Choosing a café to hit up in Alabang can be overwhelming, especially for those who are new to the area. While shopping districts here are mostly within walking distance, they are not connected to each other, meaning that you can hop from one place to another for all kinds of fixes, caffeine cravings included. We created this list to guide the "tourists" of Alabang who are interested in discovering the coffee culture of the South—all while filling up your grid with #aesthetic posts.
10 Aesthetic Cafés to Visit in Alabang
1. Starbucks Reserve
For the uninitiated, Starbucks Reserve is a special Starbucks store that uses premium coffee beans and they craft creative concoctions that aren't served in a regular Starbucks store. There is only a limited number of Starbucks Reserve in the country, and one is at Westgate Center, along Filinvest Avenue.
This Starbucks Reserve in Alabang is a three-story building. The first floor is spacious with a coffee bar where customers can grab a stool while watching the baristas do their magic. The second and third floors have more tables and chairs by the windows that give a view of the neighborhood.
Starbucks Reserve is at Westgate Center, Commerce Avenue, Filinvest City, Alabang, Muntinlupa City.
2. Bean & Yolk
If Bean & Yolk sounds familiar, then chances are you heard of them first when they were still in Poblacion (near Commune). They used to have darker interiors, but when they moved to Alabang years ago, the place was made homier. It's simpler but eye-catching, what with all the whites, greys, and touches of baby blue here and there. Look for the embossed words on the wall: "Stay hungry, be humble."
Bean & Yolk is one of the many cafés in the neighborhood, which is why they open early every day—to feed the early birds who want to grab breakfast and a cup of coffee.
Bean & Yolk is at Westgate Center, Alabang, Muntinlupa City.
3. Southbank Café + Lounge
In the same area as Starbucks Reserve and Bean & Yolk is Southbank Café + Lounge. The exteriors and interiors give off that sophisticated all-black interior which makes the food and drinks stand out.
Southbank Café + Lounge has a cool bar by the entrance where the baristas prepare the coffee and cocktails. With a subtle Art Deco-style look to it, the bar makes a perfect background for your coffee or cocktail photos.
Southbank Café + Lounge is at Westgate Center, Alabang, Muntinlupa City.
4. Coffee Syndicate
If you want an Instagrammable café with a good Internet connection, Coffee Syndicate is the spot you're looking for. This coffee shop inside Commerce Center has a brick accent wall with a mural of Marlon Brando from The Godfather, and it is connected to a floor-to-ceiling window that's ideal for people watching and watching cars and cyclists drive by.
Coffee Syndicate is at G/F Commerce Center Alabang, Commerce Avenue corner Filinvest Avenue, Filinvest Corporate City, Alabang, Muntinlupa City.
5. Exchange Alley Coffee House
Exchange Alley Coffee House, also known as EACH, has become a coffee institution among folks living in the South. The café is known for its coffee, but our honest opinion is that the food that comes out of their kitchen deserves just as much applause and recognition too.
The interiors of EACH lean toward industrial, but with touches of bright yellow here and there. The café has a second story for those who want more privacy, or if all the tables and the stools by the bar are occupied.
Exchange Alley Coffee House is at Molito Lifestyle Center, Madrigal corner Commerce Avenue, Alabang, Muntinlupa City.
6. Group & Boiler Coffee Co.
What's noticeably different at Group & Boiler Coffee Co. is that the coffee crowd here is mostly working remotely. It could be because the coffee here is reasonably priced, pets can stay inside the café and even sleep on the chairs, or the cutesy blue and yellow color blocking seen on the furniture and walls.
There's also quirkiness to Group & Boiler that makes it memorable. If other dining spots have the Maneki-neko (a.k.a. waving lucky cat) to attract luck, Group & Boiler Coffee Co. has a jacked-up version, wearing Windsor-framed sunglasses. Spot the Mr. Potato Head (from Toy Story, Gen Z kiddos) near the counter too!
Group & Boiler Coffee Co. is at Molito Lifestyle Center, Madrigal corner Commerce Avenue, Alabang, Muntinlupa City.
7. Bungalow Café & Bakery
The interiors of Bungalow Café & Bakery is easy on the eyes—simple, laidback, and a little bit tropical. The restaurant has wooden chairs paired with marbled tables, potted plants in corners of the room, and accent walls that give more life but in the subtlest way possible.
The café-bakery is known for its bombolone doughnuts, gigantic cakes, buttery croissants, and stacks of pancakes—but they also have coffee to pair these sweets with. In hindsight, the food and the interiors of the place tie in perfectly.
Bungalow Café & Bakery is at Molito Lifestyle Center, Madrigal corner Commerce Avenue, Alabang, Muntinlupa City.
8. Karrera Showroom
Car enthusiasts and cyclists are the types of people Karrera Showroom attracts— mainly because the area where it's located is ideal for biking, second is that Karrera Showroom has a rotating collection of cars that are displayed inside the café.
The café part of the showroom covers mostly basic brews, but they also have bites displayed by the counter. The famous brownie bars of Bucky's are part of their dessert selection.
Karrera Showroom is at 360 Corporate Woods Avenue, Alabang, Muntinlupa City.
9. Higher Ground Speciality Coffee
Festival Mall is expanding at such a rapid pace that if you haven't been to The River Park (the one near the rotonda), you wouldn't know about Higher Ground Speciality Coffee. This coffee shop is Instagrammable by default because of its location as it's right beside the river.
The look of the café is more industrial, with bare, unpainted concrete walls and the counter; wooden tables and chairs; and biking gear as it's connected to a bike shop. Higher Ground Speciality Coffee and 1916 Tattoo Shop have an ongoing deal where if a customer buys a cup of coffee, they can get a minimalist tattoo for as low as P500.
Higher Ground Speciality Coffee is at Space A1.1, The River Park, Festival Supermall Tower, Corporate Avenue, Alabang, Muntinlupa City.
10. Wallflower Café
Over at Alabang Town Center (a.k.a. Town), the Wallflower Café looks like it came straight out of a plantita's Pinterest board. The café has that distinguishable style—the all-white look, light wood, and plants—that became popular over the course of the ongoing pandemic.
Just as their place is cute, the dishes, desserts, and drinks are just as cute too! Wallflower Café has those gradient or layered coffee drinks—some of which come with an ice cream cone floating on top.
Wallflower Café is at 2/F Corte de Las Palmas, Alabang Town Center, Muntinlupa City.
This story originally appeared on Spot.ph. Minor edits have been made by the Preview.ph editors.
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