Karruba Cafe and Bakery

Karruba Cafe and Bakery is a small, home-style bakery-café on Urbiztondo Road in San Juan, about two minutes' walk uphill from the highway on a narrow lane that fits one car at a time. The name means neighbour in Ilocano, and it feels like one: a handful of tables by the windows, an al fresco corner, board games and a little stamp booth.

The pastry case is why most people come. Lemon tart and cheese rolls get the most mentions, followed by croissants, the chocolatey Le Crookie, cinnamon rolls and Spanish bread in plain or ube. The kitchen also does proper meals: crispy bagnet kare-kare, a kare-kare pasta, squid ink pasta, and breakfast plates of beef tapa, garlic longganisa or bangus with atsara. Coffee runs from the Karruba sea salt latte to Biscoff and Spanish lattes, though reviewers rate the pastries above the coffee.

Karruba opens 7:30AM to 5PM and is closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Most visitors spend under ₱500; an iced Spanish latte was ₱185 in 2025. There's WiFi but no air-conditioning, so it warms up by midday. Come before 10AM while the trays are full, and bring your own bag for pastries, since takeaway boxes cost extra.