It took me a few searches in the internet and Zomato before I finally found High Grounds Cafe. I wasn't actually looking for the said cafe, but a cafe that's open 24 hours that can accommodate me and my friend for our brainstorming. And the moment that I saw its features and a few blog posts about it, I told myself that this might be the perfect place for us.
So for a little background, me and my friend and also a fellow writer, Rayne Mariano, has been talking about this project of ours and the side projects within that project. We've been talking for a month now and we were just doing it all in messenger. We're both a little homebodies. But we already talked about meeting somewhere in Valenzuela, which is nearer to her and I also suggested it, this coming Sunday.
While I was in Book And Borders Cafe, we were chatting about a side project we could do before we launch the main project and she suddenly asked "Gusto mo kita ta'yo ngayon?" And I said "Tara!" almost immediately. Then she suggested that we should meet in a 24-hours open cafe. And the only one that I can search nearby is High Grounds Cafe. Almost all of the others well known cafes are either closing at around 12am or 1am which is a no go, since even in messenger, we would always talk until the morning.
Okay, the moment we got out of the Uber, we both agreed that the place looks really fancy, even just on the outside. You can see a lot of people on the Al Fresco part of the cafe and a few ones going in and out. When we went in, I wanted to look for a place in the corner since we wanted to be more hidden, and I thought their second floor is open, but its not. According to the blog that I read previously, it was open when he went there.
The place is so dang spacious and huge. Its also has a high ceiling and a cute bulbs ensembled as a chandelier for the whole place. The couches are big and comfortable to sat at.
Anyway, a crew welcomed us and ask if a table for how many are we looking for, and she let us choose which table we could go to. We seated at the table nearest to the entrance but we talked about just changing place once there's available. We saw in the menu that the WIFI is just available for 2 hours for every Php150 worth of purchase. Once you order, you can opt for the wifi receipt to be given to you immediately or on the later part. We chose to order after a few minutes but we decided not to use our WIFI receipt just yet.
A slight problem we saw is that how the tables are very low. They're big and spacious, but we prefer higher table where we can put our legs under and we got to be closer to the table itself. But we managed. lol.
That's our little corner at that huge space. There's a separate part for the gaming part at the inner corner of the cafe. There's also a few higher table with stools, which Rayne actually prefers but there's a lot of people on the same side and we know we can be loud since we really plan on talking about stuff.
They also serve meals, but we opt to just drinks since we already both ate dinner. I ordered Blue Berry Cheesecake aside from the caramel frappe, and I almost forgot that it existed because we've been engrossed with our plans and other things we talked about. I really love that their crew is attentive, we didn't have to repeat asking for water a few times because they deliver right away.
Their comfort room is so clean, and it smells nice, too. They don't have a bidet, and like I said in my Book and Borders Cafe experience, it is what makes or break an establishment for me. Lol. Not that it will change my opinion on the other part of the place, but having a bidet in an establishment's bathroom is a big thumbs up for me.
The overall ambiance of the cafe is a mix of cozy and fancy. I mean, we got intimidated the first time we saw the place even just on the outside, but its really nice to look at. We think that aside from the cafe operates in 24 hours, the place can really make some work done. Being surrounded by people you know are also working and finds solace in places like this makes you more motivated.
We did talked a few things we cannot really talked about in the messenger because it's too personal and a bit hard to explain in words. There's also something good in talking in person and scribbling things we wanted to achieve with our project.
We decided to bid goodbye to the place at around five in the morning as we decided to go back to Cubao to eat breakfast in Jollibee.
This is how the High Grounds Cafe looks outside and the Al Fresco side. Sorry for the blurry images. We're in a hurry because our Uber has arrived at that time, and it didn't came to my mind to take a picture of the place outside while we're at the middle of our business. Means I really enjoyed our brainstorming session. Lol!
Anyway, I know I will definitely go back there since I need to have some peace while working now that the workload given to me is heavier.
Check them out at their social media pages.
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