Coffeenista: No Need to Coffeeoke

I am so not a videoke person. So while I was always intrigued by the "Coffeenista" sign on one of the cafes in the Casimiro area, I was also immediately put off by the smaller "Coffeoke" sign underneath. After all, a cafe is somewhere you go to have peace and quiet, and my idea of peace and quiet definitely does not include an American Idol wannabe belting out old standards by Journey and Queen right next to you.

I still don't know about the Coffeeoke part, but as far as cafes go, Coffeenista is pretty good. I finally ended up there one evening, luckily on a slow night (lucky for me, not so lucky for the owners, I guess) so we were the only people there (no videoke folks to taint the experience).

The entry to the cafe is at the end of a flight of steps that branches off into billiard rooms on either side. The cafe is a family-owned business, and that same family also owns the billiard hall (Ato's Rack, Ato being a former councilor of Las Pinas and the father of the lady behind the cafe).

The cafe is meant to feel like the house of a friend, somewhere to hang out and shoot the breeze. We stayed in a room near the back (apparently the videoke room, enclosed in glass, presumably to keep the sound well contained) which felt a little like my lola's house (minus the dust, plus the videoke and some computers). It was very nice and cozy, complete with the sound of running water in the background (from a creek, which also unfortunately meant the occasional creek-y smell wafting in through the windows).

Although we only had tea, the place had a fairly large food selection on the menu: sandwiches, pasta, and a lot of pulutan (sizzling garlic and mushrooms, cheese sticks, sisig, even cashew nuts and chicharon). Almost everything was under a hundred bucks! The tea was 40 bucks, and the most expensive coffee items on the menu were their frappe blends at a hundred bucks. Make no mistake, this is a tambayan alright: they even serve beer!

The place obviously has a following which they cultivate carefully, as evidenced by their Yahoo Group (just under 200 members) and their Friendster account (more than 600 friends). I suppose that could work both ways for newbies: you might be drawn into the fold or feel horribly out of place among a bunch of rowdy college kids (good if you're a college kid, bad if you're an old fogey like me).

I suppose then that someone like me shouldn't be the one writing about this place, as its market is the young, tech-savvy, pool-playing crowd. But all in all, they were very friendly and accommodating, and the food looked promising enough, so I think I'll chance it and go try having breakfast or dinner there one of these days. I'll just keep an ear out for the telltale videoke sounds. ;)

Oh yeah, details: Coffeenista is located along CAA Road, aka J. Aguilar Avenue, aka Casimiro Road. If you're coming from Alabang Zapote Road, it's on the right, a few hundred or so meters before Southville. There's parking, there's pool, there are computers for the patrons' use. I am remiss: I didn't check out the bathroom, nor did I order food. To make up for it, here are links to some features on the place if you want to learn more: a feature in 2bu, and another feature in the Inquirer (where Coffeenista shares space with Sa Guijo and Lolo Dad's--impressive!).