WALKING on the streets of Cebu, one will come to realize that there are still some areas in the city that are continuously in the works or remain hidden to most—until they are discovered, of course.
Located at the Cebu Provincial Capitol Compound is one best kept secret known as Cafetolio, a coffee shop perfectly planted at the Cebu City CFI Building.
Owned by Michelle Garcia, the name (and a clever one at that) came to mind after a discussion that transpired between her, her husband Paulo Garcia and former Cebu governor Gwendolyn Garcia, her mother-in-law, about the possibility of opening a coffee shop in the Capitol.
Both Michelle and her husband are coffee lovers. Although the city has a lot of options outside the compound, still, they saw the need for an establishment inside the area where people don’t have to walk so far in order to get a cup of freshly made coffee.
By the end of December 2012, it began operations and to this day is frequented by government officials, students and visitors of the compound who’ve unearthed this café. It can also accommodate more than 20 diners and has an outdoor dining area. Customers can kickstart the day with its choices of coffee-based beverages like its café mocha, cappucino, espresso, café and caramel latté. Among its must try coffee blends include the chocotolio that has native chocolate tablea, mochatolio with a shot of espresso and coffeetolio. It also has juice blends like berry yogurt and flavored teas, to name a few.
The coffee shop serves all-day breakfast choices like spam and corned beef. Other dishes include tocino and tapa. It also has sandwiches, snacks and pastas like meaty spaghetti and carbonara; all of which are reasonably priced.
Cafetolio is open from 8:30 a.m. until 6 p.m. from Mondays through Fridays.