Outer Sunset Bakery Brings Hawaiian Donuts To Potrero Hill

Outer Sunset Bakery Brings Hawaiian Donuts To Potrero HillGuava- and ube-filled malasadas. | Photo: Charlene Fernandez
Kathleen Ngo
Published on July 22, 2017

Malasadas are coming to Potrero Hill for one day only.

Outer Sunset-based bakery Ocean Malasada Co. will sell the deep-fried pastries, originally created in Portugal at its third pop-up starting at 12:30pm tomorrow at Milk Bomb. [Correction: This pop-up occurred on Saturday, July 22.]

Malasadas will be available in traditional plain, guava, and ube (purple yam) varieties. Traditional malasadas go for $3 each, while filled ones are $3.50.

Founders Randy and Dee Santos previously tested their concept at Andytown Coffee Roasters in the Sunset. Their malasadas have taken off among foodies and dessert fiends in the Bay Area, attracting queues well before opening time. At the last event, malasadas sold out in less than 2 hours.

Ocean Malasada Co. launched in October 2016 out of the Santoses’ home kitchen. The novice bakers began with a family recipe and a desire to bring “a taste of the islands” to the Bay Area. And after 6 months of experimentation and taste tests with friends, Randy and Dee established their rotating menu.

Guava & Ube for brunch. 🌴#OceanMalasada 🌴if we were in HI we'd have a cup of Ka'u coffee to go with it. #peaberry #BigIsland

A post shared by 🌺Ocean Malasada Company (@oceanmalasadaco) on

While no one malasada variety outsells the other, Randy said guava is offered more often than the rest.

The Santoses have family in Hawaii, allowing them to source ingredients from the islands. “Our chocolate, cookies, sugar, and more are from small businesses that support cocoa farming and other agriculture on the islands,” Randy told Hoodline.

Randy said bakers’ hours are challenging, given both Randy and Dee work full-time jobs.

“We’re raising this business from the ground up, and out of our home kitchen. Things are slowly getting easier. Every week there’s something to improve,” said Randy.

Ocean Malasada aspires to open a brick-and-mortar location, but for now, the Santoses are focused on getting as many people as possible to try their donuts and building relationships with local businesses.

On operating in the Outer Sunset—the Santoses’ home for more than a decade—Randy comments, “It’s our community, the lifestyle is perfect for the brand that we have, there are more businesses popping up and for the most part the owners are down to support each other.”

For details on upcoming events and pop-ups, follow Ocean Malasada on Instagram.