Spacious, minimalist cafe with plenty of natural lighting? Kommons is a relatively new space for hanging out with friends in Ipoh.
What do they specialize in (if any) and is it worth visiting? How to they stand apart from the heavy competition in Ipoh?
We think Kommons has great points to take note of. You can read more about these exact points in this post.
Table Of Contents:
About Kommons
Kommons opened at the end of 2022. It is open daily and for long hours too. They are open from 8am and until 10pm. On Saturdays, Sundays, and Mondays, they close at midnight.
The food menu consists only of what is available on display at the counter. This includes a few pastries and some very pretty cakes. They don’t have a kitchen to prepare hot meals.
We think their drinks menu has a good variety of interesting beverages – both caffeinated and non-caffeinated. If you have kids with you, the milkshakes might interest them.
Kommons’ specialty is in fact, their handcrafted single origin coffee. They do come up with new blends and seasonal beverages too.
Note: Kommons is Muslim-friendly
Ease Of Parking At Kommons
We did not bother with finding parking around the hotel as these are few and usually occupied.
Once you turn into the hotel, it will not be long before you reach a ramp. It leads to the basement car park underneath the hotel.
On a weekend, it is not surprising to find that most of the car parks are taken.
Parking fees for the basement car park costs RM1-2 depending on how long you stay. The parking ticket machine is not far from the lobby exit into the car park.
Ambiance At Kommons
This trendy air-conditioned café is on the ground floor of a newly refurbished hotel (previously Heritage Hotel). In fact, you must enter the hotel lobby first to access Kommons.
Right away, you can see that Kommons is a very attractive space. Their seating is not the most comfortable as some of the tables are almost at the same level as the seats.
Regardless, most of the shaded seating suit large groups best. Naturally, the shadiest part of the café (i.e., window seats) are the most popular on sunny afternoons.
The curved bench in the middle of the café does not have backrests or tables. Which we think is a shame since it takes up a lot of space. And there is nowhere to put down your food or drinks.
Service At Kommons
We were left with the sunniest seats by the window. There are blinds but the staff did not seem willing to pull them down for us. We had to make do by pulling some seats further into the shade.
Staff is not rude, just not particularly helpful. They are all busy preparing orders at the counter. Or cleaning up tables.
To be fair, food and drinks came pretty quickly.
Food At Kommons
The specialty beverages look as nice as they taste. We really wish they did not use single-use plastic cups though.
We ordered a strawberry latte, orange espresso, tiramisu latte and jasmine by oatside. We wanted to try their gula melaka latte but it was sold out.
Anyways, all of the drinks are enjoyable. None are too sweet or bitter. The tiramisu latte is very rich and delicious, and it comes with a ladyfinger biscuit too.
The jasmine by oatside really has some interesting notes from all of the 4 or so ingredients that go into it. The coffee does make it a little bitter.
Out of the drinks we ordered, the orange expresso was the most bitter. It has a balanced taste of orange and coffee and we do like it.
But if you don’t like bitter aftertastes at all, the strawberry latte is delightfully milky and the frozen strawberry bits on top are fun.
Unfortunately, we did not enjoy the food as much as the drinks. The basil pesto bake was hard and difficult to chew (it tasted fine though).
The maple syrup croffle is nice but nothing to shout about if you’ve tried these before at another café. For the adventurous, they do have croffle with chicken floss on the menu!
Pricing At Kommons
Pricing is on the higher side for Ipoh café standards. Their specialty drinks can go up to RM18 per cup.
If you consider portions, the pastries and cake slices are small and therefore expensive.
We do think the drinks are worth it. We don’t feel the same way about the basil pesto bake. The maple syrup croffle was alright though if you are hungry and want something other than drinks to fill you up.
Conclusion
If you’ve never been to Kommons before, we think it is worth checking out if you like looking at minimalist interiors. Personally, we would come back for the specialty drinks.
That said, it can be really noisy on public holidays and weekends as hotel guests frequent the café too.
So, if you plan to stay longer (i.e. have comfortable seats), we would advise going on an off peak day or hour.
Read more: Être Patisserie – Chic Café In Canning Garden With Delish Pastries!
Another cafe at Greentown in Ipoh: Crema 65 Cafe
