core street-level identity is the same lower-level Waikīkī storefront. (waffleandberry.com)
Cuisine & Specialties
The menu is built around waffles and açai bowls, with a strong tilt toward sweet toppings, fresh fruit, and customizable combinations. The restaurant’s own menu makes clear that this is not just a generic waffle shop: it leans into fruit-heavy bowls, whipped cream, ice cream, and house-made drink options, with some newer savory breakfast add-ons like eggs and beef smoked sausage. (waffleandberry.com)
- Overall menu style: sweet-focused breakfast/dessert café; made-to-order waffles, açai bowls, and a smaller set of drinks and add-ons. (waffleandberry.com)
- Notable specialties supported by the menu:
- Create Your Own waffle with fruit choices like strawberries, blueberries, banana, and kiwi. (waffleandberry.com)
- Berries and Cream Waffle with strawberries, blueberries, vanilla ice cream, and handmade whipped cream. (waffleandberry.com)
- Kireina Hana: a more elaborate waffle with vanilla ice cream, açai, berries, banana, kiwi, and whipped cream. (waffleandberry.com)
- Peanut Butter Banana Waffle with peanut butter, guava jelly, banana, ice cream, and whipped cream. (waffleandberry.com)
- Aloha Chocolate Waffle and Chocolate Chip Banana for chocolate-forward dessert-style orders. (waffleandberry.com)
- Mojitos, lemonades, iced teas, sparkling water, and juices, made fresh to order. (waffleandberry.com)
- Morning add-on eggs and smoked sausage for a more breakfast-like order. (waffleandberry.com)
- Price range / spend expectations: Google places it at price level 2, and the menu suggests a moderate casual spend: many waffles are around the high-teens to low-20s, with larger or more loaded items running higher. A traveler should expect roughly a midrange casual-dessert bill rather than a budget snack. (waffleandberry.com)
- Dietary usefulness / limitations: the restaurant and the university profile both emphasize vegan, dairy-free, gluten-free, and organic-friendly açai options, with a mini superfoods bar. That said, the core business is still built around waffles, ice cream, and whipped cream, so travelers with strict dietary needs should treat those menu claims as item-specific rather than universal. (waffleandberry.com)
Notable Features & Ambiance
This is a compact, lower-level Waikīkī stop rather than a sprawling café. The available evidence points to a casual, walk-in, counter-service setup with a personal neighborhood feel more than a polished sit-down brunch room. The atmosphere appears friendly and fruit-sweet, with a lot of emphasis on made-to-order food and a local regular-customer vibe. (manoamirror.org)
- Service model and seating style: counter-service / walk-in style; no strong evidence of reservation dependence. The business appears designed for quick ordering and casual dining rather than formal table service. (tripadvisor.com)
- Atmosphere and decor: warm, local, and personal. Secondary reporting describes a wall of customer photos and a small-shop feel, while the same reporting emphasizes the owner’s hands-on presence and regulars being greeted by name. That reads as a community-oriented tourist stop rather than a generic chain experience. (manoamirror.org)
- Amenities or practical features: the lower-level Waikīkī location is central for visitors staying nearby; the menu includes fresh-made drinks and customizable bowls, which makes it useful for a grab-and-go breakfast or dessert break. (waffleandberry.com)
- Best fit: a light breakfast, dessert stop, or casual sweet treat between beach, shopping, and hotel time. (waffleandberry.com)
- Weaker fit: visitors wanting a quiet full-service brunch, a savory-heavy menu, or a low-sugar meal are likely less well matched. This is an inference from the menu mix rather than an explicit complaint. (waffleandberry.com)
History & Background
Meaningful background does exist, though it is modest rather than deeply documented. A 2022 Pacific Business News item says the business had been open for almost three years at that point and had moved into a shared small-business space at Aloha Test Kitchen in McCully Shopping Center. A 2025 student newspaper profile describes the shop as founded and run by locals, with “Mr. Cali” as the owner and the face of the business. (bizjournals.com)
Taken together, the backstory suggests a locally rooted small business that started in a different shared-space context and later settled into its current Waikīkī footprint. That is an inference, but it is supported by the moving/shared-space reporting and the current address on the official site. (bizjournals.com)
Review Sentiment Snapshot
What People Love
The strongest positive pattern is the combination of friendly service and visually abundant, fruit-loaded food. Reviews and profile coverage repeatedly highlight warm personal treatment, fresh fruit, generous portions, and a “home away from home” feeling. The owner’s presence and customer recognition seem to be a major part of why people come back. (manoamirror.org)
Common Gripes
There is not much strong, recurring negative evidence in the sources surfaced here. The clearest caution is structural rather than complaint-based: the food is sweet-forward and indulgent, so it may not satisfy someone looking for a savory brunch or a lighter, less dessert-like meal. Any criticism around this is only lightly supported and mostly inferred from the menu, not from repeated review complaints. (waffleandberry.com)
Practical Visitor Tips
- Hours posture: Google lists daily hours of 8:00 AM–8:00 PM, which makes this workable for breakfast, an afternoon break, or dessert after dinner. (tripadvisor.com)
- Best time to go: earlier in the day is likely the easiest fit if you want waffles or breakfast add-ons; the menu explicitly calls out a morning eggs-and-sausage add-on window. (waffleandberry.com)
- Walk-in expectations: the place reads as counter-service and casual; plan to order at the counter rather than expect a formal dining flow. (manoamirror.org)
- Location note: the storefront is on the lower level off Kalākaua / Royal Hawaiian area, so first-time visitors should pay attention to the lower-level entrance wording rather than expecting street-level visibility. (waffleandberry.com)
- Ordering tip: if you want the broadest “signature” experience, a fruit-heavy waffle or açai bowl is the most representative order; if you want something less sweet, the morning eggs-and-sausage add-on is the clearest savory option. (waffleandberry.com)
- Crowd/capacity caution: the strongest evidence suggests popularity and a tourist-heavy Waikīkī setting, so peak hours may feel busy; that is a reasonable inference, not a directly documented queue report. (manoamirror.org)
Verification Notes
- Official name and core identity align: Waffle and Berry. (waffleandberry.com)
- Address is effectively consistent on the core location, but wording varies across sources between 2250 Kalākaua Ave / LL104 and nearby Waikīkī plaza descriptors; this looks like address-description drift rather than a true mismatch. (waffleandberry.com)
- Phone and website from the Google Places record match the restaurant’s site identity signals. (tripadvisor.com)
- Operational status appears current. (tripadvisor.com)
Sources
- Waffle and Berry official menu —
https://waffleandberry.com/menu— retrieved 2026-04-02. Most useful for menu structure, notable dishes, add-ons, drink list, and the official lower-level address. - Waffle and Berry official map/pictures page —
https://waffleandberry.com/map-and-pictures— retrieved 2026-04-02. Most useful for reinforcing the current location and the morning add-on timing language. - The Mānoa Mirror profile, “More Than a Bowl: The Heart and Soul of Waffle and Berry” —
https://manoamirror.org/4451/news/more-than-a-bowl-the-heart-and-soul-of-waffle-and-berry/— retrieved 2026-04-02. Most useful for owner/backstory context, local-rooted identity, service style, and atmosphere. - Pacific Business News, “Owner of Waffle and Berry utilizes shared spaces to grow from the ground up” —
https://www.bizjournals.com/pacific/news/2022/04/27/waffle-and-berry-grows-amid-tough-times.html— retrieved 2026-04-02. Most useful for early history, growth path, and prior shared-space location context. - Google Places record for Waffle and Berry —
https://maps.google.com/?cid=14302942841391917626— retrieved 2026-04-02. Most useful for operational status, hours, ratings, price level, phone, and place identity anchor.
