Bread, Breakfast, Brews and More

CEBU, Philippines — Cafes are a welcome haven for busy bees who need a break from the bustle of the urban life. With their aromatic scents of freshly grounded coffee beans and the smell of sweet pastries, it’s not hard to see why people enjoy the comforts of coffee shops. However these can seem redundant and anyone who spends long hours in cafes would surely ask: “Is this all there is?”

However comforting brews and baked goods are, cozy cafes need not be limited to these. That’s exactly what Rehzl Anne Awit realized.

With the dream to serve Cebu with great-tasting coffee, pastries and more, the 24-year old law student, together with her dad Jerome thought of opening their own coffee shop – and so Bicester Café was born. The initial plan was to establish Bicester after she’d graduate. However, fate had other plans and an opportunity to open their café sooner came up. Awit found the spot to set up her dream business in a new commercial strip along the city’s Pope John Paul II Avenue, The Mahogany Place.

Bicester Café’s namesake (prounounced as BIS-t?r), comes from the designer shopping outlet Bicester Village in Oxford, UK. With the vision to offer relief like how the shopping district once did for Awit herself, Bicester Café serves regular and specialty coffees, bread and pastries, breakfast and surprisingly cocktails.

Conceptualizing the café took a year before it finally took off. Although, Awit isn’t much of a cook, the 24-year-old entrepreneur is hands-on throughout the creation of each item on the menu, making sure her customers are served only the best Bicester can offer.

Bicester Café aims to tickle the appetite of every customer that comes into the shop, which is ready with a wide range of baked goods – from bread rolls to cakes and even donuts. The café’s carbo-loaded menu consists of pasta dishes like carbonara, aglio olio, and spaghetti with meatballs.

For people who start their day late or those who have sudden cravings for breakfast during the day, Bicester offers all-day breakfast until 11 p.m. on weekdays and until 12 midnight on weekends. Its waffles and pancakes pair well with the house’s specialty coffee from Mt. Apo and Mt. Kitanglad, in Mindanao. One may request for specialty coffee for his or her latte, cappuccino and even matcha.

With just its pastries, coffee and breakfast meals, Bicester Café is already a foodie destination. But what makes the café stand out from the rest is that it caters to diners who prefer to pair their eggs with mimosas and mojitos. For those who like their pre-game early or late, Bicester serves alcoholic drinks like beer and signature cocktails any time of the day. (FREEMAN)