To say the least, we did not have very high hopes. A few posts had appeared on my feed about this cafe, mostly featuring cozy decor and people raving over their one-peso cake. Yes, one peso. Hardly believable. It felt like an utter scam or, at the very least, an unfortunate clickbait tactic. But we had no plans anyway, so why not check it out? Worst case, if all went wrong, we would lose one peso and be given a drink of sensibly good coffee.
The place was warm with simple, minimalist aesthetics: wooden tables, soft ambient light, the comforting hum of espresso machines doing their work in the background. Perfectly warm, comfortably busy, but not too busy for people being scattered with laptops or catching up with friends. Kate and I seized a window seat for the view outside while we prepared ourselves to mentally judge the infamous one-peso cake.
Let's get right to the heart of the matter-the cake. I mean I don't know what I expected, but it was good. Almost unnaturally so for something costing practically a peso. Thin, moist slices of chocolate cake smeared with lavish velvety texture that surely did not belong to any promo basket. No nasty aftertaste, no sugary overkill; just chocolate all the way.
Kate took a bite and stared wide-eyed at me. "Wth? This is actually nice."
I said the same thing, Kate.
I was half-expecting a catch: perhaps you had to order some overpriced food to qualify for getting the cake for one peso, but no. Just one peso gets you cake, end of the story. I don't know what kind of magic they have going on in that kitchen, but I don't care to question it.
Clearly, we were not going to survive on cake alone, so we ordered their Chicken Parmigiana. If the cake was surprisingly good, the chicken was disappointingly amazing. Perfectly breaded chicken fillet set on a tangy tomato sauce and finished off with melty cheese, all perched on a bed of pasta. Comfort and indulgence all wrapped up in one dish, which is just the thing you'd order when you're getting strong cravings for something filling but smidge classy.
We weren't really conversing while eating, not for lack of topics, but we just had too much food in our mouths. And honestly, that's the best silence there could ever be.
Visiting a café wouldn't be complete without its coffee; Tamp Café was a nice experience. I had a Spanish iced latte while Kate went for cappuccino, full-on classic. My latte was perfectly sweet and strong with condensed milk that went well with that espresso and didn't drown it in sweetness. Kate, with her weird pickiness with coffee, sipped her cappuccino and nodded approvingly. That is how I knew it was legit.
Was this the most thrilling café experience of my life? No. Did I enjoy it? Yes. The one-peso cake was reason enough to go there; the chicken parmigiana plus solid coffee just sealed the deal.
Would I come back? You bet. If for nothing else, just to find out whether that cake was some kind of one-off fever dream or whether it's actually a permanent magical loophole in the economy. Either way, Tamp Café & Co. is officially on my list of "casual but secretly great" spots to chill in Cebu City.