The Tiktok dust has settled at Ito Kish's café — come now for high-key good coffee and chill

The moment you press "open," the electric sliding door leads to pitch-black box-like room triggering a sense of excitement. Another sliding door opens and there's the famous shop. Ito Kish, tall and attractive, meets you personally and gives a tour of the place.

Kish spent his boyhood in rural San Pablo, Laguna, where his multi-prized pieces have been inspired from. His story begins with a humble sales job before he decided to move to Indonesia where he worked as a visual merchandising consultant, learning the ropes of retail and marketing. But he also resolved to study the basics of design, a personal passion.  

The design world first noticed his genius and talent when he won the Katha Award in 2012 for his Gregoria Lounge where the backrest of the roomy seat was inspired from the balustrades found in colonial-style homes.

Other Kish creations in the store include the Binhi multifunctional bench, Basilisa armoire, and Rodolfo console table — all palpably revealing his virtuosity and devotion to celebrate the artistry and workmanship of the local craftsmen he works with.

^{Special coffee drink Pandin and 'panaderya' delight pan de coco. ITO KISH}

Going viral

Then he brings you to this coffee shop that recently went viral. Instantly, you get that "Everything, Everywhere All At Once Feels." A parallel universe that makes you forget you're in the heart of crazy-busy gritty J.P. Rizal Avenue in Makati City.

A couple of weeks ago, the café was challenged to find seats due to clients who showed up after a Tiktok post roused viewers hankering for Manila's next best café to visit. Kish admits he was new at these things — and so, the photos and videos blew up on social media.

What was originally intended to be a hush-hush place was jampacking it in and people had to be turned away. A nice situation, but truth be told, the café space could only have about eight tables. Kish meant it for clients to unwind after exploring the store for his designs and items he brought in from his recent European shopping trips.

The café's new by reservations-only rule has sort of done the job, kept things cozier and more appealing for low-key clients.

Back to the parallel universe vibe. Challenged by the enclosed area and concrete walls, Kish's clever solution to the space was to mount potted Suamei trees (also known as Water Jasmine Tree and Shui Mei).

The twiggy branches have thin leaves and the tree blooms with white flowers that smell like real jasmine. Black folding chairs and tables are reminiscent of Parisian outdoor cafés. Altogether, it gives off a thoughtful environment that encourages pleasant chats over a cup or two of an artisanal coffee drink and delightful panaderya favorites (P60).

^{Panaderya delighs include this filling pan de coco. ITO KISH}

"Under the tree" setting

It began with a specific narrative, Kish said. "In everything I do, I always start from a story."

"When I was very young in my hometown in San Pablo (Laguna), I thought, how did we enjoy our coffee?" he said. "You boil water, take a teaspoon of Nescafé, mix it in boiled water, then you go out of the house, sit under the tree as your panaderia delivers your freshly baked hot pan de sal, pan de coco, or kalihim. And then you sit under the tree, you talk to your Nanay and Tatay, with the rooster running around in the background. That was it."

"I recreated my memories here, in a modern sitting in an unexpected place in the city," he added.

Before the COVID-19 lockdown, Kish was already toying with the idea of setting up a cafè. But it seemed to have flitted away when business slowed down. Kish closed his new store in Reposo and, well, wandered off to Siargao where he stayed for a while — fell in love with the place and found someone.

"The year 2020 was a good year, even better compared to last year. There were more sales, people just stayed home. But if you ask me how are things now, I won't complain because we're here and we survived."

But the call to work, to design, was much too strong for Kish to ignore. He soon found a new place on JP Rizal in Makati for his shop. The café concept finally happened.

The metro is getting filled up with more third-wave coffee places that Kish felt it was right to open his own. He said, "This is the kind of place that you find in New York, Tokyo, and Taipei where you enter streets and you find something as unexpected as a nice coffee shop."

The café sources directly from local farmers for its coffee and special concoctions. Quite surprisingly, price points are affordable. Coffee lovers who want classics can opt for espresso (P120), Americano (P130), Flat White (P160), Cappuccino (P150), among others.

But the must-try are the Coffee Specials, each with a special story inspired from Kish's hometown San Pablo. Nanay Sisang (P180) was inspired from his grandmother Sisang who used to make jars of nata de coco and serve them during summer. This refreshing concoction includes chewy and sweet nata de coco, sugar, and coconut milk over ice. This is so not Japanese coffee jelly.

San Pablo (P190) is an homage to the town's famous ingredient, the coconut. It's made with espresso, coconut milk, condensed milk, and milk.

"I want more of these places to open here. Destination places that offer not just drinks, food, objects, but an entire experience."

Always the creative provocateur and visionary of beautiful stuff, Kish says he'll be introducing more exciting concepts to his shop. You'd just have to watch his space to find out what.  

Ito Kish, the store, is located at 1120 JP Rizal Avenue, Makati City. Store hours are Friday to Sunday, 10 AM to 7 PM. For Ito Kish Café you must have a table reservation requested via IG @itokishcafe. —JCB, GMA Integrated News