A Honokaʻa roadside institution that has served local food since 1969. It's best known for malasadas, made by hand in a bakery you can watch through a viewing window. Get them plain or filled. Guava, lilikoʻi, and haupia are among the fillings.
Why we love it
This is the essential pit stop on the Hāmākua Coast. Eat one hot in the car and save another for the Waipiʻo lookout.
What to expect
Tex sits on the makai (ocean) side of Highway 19 at the edge of Honokaʻa town, a drive-in with a covered open-air patio facing the Pacific. Through the bakery’s viewing window you can watch malasadas being made by hand, then eat yours warm out on the patio. The menu goes well past dessert. Breakfast is served daily, and the menu also covers burgers, soups, sandwiches, and plates like teriyaki beef and fried chicken, so Tex works as a real meal stop. It’s on the main road between Hilo and Waimea, which makes it an easy pause on a Hāmākua Coast drive or before the Waipiʻo Valley Lookout.
Know before you go
- Getting there
- It’s at mile marker 43 on Highway 19, just past the Welcome to Honokaʻa Town sign on Pakalana Street. From Waimea it’s about 14 miles northeast, and from Hilo about 40 miles northwest.
- What to order
- Get a malasada plain or filled (guava, lilikoʻi, and haupia are among the fillings). For something savory, the menu covers breakfast, burgers with tater tots, and plates.
- Order ahead
- Call 808-775-0598 to place a pickup order. No phone orders are taken after 5:45pm.
- Sell-outs
- Malasadas can sell out, so earlier in the day is the safer bet.
- Hours
- The restaurant is open 6am to 6pm daily and closes on Thanksgiving and Christmas. The gift shop keeps shorter hours, 9am to 4pm daily.
Illustrative photo — not taken at Tex Drive In.
Photo: Cristiano Pinto via Unsplash
