Where to eat in Maginhawa: New restaurants to check out in 2020

A lot of restaurants have come and gone along Maginhawa Street in Quezon City. As a resident, I have top 10 personal favorites that I regularly go to including Friuli, Tomato Kick, Roberta’s Seafood Restaurant and Indonyaki, to name a few. While these days, the area seems saturated with food parks, Samgyupsal and milk tea places catering to the student crowd, some residences have been converted into restaurants ideal for quiet time or small gatherings. Here are some of the relatively newer restaurants (opened from 2017 to 2019) that offer unique food and a cozy homey ambiance in the Maginhawa neighborhood.

Gourmet Gypsy Art Cafe

Gourmet Gypsy Art Cafe serves global gourmet food, including keto and vegan dishes, in an art-filled, relaxing space. Some of their menu offerings include Coco Mango Pasta with shrimp (P295), Keto Laksa (P350), Vegan Spring Rolls (P295), Roasted Veggie Hummus (P240), and Greek Chicken Souvlaki (P275). They also have desserts like keto baked goods and keto ice cream (P160-265).

The restaurant shares the space and serves as a training ground for Open Hand School, a vocational school for adults with special needs. The resto aims to build inclusive communities by providing students with work and provide a venue to sell their livelihood products including bags and artwork. More than 30 percent of Gypsy Gourmet Cafe’s staff have special needs and work in all areas of the restaurant – dining room, bar, kitchen, bakery and office.

For those looking for a place to work or study, the house also contains a co-working space and offers meeting rooms. It looks like a cheerful space for NGOs and freelancers who live and work in the area.

Address: 28 Maginhawa Street, UP Village, Quezon City
Business hours: Open daily from 111:00 am to 10:00 pm

Talisay Garden Cafe

Talisay The Garden Cafe is the newest restaurant of Chef Myke “Tatung” Sarthou, featuring elevated classic Filipino food and family recipes inspired by his hometown of Cebu. The renovated ’60s split-level type house along Maginhawa Street offers an airy space with wide glass windows giving a refreshing view of the garden and a few benches, which offer a natural backdrop for taking photos with the whole family.

The modern Filipino restaurant offers unpretentious and hearty dishes like Goat’s Cheese Salad (P480), Jamon de Talisay (P640), Chicken Pianggang, Paella Mixta (P790), and Cassava Cheesecake (P220/slice). Good place to take the whole family. It’s located on a quieter side of Maginhawa Street, where there’s more space for parking right in front of the restaurant and along the street.

Address: 44 Maginhawa, Diliman, Lungsod Quezon, 1101 Kalakhang Maynila
Business hours: Open Monday to Sunday 11:00 am to 11:00 pm

Hot off the Press

From the outside, Hot off the Press looks just like a regular house, so it’s easy to miss except for the small sign. The residence has been converted into a spacious and airy restaurant that serves specialty coffee made with beans sourced from Benguet, pastries, pasta, sandwiches, and rice meals. The cafe offers a quiet space for small business meetings.

There’s nothing too gimmicky on the menu, just the usual comfort food like Chef’s Meat Loaf (P325/solo), Pan-baked salmon (P550), Spinach Lasagna (P285), Grilled Chicken Pesto Pasta (P235), and Roasted Vegetables Panini (P230). For desserts, they have the usual assortment like Blueberry Cheesecake, Carrot Cake (P120/slice each) and more. Set breakfast meals are also available.

Address: 163 Maginhawa St. Sikatuna Village, Quezon City, Philippines
Business hours: Open from Monday to Sunday 8:00 am to 11:00 pm

SGD Coffee / Bodega

SGD Coffee / Bodega is a coffee processing facility, warehouse, and cafe that highlights the work of coffee farmers from Sagada. The repurposed home in a quiet street of Teacher’s Village serves as a Coffee Science Center where beans harvested from Sagada are processed, along with all-day breakfast fare featuring ingredients from Sagada and in-house made pastries.

Interesting offerings on the menu include Etag Carbonara (P250), Sagada Omelette (P250), and Inadobo sa Kape (P250). For snacks, there’s Sagada Yogury (P155), Sagada Ice Cream (P155), lemon bars and revel bars (P65), chocolate chip oatmeal cookies (P60), and orange oatmeal cookies (P60).

The Bodega got its name because it literally was supposed to be a storeroom that somehow got turned into a coffee shop and educational space. They also house a Coffee Science Center which conducts workshops and seminars on all things coffee, from roasting to brewing and tasting.

Address: No. 45 Maalalahanin St., Teachers Village East, Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines
Business hours: Open Monday to Sunday from 8:00 am to 10:00 pm

Garlic Kitchen

Garlic Kitchen is a fast-casual garden restaurant that serves Asian-Western fusion with garlic-inspired dishes. It’s located in a garden area that used to be occupied by Cocina Juan and across Nuezca Cafe.

Their soft opening menu lists a few dishes like Chili Wings (P185), Creamy Truffle Pasta (180), Squid Ink Pasta with Sausage and Olives (P210), Garlic Infused Lechon Baka (P300) and even garlic-infused desserts like Garlic Ice Cream (P155) and Lemon Garlic Cheesecake (P140) served with garlic brittle Chocolate chip cookie.