The Tourist Gaze

[UPDATE, May 2025: Corner Tree Café has reopened in Poblacion, Makati after closing in 2024. The new location, at 5782 Felipe Street above El Chupacabra, maintains the cozy atmosphere of the original. The café had its soft opening on May 14, 2025, and encouraged reservations while still welcoming walk-ins. The café looks forward to reconnecting with its patrons after a long break.]

After 15 years, Corner Tree Café will be closing its doors at the end of the month, marking the end of an era for one of Makati’s enduring landmarks. For 15 years, this quaint café in Jupiter Street was more than just a place to eat: it is the OG in the Metro Manila vegetarian scene and has become one of the defaults for those seeking healthy, delicious, and sustainable meals in the city.

Corner Tree Café attracted all kinds of diners — whether vegan, vegetarian, or non-veg — with the idea of plant-based dishes that didn’t compromise on flavor. From what I wrote in 2016: Healthy-living ladies who lunch and upscale hipsters converge in this enduring, cozy Jupiter Street spot. Voted by PETA as Metro Manila’s best vegetarian restaurant in 2010, Corner Tree Cafe serves meatless dishes with creative flair, and the results are — to say the least — delicious.

On a September weekend, a vegan friend and I go to the café to have one last meal at the venue. We start with the Oyster Mushroom Birria Tacos — a delightful plant-based twist on the traditional Mexican dish. Each taco features tender, well-seasoned oyster mushrooms wrapped in a crisp corn tortilla and served with a tomato-Mexican based on the side.

For my main meal, I have the Arroz a la Cubana, an interesting blend of minced tofu, tomatoes, green olives, and raisins, served with fried bananas, fried egg, and organic red rice. Vegans can request to have the egg omitted.

I would have wanted to order a couple more, such as the Tofu Walnut Burger and the Swedish-Style “Meatballs,” but I’m on a diet and on a budget. Here’s hoping I can venture to Makati again before the month ends. But if I won’t be able to, hope isn’t lost: while the physical restaurant is closing (according to owner Chiqui Mabanta, their lease is up and their landlords need the space), they will still be having a commissary, where customers can order via delivery or pickup. A message posted on the door leaves the possibility open for a new space opening in another venue.

But for now, another Makati landmark is soon to bid farewell, a few months after Greenbelt 1. In a world where fast food and fleeting trends dominate, Corner Tree Café managed to stand its ground. But all good things do come to an end — in a way.

150 Jupiter cor. Saturn St.,
Bel-Air, Makati City
(02) 8897-0295
(+63) 906 558-6177
Official website
Facebook page