If you’re walking around the Intramuros looking for a quick pick-me-up, The Royal Café inside Plaza San Luis is a cozy corner to sip some Philippine specialty coffee and check out some art by Filipino artists.
Owner Roel Sy De Vera and wife always wanted a coffee business but were wary of the expensive franchise fees of the big coffee shops. It was only during the pandemic when De Vera started to roast coffee at home starting off his Sidecars and Coffee brand that stands out because of its oil-can packaging. The roaster has a nice selection of beans ranging from the common Benguet and Mt. Apo beans to the harder-to-find Malasukot Excelsa beans from Quezon province.
De Vera stumbled upon this space inside Plaza San Luis when he was ferrying his kids for orchestra rehearsals in the complex at the tail-end of the pandemic lockdowns.
When he finally got the space, he started small with an espresso machine on a sidecar serving takeout coffee. Frequent visitors started asking for a dine-in area and the space was renovated to what it is now.
The café has an expected menu of americanos, lattes, and mochas, as well as chilled fruit and coffee shakes. The menu recently added breakfast bowls, pastries, pastas and sandwiches for hungrier guests.
Last February, De Vera was persuaded to set aside a wall to display works by emerging Filipino artists by local artist Mylene Quito. This led to monthly themed exhibitions where the selected artists get to display their works for free with part of the proceeds going to a chosen charity for that month.
For October, the café-art gallery features the Salimisim art collective with art from artists Dennis Ylagan, Bernardo Maac, Ibônman, Jojo Garcia, Allan Flores, and Ted Camahalan. The group harnesses “reflective art” to contribute to personal, mental, artistic, and social flourishing during these stressful times. Colorful and joyous slices of life invite the viewer to reflect imprint scenes into memories of the Filipino way of life.
A portion of monthly exhibitions sales go to a chosen charity. Proceeds this month will go to Hands of God Charity Works, an NGO composed of private volunteers who link donors to chosen beneficiaries.
The main wall displays colorful paintings by the Warriors, a group of autistic child artists from Pampanga under the tutelage of Quito. A portion of the proceeds will go to the leukemia treatment of Mark Denzel.
The Royal Café is located inside Plaza San Luis in Intramuros and is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Check out @royalcafe.mnl on social media for updates regarding their current monthly exhibits.
Photos by Jeeves de Veyra