In the middle of 2015, another coffee industry player from abroad arrived in the Philippines, much to the excitement of ardent Pinoy coffee aficionados. It's Costa Coffee, which is said to be the No. 1 coffee chain in the United Kingdom. Is was founded in London in 1971, and according to an article I read, it offers cheaper coffee that's better in quality than Starbucks'. Costa Coffee now has 2,900 stores in 30 different countries. The Gokongweis of the Robinsons group of companies brought it to the Philippines. By this time, they could have opened five branches
in Metro Manila and Antipolo City as they have planned.
On the Saturday after Christmas, my two girls and I went to Costa Coffee at Robinson's Place-Manila for dessert and yes, coffee, right after our whole family had lunch in Wok Inn - that iconic Chinese restaurant near Malate Church. Inside Costa, I literally saw red - it's the dominant color. But even before coming inside, the color red is what strikes you, with their signature telephone booth that's present, I think in all of their stores in the Philippines. The interiors have a very homey and relaxing feel, it made me want to linger, which I did, just to think and clear my head of the many stuff concerning work that I had to finish before my three-week vacation from work started. The cappuccino that I ordered helped me do some pondering..
Our orders:
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| Cappuccino, P120. (primo size) |
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| Strawberry Pavlova Frostino, P175. (medio size) | | | | | | |
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| Raspberry and White Chocolate Cream Frostino, P175. (medio) |
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| Christmas Ube Flan cupcake, P95. |
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| Original London Cheesecake, P150. | | | | |
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| Counter |
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| An array of cakes and sandwiches |
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| This Red Velvet Cupcake must be so good Santa couldn't help but bury himself in it. |
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| Preparing the stencil art for my cappuccino |
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Menu
Interiors |
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Costa Coffee at Robinsons Place Manila
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My cappuccino was bold and delicious. Costa indeed serves good coffee! The girls likes loved their Frostino. The London cheesecake was not too sweet, thankfully, and firm though still soft and moist. Yummy! We didn't like the Christmas Ube Flan cupcake, although it was such an eye candy. If it was indeed ube, the flavor didn't make itself distinct. All in all, it was a delicious, relaxing first visit to Costa Coffee. I'm looking forward to more visits this year to try their sandwiches and other sweets, and hopefully see more items on the menu. Meet you there, folks!
Happy eating!
