6 French Toast Dishes to Try Now

We’ve rounded up even more French toast dishes to celebrate National French Toast Day, Nov. 28.

November 27, 2017

Katrina Valcourt,

The Choco Crème Brûlée French toast at Egghead Café, with additional fruits and ice cream.

Photo: Gary Saito

1. Egghead Café

Egghead’s extensive brunch menu is impressive—and you don’t have to wait until the weekend to get it. Of the four types of French toast, we went for the Choco Crème Brûlée version: three slices of thick sweet bread with chocolate ganache, caramelized bananas and whipped cream. Add fruit for $3 and ice cream for only $1, since this is basically dessert already. As the mugs say, “Egghead gives a French toast.”

$12, 885 Queen St., (808) 591-0066, eggheadhonolulu.com

SEE ALSO: Happy National French Toast Day!

2. Button Up Café

A post shared by BUTTON UP CAFE (@buttonupcafe) on Oct 8, 2017 at 11:21pm PDT

Blink and you might miss this small brunch spot hidden on the mauka side of the rail line, which would be a real shame, since its massive slices of stuffed strawberry cheesecake French toast are a must-try for those with a sweet tooth. This decadent treat already comes with pastry creme and strawberries, but go ahead and add on blueberries, banana slices and whipped cream for $1.50 each.

$8.95, 719 Kamehameha Highway, Pearl City, (808) 454-5454. Button Up Café is closed Nov. 20 through Dec. 1, buttonupcafe.com

3. Piggy Smalls

Photos: Katrina Valcourt

If you’re a fan of Piggy Smalls’ milk and honey cake, you’ll appreciate being able to order the milk and honey French toast with the same treatment: Portuguese sweet bread is soaked in four kinds of milk and comes with honey comb candy. It’s slathered with raspberry jam, too. The menu recommends adding crispy bacon and soft serve ($3 each), and we’re happy to oblige. Best to split this with a friend and order a salad on the side.

$13, 1200 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 665, (808) 777-3588, thepigandthelady.com/piggysmalls

4. Pint + Jigger

A bar may not be your first choice for brunch, but it should be. On a recent Saturday morning, Pint + Jigger was all but empty, which meant plenty of parking and no waiting. Order a breakfast cocktail (we strongly recommend the Talventi) and the French toast bread pudding, a slice of baked brioche dusted with powdered sugar, drizzled with maple syrup and topped with whipped cream. Add different types of fruit for $2 each. Bonus tip: For a more savory approach, order the monte cristo ($12), which uses the same batter but comes with ham, turkey and cheese.

$10, 1936 S. King St., (808) 744-9593, pintandjigger.com

5. Barrio Café

We thought we’d seen it all until we stopped into Wahiawā’s Barrio Café. Six slices of churro French toast are stacked in a pyramid, chocolate sauce and cajeta (Mexican caramel) dripping down the sides as a generous slab of butter melts, with crispy linguine sticking up out of the pyramid for garnish. If you like Over Easy’s custard French toast with a Cinnamon Toast Crunch crust, you’ll love this Mexican version.

$8.50, 672 Kīlani Ave., Wahiawā, (808) 622-3003

SEE ALSO: First Look: Barrio Café

6. Sweet E’s

Photo: Courtesy of Sweet E’s

Over the past seven years, Sweet E’s has perfected the stuffed French toast. Three thick-cut slices of Hawaiian sweet bread are crammed with either bananas ($9.95) or blueberries and cream cheese ($10.95), battered and fried, then topped with powdered sugar and even more fruits (for $2.95 more). Simple and tasty—but not decadent enough that you’ll hate yourself later. Which is important.

1006 Kapahulu Ave., (808) 737-7771