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This Museum Cafe in Iloilo Takes You Back to Old Heritage Mansion
Wondering what an old mansion looks like? Check out Agatona 1927 Museum Café!
By: Karen Bermejo | July 26, 2024
Agatona 1927 is an ancestral home in Iloilo that has been converted into a trendy museum cafe!
Image: Agatona1927 Museum Cafe Facebook page
With several ancestral houses and heritage buildings around the city, Iloilo is also known as a cultural destination. In addition to their stunning architecture, these old structures have stories to tell.
Iloilo City’s ancestral homes, mostly century-old, are restored and well-maintained, showing how Ilonggos value its heritage. Some historic buildings are now used as backdrops for photoshoots, venues for weddings and special events, and commercial spaces.
One that is open to the public is the Jalandoni Montinola Ancestral Home in the Jaro district. Recently, the ancestral home has been transformed into a museum café, offering an immersive experience for its visitors. Here’s what you need to know when visiting the Agatona 1927 Museum Cafe!
It is named after the owner of the house.
A portrait of Doña Agatona Escarilla Arguelles de Jalandoni made by artist Jose J. Tinsay (L).
Image: Agatona1927 Museum Cafe Facebook page
Doña Agatona Escarilla Arguelles de Jalandoni owns the heritage house, so her family named it Agatona 1927 Museum Café. It was constructed in 1927, and with three years left before its centennial anniversary, the café was named as a tribute to the house's matriarch.
The museum café was opened only last April.
The façade of the Jalandoni Montinola Ancestral Home, which houses the Agatona 1927 Museum Café.
Image: Agatona1927 Museum Cafe Facebook page
This coffee shop in Iloilo debuted three months ago, on April 13, to be exact. Each day, it attracts travelers, history buffs, art enthusiasts, and visitors who want to experience something new.
The ground floor of the building has long been used as commercial space. However, it was only this year that the family decided to open its second floor to the public, which allowed visitors to travel back in time.
They offer the Ilustrado Heritage experience.
This museum café is also a perfect spot for a photoshoot.
Image: Agatona1927 Museum Cafe Facebook page
To offer its visitors an immersive experience, Agatona 1927 Museum Cafe offers its unique Ilustrado Heritage Experience. Visitors have two options: a guided tour with drinks included with their heirloom cookies. They can choose Agatona Blend Brewed, House Specialty Juice, or Hot Tea. The guided tour is PhP300 for non-Iloilo residents and PhP250 for residents, students, seniors, and people with disabilities; the other option is a self-guided tour for PhP350. It includes access to the museum, photo spots, and a photo booth. The PhP200 from your entrance can be used for food and drinks at the café.
You can get a glimpse of the life of Doña Agatona and her family.
You can see plates and utensils used by Doña Agatona.
Image: Ivy Palabrica Querubin
You will travel back in time and get a glimpse of the life of Doña Agatona and her family. As you enter the museum cafe, you will surely notice Doña Agatona's devotion to the Catholic faith. You will find mementos and relics that show the family's importance to religion. The family even owns a replica of Our Lady of Candles, also used during the Jaro Fiesta in honor of Nuestra Señora Candelaria.
You will also be amazed by the timeless beauty of the exquisite pieces in the house and discover stories behind every display in each corner of the room.
You can try their heirloom recipes.
Choose from their menu for a full meal or a light snack.
Image: Jerry Treñas
After you tour the museum at Agatona 1927, take time to appreciate the place more and try the heirloom recipes served by the café. You can have a full meal or a light snack.
They have Pancit Molo and Ilonggo ensalada de mango, a refreshing salad of mangoes and tomatoes, onions, lettuce, singkamas with nuts in shrimp paste dressing.
Among the heirloom recipes to try is their pinitaw na manok—it’s made of chicken adobo flakes, a sunny-side-up egg, and achara. Another must-try family recipe is their dinuguan con chicharron—pork blood stew with pork cracklings. Both are served with rice. Also on the menu are beef salpicao, embutido de pollo, pork adobo Ilonggo and lengua in mushroom sauce.
If you want something lighter, they also serve dinuguan with puto, royal bibingka with coffee, and ibos con tsokolate (rice cake with chocolate), all of which are heirloom recipes. Another specialty they offer is the Don Carlos' Chicken sandwich, made with a special chicken salad spread, sourdough, lettuce, and tomatoes and served with potato fries.
Pair your food with their cold and hot drinks. If you want hot, they have their Agatona blend brewed coffee, Doña Cecilia's tsokolate, and hot tea. They offer house blend iced tea, black coffee, Spanish cafe, and leche con hielo for cold beverages.
They also offer shakes and juices like the pineapple basil bliss, Guimaras mango shake, Papa Charlie’s buko, and lychee shake. For desserts, they have golden frozen caramel, ube coconut mousse, most carrot cakes, chocolate mousse, and the Jaro halo-halo on the menu.
Enjoy your meal in a picture-perfect location.
Coffee with a view. Sip your coffee with a view of Jaro Cathedral and Jaro Plaza.
Images: Agatona1927 Museum Cafe Facebook page (L); Jandelor Hechanova Dalipe (R)
The museum cafe building’s beautiful façade is well-maintained and eye-catching, mainly because of its prime location. The ancestral building is located at Plaza Rizal St. in the Jaro district, just along the main highway across Jaro Plaza.
What’s inside the café is not the only thing that makes it special. You can sip your coffee while overlooking the Jaro Cathedral or do people-watching while gazing at Jaro Plaza or the people and cars passing by the area.
This coffee shop in Iloilo is open Tuesdays through Fridays from 2:00 PM to 9:00 PM and on weekends from noon to 9:00 PM. It is closed on Mondays.
With its unique blend of heritage and culinary delight, Agatona 1927 Museum Café is undoubtedly one place you should not miss in Iloilo City.
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About Karen Bermejo
Karen is a writer, a traveler, and a volunteer. Her ultimate dream is to travel the world, master a foreign language, and learn how to swim. To keep her sanity while chasing her dreams, she’s scaling mountains on weekends.
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