Papa’s Donuts

I LOVE Papa’s donuts. Not only are the donuts delicious (get the Bobbi-​O or one of the Bavarian cream — chocolate one is my fav) the staff is also SUPER awesome. If you are looking for donuts as a tasty breakfast or grabbing some donuts for your coworkers go here! This appears to be a family owned donuts shop which is the best in La Mesa. The owner has even given me a fresh donut free of charge!

So this donut shop isn’t too far from us but it’s not that close either. There is a local yum yum near us which will satisfy my donut craving buttttt not spectacular. So I decided to stop here this morning and give them a try. And I must say I was so happy I did!!! The lady at the counter made sure the acknowledge us and hand me some donut holes for my kids. That already sets the tone. Then I got my usual chocolate bar. Got in the car and bit into it bc I was that excited I couldn’t wait. And wow! This donut was heaven. It was so light and fluffy and soft. I mean I’m a picky donut person and hate the donuts that leave a film in your mouth. This was perfect. Not to mention it was huge!!! I am for sure coming back for my cravings. I will drive those extra miles! You earned this one papa’s !

Local boy does fantabulous! Local island boy opened up a shop and is serving up hot Malasadas with Bavarian Cream, Guava and soon to be Haupia! Chee hoo! (That translates to a = Hooray!). I tried a mixed bag of flavors. All made with aloha and can’t wait for the Haupia. Located in a strip mall by Lake Murray. This is Papa’s Donuts so don’t come expecting Leonard’s for people in the know.

A friend brought some of Papa’s Donuts to a potluck and I’m not a big donut fan but of course if you put it in front of me… I cut a coconut cream topped with chocolate ganache and chopped macadamia nuts into 4 pieces just wanting a little. Well, I proceeded to eat the other 3 quarters — it was SO good! I also tried the chocolate cream filled — so so good! I’ve told everyone about these donuts this past week… this isn’t good… I’m a fitness instructor :-).

Amazing donuts & malasadas & very friendly owners. I highly recommend you try this family owned business because I know you’ll be hooked after the first bite! I got two guava malasadas and one mango. My daughter got a donut with pink icing & sprinkles. They were both delicious. The owner passed out warm malasadas to everyone waiting in line and the staff was very welcoming. I’ll be getting all my donuts & malasadas from them from now on.

I have been here numerous times in the past few months. What initially brought me here were the malasadas. Not many places in town that offer malasadas, and since I was born in Hawaii, I am always on the lookout for good malasadas. Now, I make my own malasadas at home, but it’s not always convenient for me to do so. When I saw this place served malasadas & they were not that far away, I had to check them out.
It was almost a slam dunk when I found out the owners were from the islands, but I still had to check out the product. Ono stuff! Then to top it off I saw they opened on sundays at 5am & would take preorders for the malasadas. Perfect for me to pick some up before I went in to work at my church. Of course the first time I brought them in to my fellow workers on sunday AM they were ecstatic & happy. A little too happy since they gobbled them up so fast I almost didn’t get any.
My home made malasadas are still tops since I can eat them hot & fresh from the deep fryer, but these are the next best thing (here on the mainland). The other donut offerings I’ve tried here are very good too, but I will say my priority in coming here is for the malasadas.

These are the best, freshest donuts I’ve had
In a long time. I particularly like the little ones with pineapple
Nice people too.
I’ll be back!

Omg!!! My coworker brought these Malsadas in and they are amazing. I would drive to la mesa from my neighborhood just so i can purchase some for my family. I love the guava ones and the coconut. I can’t wait to try the other flavors.

I finally made it over to try the malasadas. I had seen the signs go up for this business a while ago and was curious to see how it would turn out when it opened. Justine H beat me over here and raved about how good the malasadas were. We stopped by with my lil dude in tow one afternoon for a treat.
The front of the shop is small. There’s only room for a few people inside at a time to place orders. It was clean and basic, no frills. Just a traditional donut shop. Nothing hipster about this place. No trendy donuts of the moment. You can find the standby favorites though, and I like those. They remind me of my grandpa.
The thing that does set this shop apart from nearby competitors is they make malasadas. On the weekends they even do fruit flavors. I tried a couple different ones that I split with Justine and they were good! They were not oily at all. Even the donut my son got was not at all oily, it was light and airy. A surprising change from a lot of places. Most of the time the bags get oily right away. He brought his donut home and the bag stayed oil free.
Service was good. We were greeted right away. The girl that helped us even offered my lil dude some donut holes, very sweet. There is plenty of parking in the shared lot. No restrooms.

I love papa’s D’s *insert devil emoji*
Seriously, I’m lovin’ these bad boys because Big Papa provides the classics AND the malasadas. It’s like when a dude invites you over for Netflix and chill, but then he ends up eating you out for 45 mins. The classics is the Netflix and chill and the malasadas is the 45 mins of oral heaven. I went in on a Friday night and hit the jackpot because I bought the last three coconut filled malasadas. Lemme just say that I left satisfied and I’m coming back to Big Poppa.
Oh ya and the cinnamon rolls are lit af.

Malasadas = little jewels of deliciousness!
Where have you been all my life? Papa’s Donuts is a great little donut shop with a good selection of tasty treats! Stop by get some donuts and coffee and if you’re like me — you’ll be planning your next trip!

So excited that this place just opened! It’s the perfect little donut shop I’ve been waiting for. First off, the donuts are delicious. I mean, that’s the real reason we’re all here, so we have to check that box. But they’re also well priced (read: cheap!) And the people who run the place are great, super friendly and helpful. The owner gave me a free donut hole for coming in today, and it was delicious.
I really like that the donuts are slightly smaller than some other places. I don’t like huge, messy donuts that end up tasting greasy or too dry. These are the prefect middle ground. Plus, you can try multiple flavors without wanting to die after. Definitely come check it out!

Craving doughnuts for breakfast and I turned to my Unilocal App and made my way to Papa’s Donuts.
I was warmly greeted with Aloha from Lyle. He had the total local pidgin accent that made me feel at home. He shared his aloha by allowing me to taste his malasadas. DELICIOUS!
Lyle was born on the Big Island but lived in Kahuku. YAY! A fellow Kamaaina. I told him I was from Wahiawa. :) 808 Represent!
I ordered several different doughnuts to try and a few malasadas. Lyle mentioned that he has different malasadas on the weekends that are filled with lilikoi and guava. Ooh la la. I gotta try it out.
The malasadas was good but I’m used to Leonard’s and Pa’alakai style. A little more fluffy with the dough. Papa’s Malasadas has a different texture on the outside but still good so no get me wrong.
Mahalo Lyle for making me feel at home. Your Aloha Spirit truly shows. I will be back on the weekend to try the other malasadas.

Shoots, brah!
When I got whiff that a former «local» was selling malasadas in our fine town, I had to make the trek down south and check it out. Once I walked in, I was warmly greeted by Lyle and Lisa. When Lyle (born on the Big Island, lived in Kahuku, North Shore Oahu) found out that I used to live in Pearl City, Oahu and I just returned from visiting North Shore with the family, his eyes lit up and we were sharing stories of island life. His malasadas are tasty, not quite Leonard’s Bakery level but very good. They’re filled with Haupia custard or Guava jelly, covered with sugar. Lyle also creates a special malasada that’s full of haupia custard and topped with chocolate icing, tastes like a Chocolate Haupia pie from Ted’s Bakery in North Shore!
Our visit was friendly and memorable. The malasadas were so ono!
Put this donut shop on your short list and pay a visit!
Tell Lyle and Lisa, Al sent you.
Mahalo plenty!

Hey, another neighborhood donut shop. You really can’t have too many of those, right?
I visited this place several weeks ago on a rainy Sunday morning and even at 9:30 there were plenty of donuts clearly and cleanly displayed in the case. Suffice it to say, I was surprised to have been left with so many options to choose from.
Among the selection here are fritters, crullers, Malasadas, maple bars, buttermilks, twists, Bavarian Crème and various others. No boutique, fancy schmancy, artsy fartsy kind of donuts here, just the classics.
I picked up 3 Malasadas, a maple bar and a Bavarian Crème. First of all, as others have stated, these donuts are surprisingly not greasy or oily. I had a couple donuts from one of my other favorite places in a bag next to the bag of these. The one’s from Papa’s had no oil/​grease residue on the bag unlike the bag from my «go to» place. This is definitely a noticeable quality when eating them as well.
Anyway, the Malasadas are easily the favorite. They have a standard sugar covered as well as a cinnamon and sugar covered. Get the cinnamon & sugar covered. That’s all I need to say about preference. They have a rich cream filling ass well and are just delicious. The Maple bar had an excellent consistency and a very strong, defined maple flavor and was definitely my second favorite. The Bavarian Crème wasn’t too bad but seemed a little hollow tasting compared to other crème/​custard filled donuts that I have had. I’d have to try another one to be sure.
Additionally, I need to go back because there were plenty of other donut options that looked appealing as well. Luckily, this place is pretty close.
Either way, I’m pleased with this place. It’s veteran owned, the two young people working the counter were really nice, energetic and friendly, the displays are clean and organized, the donuts aren’t greasy or oily and they taste pretty darn good and the Malasadas are excellent. Anyway I’m sure that I’ll be returning here in the not so distant future.

I would say this is now the best doughnut eatery within ratio to my abode. It is right next to big lots and just went in about a month ago now. Of course my mother had to hype my daughter up for a post Halloween decoration shopping trip treat. We we of course stopped in and I am a skeptic because I am a Mary’s lover. But oh man they are right up there. Fresh doughnuts even at 5 pm on a Sunday. They even have the Hawaiian crème filed puffs and they were so light and fluffy, with delicious peruvian crème. I got the maple bar and I would say it is one notch under my loyal doughnut shop. The selection was amazing and it appears to be family owned and operated which I am always in favor of. For the proximity to my house and with virtually no other doughnut shop worth visiting (without having to take a freeway or go further than five minutes) I really hope they stay in this location with thir current quality for years!

I’m always on the look out for a great buttermilk bar so I stopped in here to satisfy my hankering. I was a little disappointed that they only carried one kind of buttermilk bar, the glazed one, so I picked one up and a hot chocolate. I really wanted a maple buttermilk bar.
The buttermilk bar was good, perhaps a little thinner than what I am used to but it had good length. Nevertheless the doughnut was moist, airy inside, and had very good flavor. It had that tartness and sweetness that buttermilk provides. The sugar glaze was good and it covered the bar well. The hot chocolate is made from one of those Hot Chocolate Machines, not that there is anything wrong with that. It was good and arrived piping hot, but a little sweeter than I would of liked. It did however provide a good chocolate flavor.
The lady working the counter was very nice and helpful when I asked a few questions regarding the doughnuts. They carry Malasadas or cream filled round doughnuts. 3.5 stars.

Not greasy, yummy, fairly priced, family-​run, and they have malasadas=pretty much all you need to know.
My main beef with most donuts is how dang greasy they are. Not a problem with this place.
The girl who helped us was very personable and gave us malasada samples. She totally enticed me to buy way more than I was intending to! Malasadas are cream filled– no other flavors available yet. While malasadas are best while they’re still hot, these were still pretty tasty.
2 malasadas=1 donut. I got 3 donuts and 6 malasadas for $ 5. Great deal. And if you go between 4 – 6 you can actually get 12 for $ 5. Kids tried the other flavors I bought and gave them thumbs up.

So, I’m not a huge donut fan… or should I say, I like donuts, but they don’t like me. :) Then a couple friends told me that they loved their donuts from Papa’s and that they were different… less greasy, so I wanted to try them out.
I ordered two old favorites — a maple bar and an apple fritter. And then I asked «what are you best known for?» and she said the malasadas. OK, add that to my order!
I was on my way to go out for a walk so I didn’t want to eat too much at the time. I had bites of the maple bar and apple fritter. Both were tasty, though I preferred the maple bar as it was very light and maple-​y too. Then I ate a bite of a malasada, and during the next hour while out on my walk, I kept looking forward to eating the rest of it! I had assumed that malasadas were heavy and greasy… but not these — and the filling wasn’t too sweet (a plus for me).
The donuts nicely survived 3 hours (mostly in an unattended car on a warm day). When I got home, I was surprised to find *very* little grease on the bag. I gave my husband part of the apple fritter and he really liked it… he’s a traditional donut kind of guy.
Solid 4 stars. The employees were very friendly and the shop is super clean. I’ll be back!

I first noticed the sign over this place a few months ago and started keeping an eye on it every time I went to Patty’s Café, Big Lots or the Goodwill. One day I walked up to a nearby business to ask if they knew when it would open and the business owner took me next door to where the owner of Papa’s Donuts was working inside getting the place ready. We chatted for a while and he told me they were hoping to be open by Memorial Day weekend. I didn’t know if I’d be in town but was hoping so.
Well, Memorial Day weekend came and went and the Opening Soon sign was still up and the inside was still empty except for the work going on. Eventually there was a flyer on the front door indicating they were going to try to be open by July 4^th, which was later replaced by another saying they hoped to be open by the end of July. Still no donuts!
I kept faithfully watching and one day about a week ago, the outside banner had changed from Opening Soon to Grand Opening August 29^th – today! Yaay!
They owner is very nice and I wish him lots of luck in this new endeaver! I can attest he has worked very hard and the «A» rating in the window shows his work has paid off.
I’ll add more after I taste some donuts! Unfortunately they ran out in about three hours the first day so I couldn’t buy any when I got there at 10:15am. I was very disappointed.