Ono Bakehouse is a local Hawaii bakery located in Berkeley, California! Offering baked goods like butter mochi, chocolate haupia pie and the ever popular Queen Emma cake, find a taste of Hawaii at this bakery. P.S. They even have Spam musubi and furikake chex mix on the menu.
Ono Bakehouse
It's always super exciting when I hear about a new Hawaii place (bakery! restaurant! pop-up!) located outside of Hawaii.
I love that you can find pieces and parts of Hawaii all over the world. No matter where you go, you always seem to run into another Hawaii person or place.
Location
Ono Bakehouse opened in Berkeley in late 2020. It's located in downtown Berkeley, and is near UC Berkeley and Downtown Berkeley BART stop.
While you're in Berkeley make sure to check out all the other Hawaii places located in San Francisco...there is a lot!
From local ice cream flavors to local pop-ups (think plate lunch and shave ice) and Hawaii-inspired restaurants, it makes me super happy to see there is no shortage of love for Hawaii in the Bay Area ^_^
What To Order
Queen Emma Cake
Queen Emma Cake is the signature item and a definite must order at the bakery. Remember the Paradise Cake we just saw in this post? These type of cakes (which are also called Rainbow Cake) are very popular in Hawaii.
The cakes always include three different flavors, and in this case the flavors are: lilikoi (aka passion fruit), guava, and coconut. It's definitely a fancier version of the cake and you get one chiffon cake layer and one mousse layer of each flavor. So it's really six layers total! Three cake layers and three matcha mousse layers. It's topped with coconut flakes.
Quite elegant and delicate in flavor. I love it. Definitely get two pieces if you're going with a friend ^_^
Chocolate Haupia Pie
In Hawaii when we eat chocolate *haupia pie, it's usually one full size pie that we cut into slices. So here it's fun to get your own individual pie!
Chocolate and haupia is a classic pie combination in Hawaii. You get that nice flaky pie crust. It's filled with a chocolate pastry cream, topped with a layer of haupia, and finished with whipped cream. Like how it's vanilla bean whipped cream here ^_^
You want to get a bit of each part (the crust, the chocolate, haupia, and cream) all in one bite. Super ono.
*Do you know about haupia? It's a popular Hawaiian dessert! It's like a cross between coconut pudding and jello...and super ono. Learn more about haupia (and how to make it at home) in this post.
Butter Mochi
Butter mochi! In Hawaii we usually bake a big 9 x 13 inch tray and cut it into squares. Here the butter mochi is baked as individual rounds and topped with coconut.
Butter mochi got super trendy across the US in the past few years, but we've been eating this in Hawaii since we were kids. It's like a combo of mochi and cake, the best of both worlds.
Try make butter mochi at home with this recipe ^_^
Savory Treats
Don't skip the savory treats. Ono Bakehouse has things like this Spicy Berkshire Pork Sausage Bun. It's the same kind of sausage we use in this Octopus Sausage / Hot Dog recipe, but wrapped in a soft and sweet roll. Topped with kewpie mayo and nori.
There's also a really good savory Umami Onion Roll with roasted garlic and miso paste. Topped with scallions. I like to take this home and warm it up in the oven. So good with tea for an afternoon snack.
Other Local Snacks
They also offer Spam Musubi and Furikake Chex Mix. So many fun local treats.
If you can't make it to the bakery, we have recipes for Spam Musubi and Furikake Chex Mix (one of the all time most popular recipes on the blog).
Insider Tips
There's a decent amount of street parking nearby. We parked on Hearst Avenue around the corner.
Most people take the orders to-go. But they have two small tables right in front of the bakery. Each table has two chairs, so four seats total. Or you can walk a block to Ohlone Dog Park which has a few places to sit.
You can order a whole cake! Just make sure to order at least a week in advance. They make whole sheet cakes in two sizes: small (5.5 x 7.5 inches) and large (11 x 15 inches).
If you plan to visit on a weekend or later in the day, best bet is to preorder online the morning of (otherwise they may run out of items).
Check their Instagram for the latest on special and new items. Think Okinawan sweet potato haupia pie and pandan egg tarts.
Info
- Ono Bakehouse | 1922 Martin Luther King Jr Way, Berkeley, CA 94704 | (510) 898-1325 | ono-bakehouse.square.site
- Price (approximate): Queen Emma Cake $8 per slice; Butter Mochi $6; Chocolate Haupia Pie $10; savory items $3.50-$5.
- Hours: Wednesday-Sunday (9am-3pm)
Had the Queen Emma cake recently for my birthday. I think I was expecting something airier because it said chiffon cake. Not that it was bad, just different than I thought. Was hoping for something like the guava chiffon bundt I brought back from Liliha on the plane one time!
That said, the lilikoi pound cake was very good, would definitely eat it again.
Hi Brent! Ahh I know exactly what you are talking about haha. Good memories of the Liliha's chiffon...I love how many local bakeries make just a whole plain chiffon cakes. So good for breakfast with coffee! I love all the different flavors they have ^_^
- Kathy