WHAT is a café but a place to not only enjoy food but also a spot to unwind in–like a holiday, albeit it short-lived. Still in its own way, it offers a reprieve that one can always revisit. Only a few places in town make their regulars enjoy such sentiment. Best thing to do is scour every inch of the city to find which one feels like it.
With its interiors gussied up like the bistros found on the streets of distant, romantic lands, Cafe Público seems like a potential. Originating from Metro Manila, this Cebu branch is the first outside of the Luzon region which opened in March this year.
It triples as a coffee shop with its hot and cold coffee blends with beans from different parts of the world, offering choices like cappuccino, café latte, brewed nutella, red eye or its list of affogatos; a restaurant, as it houses a mix of dishes from Filipino to international cuisine from pastas, paninis, rice meals to salads; and last, as a gelateria as it makes it own gelato.
It has more than 50 gelato flavors to choose from and unique names and flavors like the Bicol express (which has a spicy kick to it), yemashita’s treasure, tangerine Jolie, dulce and banana and so much more. One can enjoy different flavors in one scoop even. It offers three gelato cup sizes.
From the food to the look of the place, it overall exudes character with its bits and pieces of quirks found in every nook: by the corner stands a wall covered with comic strips, and outside the pathway that doubles as an al fresco area is a table decked with a huge chess set (playing is encouraged by the way)—just character everywhere.
Cafe Público is located at Meerea High Street, Ouano Ave., North Reclamation Area, Mandaue City, Cebu and open daily from 11 a.m.-11 p.m.