Beautiful Cafés For When You Need To Get Out Of The House

Moon Café (Angeles, Pampanga)

Moon Café is one of the more successful pandemic debuts, having opened just last December in Angeles City, Pampanga. Owned by business partners Carl Tolentino and Anna Marie Lacson, Moon Café is a homage to South Korean cafés that feature clean and minimalist aesthetics.

Photo Credit: @coffeecupseries

Come here for Chicken Parmigiana and other pastas, sandwiches, and fresh baked pastries typical for a neighborhood café. Try the crowd favorite: the salted egg pasta.

Photo Credit: @mooncafeph

And of course, you can’t go wrong with a cup of coffee—hot or cold, your choice.

Photo Credit: @mooncafeph

Verse Café 3:16 (San Juan City)

From the makers of TOMO Japanese Dining comes this Japanese and Asian fusion café that serves all-day breakfast in San Juan City. The interiors are definitely interesting, inspired from the linear and modular aesthetics of the Japanese.

Photo Credit: @VerseCafe316

More than the beautiful interiors, Verse Café also offers beautifully made dishes and beverages. Get transported to Japan with their beautiful katsu sando, mentaiko pasta, and salmon steak teriyaki don.

Photo Credit: @VerseCafe316

If you love their coffee, they also have roasted coffee beans to-go.

Photo Credit: @VerseCafe316

La Cathedral Café (Intramuros, Manila)

La Cathedral Café is one of the restaurants who pivoted and reinvented during the pandemic, and they reopened in a brand-new location in October to the delight of many Manileños. Now, they’re located right outside Manila Cathedral in an al fresco setting, giving you a stunning view of the historical church.

Photo Credit: @lacathedralcafe

Apart from their blockbuster coffee, they also offer interesting non-caffeinated drinks like this salted caramel with popcorn, strawberries and cream, and strawberry lemonade.

Photo Credit: @lacathedralcafe

The café is open from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., and you can dine-in freely throughout the day to enjoy their café fare. However, the café is most stunning at night, when their rooftop lights up with lamps and lanterns. This is why dining here from 3 p.m. onwards requires prior booking, which you can do through their Facebook page.

Photo Credit: @lacathedralcafe

Café Fleur (Poblacion, Makati)

Chef Sau Del Rosario started 2021 with a bang when he opened the first Manila branch of Café Fleur in Poblacion this January. The original Café Fleur started in Angeles City, Pampanga in 2016, as a homage to his mother and grandmother, who were both passionate about food and flowers.

Photo Credit: @cafefleur.ph

The café can comfortably seat 20 people, taking into account social distancing measures. There’s also a semi-al fresco area with a sunroof.

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When dining in, look forward to Chef Sau’s iconic Kapampangan dishes, this time infused with a French twist. His pandemic baking babies—Tsokolate Heg Fye and Vuco Fye, which are tongue-in-cheek recreations of the traditional egg pie and buko pie—are also available in the restaurant.

Photo Credit: @foodchingeats

Flower Ranch Café (Mandaluyong City)

Inspired by the quaint little coffee shops scattered around Seoul, this Flower Ranch Café is a family DIY project that fuses their passion for beautiful flowers and good coffee.

Photo Credit: @flowerranch.cafe

They are first and foremost a flower shop, with an assortment of dried and fresh flowers for sale. So stepping inside the shop is like getting whisked to a faraway place, the scent of the flowers taking you away from the bustle and crazy of the metro.

Photo Credit: @flowerranch.cafe

Inside, you can enjoy the ambiance with classic coffee concoctions like lattes, cappuccino, iced mocha, and long black. They also have choco walnut and dark choco chunk cookies to partner with your coffee.

Photo Credit: @flowerranch.cafe

Purple 7 Café (Quezon City)

Heads up, ARMY! There’s a BTS-themed café located in Quezon City for all your fangirling and foodie needs! The store is open from 1 to 3 p.m. for takeout orders, and 3 to 6 p.m. for dine-in customers. To maintain social distancing requirements, the café requires prior reservation during Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.

Photo Credit: Purple 7 Café

Purple 7 Café has fast become a favorite destination of ARMYs and K-pop fans, since the space is decorated with photo opportunities and K-pop merch. They also host private events, usually by fan groups who celebrate their idol’s birthdays or milestones.

Photo Credit: Purple 7 Café

They have sweet treats like jar cakes, tin can cakes, and giant cookies for the sweet tooth. And for the coffee afficionados, they have special BTS-themed coffee bottles like these, which were designed specifically for BTS’ comeback last year.

Photo Credit: Purple 7 Café

Flour Pot Rum Cakes Al Fresco Café (Tagaytay, Cavite)

Rhea Sycip started Flour Pot Rum Cakes three years ago with a single cake: a moist, buttery rum cake. Now, the brand has come a long way, finally opening an al fresco café inside The Inn at Cliffhouse Tagaytay—the location where Rhea got married 14 years ago.

Photo Credit: @flourpotmanila

The café houses Flour Pot’s growing menu, including their now bestselling chocolate tableya cake, tres leches cake, and quezo de bola ensaymada. You can enjoy a slice with a cup of coffee or tea, or bring home a whole cake because they’re too good to miss.

Photo Credit: @flourpotmanila

Don’t forget to order Flour Pot’s signature rum cake, made with Destileria Limtuaco’s Very Old Captain rum. You can also order their cakes for delivery through their contact number: 0916-493-7488.

Photo Credit: @flourpotmanila

Antinous Luxury Café (Tagaytay, Cavite)

Star in your own “Crazy Rich Asians” role at this luxury café in Tagaytay that serves your coffee and tea in designer cups like Versace, Hermès, and Louis Vuitton. The café is located inside Aquila Crystal Palace events place in Tagaytay, and can be visited by members only. It’s the ultimate luxurious café experience!

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All coffee and tea are served in designer cups, which are part of the luxury mug collection of the owner, Tei Endencia. They serve pastries, pasta, and coffee, with the price range starting at P1,000 pesos.

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To visit, you need to pay P10,000 for a lifetime membership. This membership, however, can be used by your friends and family members. To preserve the luxury of the venue and promote social distancing, they only accommodate 5 people per day in the café, on an appointment basis.

Photo Credit: Antinous Luxury Café

Greenhouse Café (Tagaytay, Cavite)

Plantitos and plantitas will fall in love in this greenhouse-turned-café, the first of its kind in Tagaytay. Get to appreciate nature and relax while you’re at the café, which is home to beautiful and rare plants originating from different parts of the Philippines and from other countries in Asia.

Photo Credit: Greenhouse Café Tagaytay

Enjoy a cup of coffee or a delectable plate of your choice amidst the lush greenery. They have soup, salads, sandwiches, and breakfast favorites, on top of your usual coffee and dessert selection.

Photo Credit: Greenhouse Café Tagaytay

Currently, only 20 people are allowed inside at a time. So while they accept walk-ins, it’s always better to call ahead for table reservations.

Photo Credit: Greenhouse Café Tagaytay

Typica Coffee (Taytay, Rizal)

Sometimes, all you need is a really good cup of coffee—and that’s exactly what Typica Coffee aims to offer. Typica is formerly a sari-sari store, renovated to be given a new life as a Japanese-inspired coffee shop. Talk about sustainability!

Photo Credit: Typica Coffee

This coffee shop is guided by the Japanese principle of Kodawari, which translates to “the uncompromising and relentless pursuit of perfection.” This principle is interpreted in their coffee and dessert options, most of them starting at a very friendly price of 60 pesos. But make no mistake because the price does not dictate the quality of their coffee.

Photo Credit: Typica Coffee

Typica can only sit two groups or couples at a time on its storefront, which is perfect to encourage social distancing.

Photo Credit: Typica Coffee

Muni Coffee PH (Kalayaan, Laguna)

Sometimes, you’ll find that there is beauty and class in simplicity. And this is exactly what this tiny drive-in café wants to achieve. Muni Coffee is literally a hole in the wall—just drop by, get your coffee, and go about your day’s business. Minimalist, no frou-frou; just a good cup of joe.

Photo Credit: Muni Coffee PH

Their craft coffee is good, but priced really really well. You can get a good pour over for just 45 pesos and iced coffee for just 70 pesos. They also have sandwiches available.

Photo Credit: Muni Coffee PH

Muni Coffee is open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays, and 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekends. It’s worth it to stopover for good coffee.

Photo Credit: Muni Coffee PH

Crescent Moon Café (Antipolo, Rizal)

Crescent Moon Café has been around since 1997, serving as a studio of potter Lanelle Abueva-Fernando. Aside from the studio where you can also do your own pottery, the compound houses the café, which specializes in Southeast Asian-inspired cuisine.

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The interiors of the café feature vintage colors and a laid-back ambiance, characteristic of its artistic roots. Since they reopened in June, they only operate at 50% capacity to maintain social distancing protocols. Guests are encouraged to reserve a table through their Facebook page.

Photo Credit: @thekonradproject

Drop by Crescent Moon Café for suman and a cup of coffee, served in ceramics forged in their studio—a simple and classic Filipino meryenda done well.

Photo Credit: @caffeinatedinph

Cafe Rizal by Peppermill (Antipolo, Rizal)

Cafe Rizal by Peppermill is the museum café inside the famous Pinto Art Museum. And just like the museum, the café is just every bit as Instagrammable, worthy of its place.

Photo Credit: Pinto Art Museum

When at Cafe Rizal, you won’t be held back by their food options because their extensive menu features more than a hundred dishes from various cuisines—Filipino, Japanese, Thai, French, Spanish, you name it!

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To enjoy the outdoor air, you can opt to dine at their al freso area, where you’re surrounded by the lush trees of the museum and enveloped by the fresh air of Antipolo.

Photo Credit: Pinto Art Museum