Low-Key Cafés Where You Can Actually Get Work Done
Apr 17, 2017 • Shen Mascariñas
When deadlines are fast approaching and the procrastination bug has bitten you hard, staying in your cozy room or all-too familiar cubicle is probably not the best idea. You wouldn’t want to over-extend your “power nap” or office chismisan now, would you? Sometimes all you really need is a refreshing (aka caffeinated) change of scenery—away from your enticing bed, chatty friends and nagging boss—to get you in the zone.
We gotchu! These low-key cafes provide environments conducive for productivity. And when you finally get all your work done, delicious rewards await here as well.
Jiro Coffee Studio
2F Crossroad Center, 77 Mother Ignacia Avenue, Paligsahan, Quezon City
(02) 374 0102 | Facebook
Open Monday to Friday from 12nn to 8pm, every Sunday from 10am to 3pm
Budget for two – P500
This coffee studio is quaint, serene and filled with lovely natural light. They serve delicious (not to mention instagenic) breakfast options with coffee, and they have brews that will pleasantly surprise you. Game to have your cup of Joe with butter or coconut water? Jiro’s Bullet Proof Coffee and Cocospresso are definitely worth a try.
YDG Coffee
2263 ID Design Building Pasong Tamo Extension, Magallanes, Makati
0917 5507 207 | Facebook
Open daily from 8am to 8pm
Budget for two – P400
Consider YDG, Your Daily Grind, your hideout in busy Makati—one that’s a reliable source for caffeine and noms, too. Its unlikely location means you won’t have to rub elbows with strangers. Instead, you get to enjoy a millennial haven created by millennials as you ace those deadlines.
Also, the YDG folks are more than happy to customize drinks based on customer preferences. One of the favorite off-menu concoctions is the Iced White with honey and a dash of cinnamon.
The Coffee Room
3F Hollywood Square, Inside CMS-Asia Sports Clinic, West Ave., Del Monte, Quezon City
0917 8955 239 | Facebook
Open daily from 11am to 9pm
Budget for two – P500
Tucked inside a clinic and behind huge red doors await a bright, cozy place perfect for sipping on coffee, munching on grub and getting productive. The Coffee Room has a wall converted to a floor-to-ceiling window, so look forward to lots of energizing sunlight.
Along with a plethora of coffee iterations, they also serve cold-pressed juices, salad bowls, sandwiches and decadent desserts. Don’t miss their S’mores Cup.
Where’s Marcel
The Pearl Place, Pearl Drive, Ortigas, Pasig City
(02) 535 0621 | Facebook
Open daily from 7am to 4pm
Budget for two – P500
Where’s Marcel is a coffee company from Melbourne, and this is their first branch outside Australia. They trade directly with Filipino farmers to support and hopefully grow local businesses. Their brews are based on this crop-to-cup concept, and you can taste the difference in their specialty coffee. Try their signature Dirty Chai Latte and Flat White.
As for food, Where’s Marcel combines Aussie grub with Pinoy flavors. Their savory treats were developed by Chef Sau Del Rosario and their sweet endings by Chef Christine Paredes.
Caffeined by Mozaic Living
7 Sheridan Street, Highway Hills, Mandaluyong City
(02) 634 5954, (02) 477 2652 | Facebook
Open Monday to Saturday from 9am to 9pm
Budget for two – P800
Who would’ve thought that tucked inside a proudly-Pinoy furniture and lifestyle store is a third-wave café with quality brews and food? Well, that’s Caffeined for you. While you get your caffeine and noms fix, here, you can lounge around and really experience the various types of furniture. You’ll sip out of the most beautiful handcrafted mugs, too.
For the non-coffee drinkers, Caffeined puts a unique twist on the classic hot chocolate you have to try!
Apero
Corinthian Hills, Temple Drive, White Plains, Quezon City
0917 511 3475 | Facebook
Open daily from 8am to 9:30pm
Budget for two – P700
Corinthian Hills nestles a beautiful, French-influenced neighborhood café—Apero, the sister company of Duck & Buvette. Expect the same respect to ingredients, attention to detail and excellent technique. What’s added and greatly improved is a kind of ambiance that will make it hard to leave.
This full-service restaurant features delicious offerings from breakfast up to post-dinner, but they do brunch most exceptionally well. You’ll be greeted with an irresistible spread of bread and pastries with the sourdough croissant and duck fat pandesal as the total musts. But, really, almost anything you choose to pair with their Intelligentsia coffee will make working a lot more pleasant.
Exchange Alley Coffee House
Molito Commercial Complex, Alabang, Muntinlupa City
(02) 809 1009 | Facebook
Open on weekdays from 12nn to 11pm, weekends from 7am to 11pm
Budget for two – P400
EACH is from the same makers of Magnum Opus, the well-loved specialty coffee shop in BF Paranaque. Like its forerunner, every cup that is served to customers is meticulously and passionately made. Everyday, their beans are freshly roasted, ground and brewed. Experience the difference with their signature EACH Mocha and other unique options like the Nitro Black.
Of course, you’ll also find fuel for the tummy here. The Avo Toast and EACH Breakfast won’t disappoint. And fuel for your laptop, aka Wi-Fi? Strong, like their coffee.
Bluesmith Coffee & Kitchen
GF MJ Corporate Plaza, 2310 Pasong Tamo Ext., Magallanes, Makati
2F Corte Area, Ayala Malls The 30th, Meralco Ave., Pasig City
(02) 729 0284, (02) 755 3092 | Facebook
Open daily from 7am to 11pm
Budget for two – P700
Magallanes welcomes a new café that perfectly merges specialty-grade coffee with elevated comfort food. Granted it’s in the more hidden, hard-to-get-to side of Makati, but that adds to its obscure charm and more importantly, this makes it less likely your boss will be there to bug you.
Bluesmith offers a wide array of coffee renditions, but their specials will make it much easier to decide. The Horchata and Cold Brew are especially perfect for this hot season. Their waffles and daylong breakfasts are crowd-pleasers as well.
Any other cafés we can be productive in? Share those gems below!
