Maginhawa, a Filipino adjective that translates to comfortable or convenient, is also the name of a long and winding Quezon City street, that's now considered a must-visit food hub in the metro. Lined up in this street are unique restaurants that offer comfort food at pocket-friendly pricepoints.
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We've listed some of the restaurants that transformed the then sleepy Maginhawa Street in Quezon City into an exciting culinary destination. Which one of these is your favorite?
Maginhawa Street Restaurants
The Breakfast Table
(63 2) 433-3597
Tuesday to Sunday 7:00am – 7:00pm
In this Quezon City destination, breakfast– the most important meal of the day, is under spotlight. The Breakfast Table puts Pinoy twists to breakfast favorites such as the Eggs Benedict. Their version, Eggs TBT (P190), has two poached eggs on challah bread topped with tinapa flakes and drizzled with a Pinoy hollandaise. On weekends, they have a Rodizio-style Buffet where you can enjoy all-time favorites such as different kinds of longganisa, danggit, eggs cooked different ways, garlic rice, bread chips, homemade cheese, and so on.
'Eggs TBT' by The Breakfast Table
Sweet Spot Café
(+63 2) 435-3045
Monday to Sunday 8:00am – 10:00pm
Sweet and savory marry quite nicely at Sweet Spot Cafe– one of Maginhawa's go-to dessert and coffee destinations. Enjoy their bestselling Salted Caramel Chocolate cake, Apple Crostata, and Dulce de Leche Cheesecake in this spacious, quirky, and comfortable QC hideout.
Espresso Jelly and Swiss Chocolate Cream Verrine by Sweet Spot Cafe
Photo from Sweet Spot's Facebook Page
BRGR: The Burger Project
(+63 2) 351-7474, (+63 915) 520-2266
Monday to Sunday – 11:00 AM to 12:00 MN
A stone's throw away from the Bayantel building is The BRGR Project– whose claim to fame is its make-your-own-burger ordering scheme. At BRGR, a pen and a checklist are all you'll need to design your dream burger. A plain burger here can be had at P125 while the more ludicrous ones (e.g., a Four Cheese Burger) can set you back P300+.
Four Cheese Burger, custom-made at BRGR: The Burger Project
Blacksoup Café + Artspace
(+63 2) 435-2549, (+63 915) 305-5480
Monday to Saturday 12:00pm – 3:00pm for lunch and 6:00pm – 11:00pm for dinner
Blacksoup has a taste for anything and everything comforting, hence, its having an ever-changing comfort food menu. Weekly specials are usually posted in their Facebook page. In addition to being a chill-out cafe, Blacksoup also doubles as an art space that welcomes film screenings and exhibits.
Tofu Burger by Blacksoup Cafe and Artspace
Photo from Blacksoup Cafe and Artspace' Facebook Page
Van Gogh is Bipolar
(+63 2) 394-0188, (+63 922) 824-3051, (+63 922) 824-3052
Monday 5:00pm – 1:00am
Wednesday to Sunday 5:00pm – 1:00am
Van Gogh is Bipolar serves what owner and cook Jetro Rafael calls the “happy chill diet.” Mood-altering food (ones that make you happy and calm) such as cabbages, turkey, and salmon are incorporated in the personalized set meals served at this dinner-only restaurant. Dining here is on a first come first served basis as Jetro can only accommodate twelve diners at a time.
Jetro's Vegan creation
Photo from Van Gogh is Bipolar's Facebook Page
Cool Beans Library Café
(63 917) 706-4711
Monday to Saturday 10:00am – 11:00pm
Cool Beans Library Café is the kind of place where you can spend hours upon hours lost in a good book. The atmosphere here is conducive to reading: soft lighting, music playing quietly in the background, comfortable couches and chairs, good coffee, and good food. Their coffee is locally-sourced, coming from places such as Sagada, Kalinga, and Benguet (P80-hot, P85-cold). As for the food, some of the crowd favorites are the Pan-grilled Chicken Alfredo (P160) smothered in a creamy sauce and studded with bacon bits, Oriental Pork Belly with Bokchoy (P160) that closely resembles the taste of humba, Pan-grilled Pork Belly (P160), and an interesting dish called Fried Chicken Afritada (P160) which is basically fried chicken drenched in Afritada sauce.
Pan-grilled Pork Belly by Cool Beans Cafe
A Taste of Heaven Milkshake Hub
(63 906) 223-3644
Monday to Thursday 11:00am – 10:00pm
Friday and Saturday 11:00am – 11:00pm
Sunday 11:00am – 9:00pm
A Taste of Heaven Milkshake Hub (ATH) is a milkshake shop that has an extensive menu of sweet concoctions. They have three Classic Flavors (P80): Vanilla, Chocolate, and Strawberry. The milkshakes at ATH are nicely thick and smooth, and kind of makes you feel like you’re drinking your dessert through a straw.
Catch ATH’s summer flavors while you can. The Red Velvet Cheesecake with cream cheese foam (P140) is particularly good with generous bits of red velvet cake in every sip. Bannoffee (P130) and Peppermint Chocolate Chip (P130) are their two other special flavors for this season.
Wicked Kitchen
(+63 2) 433-0196
Monday to Sunday 11:00am – 11:00pm
After five years, Wicked Kitchen bade Mother Ignacia goodbye and transferred to Maginhawa Street. This comfort food nook, famous for its mutant cookie called Gluttony, boasts of generous and (more importantly) inexpensive entrees perfect for hungry students. To those who would be heading for the Gluttony, you better not pass up on their equally tempting appetizers and dishes like Beer Battered Fish, Buffalo Tenders, and Wicked Wings.
The Gluttony by Wicked
Friuli Trattoria
(63 2) 434-1416
Monday to Sunday 11:00am to 10:00pm
Friuli Trattoria gives its diners a taste of Italy at an affordable price. To its fans, this restaurant is the end destination when in the quest for the best Margherita pizza in the metro.
Friuli's Margherita
Photo from Friuli's Facebook Page
Crazy Katsu
Monday – Thursday 11:00am – 10:00pm
Friday and Saturday 11:00am – 11:00pm
Sunday 5:00pm – 10:00pm
If fan praises on their Facebook walls such as “the best Chicken Katsu… in the wooooorld!” (yep, with that many o's!) were to be trusted, then their crunchy, ample-portioned, and juicy fried chicken fillet is the best you can get at its price (P145). With such quality at affordable prices, there's no wonder Crazy Katsu is always full with students, musicians, and celebrities.
Katsudon at Crazy Katsu
Photo from Crazy Katsu's Facebook Page
Frosted Desserts
(+63 926) 739-7377, (+63 2) 907-4661
Monday – Thursday 10:00am – 10:00pm
Friday – Saturday 10:00am – 12:00am
After several years of bazaar hopping, Frosted Desserts finally found their home in Maginhawa. Double Chocolate, Red Velvet, and Smores remain as bestsellers.
Assorted Cupcakes by Frosted Desserts
Photo from Frosted Dessert's Facebook Page
Nuezca Café
(+63 917) 933-1206
Monday to Saturday 11:30am – 11:00pm
Missing your mom's cooking? Check out Nuezca Cafe which uses organic chicken and pork in cooking familiar Filipino viands like Sisig, Crispy Pata, Pininyahan, and Bulalo. They also have an organic lunch and dinner buffet every weekend for P350; you might want to check that out.
Photo from Nuezca's Facebook Page
Roberta’s Flavors of Asia
(+63 2) 394-1505
Monday – Saturday 11:00am – 11:00pm
Roberta Flavors of Asia offers Asian-fusion dishes at budget-friendly prices. Tinola sa Pakwan (P175), their most talked about dish, puts a spin on the regular ginger based Filipino broth using sweet watermelons.
Side Streets
Good eats in this side of Quezon City aren't just limited to Maginhawa street. When at UP Village, make sure to check out the tiny culinary gems hidden in the side streets of Maginhawa.
The Iscreamist
Magiting St.
Monday to Saturday 11:00am to 10:00pm
The Iscreamist practices molecular gastronomy and uses liquid nitrogen to blast freeze their cold creations. Sample their Dragon's Breath selection– smores or macarons dipped in liquid nitrogen– and have fun exhaling smoke from your mouth and nose.
Gayuma ni Maria
V. Luna Extension
Monday – Saturday 10:00am – 11:00pm
Sunday 10:00am – 10:00pm
If you're into love potions, magic and spells, you will definitely be entertained at Gayuma Ni Maria. This shabby chic restaurant is both naughty and silly on the edges; never uptight, always warm. Food is familiar and comforting. Try Rock Me Baby Hickory BBQ Pork Ribs and their monthly cake specials.
Ally’s All Day Breakfast
Malingap St.
(63 906) 444-3878
Monday to Sunday 7:30am to 10:00pm
Ally’s All-day Breakfast Place offers its diners an extensive menu of Filipino and American breakfast staples. They are famous for their signature pancakes that, a lot of their diners claim, are better than the ones churned out by commercial establishments. Try their Toffee Banana (P260) — three large pancakes are layered with banana slices, drizzled with dulce de leche sauce, dotted with walnut bits, and topped with three small scoops of vanilla ice cream.
Toffee Banana by Ally's
Don Day Korean Restaurant
Malingap St.
(+63 2) 435-0528
Don Day is and authentic Korean restaurant within the neighborhood that specializes in grilled beef, served with assorted vegetables, and soup. Rates here are as follows:
Php 230 – Don Day Table Buffet (Without Grill, Lunch Time Only)
Php 299 – Samgyupsal (Lunch and Dinner)
Php 399 – Beef + Samgyupsal
Burger Hub
Malingap St.
(+63 915) 842-5257
Tuesday to Saturday 12:00pm to 10:00pm
Juicy J's Angus beef burger for P89? No wonder foodies flock in this hole in the wall in Malingap.
Π Breakfast and Pies
Malingap St.
Monday to Sunday 7:00am to 10:00pm
Breakfast and pies– two things that you can devour any time of the day, in both sweet and savory varieties, can be had at this fairly new restaurant at Malingap. Among their current pie selection, their Butterfinger Pie (P795, whole) and Crack Pie (π's ode to the highly addicting dessert pie of Momofuku Milk Bar in New York) are worth checking out.
Crack Pie
Pino Restobar
Malingap St.
(63 2) 441-1773
Now in Malingap St., the restaurant that has helped the Maginhawa stretch gain culinary recognition, still serves hearty Filipino food served with a twist. Their Kare-Kareng Bagnet remains as everyone's favorite but new items such as Coffee Crusted Beef Belly, Crispy Tenderloin Tapsilog, and Chicken Inasal Caesar Salad are picking-up pretty quickly as well.
Kare-Kareng Bagnet
Pipino
Malingap St.
(+63 2) 441-1773
Monday-Saturday 11:00am – 2:00pm for lunch and 5:00pm – 9:00pm for dinner
Bright and dainty, Pipino offers a spread of tasty dishes that negates the stigma that vegetarian food is boring. When in Pipino, get the Vegan Lasagna, the best vegetarian rendition in the metro.
Vegan Lasagna
Stuff Over Burger
Magiting St.
(+63 2) 439-1834
Monday to Sunday 12:00pm – 10:00pm
There's no shortage in good and affordable burgers in Maginhawa. At Stuff Over Burger, you can get a quarter pounder for as low as P95. Premium burgers like Chilly Billy with Cream Cheese and Jalapeno and Mushy Suzie with Mushrooms, Caramelized Onions and Cheddar are priced at P160.
Chilly Billy
Photo from Stuff Over Burger's Facebook Page
Homies Chicken
Magiting St.
(+63 2) 806-4943
Monday to Sunday 11:30am – 10:00pm
Your P150 at Homies will get you half a spring chicken, a serving of atchara, free drink and unlimited rice. Not a fan of chicken? Get their Lagkit Kawali, also a steal at P180.
Homies Chicken
Photo from Homie's Facebook Page
Did we miss your favorite Maginhawa Street restaurant? Hit the comments section below to nominate the best restaurant in this part of Quezon City.
