Popular Coffee Shops in Cebu

Recently, Cebu has gained popularity when it comes to local coffee shops. A handful of those have expanded while some have maintained their reputation. However, they serve drinks with common names such as café mocha and java chip, but each coffee shop blends these drinks uniquely.

Ditch the frappe from popular coffee chains for now and explore a new blend of coffee at these shops.

Dolce Café

Dolce café is a popular rendezvous for the young and young-at-heart. They have several best sellers to offer that will make customers spend several visits here. For hot blends, these are brewed coffee and caramel macchiato. For cold drinks, baristas recommend mint mocha and bubbly blueberry. However, they prefer bubbly blueberry, which is a fusion of coffee and blueberry syrup. The mixture is excellent. The sweetness of blueberry complements the coffee very well. There is no subtle contrast between the bitter and the sweet so this drink does not leave you with a headache. The price for a cup of bubbly blueberry is PhP130. Though it makes you want for more, the drink is worth a try. The ambience is also great. Dolce is situated in a remote location so it has a very relaxing atmosphere. Their seats and coffee tables are white which makes the café very neat and clean. Even their countertops are white, which creates a good impression on their utmost cleanliness and care.

Dolce Café’s Counter

The café sits on a hillside and the location gives patrons a delightful view of the city. If you visit at night, you will see the gleaming view of Cebu City. If you want a little bit of peace, visiting Dolce in the afternoon is a good time. Additionally, their baristas are very pleasant, friendly and accommodating. They make cheerful recommendations and heartily offer options. Parking space is limited so it is best to spend lunch or dinner here or nearby Lahug.

View of the city from Dolce Café

Dolce Café is located along Veterans Drive, Nivel Hills, Lahug, adjacent to Autowelt BMW. They are open from 7:00 AM until midnight every day.

Tablea Chocolate Café

Tablea’s Café Mocha

Tablea is a locally ground chocolate drop and is popularly used as a beverage. Before, locals pair a cup of tablea drink with puto og mangga (sweet sticky rice and mango, usually for breakfast. But as time flew by, tablea drinks are no longer an early morning quencher but an all-day beverage.

Tablea Chocolate Café is famous for mixing chocolate and coffee beverages. Their best-selling coffee is Café mocha and it is a combination of mocha and tablea. It is the only coffee drink in their menu that is mixed with the local chocolate. It gives an almost neutral taste but the drink is smooth and the aroma of tablea dominates the mix. The mix does not leave chocolate residue which makes café mocha a good choice for customers. At PhP115 per mug, the price is reasonable. Café mocha is best served hot but they have a cold blended variant at PhP 130.

Tablea Chocolate Café has several locations. They have kiosks at the 2^nd floor of the Northwing in SM City Cebu and at the 2^nd floor of the Active Zone in Ayala Center Cebu. They also have a café at the ground floor of JY Square Mall in Lahug. Their locations are somewhat crowded but they provide ample seats. Their baristas are efficient and attentive. Ask what your preference is and they will offer you a drink that suits your taste. The operating hours of the cafe are from 10:00 AM to 9:00 PM.

The Civet Coffee

The civet cat logo

This shop obtains coffee from civet droppings, thus the name the Civet Coffee. They serve specialty coffee called drip coffee. It has five variants: barako, Kenya AA, Yirgacheffe, Honduras, wild blending and, the most popular, 30% of civet dropping. Each drip coffee variant, except 30% of civet dropping, costs PhP120 for the hot blend and PhP130 for the cold blend. 30% of civet dropping is only served hot at PhP590. The Civet Coffee also serves coffee with 50% and 100% of civet dropping and requires an advance order before coming to the shop. Furthermore, Civet Coffee’s best seller drink is Dutch Americano. Dutch Americano is a brewed coffee that is slightly creamy with the right sweetness. It is a great drink for those who prefer less strength in their coffee and is best paired with choco truffle cake. Each regular-sized cup of Dutch Americano is PhP120 and large size cup is PhP130.

Interior of The Civet Cat Café

The Civet Coffee is a perfect place for those who seek affordability. The ambience is good and they have a spacious area. Their baristas are also knowledgeable and efficient.

The Civet Coffee is located at M.L. Quezon National Highway, Maribago, Lapu-Lapu City; Mactan Newtown, Punta Engaño, Lapu-Lapu City; and at the ground floor of Skyrise 4, Cebu IT Park, Cebu City. Finding a parking space in IT Par is quite a challenge so it is best to visit the café after peak hours.

Coffee Prince

Façade of Coffee Prince

The café has a very catchy name since it seemingly draws its inspiration from a popular Korean comedy-drama show, which has the same title. It has been operating for years and what keeps Coffee Prince alive is its strategic location. Coffee Prince is located near banks, offices and establishments, including the Cebu Provincial Capitol and the Cebu Doctors’ University Hospital (CDUH). It is also highly noted for its bright interiors and comfortable spaces. Elevated platforms and colorful pillows replace the table-and-chair setup while paintings on the wall and fixtures are favorite selfie spots for patrons. Overall, Coffee Prince is neat and clean.

Coffee Prince’s interior

The best-selling drink at Coffee Princes is the java chip while their popular espresso-based drink is caramel macchiato. Their prices are affordable, ranging from PhP75 to PhP200, and their baristas are polite. Parking is located at the back of the café and the spaces are shared with other offices. The best time to visit the café is after office hours so you can appreciate the interior and lighting. Coffee Prince opens from 7:00am to 2:00am on Monday until Friday and from 7:00am – 3:00 am on Saturday and Sunday. It is located at #0246 Osmeña Boulevard, Capitol Site (across Cebu Doctors’ University Hospital), Cebu City, 6000 Cebu

Hausbrandt

Hausbrandt Café Americano

Hausbrandt is just a few months old but it has recently attracted coffee fans. They serve interesting mixes of coffee and chocolate such as mocachino and Cremoso Chokola, and their coffee and chocolate mixes are shipped directly from Italy. Their best seller is café Americano, which they serve on a mug. At PhP120, the price is very reasonable. which makes the price very reasonable (at P120). Their food presentation is simple but the taste is premium. They serve desserts like cakes, cookies, muffins and specialty gelato and these are delicious. The ambience is also excellent. The café has bright lighting, neat interiors and they play soothing jazz music. This combination creates a relaxing atmosphere, making Hausbrandt is a favorite spot for studying and brainstorming. Their baristas are very friendly and attentive and they provide customers excellent service and relevant information about their products.

Hausbrandt’s interior

Hausbrandt is located on the 2^nd floor of Capitol Square, N. Escario Street, Capitol Site, Cebu City. Parking is spacious but may be limited during peak hours since the café is located in a commercial complex. The best time to enjoy coffee at Hausbrandt is after peak hours when traffic is flowing. Hausbrandt opens from 8:00 AM to midnight every day.

The establishment of these coffee shops is a proof that Cebuanos love coffee very much. An infusion of either a native ingredient or an imported variant makes the taste of coffee extraordinary and incomparable. These coffee drinks sound alike yet they have different taste. It is the taste that makes them popular and unmatched from popular coffee brands.

Top Supermarkets in Cebu

In the early ‘90s grocery stores in Cebu used to have modest spaces yet they were packed with the essentials. Memberships in these stores were hugely unpopular and parking spaces were very limited. The renowned grocery stores then were Rosita’s in Fuente Osmeña, Rustan’s Supermarket on General Maxilom Avenue (formerly Mango Avenue) and the Gaisano chain of supermarkets. It was only in the last half of the 1990’s and early 2000’s when grocery stores started to grow and innovate their services.

Today, they have evolved into a place where shoppers can find everything-from food and clothes to appliances and home care. Even car accessories can be found in grocery stores. They have transformed into one-stop shops that will defeat malls and big shopping centers.

Read on to find out the top supermarkets in Cebu.

S&R Membership Shopping

S&R Membership Shopping takes a cue from warehouse shopping chains in the United States. Opened in Cebu since September 2010, S&R has been selling diverse selection of local and imported products of food, wines and spirits, health and beauty, kitchenware, shoes and clothes, appliances, home care and car tires. “Imported” may sound daunting but S&R occasionally marks down its prices, offering bargains such as the “Buy 1, Take 1” scheme, which gives shoppers more savings.

As a result, S&R is still affordable while selling high quality products. For example, their meats at the meat preparation area are refrigerated at 4°C to avoid contamination. Meat, fruit and vegetable delivery are done daily so their merchandise is always fresh while beef is chilled, not frozen, to lock in its original goodness.

S&R also serves pizza, burgers, calzone, baked rolls, fries, salad, chicken, rice meals, churros, ice cream and bottomless soda. Their food service is located inside the building so that shoppers are guaranteed fresh food and clean service.

Since S&R is a membership shopping club, shoppers need to sign up for a membership. Membership costs PhP700 for gold membership (around USD 15) and members can bring up to four people.

S&R in Cebu is located in Ouano Avenue corner E.O. Perez Street, Subangdaku, Mandaue City, Cebu near the Cebu Doctor’s University (CDU).

Rustan’s Fresh

 

Rustan’s is famed for its high-quality hopping experience and is distinctive high-end department and grocery store chains in the Philippines. Rustan’s also sells local and imported items but, unlike S&R, grocery shopping at Rustan’s Fresh does not require membership. One can find plenty of food, hair and skin care products, hygiene, kitchenware and detergent products.

Additionally, shoppers can get either a Rustan’s Fresh card or a Sapphire card. Both card can be used to earn points or rewards from the total price of purchases made. For every PhP7,500 worth of shopping, Rustan’s Fresh cardholders earn P50 while Sapphire cardholders earn PhP100. The accumulated rewards can be used to pay for the shopper’s future purchases. Another benefit of being a Rustan’s Fresh or a Sapphire cardholder is the “double points” system every first Wednesday of the month.

Rustan’s Fresh also has food service outlets like Yum Yum Tree, Jafar’s, Café Sarree and Kate’s Bakeshop. It has three branches in Cebu:  Paseo Arcenas, Banawa; the new wing of Ayala Center Cebu; and Oakridge Business Center.

Shopwise

Located at the intersection of N. Bacalso Avenue (South Road) and F. Llamas Street in Basak, Mambaling, Shopwise is the thriftier version of Rustan’s Fresh. It only has one store in Cebu but Shopwise is popular for its “times 10” point system every first Wednesday of the month for Shopwise cardholders. On regular days, however, they observe the usual point system for Rustan’s Fresh cardholders. Membership is definitely not required so shoppers can find numerous low-priced food items, beauty products, hardware, school supplies and appliances.

Shopwise occupies a huge two-storey building and houses restaurants such as Da Vinci’s Pizza, Mang Inasal, Moon Café, and a pharmacy.

SM Supermarket: Hypermarket and Savemore

SM is known for the vast paces of its stores and that vastness is used to develop the concept of hyper-supermarket, or hypermarket for short. SM Supermarkets are almost complete in their own right since one can find an abundant supply of fresh fruits, frozen food, snack items, beverage, beauty products, detergents, school supplies, clothes and foot wear. SM Hypermarket in Subangdaku, Mandaue even has a hardware.

Moreover, SM Supermarkets always have food stalls within the vicinity to help keep shoppers at ease after completing their purchases. They have multiple locations in Cebu City, Mandaue, Lapu-Lapu, Naga and Consolacion.

Robinsons Supermarket and Robinsons Selections

Robinsons Supermarket established six branches by far and in December 2015, it opened its first Robinsons Selections Supermarket at the Robinsons Galleria. Robinsons Selections increased its fame for its upscale look and neat ambiance. Robinsons Selections sells local and imported food items, health and beauty products, home improvement and fabric care. When grocery shopping at Robinsons Supermarket, Robinsons Reward cardholders earn PhP1 for every PhP400 worth of grocery items.

Robinsons Supermarkets have foods halls just near the entry points so shoppers can have their refreshments while Robinsons Selections has its own gourmet shop where food is prepared fresh. Robinsons Supermarkets are located in Tabunok, Lawaan, Banilad Town Center, Fuente Osmeña and Talamban.

This Week in Cebu (August 14 to 20, 2016)

Shopping and dining has never been this electrifying this week. Shoppers can enjoy gadget sales and promos and take advantage of food deals which abound the city. Music and entertainment provide good vibes even with the damp weather this season.

Local News

August is Mandaue Business Month.

This August, the Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) leads the celebration of Mandaue Business Month (MBM). MBM was launched to highlight the success of public and private partnership in Mandaue City. The focus of MCCI in this month’s MBM is to empower the potential of micro-, small and medium enterprises to grow. A talk on business and corporate excellence, a tree planting activity, a search for motivating and inspiring individuals, and A Maze Mandaue are some of the events that will take place this month.

Weather Advisory

Cebu will experience rainy weather this week. Thunderstorms are more likely to develop throughout the week, so everyone is advised to stay indoors during heavy rain. Floods and lightning may occur during this time, so avoid traveling to low-lying areas to avoid being trapped due to flood water and heavy traffic. Also, stay away from poles, electric posts, trees and open spaces to prevent from being hit by lightning. It is advisable to bring umbrellas or raincoats, especially for people with important plans to attend to.

Major Mall Sales

Tech lovers will enjoy up to 50% on gadgets at SM City Cebu.

Gadget lovers can head to SM Supermalls, as they celebrate Cyber Month this August. Shoppers will enjoy up to 50% discount on gadgets such as cameras, smartphones and phone accessories from August 1 to 31, 2016. Shoppers can visit the Cyberzone at the 2nd floor of SM Northwing and at the 3rd floor of SM Seaside City for great deals on gadgets.

Shoppers can win prizes by simply downloading the SM Supermals mobile app.

Further, SM is raffling off 30 gadgets for 30 winners for the whole month of August. Shoppers will have to use the SM Supermalls mobile app daily and play the in-app scratch game. The SM Supermall mobile app can be downloaded through iTunes and Google Play.

Items from top sports brands are on sale at Toby’s Sports.

Sports fanatics, rejoice! Toby’s Sports is having a sale until September 4. Grab top items such as sports gears, gadgets and accessories from well-known brands such as Nike, Adidas, Reebok, Under Armour, Brooks, RSL and Wilson. Toby’s Sports is located at the 3rd floor of the SM Seaside City Cebu and at the upper ground floor of SM City Cebu.

Popular Cuisine, Seasonable Fruits, and Seafood

Two exciting events will liven up shoppers in Cebu on August 20. Shoppers can witness the Cyber Tunes event from 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM and dance along live electronic dance music performed by DJs. Also, see the colorful and vibrant parade of your favorite cosplayers at the Cosplay Carnival. The event will feature costumes of famous anime characters in movies and TV series.  Cosplay Carnival will kick off at 2:00 PM and end at 5:00 PM. Both events will happen at the SM City Cebu.

Diners can buy two dishes for Php370 at Pancake House.

The Pancake House offers a promo where diners can choose two tasty meals for PhP370. Meals that are included in the promo are spaghetti with meat sauce & grilled cheese, two-piece pan chicken with gravy, Salisbury steak and pan-grilled pork belly, all of which come with iced tea. This promo is valid until October 15, 2016. Pancake House is located at The Terraces in Ayala Center Cebu, SM Seaside City, SM City Cebu, Banilad Town Center, Oakridge Business Center, Salinas Drive and Robinsons Galleria.

An original glazed doughnut and medium coffee for PhP79 at Krispy Kreme

Also, doughnut lovers will enjoy a sweet treat from Krispy Kreme. Until August 15, customers can buy an original glazed doughnut and medium coffee for PhP79. This promo is only available at Krispy Kreme at the lower ground floor of SM Seaside City.