This Cafe Has The Best Service in Cebu City!

Do you know the feeling of craving for something you've never had before? That's what I've been feeling with pain au chocolat for the past few months now. I just never seemed to get around having it. 

So in my last visit to Ayala Center Cebu, I found this relatively new cafe and saw that they have tons of French pastry options and I decided to give it a try.

Allow me to tell you about the cafe that for me has the best service in Cebu City.

The Mill Lifestyle Cafe

Based on the posts I found, my best guess is that the cafe has been opened since September 2023. They're located in the new wing of Ayala Center Cebu and the closest entrance is Cardinal Rosales Avenue.

I went there at around 10-ish and there was very little crowd dining in the cafe with most people having to-go orders.

Pricing

The cheapest bread they had when I went there was their Rustic Baguette for Php 60, a fairly decent price. They also had smaller pastries for as low as Php 70 and the croissants/puff pastries start at Php 130. 

The price is certainly not so cheap. It is up there with Starbucks or other higher end cafes. However, I may sound like (and have been called) a snob for this opinion but I really believe that there are food products that have to cost a little high for it to be good - like croissants and ramen. Those are like artisan or special products here because they're not local to us.

Here are the prices of their bread and pastry:

They also have a few drink options:

The Food

I ordered the Kouign-amann Plain, Pain Au Chocolat and Iced Americano - they weren't much fun to pronounce when I ordered due to my obvious ignorance of the French language, but I'm just glad they were patient with me. 

Links how to pronounce Pain Au Chocolat and Kouign-Amann in French in case you're curious or you want to be able to pronounce the words when ordering:

• Pain au Chocolat - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1RmLhOygmA&t=3s
• Kouign-Amann - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_AX7SHJnZY

Pain Au Chocolat

I am not French and I have not tried any other Pain Au Chocolat prior to this, but this is absolutely a great start.

I feel like it was a bit embarrassing how fast I finished (errr...devoured) this pastry. I couldn't help myself because it had a flaky crust and the dough is light and fluffy but at the same time very buttery which made the experience so heavenly.  The dark chocolate is also perfect and of really great quality. I was just smiling the entire time.

I think this is the ultimate pick-up pastry if you're having a rough day because I don't see how this could fail to bring a smile to anyone's face.

Pain Au Chocolat Rating: ★★★★★ 

Kouign-Amann Plain

Just when I thought the experience couldn't get any better from the Pain Au Chocolat, their Kouign-Amann Plain took it to another level.

According to Wikipedia (such a scholarly source, I know), "Kouign-amann is a sweet Breton cake made with laminated dough.The name comes from the Breton language words for 'cake' (kouign) and 'butter' (amann)." 

I honestly did not know what to expect with this which was why I was a little bit surprised when I got home and found out this was a type of cake. This is much sweeter than the Pain Au Chocolat, but it is not the kind of sweet that's overwhelming. Its sweetness plays perfectly with the texture. It is much richer and buttery. I really enjoyed this one as well.

Kouign-Amann Plain Rating: ★★★★★

Iced Americano

I think it's important for me to state that I have a very complicated relationship with all the iced americanos in the world. I despise it because it tastes like what exactly it is - a watered down espresso. However, in most cafes that do not have dairy substitutes or dairy-free drinks, I usually just go for iced americanos when I am having pastries.

That being said, I was not head over heels in love with this drink but that's more because of my non-preference to it. But it was not bad at all, it was not so bland and the coffee did not taste weird or cheap. It's also not too bitter and it complemented the sweet pastries I had that day.

Iced Americano Rating: ★★★

Service

Other than the great pastry and the ambiance, what I found outstanding was the service in the cafe. This cafe is also great for introverts because it's far more peaceful than the other mainstream shops.

I also did not feel judged when I was ordering those pastries with my poor French pronunciation. They accommodated my request of having my leftover pastry packed to-go. It was all smiles from the moment I stepped in to the cafe up until I left.

My server that day was Angela and she was extremely nice. I chose a spot near the glass wall and she asked if I was comfortable enough there because it might get too bright and too hot. She also offered me a bag holder for my paper bag so it won't occupy a space in my table.

I only ever experienced the princess treatment from high end restaurants and even compared to those, this cafe has much better service. I could see that they really loved their job and it's very commendable.

In conclusion...

I believe The Mill Lifestyle Cafe should be talked about more because it's truly a wonderful place that offers high quality pastry and has excellent service. 

If you're looking for your next cafe to try, I highly recommend this cafe if you haven't been there already.

Disclaimer: As you can tell by my not so poetic description of the food that I am not a food critic/expert nor have I ever claimed to be one. This is out of personal experience. Your experience and preferences may differ from mine. This review is not written with the intention to harm any individual, group or business. This review is not sponsored nor is it in any other type of x-deals.