Jaro is the biggest district in Iloilo City with big malls, popular hospitals, and century-old churches are located. Jaro is also known for its old families and ancestral houses – and the Montinola Ancestral House is one of these houses. It is located beside SM Savemore Jaro, right in front of the Jaro Cathedral.
The house used to be grand and beautiful, hosting parties in the golden days. It is owned by the Montinola family, who’s now residing either in Manila or the states. Around the 2010s, the house has been divided into different sections. The ground floor now houses the Garden Cafe while the second floor has a Korean-English tutorial school.
Despite its current state, the Montinola Ancestral House still stands proud, reminiscent of Jaro’s grandeur in its heyday.
What do we remember from the Garden Café?
During the 2010s, the Garden Cafe is a small restaurant housed in the Montinola Ancestral Mansion. It specializes in pasta and sandwiches and is popular among students, young professionals, and Korean boarders.
The cafe has bookshelves where you can read or drop off your own if you don’t need them anymore. The cafe has a chill ambiance visited mainly by millennials. You can rent the whole house (including the 2nd floor) for P500 per day, including food and other consumables.
Note: Garden Cafe is permanently closed since 2012 or 2013.
Roaming around the mansion
When one thinks of grand old-world mansions, the first thing that comes to mind is usually a splendid, sweeping staircase. This holds true for the Montinola Ancestral Mansion located at the heart of Iloilo City’s El 98 street.
The staircase has been an attraction of the place since its construction in its heyday. The swirling mahogany steps lead you up to the second floor where you can find various rooms with different purposes.
There is one room that remains untouched and exactly as it was when the family who owned the mansion lived there. It’s a chapel-like room with religious items and old Christian books. Another room looks like an office, with old documents and file folders scattered about. There’s also a balcony on the second floor with views of the Jaro Cathedral and all of El 98 street.
The kitchen and dining room are also situated on the second floor, as is customary in old-world mansions. All these features add to the splendor and charm of the place.
Montinola Ancestral Mansion
The Montinola Ancestral Mansion is a stunning old-world mansion that is now closed to the public. It is under the ownership of the Montinola family, who is currently its caretaker. There is no news yet for any adaptive reuse strategies for the mansion, but it is for sale at the moment, according to the ground workers.
While the mansion is closed to the public, it remains a popular tourist attraction thanks to its beautiful architecture and rich history. It is also an important piece of Ilonggo heritage, and we can only hope that it will be preserved for future generations through sustainable preservation strategies (e.g. The Molo Mansion, Ker and Co, Elizalde Building, Balay Sueño, etc.).
