We absolutely loved the original Kuro Coffee because of its cozy nature, so just had to try their new outlet. Strangely, it’s nothing like the original, but should we be concerned?
A little bit. A lot of the character of the original shop is gone in Ciumbuleuit and you’re left with a rather quiet, empty space. This is primarily due to how massive the cafe is and how few people were there when we visited.
The cafe is in the house of the owner on Jalan Ciumbuleuit and it’s a glorious old architect-designed building with lots of nice touches such as the massive sliding doors and shallow staircase to the upper floor.
Being in Ciumbuleuit and with lots of open windows, the building stays cool naturally. There is a lot of seating space here. So much that it would take a really large crowd to fill it. The good thing is that you can come here if you need some peace and quiet.
The outdoor area is a luxury in Bandung and the garden could serve as a great place for people wanting to lounge on beanbags and happily there are a few.
For those needing to work, there is an abundance of good tables and so many electricity sockets. The wifi here is one of the fastest in Bandung at 60mbps down and 70mbps up — fast enough for absolutely any task you have.
I asked for a magic and it was offered to me in a demitasse cup which is traditionally used for a piccolo latte. Thankfully the staff suggested I could also have it in their standard sized cup which made the ratio a little more magic… but herein lies the problem. The magic was so named because it was supposed to be a magic ratio of milk and coffee. And this means there is only one sized cup that can ever be used.
The food here has some good aspects. I tried the torikatsu don and the soufflé pancakes. The pancakes were very blonde, nothing like a soufflé pancake and contained exactly 5 berries. 1 strawberry sliced really thin and 4 local blackberries (perhaps mulberries) – it was really stingy in my view. It was extremely disappointing.
The torikatsu don was interesting and delicious. We appreciated that a bit of thought had gone into the slaw to make it flavoursome and we also really loved the colour on the fried chicken. Yum!
So while Kuro in Ciumbuleuit feels quiet because of how big a space it is, we really think the coffee is good and definitely worth a try. We also recommend coming here if you need to get work done. A good cafe on the Bandung scene that needs to improve those pancakes.
Kuro Coffee Ciumbuleuit
Jalan Ciumbuleuit 130, Bandung
kurokoffee.co
Instagram: @kurokoffee
Opening Hours: 08:00 – 22:00
WiFi: 60down/70up
Magic: Rp25.000
Hojicha: Rp30.000
Indogo Lemonade: Rp30.000
Torikatsu don: Rp40.000
Soufflé pancakes: Rp35.000
* Add 10% tax