Culinary : The Localist (SPONSORED)

Hey guys!

Anyone lives in East Surabaya (like me) and need a cafe recommendation (i know that lots of us are very jealous of those of you who live in the West area since y'all have so many choices for cool cafes to choose from!)? Let me give one to you right know : The Localist Coffee and Bistro!

The Localist Coffee and Bistro

Jalan Arif Rahman Hakim 40, 2nd floor of dr. Sjamsu's Eye Clinic,

Klampis Ngasem, Sukolilo, 60117

Phone: (031) 5937373 / 0812-6420-5189

IG : @thelocalist.sby

Before we talk more in detail about the cafe, i am going to give you a few reasons up front on why i am highly recommending this place and why you need to keep reading : it's Instagrammable, Instagrammer friendly (because let's face it, what's the use of having an Instagrammable cafe when it's not even welcoming Instagrammers/bloggers who would definitely want to take tonnes of pictures at every corner of your cool place?), kids and family friendly, cares about the environment and the menus are very affordable.

Now, have i gotten your attention yet?

Okay, let's proceed :D!

The Localist is actually not a new kid on the blog, the Localist Coffee and Bistro was established in April 2015 (before they transformed into this family friendly cafe, they used to be a youngster cafe called Coffee Corner) so they have been around for 4 years, a pretty solid time for a cafe in Surabaya.Not wanting to be jaded, they keep on improving and evolving - they now have a fresher and more feminine face with their torquise and white decor and tropical aesthetic. 

They also have a special purpose, to provide comfortable and child friendly meet-up point for mommies and daddies who needs a place for all kinds of events like social or business meeting, or simply to hang out with friends and acquaintances. The idea to make this place kids friendly comes from Harini Riana, the GM of The Localist as she understands that a lot of modern women who happens to be offsite working moms often need a safe and comfortable place to work while their little ones can entertain themselves (and even make friends with other kids) while their mom can do their jobs and even have meetings without the kids getting bored while waiting for them (yes, there is a play area, keep reading to get to it ^^).

I also love how green and thoughtful towards the environment they are.

With lots of greeneries even on the pathway towards the cafe

They also do not provide bottled mineral water (you can still order mineral water that comes from their dispenser) nor plastic straws, you can either go strawless or ask for their paper straws

The cafe itself is very spacious and super bright with lots of natural lighting coming from the glass windows - perfect for Instagrammers as you will achieve top notch quality pictures here :D.

Comfortable sofas if you want to have a casual chit chat or the wooden dining table if you want to have a proper meal or work with your laptop

As i am a blogger and Influencer, when i come to cafes i would scan the area for Instagrammable spots and i am super pleased that there are multiples here - which means i would love to return many many times and won't run out of spots to take fresh photos at

The sliding door leads to the special area that are mostly dedicated for families with younger kids

Your little ones even get their own table that's suitable for their size so they can play make believe to be grown ups :D

And here's kids' area, stocked with educative toys to support imaginative plays so that your kids can enjoy themselves without being glued to their gadgets. They can play house, read kids books, draw or write on the writing board, and there also sensory toys - all carefully curated for mostly toddlers and younger kids.  

The kids area's actually pretty spacious too!

I can totally imagine your younger kids would be having the time of their lives here. #Undecided watched my Instastories of the place and she immediately booked a date with me as we can have coffee and adult convo while Zoe can play here!

Another very special thing about this place is that they now have a special activity : Story Time on weekends! I believe they are totally a pioneer to bring this type of concept to Surabaya cafes and i fully support this ofc!

The Story Time is conducted in most Saturdays and Sundays (you can contact the cafe for more specific info) for two age group (Baby Story Time for babies 6-18 months old and Story Time for kids 2 to 5 years old). During the Story Time, kids will be read books to, invited to move along the music, sing and even do crafting! The Story Time is totally free for the kids whose mommies or daddies are dining in The Localist ^^. How awesome is that?

Btw, as most of women at my age group has play group of early elementary school age kids (i am among the rare ones who has a junior high school kid already haha, the perk of marrying young :p), i know that lots of them are constantly looking for cafes which open early to wait and hang out while their kids are at school, as The Localist is open daily at 8, it can definitely be a great choice!

Btw let's take a look at the super pocket friendly menu!

No seriously, the price range of the drinks are 15-30k only (and most of them are only 20!)

The food are also super affordable, 15-35k! Only the pizza is 60-65k and they are pretty big!

A perfect place for us to hang out, chit chat and take photos - even if we don't have kids with us haha

Here's a look to some of the dishes :

Cheese Pizza - 60k , their pizza are thin and crispy, still yummy even when it's already cold! My husband is pretty hard on food and it's hubby's approved

Beef Pizza - 65k

Bolognaise Spagetti - 30k

Caesar Salad with Grilled Chicken - 30k. The veggies are super fresh and the dressing yum! I love salads and this one's #Pink approved ^^!

Ayam Goreng Sambal Semangat (fried chicken with special sauce) - 30k

Sugar Donuts - 15k

But as i love all things kawaii, the hightlight for me is when i found out that they do latte art!!!

I think you can request the latte art without additional cost as well!

I'm a huge fan of kawaii latte art and i do not know a lot of cafes in Surabaya that caters to these (or actually... not at all. I know some that do basic latte art but not the kawaii ones, so i'm pretty sure there are not that many of them here) so i am super delighted that The Localist have it covered!

Totally enjoyed the food, the drink and the ambience here! I am honestly already planning another visit with Olin. We take most of our photos (for reviews, endorsements or just OOTDs) in cafes and we tend to have a go to cafe which needs to meet our requirements : great lighting, friendly staffs and policies when it comes to photo takings, affordable menus and good coffee - The Localist ticks all the boxes so it is so going to be our ultimate go-to now!

So the next time you want to have some girls time, a meeting, family time, or any kind of chilling, remember that #Pink is recommending The Localist ^^!

Thank you The Localist for having us and for the super fun afternoon ^^

#Pink