Raintree Bakery Coffeehouse

What a great bakery in a location where it is very needed! I work in the area and hated that my only morning coffee option was the super slow Starbucks in Safeway-​no longer the case! This place is my go-​to Tuesday morning spot for an iced vanilla latte and a blueberry muffin. The latte is great– flavorful coffee and not bitter, which is what I usually taste when I drink coffee and why I usually don’t like it. The muffins are fantastic! Substantial yet not too heavy, and never dry or over-​baked. I have also gone for lunch– the sandwiches are delicious, especially with the macadamia nut pesto! I always get mine as a panini and it is more than worth the few minute wait. Their cheesecakes are also very good. They are super rich; don’t be fooled by their small size, they are no joke! I’m eating a guava one right now as I write this and it’s delicious, and could easily be shared with one or two people but I’m keeping this one all to myself. The owner is great, very genuine and friendly. There is metered street parking right outside on Pensacola, and they take cards with a $ 10 minimum order.

When not in Rome… visit…
RAINTREE BAKERY & COFFEEHOUSE!
This quaint lil’ spot just might be my favorite coffeehouse you’ve never heard of, heck toss me in that club too, but thankfully by the stroke of luck and the the smell of fresh Italian coffee and… voilà!
RAINTREE BAKERY & COFFEEHOUSE!
Of course, the curious cat that I am, I had to check it out! So glad that I did! I immediately notice how «Northbeach, Little Italy» it looked! High quality and so neighborhood inviting! Hey, it’s a «real» café! Like the type in Northbeach or the side alleys in Roma. Stainless steel everything and every detail flows with the sounds of Bocelli, who so happens to be playing as I walk in, or was it L’Italiano by Toto Cutugno. Whatever it was… It was very Italiano!
I’m immediately greeted by, Elliot, the barista, cashier, and server extraordinaire, and probably the nicest barista you’ll ever come across, oh and btw, did I mention he’s also the owner? I’m not certain of his Italian heritage, who cares, but it only matters that he confessed to me that it was indeed inspired by one of my favorite café shops in Little Italy, my beloved… Café Roma! Elliot then picks my brain on «how about a cup of cappuccino and a muffin?»
How can I refuse, right? I go with his suggestion and ignore any thoughts of Fonzarelli! And no… Joanie loves Chachi was definitely not Italiano! I choose the mandarin orange ‘n cranberries as my choice of muffin. Elliot then suggest I have a seat while he warms up the muffin and creates my cap! After a few minutes the muffin is delivered to my café table, followed by my aromatic cup of cappuccino! Faux silverware is neatly placed for my use.
I am immediately struck how delicious the muffin was… Full of flavor and dense, almost as dense as any guido on MTV! The cappuccino was rice, strong, and handsome, like Rocky, pre-​swollen eyes. The combo of the mandarin orange muffin & strong cappuccino hit the spot! Not sure on the exact costs of each, but combined it ran me under $ 8, which is about the same price point as any generic *cough cough* coffee shop out there!
I highly recommend…
RAINTREE BAKERY & COFFEEHOUSE!
Open from 7am-​4pm, Tuesday to Sunday. Only about 6 months old, and yes, I encourage you to get down here, if you support small business, enjoy uniqueness & charm, and love top quality coffee! This is a «true» coffeehouse with genuine service if that’s what you crave. A great place to put down the laptop, pickup the newspaper, sip your cup of coffee, cross your legs, and enjoy the sounds of of Bocelli’s Mille Lune Mille Onde… It’s a wonderful life! Ciao!
NEAR PERFECT. 4.5-STARS!

Great place for a coffee! They have a nice espresso machine run by an operator who knows what he’s doing. Good Americanos. Granola for breakfast hit the spot, very quaint and comfortable ambiance. Open early on Sunday’s too, that’s a plus!

This is a quaint new little place. The décor, music, and interior is very reminiscent of the 60’s and earlier, but for once, this is a good thing because it has its own charm and it works well with the architecture of the building. The owner seems to be the only one behind the counter with his partner making the baked goods. He is very friendly and charismatic and likes to make you feel at home! I had a vanilla latte and a lilikoi bar and enjoyed them both. I assure you, the coffee is legit! The baked goods are simple but delicious. I ended up buying several lilikoi bars and will probably come back to buy more.
Makiki is a simple place with a large population of locals, so the multitude of take-​out places and delis satisfies us just fine, but there’s a dire need of more sit-​down establishments. This is a very welcome addition to the Pensacola Strip and I will be coming back, hopefully with friends and family. I can’t wait to see the growth of this place because it’s already starting off so well.
Décor, customer service, food, and overall experience all get perfect marks.

I drive past this place every morning, and it’s been on my list of places to try. Especially because I love, love, love supporting small, family-​owned businesses. Today, I finally got my chance, thanks to my accident-​prone sister, who had to get her tetanus shot next door at Kaiser after cutting herself on a barbell rack (serious talent, because WHO DOES THAT!?).
Upon entering, I was greeted by who I think is the owner. He’s very sweet and very enthusiastic about the pastries and coffee. The coffee beans are from South America, but roasted locally. He also uses a light-​medium roast, which I love. None of that over-​roasted stuff you find at other corporate-​owned coffee shops. They don’t do batch coffee, but the Americano is delicious. My only gripe is that the to go cups are styrofoam. I’ll have to remember to bring my own coffee mug next time.
I got the mandarin cranberry muffin, banana nut, and pumpkin walnut. The mandarin cranberry was my favorite out of the 3– tart and refreshing! Apparently the owner’s favorite is the blueberry. I told him I’ll have to come back to try it. The muffins are refrigerated, so next time I’m going to pop it in the toaster for a bit… I bet it’ll be even more epic! Standby for an update…
If you’re ever across the street at Walgreens or Kaiser, or if it’s enroute to your destination, be sure to stop by! I know I will be back.

Elliot, the owner, is really nice and had one of the best cappuccinos I’ve had outside of italy. The homemade granola is also delicious.

This is a really cute unique coffee shop/​bakery. I had a latte and it was the most amazing cup of coffee I’ve ever had. I only wish they offered a bigger size. I think it was 7oz. Also tried the pumpkin cheesecake which was delicious. The owner is super friendly. You can just taste the love they put into making their products.

Espresso done right!!! I’m so in love with their americano! This is not your quick, grab-​n-​go type of café (although you most certainly can do that by just calling in your order for pick up, but then you’d be missing out on a wonderful experience!); this is a place where you take things slow and enjoy the simple pleasures in life. The owner, Elliot, is a sweetheart and makes the best espresso drinks and conversations! The espresso is soooo smooth and delicious — never acidic nor burnt! And his co-​owner, Jerry, makes some pretty divine pastries — they’re not overly sweet, which is perfect for someone like me, who is not typically a sweet treats kind of person. Sandwiches are a wee bit on the pricy side for what you get, but it’s satisfying and you can tell it’s made with lots of love. This quirky, charming little place is a fantastic addition to the Makiki neighborhood, and I’m so thrilled to be within walking distance of such a great establishment! This is a must-​try for espresso lovers!

Amazing place to be in. We need more local biz like this place. Coffee was really great. And the owner was such a nice person. We talked about the area and why he chose to do a café in the area. He has said simply from the love and joy. The place is ran by only two people. Open for about 6 days a week. With fresh brewed coffee and fresh baked pastries. What’s not to love? Please support your local coffee shops, choose local coffee shop and not star bucks.

In a world saturated with generic corporate coffee shops, and hipster boutique coffee houses, this mom and pop (or rather, pop and pop!) coffee shop, with local, organic, fresh, and wholesome ingredients, is so perfect! I love coffee and have probably gone to every substantial coffee establishment in the greater honolulu area, and this place is definitely one of my favorites.
The coffee was delicious, the owner is so friendly and fun to talk to. Today was a particularly hot day, and as i walked in I was greeted with a fresh cold glass of ice water as I decided what i wanted to drink. All baked items are made in house, and with fresh, clean ingredients.
This establishment is truly a project of love (owners are both retired from previous careers), and it really shows in their products. Coffee beans are from the owner’s personal roaster in Kailua.
Support local businesses.

Prices are a little high, but you you’re getting what you pay for. A lot was organic! Top notch service and even better food. We tried the basil tomato mozzarella sandwich. So Ono and I highly recommend getting the Macademia nut pesto! The banana nut muffin was good but not my favorite. The only reason I’m giving 4 stars is because I can’t afford to eat there a often as I’d like.

So refreshing to have a local coffee shop. Great place to relax, read, or go on a coffee date!

What a quaint little place! Loved it. We need more of these in Honolulu!
The coffee was served in a REAL cup. Loved that, too. There are not many places that still do it, it’s all paper and plastic… to me it’s how else do you enjoy a wonderful coffee than in a porcelain cup? (they do offer bio-​degradable paper cups for take out) Really good coffee, too. The pastry is fantastic, you can literally feel the love that goes into all those yummy pieces when they are made — the owners bake themselves.
And no there is no wifi — another «love it». This place wants to remind you that *having a great talk over coffee* can still be done — without phones or laptops! Just sit back, relax and have a beautiful conversation with your friends. (and for all others… come on we have enough data on our phones to check that email or post that message …). I will be back, Raintree Bakery Coffeehouse!

I had gotten a boars head sandwich which was about $ 14 kinda small serving I think for that price and it tasted like a sandwich that I bought on a plane… Very friendly workers though!

Wonderful little gem place! Coffee and latte was so tasty and smooth. Didn’t need any sugar with my latte because it was that good! Blueberry muffins had the perfect top crispness and did not fall apart while eating. Before heading back to the airport, we got four muffins and coffee to go. Will definitely come back to this cute and delicious place again. The owner, Elliot, was very nice and made sure everything you got was delicious on the spot.

Best coffee in town, very smooth. Jerry’s baked goods are delicious! My personal favorite are his pineapple/​walnut cookies. The Lilikoi Bars are also fabulously delish. ALL Jerry’s baked goods are wonderful. Restaurant ambiance is lovely, very clean. Great place to meet a friend for cookies and coffee. Also great stop on the way to work to pick up some cookies, lilikoi bars or muffins (those are great too) for the office gang. Easy to park across the street in the morning. CONGRATULATIONS Jerry & Elliot.

Finally, a coffee shop on the Pensacola Strip! Yes, that’s what we’re calling it now, so spread the word.
The muffin was phenomenal, and the espresso was delightful. Great prices, too. What more do you need? If you work nearby, or if you’re just in the neighborhood, make sure you swing by.
Go support! We gotta keep places like this open in our neighborhood. It’s like Gandhi or somebody said: Be the change you want to see in this godforsaken world. That can all start with a single muffin, people.

Like the relaxed ambiance of Raintree that steps aside of the being seen Starbucks scene. It’s a growing work-​in-​progress that will expand as its client base does. Give it a try and SUPPORT LOCAL BUSINESS!

Tried every baked goods they offer so far and everything is great. Blueberry and banana walnut muffins are moist and flavorful. Choco chip cookies are great… little soft for my taste but if you like soft batch cookies this is it. The pineapple cookies are awesome but the best surprise is the papaya cookies. Those are amazing and my wife can’t get enough of them. Would prefer to have then more crunchy but just pop into the toaster oven at home like the muffins and they’re more my style. The lilikoi bars are awesome and definitely one of my favorite treats. Got to try those for sure. Heard they have good coffee but since I don’t drink coffee I can’t comment on that. Tried the pastrami sandwich and salad and it was great especially with the pickles. Salad is organic greens which is nice. All in all a great place to get a treat or even lunch. Very comfortable retro place with great people. Definitely be back for more.

Congratulations Raintree Bakery and Coffeehouse on your opening!
The owners dreamed of owning their own bakery and are making that dream come true for the benefit of the rest of us. Right now the daily offerring is small, a bar or two, a couple of muffins, a couple of cookies – you can buy cookies individually, or over a pound, by weight. They also have some sandwiches which come with salad and espresso and tea.
I love their muffins. I’ve tried the Blueberry and the Banana-​Walnut. Warm is definitely the way to go on the muffins, pop it in a toaster oven. When you are ready to eat. The muffin tops are perfection with crunchy, crusty bits. The inside of the Blueberry Muffin is studded with big organic blueberries, the Banana-​Walnut Muffin has a mild banana flavor and small pieces of walnuts. These muffins have just the right sweetness for an afternoon treat.
I was lucky to get a Lilikoi Bar before it had been put into the refrigerated case, and was treated to a crisp crust that was a fantastic surprise since bars are usually soft by the time you get them. This bar is for those with a serious sweet tooth.
If you love cheesecake, Raintree has a Chocolate Cheesecake that is rich and smooth, the tang of the cream cheese plays well with the chocolate. There is also a Pumpkin Cheesecake with a graham cracker crust and cream cheese filling that is perfect for fall.
Definitely check them out if you are in the area. I’m excited to see what other delectable creations will come out of this little bake shop.