Cute and cozy Starbucks in the Intramuros area and built into an old City wall. Friendly baristas…read moreand delicious treats. Heavily policed as many tourists are here; keep your items close. The WiFi only works if your have a Philippines SIM card to get the access code. If you need to catch a cab I was advised by the barista to not grab one directly outside but head back across the street towards the 'red building' and grab one there.

The Manila Hotel is one of the oldest premiere hotel in the Philippines…read more Beautiful, gorgeous, and well maintained. My travel buddies and I ate at the Lobby Lounge at the Manila Hotel. I ordered the following: - Fresh Calamansi Juice (and a separate Vodka drink to mix together) - Pancit Free Wifi. ENJOY!

So relaxing to sit in the plush chairs, listening to the live piano music while sipping a glass of…read morewine and some delicious snacks, waiting to check in - priceless

People around Metro Manila are drawn to coffee shops like flies to manure. That said, most of them…read moreare s#!t. Sad to admit but true. That's because most of them try to be something that they're not, which is of course Starbucks. Few cafes out there establish their own identity. Few cafes in Metro Manila can stand out from the competition without emulating Starbucks. Cafe UK is a part of the few. A local favorite among the people in P. Noval, Cafe UK never fails to draw a crowd each day. A crowd mostly made up of students. The students love it here. Great ambiance, good food and coffee, nice staff and free Wi-Fi are just a few of the reasons why this place has become a regular on many people's place to chill. I'm pretty sure the guy who owns this place knows his target market. I mean, the way this place feels and how it's setup is just so right for students. It's tailor made to appeal to that kind of demographic. The branch here in P. Noval looks a bit tight and cramped. What it lacks in floor area it makes up for with the number of floors. In a way though, I actually liked the cramped space of this cafe. It forces people to be close and conversations are more likely to be intimate and engaging that way. Cafe UK is sweet. It draws students are drawn to it like flies are to honey. A warning though, be sure to bring a jacket. The place can get really cold especially at night.

A few weeks ago, I visited my sister in her office near Malate, and on my way home, I looked for…read moreCafetaly, which I have stumbled into one drunken nigh. I had to go back to check if the spotless all-white bakery that I vaguely remembered going into wasn't a figment of my imagination. True enough, I found it after I retraced my steps from Erra's Ramen, where my friends and I were drinking. The place is still trying to fine tune its operations, but I can already say that it has quite a following among the students and the working professionals from the nearby schools and offices. This is mainly because of the nice interiors and the comfortable seating. They have several tables that are common to to Angel N Kiss Bakery and the Korean pizza place that share the same space. Apart from the comfy chairs and tables, they also have private rooms where groups can have a little privacy. The spanking new cafeteria-style place is quite hip and trendy, with its handsome wooden tables and industrial plastic furniture. What's great about this really nice place is their store hours - they open 24/7 so it is a perfect place for those all-nighters with friends. I think the ambiance is really student-friendly and very relaxing, that's why this whole food hall looks a bit out of place in the center of Malate's seedy night life. This is yet another cute Korean place that hits the right buttons when it comes to interior design. I forgot to note the exact address ,but you can easily find it because of its brightly lit sign that is highly visible from the street.

It's very difficult to find good food in the mendiola area…read more Especially for someone like me who needs more than a cup full of servings. And this place has that and for a good price to. The past few years I've noticed not many freshly cooked food without flys nearby in the mendiola area. But this place has it. It's a great for students in the area it's also good on the stomach. My stomachs experience in the mendiola area is a love hate when it comes to food. When i first moved here there would be many places that would send me to the bathroom the whole day. But Barcello cafe is the place to go to prevent from getting sick I recommend the fish and chips as well as the chicken piri piri but with the sauce on the side. Portions are generous for the price. Desserts are tasty as well as their cappuccino. I say give it a try and this will most likely be your go to place if you're studying in the area.

The Barcelo Café is probably the fanciest place you can grab a bite to eat along Mendiola street…read more It's a great place to eat if you have a couple of extra bucks to spare. Their menu is full of dishes that might seem out of place for something that caters to students since it might remind you of a hotel. The reason for this is that the restaurant's kitchen is usually staffed with HRM and culinary students undergoing their OJT. The cafe also has a bakery where they make their own cakes and other pastries for dessert. The Barcelo Café also has the distinction of being the only place, so far as I know, that offers a breakfast buffet. Each day brings with it different breakfast food but each day will always include rice and soup. For the price, quality of service, and the the food Barcelo Café is a good bargain and gives excellent value for the money you'll spend.

A hole in the wall coffee shop that can be found in Escolta's Hub Make Lab. The menu is in fact…read moreinteresting and I went for the Berg's paired with Toast topped with Nutella Spread. Fell in love with the grilled cheese with tomato dip. The quality of the bread is good and the cheese is just as great. The store provides a QR Code for contact tracing upon entry and body temp is also being identified. they provide a paperbag for the mask and each table is marked for social distancing.

I had heard only good things about this place so I wanted to check it out for myself. I was not…read moredisappointed. The service was bright and a table was set immediately after we walked in. After glancing over the menu, we placed our order and the food arrived just a few minutes later. Among the many dishes that we ordered, the xiao long bao (soup dumplings) were among my favorite. The food was fresh and perfectly seasoned, and the portions were generous. Each dish was only about ₽200-₽300 each - a bargain! If you ever find yourself in Manila's bustling Chinatown, be sure to stop by the Mezzanine Cafe to refill your tank!

Cafe Mezzanine was a pretty good spot for Chinese Filipino cuisine. I went with a friend and it was…read morenice try out many dishes. We had the following items: -Lechon Kawali -Kiampong -Beef Wanton Soup -Miki Bihon Overall, I thought most of the items were fine, but not necessarily fantastic. The Kiampong and Beef Wanton Soup were probably my favorite dishes since they were unique and something you probably wouldn't find in typical Chinese menus. The Lechon Kawali was probably the most disappointing dish since I'd heard it was excellent and it tasted very basic to me. The ambiance is very casual and the service was not particularly attentive. I wasn't terribly impressed by Cafe Mezzanine, but it was fine. You should really go with a group of people so you can try many dishes to explore the various flavors...also, I'd suggest going for the Chinese-Filipino dishes since those are much more unique.

Despite not having been to mainland Europe before, I was able to sample Britain's Costa Coffee…read morein--of all places--the Philippines today. Located inside the busy Robinsons Galleria mall in Ermita, Manila on the first floor near H&M, they also have free WiFi for their customers. This is a great perk for those tourists and visitors like myself. The password is located at the bottom of the receipt, so remember to save it. Unlike many other places around Manila, they accept credit cards (Visa/MasterCard) without putting up a stink or having any issues in processing your payment. The barista was friendly and patient with me as I navigated the menu got the first time. Small hint: the baristas have listed on the back of their uniforms what their ranks are. I ended up ordering the mint chocolate chip frosted cream, and it came out well-blended and not too sweet, despite the name. The price was ₽180 or just over $3.40 USD (as of 5/11/2019), and I'm sure even less for those using pounds sterling. The music they play is all British inspired, and the memorabilia like the red telephone booth is a nice touch at this location. The seating is abundant and lounging is encouraged. I hope Costa Coffee ends up opening up more locations around Metro Manila and one day enter the Southern California market soon (hint hint).

Yes, there's a phone box out front, signaling their Anglophile bent, and they have "English-style"…read morecarrot cake for sale in the pastries case, so the British angle is definitely their thing. But, is the coffee any good? Indeed it is, and so is their dedicated Wi-Fi, and so is their seating, and their service, and everything else. And it's always much less crowded than Starbucks, which is right around the bend in this mall. I prefer this coffee place to the Starbucks, and spent a lot of time in here during my recent stay in Malate (part of Manila City). I definitely recommend.