Home-grown café makes waves in Subic & Clark

Before the advent of food chains at the Subic Bay Freeport Zone, home-grown Xtremely Xpresso Café has been quietly dishing out coffee and hot meals to residents of Olongapo and vacationers in this business and leisure enclave.

“When my late father Benson Foo opened the café in 2003, he wanted to give visitors of Subic and residents of Olongapo a dining place at par with that of Manila ’s restaurants,” says Earl Foo, the café’s manager.

Situated at the Freeport’s central business district, Xtremely Xpresso is a café, restaurant, deli, and wine store rolled into one. And to date, it is perhaps one of the few establishments in the country with such a unique blend of specialties.

Named after the jazzed-up name of the popular coffee, it serves the sought-after popular Lavazza Italian brand.

“We added the word ‘Xtremely’ to denote that we go the extreme to give our clients the best we can,” Foo explains.

And just like metro’s ubiquitous American coffee shops, it serves espressos, frappes, teas, and pastries and cookies to go along with coffee. But as patronage grew, its menu expanded to include pizzas, Italian soups and salads, pastas, and sandwiches, and then later to char-broiled steaks and grilled meat dishes.

Foo noted that one rarity why people flock to their place is their 16-slice pizza which boasts a diameter of 22 inches. “This is perhaps the biggest you can find in the country. It’s a filling dish for a family or a barkada and reasonably priced too,” he proudly beams.

A must-taste is the Big Ben Pizza (named after the founder) loaded with pepperoni, sausage, bacon and beef on veggies, garlic onions, peppers, mushrooms, black olives and two kinds of cheese.

The health-conscious can opt for the vegetarian pizza or the herb tuna melt composed of chunky tuna on top of white creamy sauce covered with onion rings, mushroom slices, and a dash of parsley.

Its exterior exudes a warm country-style motif that beckons passers-by. It also has a spacious area for a more relaxed al fresco dining, and needless to say the favorite spot of those who can’t help but get their dose of nicotine while sipping a hot cup of coffee.

After carving a niche in Subic for the past four years, Xtremely Xpresso Café recently opened its second branch at the SM City Clark in Pampanga to cater to the growing number of foreign and local tourists in the former air base.

Managed by the business development manager Vanessa Chanfoo, the Clark branch has instantly captured the fancy of the yuppie crowd in the metro Angeles City area which has been craving for a cozy chill out place without the price tag of a Manila café.

She said that it helps that Xtremely Xpresso Café offers a wide selection of food and great-tasting coffee, making it a convenient one-stop restaurant.

The cafe also introduced new dishes such as fish shnitzel, spicy Thai shrimp pasta and new varieties of pizzas, pastas and sandwiches.

She said that customers keep coming back because of its homey and unpretentious ambiance which is ideal for small talk.

“Despite the presence of popular food franchises in Subic and Clark , we are confident that our novelty, good food and warm service will make us the brand of choice,” Vanessa concludes.

Xtremely Xpresso Café is at Dewey Avenue cor. Sta. Rita Road, Subic Bay Freeport Zone and at the SM City Clarkfield, Pampanga.