The Good Locals Co. — Restaurant in Iloilo City

the good locals is a good place to be! initially i thought it was close, but i had to check their socials and they were open and so glad we checked at the sides and for photos of what the shop looked like. there’s a tarp upfront in the building that may confuse you that that’s where there spot is, but you’ve got to look to the side of the building to spot the good locals!

we spent some time in here as the rain was pouring and ordered their banana pudding matcha and horchata. if you buy three drinks or more, you get a photocard of their staff in cartoon-esque art. i think that’s a great idea hahah and then they also have gatcha and stickers that are very fun ways to introduce their cafe.

to the side of the order area, there are merch made by locals and probably the staff too (?) the whole space is very knick knacky—the items are strategically placed, so you can entertain yourself looking through them. i imagine you could also borrow the books on the shelves for reading if you’re initial goal is to get some good read in while you hang out. even when you go to the restroom, the stickers and texts don’t stop and it’s giving silly.

we went at a pretty dead hour while it was raining, so there weren’t a lot of people. they also have really good vibey music going on and the drinks we had overall were okay and tasted true to...

Let me make this frikin clear... this place...THE GOOD LOCALS CO...is an oasis in the middle of the city.

It's air conditioned so you can escape the heat.

The service is top-notch. The staff, for some reason, are so approachable that you'd want to stop what you're doing and talk to them instead. Also, everyone who works there all looks so aesthetically pleasing it's unnecessary.

The food? Well... you gotta try that for your little ol self to find out (get the lemon pound cake).

The coffee ☕️ tho....THE COFFEE THO...it be legit. I don't even drink coffee, but damn do I find their coffee oh so good. I hate getting a Lattè but their sweet cookie lattè made me think otherwise.

But overall, it's the atmosphere that makes this place so great. Everything about the place is just so well put together. The colours, the furniture, the cute little figurines scattered around the place...it all just works, and of course, the vibes...the vibes are very warm and welcoming.

If you happen to look for a place to sit, talk, read, eat something sweet, and drink some good coffee, this is the place to go to....

Their coconut coffee is quite similar to the ones I've tasted in Vietnam. And we all know how serious is the coffee culture in VN. The taste of coconut and well made coffee blends harmoniously.

Their bestseller brown sugar oat side latte is also similar to the ones I've had in a coffee shop I and my fiance frequent in Baguio (whose owner also happened to study coffee making in Vietnam). It was also good and cinnamon is quite prominent.

When taking a bite of their brown butter cookie, you need to make sure there's some salt that goes along with it to balance out the sweetness, else it's just pure sweetness that may be too much for one's palate. Love how the salt and sweet fuses together in that cookie, esp. for someone who has sweet tooth.

Grateful to learn about this coffee shop in Iloilo subreddit. Will...