As regular readers of this blog are well aware, I am a coffee lover and I do like to have good coffee twice a day – either a flat white (or latte as some coffee shops in Asia call it) if the coffee is strong, or a macchiato or straight espresso if it is a milder blend. I’m not a great fan of brewed coffee, although I will drink coffee made in a French Press if the beans are freshly ground, and espresso is not available. I will never drink instant coffee.
It can be a challenge finding good coffee shops when travelling to provincial locations in the Philippines, but occasionally I find a hidden gem, as I did on a recent visit to Siquijor Island.
Whilst en route to Siquijor I did some online research to determine where good coffee might be available on the island. I used a few different search terms to find places that mentioned espresso because sites like Yelp were useless – producing only results for Dumaguete and Panglao – both more than 20 km away across the ocean.
Two places consistently came up in the search results – the Napoli Caffè at San Juan and the Larena Triad Coffee Shop at Larena. Some of the search results also mentioned the Kawayan Holiday Resort and the Baha Bar, both between San Juan and Lazi.
The Napoli Caffè had the best ratings so I checked that out first. I wasn’t disappointed. They had a comprehensive menu of Italian coffees at very reasonable prices, and the coffee was good, although a little on the weak side for me. I didn’t see what type of espresso machine they had. It was hidden away in their kitchen. I suspect it may have only been a small one because most Italian cafes that have full-sized machines like to show them off where customers can see them.
Later in the day I took a tricycle to the Larena Triad Coffee Shop. I discovered that it was up on the hill outside Larena at a lookout. Being in such a touristy location I didn’t expect much but was pleasantly surprised to see that they had a full-sized espresso machine – the only one that I had seen on Siquijor.
The view from the lookout where the Larena Triad Coffee Shop is located
I had an even bigger surprise when they delivered the coffee to my table. I had ordered a latte and it looked exactly like a Costa Coffee flat white. And tasted like it too. Strong with a good crema on top – and that was just with a single shot of espresso. This was undoubtedly the best coffee on Siquijor.
It was very surprising that a café at a tourist lookout staffed by local girls produced better coffee than an Italian café actually run by Italians! But as they say, you can’t judge a book by its cover.
The Kawayan Holiday Resort between San Juan and Lazi advertises a “big coffee selection” on their website with a drawing of a small espresso machine, but it’s not clear if the resort actually has an espresso machine. I couldn’t see any in the photographs of the restaurant and bar, and there was nothing on the menu to indicate if espresso coffee was available. My tricycle driver wasn’t keen to go there to check it out because he said the road to the resort is rough.
The Baha Bar on the circumferential road on the southeastern side of San Juan town advertises “real coffee, not 3-in-1” but it’s not clear from their website whether that is brewed coffee or made with an espresso machine (but their menu does specify espresso). In one of the photos of the bar on Trip Advisor there does appear to be what looks like a small domestic-type espresso machine. I didn’t have time to check that one out because it’s only a short distance down the road from the Napoli Caffè.
One other place that I did try that didn’t turn up in the search results (because it was new) was the Dolce Amore Italian Restaurant on the circumferential road on the northwestern side of San Juan town. That was a big disappointment. The coffee was very weak and they only offer espresso or cappuccino (I tried the latter but had to order an extra espresso to add to it, to even taste that it was coffee). Don’t let that stop you trying Dolce Amore for dinner though – their food is superb and their wine list is excellent. It’s only their coffee that let’s them down.
For most visitors to Siquijor, the Napoli Caffè will have to be where they go for their coffee fix because it’s right in the middle of that stretch of coastline where most of the resorts are located. The Larena Triad Coffee Shop is somewhat out of the way, but if you are travelling through Larena, it’s worth making a diversion to the lookout just to try their coffee.