Caffe Pascucci Shop is an Italian brand of coffee shop that branched out here in Manila just last year. It prided itself in serving high quality standard of coffee in different variants and pastry goodies that go perfectly well with their coffee selection. Currently, Caffe Pascucci Shop already have two branches here in Manila; one in Glorietta 2 in Makati City and the other one in Robinsons Galleria in Ortigas, Pasig City.
It was said that Caffe Pascucci Shop is popular in Italy and Korea with an impressionable number of patrons. If the green siren stands to be the most popular here in Manila and to most part of the world, Caffee Pascucci Shop is noted as its Italian equivalent in terms of followers.
I remember the first time I tried Caffe Pascucci was during the launching of our book EATS 2014 which was held at the Glorietta Activity Center. Caffe Pascucci Glorietta branch was just a stone's throw away from the area, just right beside Ginza Bairin. So before heading home, we grabbed some coffee and pastries from Caffe Pascucci just to last us through dinner time. I remember that the place left a great impression on me with its artsy ambiance.
Then recently, I was informed that Caffe Pascucci Shop opened a branch at Robinsons Galleria and took part of the spot of the now defunct Gloria Jeans Coffee Shop in front of TGIFridays. The place is small compare to their flagship store in Glorietta 2 but equally eye catching. Not really in its bare minimum in terms of interior decorations but I was told that they are still working on incorporating the art decors including the impressive graffiti which their branch in Glorietta is known for.
During my visit with fellow coffee lover and friend Glenn of the Strolling Spoon blog, the area is still being decorated with the store's logo plastered on the glass walls. What it lacks in decoration however made up for the impressive number of enticing pastries peppered on the bar area. They do carry the same items as that of the other branch and I was told that they are looking into introducing more products soon.
We tried two of the best sellers on their coffee menu; the Paspuccio and the Fraspuccio Confuso.
The Paspuccio (Php125) is essentially made of espresso, foamed milk, pas-ciok powder, and caramel syrup. I have to admit that it is aesthetically pleasant to the eyes. The caramel syrup on top decorated as spider web design give out an impression that this cup of Joe leans on the sweet side of the spectrum. Indeed it is true. Sweet but not cloying. It still has that bitterness of the espresso but subtle enough that it did not overpower all the other component in the cup.
The sugar packets which came in different colors may be too enticing, but when having Paspuccio, I suggest that you skip the sugar because it is already sweet enough on its own.
The Fraspuccio Confuso (Php155) on the other hand is made of espresso, milk, ice, sugar, confuso cream, caramel syrup, and biscuit. I enjoy this one better than the Paspuccio only because it is a cold variant and it was so hot that day and I was having some ill bouts of asthma. Yet, taste-wise, I find Fraspuccio Confusio to be too light for my taste buds. Even the whip cream was so light it felt like I was consuming air. If I am craving for a cold coffee drink, the kind which will give me that coffee-in-your-face-kind-of-experience, I wouldn't have this variant because it wouldn't give me the satisfaction. But I would highly recommend it for those who wants their cold coffee light.
We also tried their Dark Belgian Cheesecake(Php195). We were told that it is one of their best sellers and since I am a sucker for dark chocolate especially if its Belgian, we gave it go. Also, it had me at cheesecake. Sadly the cheesecake part was too light for my taste. It was more like a chocolate mousse than a cheesecake. The dark chocolate part however did not disappoint.
There are still a lot of items on their menu that I am meaning to try, but based on what we had, the impression that Caffe Pascucci Shop gave me was that it leans on the lighter side of flavors. From coffee to the cheesecake, everything was too light for me. And I cannot fault them at that since the execution was remarkable on its own. I will definitely come back and try to discover if they have something on their menu that will suit my affinity for dark and bold flavor profile in coffee.
Caffe Pascucci Shop
(Beside Cold Stone Creamery, in front of TGIFridays)
Robinsons Galleria
Ortigas Center
Pasig City
Contact No.: 955-1556
Facebook Page: /caffepascucci.ph
Instagram: @caffepascucciph
