I was invited by a friend to visit this cafe in the Greenhills area last March 21st of this year. The cafe's name is Cafe Tribu, and it is located at the Ground Floor of City Center Bldg., North Greenhills, San Juan City. I've been told that it was the first cafe opened by the big brand Pinoy Pao Express Inc and it just opened last July 2016. Cafe Tribu's press release explains their mission as "to recharge your mornings and relieve your days retreat each shop aims to welcome you in a worry-free atmosphere through the enjoyment of a good cup of freshly brewed coffee done the Tribu way grounded in love, filtered with care, and served just the way you like it."
I noticed when I first came to the shop was how the facade looked from the parking lot. It looked very rustic with the bamboo and earth tones. When I entered, the place gave off a cozy feeling because of the decor and felt spa-like with the music. It was very light and airy, and the big mirrors made the place look even bigger than it was. It was a hot summer day when I visited but it was cool inside, plus points for being well-ventilated. I noticed there were a lot of plush chairs and couches and was told by the staff that it was a family friendly place. Cafe Tribu seats up to 50 heads and is ideal for business meetings or daily luncheons or just plain hanging out.
The owners of Cafe Tribu are Frederick and Grace Tan. They started the cafe because they knew the concept would sell well with Filipinos. They dreamed of a cafe with affordable prices, unlike the foreign cafes that are so popular. But they wanted to make sure the coffee was still of the highest quality and the food delicious to match. With all this in mind, I tried out the Tuna Pasta, Java Oreo Berry, and Red Velvet Cake. The pasta was cheesy and buttery and saucy. I liked that it was not dry unlike those in other cafes. It also tasted of fresh tuna which was a great selling point. Their Red Velvet Cake was very light and fluffy. It was a good sized slice that arrived at my table. My only concern was how little cream cheese was on the cake. The Java Oreo Berry drink they made is very close to Starbuck's Java Chip with a raspberry shot. It was really delicious and they weren't stingy with the choco chips and berry flavoring.
All in all, I was very pleased with my visit to Cafe Tribu. There are 3 more branches opening soon and they are also open for kiosk franchising, For more information on franchising, please contact Bee Enriquez via her Facebook Page and place on the subject line "Cafe Tribu Franchising MM".
