“Tightrope Coffee is an experience in itself,” founder Gabe Pepito declares. “Good coffee, nice space.”
The coffee shop has since raked in acclaim for their excellent specialty coffees and their standout all-day menu, in what was the most aesthetically pleasing, standalone cafe in the city. Finally branching out, they took the same minimalist aesthetic into a bigger space for an even bolder coffee and design experience.
Fronting the Velez Medical Arts Center, floor-to-ceiling show windows invite both light and the customers into what is quite a blank space and slate. Oversized matte tiles blanket the floors charcoal, contrasting with bare concrete-finished walls and the raw, exposed ceiling, opening up the space further to float Scandi, blonde wood furnishings.
The pièce de résistance are two massive bars running parallel smack in the middle of the space. Whole-length stainless steel slabs top the exposed aggregate concrete blocks poured in situ to custom form and function. “I wanted to place the bar in the middle. Our setup here is unique,” Gabe ventures.
Admittedly a very inefficient use of space, this primarily aesthetic consideration makes up for it with the efficiency of workflow for both baristas and buyers. At the “front,” point-of-sale receives customers straight from the main doors, along with open working areas, and to the complimentary station on the far end. The “Mod Bar” setup, the only of its kind in Cebu—so far—exposes only the machine heads to allow the concealment of the main bodies under the surfaces, along with the rest of the custom built-ins. The “back” features similar work areas and the entirety of one side with bar stool seating. “I made this space to be more transparent. You can see all the equipment and how the baristas are making your drinks,” Gabe adds.
As it is their essence, as much thought and consideration went into their lineup of coffees as with atmospherics. Featuring a curated selection from the Danish brand, La Cabra, they have choices for both the connoisseur and the casual coffee drinker. The Pinoy palate leaning towards the sweet, their Spanish Latte makes the bestseller of their lot. In it, a shot of espresso is added to whole milk and sweetened with condensed milk for a drink that is a tad bit sweeter than a regular latte but not as much as one with flavored syrup. Their take on the ubiquitous White (Cold) Brew follows with milk from the local Verdant Hills brand of Balaban, Cebu sweetening that deal. My personal choice is the Summer Fizz—essentially an espresso-tonic with the titular twist coming in the bitter-tartness of grapefruit reduction and a dehydrated orange slice. For the caffeine-sensitive, there’s the bright yet mellow and ultimately refreshing Hibiscus Cold Brew. These are among many other classics and signatures to enjoy.
“Specialty coffee, for me, is the sum of all experiences. Everything has to be nice, not just the coffee. Everything has to be special,” Gabe enthuses. With work experience at Momofuku Nishi to his name, their food consultant, Jom Gonzales, beefed up their already solid solids menu with new items.
The Grilled Three Cheese and Beef Shortrib Sandwich has sharp Cheddar, nutty Gruyere, and Milky Mozzarella in a marvelous molten mess with chunks of fork-tender beef between sourdough pieces. A drizzle of chili-honey takes it to sweet-savory territory, with a delightful zing and a tomato dip adding umami oomph. The same braised beef short rib also figures in a bowl of rigatoni with tomato sauce, creamy ricotta, and breadcrumbs for a hearty pasta dish. A seemingly simplistic silog packs a punch in rich, tender, and flavorful homemade Pinoy-style jerky in their Beef Tapa.
“It took me a while to build my first coffee shop, about four years, with all the challenges… capitalization and all that. Things were tight,” Gabe shares the story behind his brand name. Launching this second, bigger, and more costly branch amid the pandemic would have had most anyone at the end of the rope. With Pepito’s refusal to compromise quality and brand principles, the steady albeit quarantine-affected patronage now has him swinging gleefully from one, keeping Tightrope Coffee, on the positive, “really tight.”
Tightrope Coffee is open at the Velez Medical Arts Building every day from 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM. Their first branch is also open at the M.L. Quezon Ave. corner F. Cabahug St. from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM on Mondays to Thursdays, and 9:00 AM to 8:00 PM on Fridays to Sundays.