OLONGAPO CITY, PHILIPPINES - Opened in 1984, The Coffee Shop has become an institution in Barretto, a small barrio just outside the city center of Olongapo. The unassuming restaurant is accessible through a 10-minute drive from the city center to the northern part of Zambales. Even before my parents chose to reside near here and even before I had been born, this restaurant is already up and running and serving the largest, if not the best, tacos in town!

We always pass by this quaint restaurant whenever we travel to Olongapo because our house is located farther to the north. Whenever my mom does not feel like cooking dinner or whenever we have visitors in the house, suggestion of just ordering and taking out tacos from the Coffee Shop always comes up! We just could not pass up the opportunity to share it with as many people as we can!

I can still remember those days when these were priced at only Php 35 each! Now, the price is already at Php 90 which is not a bad deal still given its size and taste. And in all fairness to the resto, the quality of their tacos, taste-wise, have not deteriorated even just one bit! It is still the same tacos that we have come to love when we were still young! The same crunch of the taco shell whenever we break it and mix it with the meat and vegetables still evokes that same level of excitement as before! We love mixing it as much as we love eating it!

Of course, The Coffee Shop also offers other American and Filipino dishes for a very affordable price but I can tell you that all else is of lower importance when put side to side with the Jumbo Tacos! It is also a helpful tidbit that this place is open 24/7 as this is one of the few places here that does so. So whenever you are in need of a quick pick-me-up in the middle of the night when you happen to be in Subic, you now know where to head on to.

If you have not tried the tacos yet, make it a point to visit this place. I swear, the Jumbo Tacos is already a good enough reason to travel all the way to this little barrio in Olongapo. You will not regret it.