The Coffee Shop Hiding In Plain Sight

The LRI Building along Reposo Street in Makati is a bliss spot for home decorators and designers. With big names like PNKY and Kish making their home here, there's something for the eye perched in every nook and cranny. I especially like The Room Upstairs, the hip space owned by interior designer Pinky Peralta and her husband, Ari. Melding food and furniture, their concept of design-retail-coffee takes flight as an avant-garde playground.

Opened in 2006 and refurbished late last year, the space showcases furniture and home accents evocative of eclectic styles embracing functionality. It's difficult to pin down any one piece as a favorite, from the oversized hanging lamps to the mismatched tables or the vintage candelabras and retro chaise longues. Indeed, all items are for sale ready to take up residence in one's respective home.

This uber-stylish environment is the setting for a unique coffee shop: The Room Upstairs Café. There's nothing like sipping and supping in a sanctuary so pleasing to eye and palate. First, choose a table. That round two-seater in the corner illuminated brightly or the expansive wooden table banked up with Victorian-style banquettes? The choice is yours and you may end up liking it so much you'll order one to take home.

There's a dining menu albeit limited with such things as salads, assorted sandwiches, bruschetta, and pasta. The Peraltas have made a conscious decision to keep the food locally-sourced, which includes the coffee.

The coffee at The Room Upstairs is — like the furniture — something to talk about. Barako and Alamid beans are used in beverage preparations like Americano, Latte, and Cappuccino but it's best brewed black. The coffee is brewed in a French press, extracting a substantial, powerful cup that's strong with a heavy body and slight astringency.

Coffee like this is wonderful with the sweets displayed so temptingly at the counter. Various biscotti, some dipped in chocolate, some plain are arranged to entice in a wide-mouthed jar. Cakes such as Mochaccino and Cherry Cheesecake gleam from behind the glass, it's as if they're winking and enticing. There's a Decadent Chocolate Cake but I'm especially fond of two things. First, the Linzer Tart. An Austrian specialty, this is a slightly-spiced nut crust filled with strawberry (classically, it should be raspberry) jam. The dough used in the crust is then utilized once more to form a lattice top crust. It's pretty and pleasing. Secondly, the mini lemon-glazed hearts are cookies that are big enough for a (big) bite. Buttery and brittle, its lemon flavor shoots through the tongue, adding an extra fillip of flavor to the coffee I wash it down with.

When you need more than what the usual big chain coffee shops offer or you really want to get away from it all, come here. It's a soothing yet stimulating dining experience that will make you wonder why you hadn't discovered it earlier.