Madge Cafe

Madge Cafe is a small, open-air coffee house that is perpetually packed with customers. With almost 80 years of service (as of this writing) under their belt, they are considered to be the oldest running coffee shop in the city. They started brewing locally-grown Arabica coffee in the 1940s and since then this unpretentious watering hole has become a center of social interaction for people from all walks of life.

During our Iloilo excursion last year, we hit the bustling marketplace of La Paz to tick off two items from our bucket list – one of which is to visit a coffee shop that has been a staple of the community for generations.

We browsed around the market as we zigzagged our way in and asked some vendors along the way for directions. In the words of someone I know, “Basta na’y baba, dili mawala.” For non-Cebuano speakers that roughly translates to “you’ll never get lost if you just ask for directions.”

Despite the incidence of urban development in Iloilo, this area has been left untouched by gentrification. And thankfully so. Its traditional charm, that has withstood the test of time, makes it welcoming to the common man and a great tourist haunt.

Their walls boast their rich history by displaying mugs marked with the names of their most notable patrons through the years.

The barista manually brews coffee using a colador – a reusable cloth sieve filled with fresh grounds which is then wet with hot water. This method allows the natural oils of the grounds to pass through while filtering out the sediments – allowing for a more rich, smooth coffee. I was pleasantly surprised that their coffee is actually at par with other modern artisan cafes for a fraction of the cost. Every drop was satisfactory. I now understand why Madge Cafe is an institution.

Their hand-crafted coffee blends, which can be enjoyed hot or cold, include Media Cafe (strong coffee with milk), Media Regular (regular coffee with milk), Media Tab-ang (mild coffee with milk), Media Puro (strong black coffee), Puro Regular (regular black coffee), Puro Tab-ang (mild black coffee), Cappuccino and Vanilla Latte. They also serve non-coffee beverages, sandwiches, pasta, rice meals, noodles and other snack items.

I love how everyone can enjoy a nice cup of coffee here without burning a hole in the pocket. Prices start at 40 PHP only.

Madge Cafe has now branched out in Mandurriao at Iloilo’s newest lifestyle hub, The Shops at Atria.

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