New Blue Jay Coffee branch opens!
A coffee shop with a deli shop! Something very new indeed! This favorite place in town bills itself as having a fusion of food and beverage items. And that includes the place too, it's like you'd forget you're in Iloilo! Fun place to take the young and old, even lola and lolo... why? Even if it is located right at the heart of the city given the noise and pollution we have to endure everyday, the food and subtle, yet striking décor are enough to make your mouth gape in awe and disbelief... this can't be in Iloilo! But as a guest in Blue Jay recently, let me give you a blow by blow account of my experience....
Ambiance
It's a small, nut neat place. A real "cosmopolitan" atmosphere in the heart of a city where everybody knows your name. It could compete with the coffee shops in Manila and Cebu... Starbucks, Seattle's Best, Figarro... eat your heart out! Blue Jay Coffee is purely Ilonggo! The fixtures, furniture, lighting are all obviously of the best materials... all the designs and décor jive together to give you that unique feeling of forgetting your home... I am particularly impressed with their refrigerated bars where you could get a full view of all their products. Everything is neatly packed and arranged so it is easier to select the items you wish to purchase. But that's not all... you have a choice to take it home or ask the service crew to serve it right there and then, pronto!
And Blue Jay doesn't only serve coffee or tea, they are also offering all kinds of imported deli products which you can buy and take home... you need not wait for that trip to Manila or Cebu to buy the stuff... everything is right here... it's like going to the grocery in style... now the husbands can sip the best coffee in town while they wait for their wives make up their minds what to buy. You get the idea?
Food Presentation
I loved it when I was served Rib eye... it was cooked medium rare but without the stink and tells you the meat is pure fresh steak... and the sauce... it's pure heaven!!! Not being a fish lover, I had the chance to taste their Chilean Sea Bass. I was impressed... it's a respite from the Blue Marlin that is so commonly served in restaurants here in Iloilo. My friends ordered siomai, and I tell you, I ate about 8 pieces of it!!! It was so addicting... But I would venture to say that their best offering is still breakfast. Sausages, ham, and all the cold cuts... I am a cheese lover and not about to pass the chance of getting to eat all kinds of imported cheese, from soft to hard. It's almost right for the Christmas season. Of course, you still get to enjoy the Blue Jay originals in this new place, they just made it better for you to enjoy it with a few extras...
Food Quality
Menu items include a wide range of breakfast, lunch and dinner plates served in a "haute cuisine" style. All items in the menu are made from imported ingredients and you can be sure since what they're serving you in plates are the same items displayed in their bars. You could find the best wine in this shop, even chocolates... and that's the novelty of the place... where can you find a coffee shop in Iloilo that makes you think you are elsewhere but home and yet, everything is just within your reach? It's in general Luna Street...
Service
The service personnel are friendly and at times funny. They treat you like you are at home and they've known you for a long time. They are not the least overbearing, but they make you feel they are there to help you. They all look neat and nice, something we customers perceive to mean that they are serious about their business. And another thing... you need not wait for a lonnnnnngggggg time for your order to be delivered. Blue Jay offers speedy delivery service without compromising the quality of their products... that's an A+!
Cost
Breakfast, lunch and dinner items, including items displayed on the racks and bars are of reasonable prices... I wouldn't mind paying extra for good quality and service, the same cost I will incur if I bought it outside. So what? I enjoyed myself anyway, an experience I get only when I travel. So it still comes cheaper.
Overall Rating
Yes, I would take friends and relatives to Blue Jay Coffee. You should too, for a relaxing meal or simply a cup of coffee. Who knows who you will meet there. Open seven days a week. Breakfast is served at 8:00 am including Saturdays and 11:00 am for Sundays.