LRI Design Plaza in Makati is starting to be known as the high-end sibling of Cubao eXpo. It’s an art haven, hub for design artists, home of great photographers and now a destination for yummy food, too.
You can find the artist and business dwellers in their favorite hangout in LRI called The Room Upstairs. Owned by Ari and Pinky Peralta, it is an interior design studio-cum-organic cafe found in the center of LRI Design Plaza.
They now serve fresh, organic vegetables from their own farm in Tagaytay and they use locally produced ingredients in their menu. I like their homey approach to food and their design philosophy.
LRI Design Plaza Blog Series:
#1: Lolo Dad’s Goes Asian
#2: The Room Upstairs Cafe
Dining Room furniture on display — everything is for sale.
The Living Room area showcases Pinky’s interior design expertise.
We like the homey designs in this small space.
The cafe is integrated in the design studio. Somehow, it felt a bit intimidating to eat in such a nice (albeit cramped) dining setup.
Check out their cafe menu: The Room Upstairs Menu and Drinks Menu
★ Mango Walnut Salad (Single – P190). Organic ripe mango cubes with candied walnuts on fresh greens, served with balsamic vinaigrette.
I love eating fresh and, if possible, organic vegetables. We appreciated this since we like our salad with simple ingredients and a light dressing.
★ Kesong Puti & Tomato Pandesal (P70). Laguna kesong puti, fresh basil and ripe tomatoes in pandesal.
This simple merienda of Kesong Puti pandesal hit the spot. 🙂
Soup of the Day: Made fresh everyday – Cream of Mushroom Soup (P160).
Nothing beats a fresh bowl of soup on a rainy day… (Pricing is just a bit on the high side, though.)
Italian Trio Panini (Salami, Pepperoni, & Ham) – (P190).
They pay careful attention to the presentation of the food, and they select only the best ingredients for their classic paninis, like this Italian Trio.
★ Mushroom Aioli Pasta with Chicken (P160).
Their pasta offerings are simple and have that home-cooked taste. You might also want to try their Vigan Longganisa in Cream Sauce or Creamy Tuyo Pasta.
★ Assorted Russian Cookies (P20 each) and Lemon Bar (P30).
Best of all, they have a good selection of cookies for dessert, which I paired with a strong, black Barako coffee.
Overall, The Room Upstairs is a nice, cozy place to hang out with friends or to discuss business deals. One more great thing about them? They have free and reliable wifi. 🙂
The Room Upstairs
2nd Floor, LRI Design Plaza
210 N. Garcia St. (formerly Reposo St.)
Bel Air 3, Makati City
Concept: The Room Upstairs is the creative and gastronomic collaboration of Ari and Pinky Peralta. It combines the modern style of its furniture store with a hole-in-the-wall cafe that provides fresh, inspired offerings.
Email: contact@theroomupstairs.com.ph
Telephone: +632 899-9318, 899-3593
Website: http://www.theroomupstairs.com.ph
Facebook: The Room Upstairs
Operating Hours: 9am-6pm
LRI Design Plaza Blog Series:
#1: Lolo Dad’s Goes Asian
#2: The Room Upstairs Cafe
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Full Disclosure: We paid for our meals. The couple who owns The Room Upstairs is one of our neighbors in our community. We blogged about this not because of that relationship but because the cafe is really good. 🙂
P.S. I’ll be covering all the destination shops/lifetyle places in LRI. Please let me know if you have a favorite place or a secret tip about LRI.
Anton, these kinds of places really merit a blog because the ambience is completely different from your normal, run of the mill restaurant. Mall restaurants are convenient due to the parking and variety of choices under one roof, but I tend to stay away from them lately. I find that non-mall restaurants, by virtue of their destination location, have more character. 🙂 That obviously adds to the dining experience.
Nice one!
The Italian Trio Panini looks scrumptious! I actually take painting lessons literally next door to The Room Upstairs at LRI, so I’ll make it a point to drop by. Thanks, Anton… Now you got me hungry. LOL!
their design aesthetic, but on the whole our global style is just that: global. It’s becoming more difficult to tell a Manhattan apartment interior from one in downtown Moscow. It’s just the state of our increasingly diverse modern life.