Café Adriatico Premiere
The Place That Used to Be...
By Mikee dela Cruz

People say that you’ll know you are getting older when you (always) dwell on the past, with your statements starting with “Back then…” or “It used to be…” or something to that effect.  Café Adriatico Premiere is, in so many ways, a harbinger of everything these statements (and reminiscing) induce.

IT STARTED IT ALL

Café Ad, as the place is fondly referred to, basically started the café scene of Manila (if not actually the whole country), having been there way, way before Starbucks started opening up in every corner of every neighborhood (thank goodness there are still places like Davao City where the franchise finds hard to invade, thus overwhelm), and with the likes of Seattle’s Best and, soon, I guess, Pacific Coffee attempting to replicate by trying to establish just as many shops.  When they say bohemian Manila (as opposed to elitist Makati), it is Café Ad that comes (and should come) to mind – that’s how big this place was (probably still is, for the oldies).

DISAPPOINTING TURN FOR BOHEMIA Considering it popularized non-elitist hanging out in Metro Manila, it is disappointing for Cafe Adriatico to be one of the exemplifications of everything pretentiously elitist.

This is understandable, of course.  Located right at the City of Manila’s Remedios Circle, it used to be (that’s one “It used to be…”) one of the few wholesome venues to visit when people go to, say, the former red light district of the city, Ermita.  For that matter, while the nearby Ermita was sleazy straight, Café Ad was the hideaway of the non-sleazy straights and, well, not-so-straight (remember, it was the ‘80s, when being out was starting to be “in,” but had a different connotation).

It helped (and still does), too, that the place actually had (and still does) gustatory delights, e.g. pizzas and pastas done a la traditional Italian, arguably among the bests in the whole of Malate, where the place is located.  And, of course, there are the unique offerings Tsokolate E and Tsokolate Ah that remain favorites, as they re-present the traditional Filipino tsokowate (traditional cacao preparation of Filipinos, wherein right after the cocoa beans are ground, they are then formed for preservation into – usually round – bits, which are then melted in boiling water to a perfect drink).

For a while there, Café Ad, understandably, used to be (that’s second) the place to see and be seen, if not simply to be at.

TIME CHANGES EVERYTHING

The problem was (and I’d argue that it still is) Café Ad forgot about bohemia – or even a tinge of the concept.

When the place was opened (by a former journalist), it was the journalists’ (among the new bohemians, sans the pretentious society columnists, social commentators, et cetera) retreat, haven even.  As such, it used to be (that’s third) unpretentious – which bohemian writer, after all, would dress up to the nines to, well, write (events organizers continuously worry about their invited writers because, more often than not, they’d under-dress when attending events, as is their norm, no matter how distasteful that may be to the elite, among others).  Try going under-dressed in Café Ad now (e.g. short pants, even if they’re Dockers; or sleeveless shirts, even if they’re A|X), and you will be turned away because, as one of the guards said to at least four friends, “you look under-dressed.”

The catch especially among Filipinos (and Asians, for that matter) is that, at times (also more often than not), the same guards who lambaste (for lack of a better word) their fellow Filipinos/Asians openly welcome Caucasians, even if they are wearing Spartan slippers, which, in the Philippines, mean one can’t beat in terms of under-dressing – except, of course, if one actually goes completely naked.

And there lies the very problem of Café Ad.  Without the very spirit of why it came into being in the first place, it ceases to be a special place, but has become (and still is becoming) as just another place to dine in – only older.  And in this respect, the café is not necessarily among the tops, with the likes of Barbara’s (in Intramuros) or even Aristocrat (also in Remedios, though this one even has a nicer spot as it is located along the famed Manila Bay), the places that are now definitely worth visiting if history and good food are the goals.

Perhaps I am getting old, longing for the olden times.  But I don’t see anything wrong with that – if it means going back to Café Ad to enjoy a non-pretentious company, chewing on the delectable salads, and then sipping on a cup of a chocolate drink.  But until that time came back, I may have to move with the times, and opt instead for that Starbucks a stone’s throw away from Café Ad, where the chocolate drink is plastic-y, but won’t bar you out whoever and whatever you may be.

Café Adriatico Premiere is at 1790 M. Adriatico St., Remedios Circle, Manila, and may be reached at 5252509, 5237924.