When I was last there I visited Encore Espresso, a small coffee shop in a strip mall. It appeared to be owner operated and the gentleman behind the bar was friendly and offered any advice I needed when I told him I was opening a coffeehouse near San Francisco. His shop was located in the Aina Haina Shopping Center in Honolulu.

My first post on this site, but I saw the question and couldn't resist. I just moved back to the mainland after living there for about 4 1/2 years and will tell you that small, great coffee shops are hard to come by, but there are a few you should not miss. If you are in Waikiki, Honolulu Coffee Co. in the Moana Surfrider hotel, right across from the International Marketplace, is great coffee. Get a little table by the window at night and watch the street performers and tourists. By the airport, there is a little coffee shop/flower shop called Petals and Beans. It looks a little haphazard, but the coffee is good and the owner is very friendly. The espresso shakes are good there. The last place is in Haleiwa and my husband and I would regularly drive there from Ewa just to get coffee. It's called The Coffee Gallery and they do have a website you can check out. It's a favorite with locals and could be the best coffee on the island. No air conditioning, but plenty of outdoor seating. There is a vegetarian/vegan spin to a lot of the food and pastries and they roast all their own coffee. Hope this helped a bit. Have a good time!