What a space! Jiro is a beautiful café located in a quiet part of Mother Ignacia Avenue, Quezon City. Again, I am writing about something that’s been around for a couple of years now, but it’d be a waste not to share this little piece of Scandi / coffee / minimalist heaven.
It was kind of an unplanned date. Jed and I came here on Valentines’ Day. I’ve always wanted to come here alone, but VDay was the perfect excuse for me to drag him here. In reality, I was just thirsty for new photos. And based on how Jed inhaled the food and coffee here, I think he was more than happy to oblige.
Jiro is a small coffee shop (for sure), but there was no shortage of charm nor quality. The brooding, minimalist interiors have fully maximized the allure of this café. It’s dark like whiskey, moody like an old Irish pub, grainy like the texture of reclaimed wood. Even the light looks filtered at Jiro, like how the sun looks like after a rainy day. When the coffee came, there was no question we were in a special place.
The coffee I ordered was called “not-so-flat-white” made of a double-shot espresso, milk, organic Madagascar vanilla, and organic cinnamon. I don’t know much about coffee, but a flat white, apparently, is distinguishable based on its thin layer of microfoam. The first sip, I remember, tasted of strong, silky coffee. I asked for sugar because I like mine extra sweet. I’m used to 3-in-1 coffee, and this one tasted like a grown-up version for someone who actually cares about their coffee.
For Jed, it was a cup (a beautiful cup) of bulletproof coffee made of americano, grass-fed butter, and XCT oil. Now this was an eye opener for me. Bulletproof coffee, turns out, is the coffee for people who follow a ketogenic diet. It’s a breakfast substitute with high amounts of saturated fat to kickstart ketosis. Jed was beyond ecstatic by the rich, unmistakable taste of butter in the coffee, and unlike me he doesn’t care for an uber-sweet version. Little did we know it’s a well-known diet coffee that we were blissfully unaware of.
The food option at Jiro is also extensive. They have sandwiches, sausage, pasta, salad, baked goods, and a playful menu of egg dishes (something I’ll come back for). We enjoyed their Hungarian sausage — a very tasty version with just enough spice to keep you coming back for more. We wanted to order a second round of this sausage, it was that good. I also ordered their Davao Malagos grilled cheese — a filling sandwich made of a sourdough base with queso rustico, blue peppato, pesto, and a handful of arugula thrown in.
For desserts, I wanted a taste of their chocolate mochis but, as luck would have it, it wasn’t available that time. I settled for a plate of sliced bananas with cinnamon and coconut sugar. This dessert reminds me of a favorite childhood snack we call “ginanggang” made from semi-ripe saba bananas, grilled lightly and doused with margarine and sugar. This one had cinnamon instead of the lowly margarine.
I’ve only scratched the surface of what Jiro Coffee Studio has to offer. Now I feel a little apprehensive if I should share this café just because I want to keep it as lowkey as they seemed to have kept it all these years. As we headed out, the staff thanked us one more time and I realized I did not feel intimidated by the service either. Elegant and warm? There’s a winning combo.
Jiro Coffee Studio
5/5 (1 visit)
Third Wave Coffee Shop
2/F Crossroad Center, #77 Mother Ignacia Ave.
Diliman, Quezon City
Open Mon-Fri (12nn to 7:30pm) except Tuesdays;
Sat (10am to 3pm), Sun (10am to 6am)
(02) 881 7167
₱150-300 per person
FB: Jiro Coffee Studio
IG: jiro_coffee
Joanne Aika 