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The award-winning furniture designer and interior design consultant fulfils a dream by opening a café in Salcedo Village, a space that also doubles as a showcase for some of his beautiful creations
Most days, lunch is something that is meant to be quick; something designed to sustain you through the workday. Other days, lunch is more therapeutic— slow, long, and languid, a time of day where you can dine alone while lost in thought, or cultivate relationships with people you value. Ito Kish Design Food (IKDF)— yes, by the celebrated furniture designer— offers a fitting venue for both.
The recently-opened café serves their delicious coffee and panaderya favourites from the J.P Rizal showroom (where he first opened a small coffee shop that attracted coffee-loving content creators in droves), along with dishes that represent the cities where Kish sources his beautiful furniture pieces, mostly of mid-century modern design. “Late at night, before we softly opened, I was here putting last-minute touches on the place,” he chuckles. “Thing is, I am such a perfectionist, I could not sleep because I kept thinking of putting one more thing on the wall, and adding another lamp on the table. So finally, me and my yaya just brought all the things I wanted to add and we went back to the store to re-decorate.”
See also: The 24 best restaurants for al fresco dining from the Tatler Dining Guide 2024
Above Ito Kish Design Food
Ito Kish Design Food
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The space I walked into was already the nth iteration since they opened a couple of months ago. While it is a restaurant, the brand DNA stays very true to its proprietor and his primary occupation which is why IKDF is very much a showroom as it is a café. A large wooden table that used to be in the barista area now acts as an accent piece on one of the walls, its heavy legs are now made to prop up books and other knick-knacks. Some mid-century modern Scandinavian lamps that Kish has been storing for ten years are now displayed from the high ceilings, adding not only dramatic lighting but also quirky conversation pieces to the eatery. In the bathroom, massive reindeer antlers from the same haul as the lamps offer a stunning focal point in an otherwise bleak space.
See also: The best tasting menus in the Philippines as featured in the Tatler Dining Guide 2024
Above Ito Kish Design Food
Above Ito Kish Design Food
Ito Kish Design Food
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Trees are scattered around the cafe, shrouding guests and giving an additional feeling of privacy to diners despite the close proximity. Everything about the space feels understatedly elegant and effortlessly stylish, very much like the food they serve here. Simple food, really— a concise menu comprising dishes that represent the countries of provenance from where Kish’s beautiful things were sourced.
One such dish is the minanok, a vegetarian dish from Laguna made from shredded banana hearts stewed in toasted coconut cream. Kish serves it as an appetiser scooped up with fried banana chips, something that guests can munch on with chilled white wine or as a tasty side. It paired wonderfully with the chicken and pork adobo sa dilaw, a version of the popular local dish that is yellowed with turmeric. This iteration was served with steamed rice and papaya atchara which we scooped into antique Danish china. The café’s seafood laksa is rich, flavorful, and comforting— yet another exciting lunch possibility, especially for a rainy day.
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Above Ito Kish Design Food
Above Ito Kish Design Food
Ito Kish Design Food
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There is a crispy turon which is perfect for dessert or merienda, ideally accompanied by one of the Kish’s hot or iced coffee drinks. While the turon had a fun twist to it, I still found myself craving one of their more classic and comforting panaderya-style breads, such as the muffin-like kabayan or the jam-stuffed pan de coco.
Kish is just getting the hang of the chaos that comes with the food and beverage industry, juggling between everyday kitchen troubleshooting and front-of-house to-do’s, amongst many others. However, there are also times when it is more quiet like today, when Kish and I get to chat endlessly about industry gossip and watch as passersby curiously peer into the glass windows. Many are drawn in, either curious about the cultivated wonderland that Kish has built or simply by that primal need for caffeine and a quick bite. Still, some prefer to move along, perhaps still summoning up the courage to explore this new Salcedo neighbourhood spot which is almost too beautiful to disrupt. One day, the timid will make their way into the lovely space only to wonder what took them so long.
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Jaclyn Clemente Koppe is a food and lifestyle writer, as well as a consultant to some of the country’s beloved food and beverage brands. Her passion for food and drink is only surpassed by her devotion to her family, most especially to her soulmate, Pepa the poodle.
