Under-the-Radar Coffee Shops in Marikina City

(SPOT.ph) Almost every city has its own coffee scene, and the more popular coffee shops are often found in the center of Metro Manila. Marikina may not be any Manileños' top-of-mind when it comes to places to go for caffeine fixes, but it's about damn time that changes.

For the sake of adventure and seeking underrated coffee shops, we went all the way to the east and were pleasantly surprised at all the hidden good coffee with equally good eats worth going to this probinsyudad for.

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5 Under-the-Radar Coffee Shops in Marikina City:

Resonate Coffee

Resonate Coffee is a specialty coffee shop born during the pandemic, birthed by two baristas with years of experience working in different coffee shops. The interiors of the café are more industrial, with bare concrete walls and exposed bricks, storage boxes as makeshift tables, and a wooden shelf with film cameras displayed for sale.

During our visit, we got to try the barista's recommendations: The Buttercookiccino (P160), a latte that uses milk infused with cookie butter giving it a layer of sweetness without adding sugar. We paired it with a Spinach Croissant (P160) that we are still dreaming of ever since we tried it. While the quality of the croissant was great, it was the cheesy and tangy filling with spinach and artichoke that made our eyes widen out of surprise and admiration.

Though Resonate Coffee's ambiance is inviting and aesthetically pleasing, it's important to know that the space is more for enjoying the coffee and food, and appreciating how laidback it is in this part of Marikina. The place is not conducive for working on your laptop, which for the most part, can be a good thing.

Resonate Coffee is at 113 Bayan Bayanan Avenue corner Dao, Marikina City. Open from 9 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., Monday to Sunday.

Kape Benito

You might think that Kape Benito looks like a house when you first see it and that's because it used to be a sari-sari store, which has a somewhat similar structure to a house. The structure was once a neighborhood store that the owners turned into a coffee shop—and we couldn't help but feel cozy as soon as we entered the shop with its Japandi-style interiors (a mixture of Japanese and Scandanivanian).

Kape Benito has special drinks inspired by the owner's (Pe Benito's) family stories, and among the three drinks under the category, we were recommended the Woop's Latte (P180). This drink is made with espresso, milk, condensed milk, caramel, and vanilla. This may sound too sweet on print, but we were surprised that it was rather a balance of milky and sweet but you can still taste a bit of the coffee.

We ordered this with their bestselling Mushroom and Truffle Cream Pasta (P280), a cream-based pasta dish with shiitake, champignon, porcini, truffle sauce, and truffle oil. This is a great choice if you tend to feel overwhelmed with most truffle dishes that overdo it with the truffle.

Out of all the coffee shops on this list, Kape Benito is best for remote work as there's Wi-Fi and electrical sockets for charging your devices. If you're sensitive to noise or can't work in a noisy area, it would be best to bring noise-cancelling earphones with you. 

Kape Benito Community Cafe is at 48 Sparrow Street, Sta. Elena, Marikina City. Open from 12 noon to 10 p.m., Monday to Friday, and 9 a.m. to 10 p.m., Saturday to Sunday.

Franken Coffee Bar + Roastery

Franken Coffee Bar + Roastery, as the name suggests, roasts their coffee beans, one of which is used in the drink we ordered. The (Dirty) Fauxchata (P140) is a drink that has soy rice milk, condensed milk, cinnamon, and an espresso shot pulled from coffee beans originating from Fazenda, Sto. Antonio. The consistency of the drink is on the creamier side and has a powerful cinnamon taste that doesn't overpower the coffee. 

We paired this with their Classic Cheese Pizza (P120) which was average at best. If the cookies—baked by Liezl Bituin, one of the café's owners—are available during your visit, we'd recommend pairing them with the (Dirty) Fauxchata or whatever your choice of coffee is. The cookies were still baking in the oven during our visit, so we'll definitely need to go back for a second glass of the horchata and freshly baked cookies.

There was one thing that kept boggling us about Franken Coffee Bar + Roastery: It opens at 4 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. on weekends. It seems rather late for a coffee shop, right? 

According to Oliver Jimenez, the other owner of the café, the main reason for opening late in the afternoon is that he and Liezl both have day jobs: Oliver is an occupational therapist while Liezl is a freelance artist. Marikina's coffee scene is unique in the sense that there are a number of dining and drinking establishment that have the same setup as Oliver and Liezl: day jobs with a passion project on the side.

Oliver explains that they have more coffee drinkers at night, and it's not limited to people working the graveyard shift. "Naging hangout type of coffee shop siya. Parang mga tropa-tropa pumpunta, nagkaka-kape," he shares. As for those who need coffee in the morning, "Para sa mga morning drinkers naman, ine-encourage namin sila mag-brew on their own. Nagbebenta kami ng bags [of coffee]," Oliver says.

Franken Coffee Bar + Roastery is at 132 JP Rizal, San Roque, Marikina City. Open from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m., Monday to Friday (except Tuesdays), and 9 a.m. to 10 p.m., Saturday to Sunday.

Overflow Café at Sandalwood

Overflow is a tiny coffee shop with its main seating space right by the counter. It might be a little difficult to chance upon empty seats at this café, but when you do, make sure to reserve it immediately. It's easy to get comfy that you'd want to stay for at least two hours while drinking coffee and munching on snacks.

The barista at Overflow recommended their popular nutty lattes. We decided to get the Macadamia Latte (P150) and their summer drink, the Strawberry Coffee (P160) which were both a solid 7.5/10 on our book. If you want to play it safe, the Macadamia Latte is a great choice and if you're feeling adventurous, the Strawberry Coffee is worth trying. This summer-special drink uses iced black coffee that's sweetened with strawberry—yup, there's actual strawberry pulps in this drink.

As for the food, we ordered the Overloaded (P160) and the Mozza Bites (P115), and the former gets a 9/10 rating while the latter gets a 10/10 rating on our book. The Overloaded is a hybrid sandwich, a grilled cheese sandwich with K-food influences while the Mozza Bites have an ooey-gooey mozzarella hidden inside deep-fried dough and served with tomato ketchup.

Another thing we loved about Overflow, as anik-anik girlies, is that they sell the cutest enamel pins priced at P75 each. The curation of the pins is mostly hinged on pop culture references and coffee themes. Make sure to bring cash if you're planning to hoard buy as the proceeds will help the Children of Overflow's small business.

Overflow Café at Sandalwood is at 67 Sandalwood, corner of Peach Street, Concepcion Dos, SSS Village, Marikina City. Open from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m., Tuesday to Sunday.

1990 Cafe

Just by going with its price points, we feel like 1990 Cafe's target market is friendly for students who are dependent on allowances—but that's not to say that the coffee isn't any good. We ordered their bestselling Spanish Caramel Latte (P140/iced, large) and found it on the milkier side in the latté spectrum. If that's your type of joe, then you should definitely give this drink a chance.

What ultimately won us over was the Strawberry Soda with Popping Boba (P125/large) which had this refreshing, sweet-tangy taste that saved us from the intense summer heat without any risk of palpitations. If you're looking for sweets to pair with your drink, 1990 Cafe also has a selection of cakes and pastries that you can choose from from the dessert display.

Similar to Kape Benito, the 1990 Cafe also looks like it was a house turned into a coffee shop, but unlike the aforementioned café, the 1990 Cafe sports a mostly black interior with concrete walls and a "nineteen ninety" sign. You can choose to sit in the enclosed (important: airconditioned) area with the high tables and high stools, or you can opt for the shaded al fresco dining area.

1990 Cafe is at 144 Dragon, Marikina City. Open from 1 p.m. to 10 p.m., Tuesday to Saturday, and 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Sundays.

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