Freshly brewing right in the heart of San Juan is a new coffee house serving all kinds of comfort food and drinks. Bask, from the Aurora Coffee Roasters, is beautifully tucked in a new building along Mabini in Addition Hills.

The huge open bar and kitchen setup welcomes you as you enter the space, savoring the awakening aroma of fresh coffee. The space is cozy and intimate. Its wide glass corner windows, cement walls, and  white interiors give off a clean and cool vibe, with wood furnishings adding the right amount of warmth to the entire space. Entering the cafe transports you to a quiet and calm space away from the busy and bustling roads of San Juan. Bask is perfect for catch ups, work sessions, and even casual dates.

Bask menu covers appetizers, brunch selections, and desserts pairing well with their wide selection of coffee + non coffee beverage. For a cafe of its size, it’s a pleasant surprise to have as much selection as they do. On the heavier side, they offer rice bowls and meaty mains. Alternatively, Bask also serves pasta, sandwiches and pizza. Pastries, cookies and desserts are also available for quick bites.

Bask drink selections range from classic coffee, daily pour-overs, iced and hot tea, chocolate, and specialty concoctions.

We visit Bask just before lunch and tried a bunch of their signatures and decided to paired them together!

1. Bask Duet and Belgian Waffle with Coffee Butter and Honey

The Bask Duet features espresso in two ways – a single shot, and cortado (with milk). This set is perfect for espresso lovers, allowing you to enjoy the freshly pressed beans in all its smooth glory — straight up, and with milk.

The Bask Belgian Waffle is just too good! It has the right amount of crisp on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside.The waffle is topped with a scoop of really really good coffee butter. It gives these golden waffles a kick of coffee flavor without overpowering the batter. It’s served with a splash of honey, but requested for more, giving us the perfect balance of acidity from coffee butter and sweetness of the honey over the perfectly cooked batter of the waffle.

2. Tapado with Bask Special (Tiramisu)

Might be a weird combination, but trust that it works!

One of their best bowls is the Tapado bowl, a good and classic take on the usual tapa with egg on top. We paired the tapa bowl with their Bask Special, a latte with tiramisu cream blend. It is the perfect dessert coffee to cap of a savory brunch.

3. Honey Seasalt with Salmon Gravlax

We love a good ol’ balance of sweet, salty, and savory – and this pairing is definitely giving us all of it! The Honey Sea salt latte is as enjoyable as how a good coffee should be – a bit strong, not too creamy, and definitely not watered down. The salmon gravlax was just as good as the coffee. Salmon gravlax isn’t something you easily see on a cafe’s menu. There were hesitations, but it didn’t disappoint. The salmon was well cured and topped with nice sauerkraut and olives.

A brunch trip here allows you to not only bask under the sun, but also with good food and good coffee. Next time you’re looking for a quiet place to work at, or a good place to catch up with friends – try Bask!

Check out Bask on Instagram!