The popular spot offers a takeout grill window (for plate lunch!) and a bakery/market with prepared foods and delicious local desserts and pastries.
Diamond Head Market & Grill
Plate lunch and desserts galore! Welcome to Diamond Head Market & Grill.
Most locals just call this place Diamond Head Bakery because the bakery part is the most exciting and delicious part.
This place is split into two sections:
- There's the Grill on one side, serving plate lunch and good local eats.
- There's the Market/Bakery section on the other side (where I spent 90% of my visits). The Market/Bakery section has prepared foods and amazing cakes and pastries.
Think of this almost like a local, casual version of Dean & DeLuca.
Location
Diamond Head Market & Grill is located in, you guessed it, Diamond Head!
More specifically, it's on a popular street called Monsarrat Avenue. This street offers lots of great food and shopping and is loved by locals and visitors alike. It's just a 5-minute drive from Waikiki (some people like to walk) and an even shorter drive from the KCC Farmers Market. People also love stopping here for breakfast/lunch after doing the Diamond Head hike.
I've blogged about a few other spots on Monsarrat Avenue including:
The Bakery and Market Side
Oh man I love so many things on the Bakery side. Here are a few:
Pumpkin Crunch
My single favorite item from the dessert case is Pumpkin Crunch! It has pecan-cookie/cake crust topped with a super good pumpkin filling and whipped cream. Pumpkin Crunch is an iconic Hawaii dessert (one that all locals love and few visitor know about). We often order a whole pumpkin crunch cake for Thanksgiving dessert.
Lemon Crunch
Three parts to this glorious and lemony layered cake: lemon cake, fresh lemon curd, and whipped cream with crushed toffee candy. "Crunch cakes" are a thing in Hawaii and Pumpkin Crunch and Lemon Crunch are the two classics.
Blueberry Cream Cheese Scones
This is what Diamond Head Bakery was originally famous for. I ate SO many of these scones in high school. My mom and I would come all the time and split a scone for afternoon snack. They are giant, oversized scones. The texture is more akin to a muffin than a classic scone (these are not for purists) and they are wonderful. They're filled with lots of blueberries and bits of melty cream cheese. Get a few and warm them up in the toaster oven for breakfast the next morning.
Banana Bread
Banana bread (and mango bread) is a BIG thing in Hawaii. We'll do a whole separate post about banana bread soon. They sell them by the individual slice. I usually get these for a small snack and bring some for my grandma as well. Everyone loves Hawaii banana bread.
Butter Mochi
Remember the Butter Mochi post? I mention Diamond Head Bakery in that post, they make a great classic butter mochi. No fuss, no frills, just delicious.
Diamond Head Market Torte
Their namesake cake/torte features many good things. It starts with an Oreo cookie crust. The crust is then filled with layers of sliced bananas, a very rich peanut butter cheesecake, and a combo peanut butter and chocolate pudding. Definitely decadent.
Mango Cream Cheese Squares
A seasonal treat offered only during mango season. It's a classic shortbread crust paired with a whipped cream cheese filling and fresh Hayden mangoes spooned all over the top. The mangoes spill over and get all mixed with the cream cheese and crust in every bite. Hawaii is bliss. Definitely must get.
Okinawan Sweet Potato Haupia Squares
We love to eat sweet potatoes in Hawaii, especially purple sweet potatoes. These potatoes are known as Okinanwan Sweet Potato or Hawaiian Sweet Potato (they were originally from Okinawa but we now grow them in Hawaii). These squares layer a shortbread crust with purple sweet potatoes and haupia. Soooo good.
Spam Musubi
There's a whole savory section to the Bakery/Market side (with prepared foods to-go), but we're usually to fixated by all the sweets to even get to the savory side. Only exception is the Spam Musubi.
They keep them in a dedicated Spam Musubi warmer (looks like a mini fridge but makes things hot instead of cold). They have multiple types of musubi (chicken musubi! salmon musubi!), but I always get the one with Spam and egg. The rice is mixed with furikake. I love Spam Musubi.
The Grill Side
The Grill side (which shares a wall with the Bakery/Market side) is neat. They are all about the Plate Lunch!
Just order from a window and stand around until they call your order number. Then take the food to-go, find a seat at one of the few tables (if you're lucky), or eat in the car.
Here's what we usually order from the Diamond Head Grill menu:
Loco Moco
Can't come to Hawaii without trying a loco moco at least once! Rice topped with a housemade burger patty, gravy, and sunny side up egg. Substitute the white rice with fried rice for an extra charge.
Spam, Eggs, and Rice
Also called the Breakfast Plate. You get two eggs, choice of meat (we usually go with Spam or Portuguese sausage), rice, fruit, and cornbread. This is the classic Hawaii Spam, Eggs, and Rice breakfast.
Kalbi Kim Chee Fried Rice
This is the best of many words. You get their popular fried rice and kim chee and kalbi. Definitely need a nap after this ^_^
Insider Tips
They have a small free lot directly in front of the entrance. You can usually get a spot without much hassle. But during lunch hours, I just look for parking on Kaunaoa Street (the street directly behind the bakery).
Yes! There are about 3 small tables out front. Getting a seat is all about lucky timing. I usually avoid lunch hours because it's 1) crowded and 2) the sun shines down hard on the tables and there is no shade. Also be careful of the birds, they are aggressive.
Get a loco moco lunch (or kalbi kim chee fried rice) from the Grill side. Sit at the table and eat. Then go to the Bakery/Market side and pick up one cold dessert to eat now (like the Pumpkin Crunch), and one dessert that you can keep at room temperature for later (definitely the Butter Mochi) ^_^
Diamond Head Market & Grill: Info
- Diamond Head Market & Grill | 3158 Monsarrat Ave, Honolulu, HI 96815 | 808-732-0077 | diamondheadmarket.com
- Price: Plate lunch $10-15, Pastries, sweets and cakes $3-6
- Hours: Monday-Sunday (7am-9pm)
Tom
Tuesday 28th of September 2021
Some of our favorite Diamond Head Bakery desserts seem different from the way they were two years ago on our last visit. Different textures, sweeter in general, cream cheese on the pumpkin square instead of whipped cream.... Do you know did they get a new baker?