Maginhawa Street Mini Food Trip

Maginhawa Street is located in Diliman, Quezon City, near UP Diliman. This street is famous for being an ‘eat street’ because its whole stretch and the nearby streets are abundant with various cafés, restaurants, and other eateries. My boyfriend planned this food trip as I haven’t been to this place before. I am not sure if I have mentioned in the past, but I am from the south — specifically from Cavite, and I rarely go to Quezon City because obviously, it’s damn far.

Anyway, my boyfriend fetched me in Cavite, and then from there we travelled to Quezon City. And OMG, the traffic was terrible.

Some two hours later, we arrived at Maginhawa Street. By the way, the restaurants don't have usually a lot of parking spaces available; some don't have at all. We reached around 3pm on a Thursday, and we just parallel parked along the streets. I believe after 5pm, especially during weekends, parking spaces will be scarce, so better arrive early.

Cool Beans Cafe

Our first stop was at Cool Beans Cafe, where we ate our (late) lunch. This restaurant boasts to be the first library-themed cafe in the Philippines. They have books from different genres, and they have a huge collection of National Geographic Magazines.

My boyfriend took me to this place because he knows I love books. While we waited for our orders, we grabbed some books for a quick read, which was nice.

I believe this place is famous for coffees. They brew their own coffee, and their coffee beans are sourced from Kalinga, Sagada, and Benguet. Cool, eh? We were not able to try their coffees, though, and because actually, I'm not much of a coffee drinker myself. Anyway, I ordered a Pan-grilled Chicken Alfredo, and Kevin ordered a Creamy Bacon Mushroom Pasta. Both dishes are really good, and they are relatively cheap! :)

Cool Beans Library Cafe
67-B Maginhawa Street, UP Village
Quezon City, Philippines
coffeafilipinas@gmail.com
https://www.facebook.com/coolbeansph/

The Nook

Some 500 metres away from Cool Beans Cafe is The Nook.

This cafe has been famous since its opening because it is one of the firsts Harry Potter-themed cafe in the Philippines. The place's interiors are all HP-inspired, and they served HP-inspired meals, as well. And the most famous being the Butter Beer. Don't worry, it's non-alcoholic.

To complete the Harry Potter experience, the restaurant has Hogwarts robes, scarves, and even wands that their customers can wear. Of course, we didn't miss the chance to dress-up like Hogwarts students!

Hogwarts, we're ready! Where are our acceptance letters?! Haha.

We ordered butter beers and snitch chocolate truffles. Okay, I will be honest here, I didn't enjoy the butter beer. It was too sweet for my taste. My boyfriend says it was okay, so maybe it was just me. And I'm sure their other drinks are nice. Still a great and a fun experience, though!

The Nook Cafe
164 A Maginhawa Street, Sikatuna Village
Quezon City, Philippines
hi.thenookcafe@gmail.com
https://www.facebook.com/TheNookCafe/

The Iscreamist

Our last stop was at The Iscreamist. This is actually not along Maginhawa Street, but at Magiting Street. We had a hard time finding this place because it is located at a building compound called 'The Square', and there were no prominent signs to the entrance.

This place is famous for liquid nitrogen desserts. We ordered the Dragon's Breath S'mores and the Nutella Liquid Nitrogen sundae.

Both desserts are really good! I especially liked the sundae because everything that is in it balances the overall taste and flavour of the dessert.

We had so much fun playing around the flask filled with liquid nitrogen. We were like smoking vape, but this one is not unhealthy! Haha! We'll definitely come back here soon! Thumbs up for this unique experience!

The Iscreamist
The Square, 51 Magiting Street, Teacher's Village - East
Quezon City, Philippines
https://www.facebook.com/TheIscreamist/

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Have you been to Maginhawa Street? What are your favourite restaurants? :-)

Featured image by Kara Santos from traveling-up.com.