Exploring the Cafe Scene of Tagbilaran

Location : Tagbilaran (city), Bohol (province), Philippines

Cafe Scene
As a cafe denizen in search of the perfect brew, I'm always drawn to a coffee shop with character - themed, trendy, chique, elegant, muted, subdued, tastefully loud or even garishly kitsch. Sorry, I'm not including the cookie-cutter templates of the big chains (Starbucks, Bo's, Gloria Jeans, etc.) - just the independents. Here in Tagbilaran, there is a healthy sprinkling of fashionable cafes that sprung-up only in the last 2 or so years. Cafe denizens here would mostly rather spend time in conversation with friends than belt it out in a karaoke bar or be glued to their hand-helds.

Fred's Book Cafe
Fred's Book Cafe is themed on a library...a small one, where guests can browse into the limited selection and read up or even borrow a book. Owner and friend, Nizah, is on a literacy crusade, so the library/bookstore theme came about with full intention. An unpretentious cafe, it offers an accessible price-point entry to those who want good coffee, laid-back ambience and decent wifi (like me). Yes, I get all that for a reasonable P60 cuppa - bang for the buck! Their halo-halo has the finest ice shavings. This cafe has been my favorite since my early days in Tagbilaran - long before I met Nizah.

• brewed coffee - P60
• wifi - free wifi for one hour with every purchase
• plus - decent wifi connection, great value for the money
• specialty - spicy tuna carbonara pasta P80
• best seller - halo-halo P65

Mosia Cafe
Mosia is a little out of the way. It's a small intimate cafe in a garden setting. I kept hearing about this place from the Plastic Free Bohol community when I participated at the cleanup in Libaong Beach. Staff are pleasant and helpful. This cafe feels inviting for more chillout visits.

• Cafe Americano - P75
• wifi - comes with the order, no restriction, speed at 5.52 Mbps
• plus - plastic-free and environmentally-friendly cafe, coffee table doubles as a garden plot, cozy and intimate ambience
• specialty - cakes
• best seller - cakes

Tuko Cafe
"Gecko Cafe" would have been more comprehensible to passing foreigners, but this quaint cafe along Celestino Gallares is both charming and disarming with a budget-friendly brewed coffee at P65/cup. Quite a manageable size to feel cozy with, add eclectic appointments to feel hipster-ish for a young crowd. Compelling touch is a glass wall with wooden frame matrix acting as narrow shelves for la-artsy decor. Great value cafe for the reasonable coffee price-point with free wifi.

• Cafe Americano - P65
• wifi - free wifi with an order
• food specialty - vegetable lasagna
• best seller - creamy Bolognese pasta P220
• healthy vegetable options
• plus - decent coffee, good air-conditioning, decent wifi connection, good energy

Caffeine Cafe
Caffeine is an easy-to-miss cafe if you're not alert. Like most proper cafes in Tagbilaran, it is quaint with tasteful touches - not drab and nothing loud. Pop background music is subdued to make way for conversation. This is a conducive meeting place for friends who like conversation.

• Cafe Americano - P80
• wifi - P200 minimum for wifi privilege. fiber Connection speed? no idea...my order didn't make the P200 threshold. Wifi used to be free, but people stayed the whole day doing online tutoring or holding pyramid networking meet-ups.
• plus - tablea availability P70, good air-conditioning, indoor/outdoor seating
• specialty - carbonara, blt sandwich
• best seller - halo-halo P80, flavored ice, consistent texture from start to finish

Tamper Cafe
Tamper Cafe ranks high up in the plush cafe category - high ceiling, glass wall, unified white theme, classy appointments, garden lighting for evening drama and urban-hip ambience. Its picture-friendly appointments give you bragging rights for a selfie. Cafe Americano at P75/cup - not bad for what you get. I've seen lesser cafes charge for more. This should give Starbucks a run for its money.

• Cafe Americano - P75

Country Cafe
Country Cafe is a tucked-in neighborhood secret that even locals of Tagbilaran are oblivious about. It hides inside Wregent Plaza Hotel. What makes it great? P40 brewed coffee price-entry point, decent wifi, a/c and outdoor seating and it's right in the heart of town!

• brewed coffee - P40
• wifi - comes with the order, no restriction, speed at 8.88 Mbps (speedtest.net)
• plus - full length bangus on the Filipino breakfast, serves sikwate (P50), Ethan Allen-ish decor, not crowded, not noisy
• specialty - Babyback Ribs P190 (big serving, meaty)
• best seller - American and Filipino breakfast, P140

29th M. Street Cafe
29th M. Street Cafe started out as a milk tea joint after owner Junel got fascinated with the milk tea rave in Cebu. Now, it has become iconic with students doing their school work and meet-ups. As for Junel, it's simply a chillout place for friends who hang and spend the wee hours over food and drinks.

• Cafe Americano - P70
• wifi - comes with the order, no restriction
• plus - student vibe
• specialty - Pork Ribs P85
• best seller - milk tea P55 small

Honourable Mentions
I didn't really find time to go to all the cafes and to the ones I'd been to, didn't have ample time to write about it. But these are other noteworthy cafes:

• Cake Garden Cafe - P40 regular brewed coffee, P30/brownie slice (regular cake was a little too sweet), a/c (a little too warm in the evening), wifi (a little sluggish), chill music (not too loud...just right) and pleasant owners
• Crescencia Cafe - the only noteworthy cafe in Baclayon near the church, heritage house ambience, a/c, wifi
• Tablea de Maria Clara - newly opened right in front of University of Bohol, serving sikwate P80, a/c, wifi

Ending Thoughts
I wish I could check out all the cafes and write about it. But the bill can add up and I don't really want to have sleepless nights over caffeine overload.

Considering that the cafe scene in Tagbilaran emerged only in the last 2 years, the proliferation is very encouraging. I've seen this trend happening not just in the Philippines but also in Penang and major capitals of Southeast Asia like Singapore. The cafes of Tagbilaran are inviting and engaging - from unpretentious value-priced cafe to those where it's fashionable to see-and-be-seen. I didn't come across a renegade cafe or one that stood out for its uniqueness - it would be a mold-breaker to have one here. Like the Boholano culture that doesn't call attention to itself, so are the cafes - they all seem to have this muted grace. For now, they are gathering places for friends but I could imagine, a few years further down and cafes could be about radical self-expression the way it has been elevated in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City). With Tagbilaran's cafe trend in pursuit of coffee perfection, it wouldn't be surprising to see a Third Wave cafe here, sooner rather than later.

--- Gigit (TheLoneRider)
YOGA by Gigit | Learn English | Travel like a Nomad | Donation Bank

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Related Bohol Coffee/Cacao Links:

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• Making Sikwate: from cacao fruit to a hot dark chocolate drink Jan 25, 2018
• Exploring the Cafe Scene of Tagbilaran Oct 7, 2017
• Chocolate Overload at Dalareich Chocolate House Oct 2, 2017

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7. Discovering the Neighborhood Cafes of Singapore Aug. 8-22, 2016
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Bohol Google Map

Bohol, Philippines

tourist attractions

• Danao Adventure Park - zip lining, cable car ride, caving, river rides/trekking, off-road buggy ride, root climbing, rappelling and ultra-glide rides
• Alona Beach - hub for tourists with hotels, resorts, restos, bars and dive shops
• Chocolate Hills - hills side-by-side shaped like giant Kisses chocolate
• Tarsier - pocket-sized marsupia looking like a monkey
• Balicasag Island - one of the best dive spots in the Philippines
• Loboc River - river cruise on a boat
• Anda Beach - fine white sand beach with resorts, restos and cottages, 3 hours by bus from Tagbilaran
• Cabagnow Cave Pool - brackish water pool about 5ft deep inside a limestone opening on the ground, 8 feet deep, P50
• Lamanok Island - walk on a 100m bamboo bridge on stilts to a resto area to take a boat tour to caves and nearly attractions, P300
• Combento Cave Pool - cave pool with underwater cave system, P20
• Can-umantad Falls - long narrow drop until it hits a bulbous mound spreading it into a a curtain-like water canopy and down into a splash pool
• Canawa Cold Spring - deep refreshing cold spring with developed pool area
• Firefly Tour - evening boat ride into the river to watch fireflies

hotel

• Fox & The Firefly Cottages - SUP paddle boarding, luxury riverside native cottages, mountain bike tours, SUP yoga
  Baranggay Valladolid, Loboc, Bohol
• Bohol Tropics Resort - seafront location, manicured surroundings, swimming pool, resto/bar
  0133 Graham Avenue, Brgy. Cogon, Tagbilaran, Bohol 6300
• Oasis Resort - Alona Beach location, dive center, resto / bar
  Alona Beach, Panglao, Bohol

yoga

• Jing Yoga - health & well being through yoga
  The Courtyard - Airport Road fronting the church
  Bohol Meditation and Yoga Center - 2nd Floor Lim Magtajas Bldg. CPG Avenue

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