CHIReview
photo credit: Sandy Noto
Cebu
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It can be uncomfortable when you walk into a party and immediately get the feeling that the hosts have been arguing about something - who was supposed to pick up brie for the cheese tray, maybe, or the best way to calm their dachshund around guests. Hopefully, making a beeline for the drinks and some Trader Joe’s mushroom turnovers will distract you from the tension you’re sensing. The atmosphere at Cebu, a Filipino restaurant in Wicker Park, can feel a little like that tense party. But if you focus on the tasty food and whoever you’re with, you’ll have a good time.
Thankfully, the great dishes on Cebu’s menu make it possible to ignore what you’re pretty sure are the sounds of the staff arguing with each other. An intensely flavorful chicken adobo and perfectly tender pork BBQ skewers are both great ways to keep yourself occupied. The beef tapa is also very good, with slightly caramelized meat marinated in a delicious calamansi and soy sauce, and ordering the soft and sweet housemade pandesal buns is non-negotiable - they’re delicious and they have to be on the table. As you eat, you can watch the halo-halo being carefully assembled at the dessert station, which is also a soothing diversion.
photo credit: Sandy Noto
When food falls short here, it’s when it’s inconsistent. The lumpia is occasionally burnt and greasy. Sometimes the egg on the sisiq is undercooked, sometimes it’s overcooked. The specials are a mixed bag of hits like the moist pork belly lechon with crispy skin and misses like a very dry adobo burger that comes with some unbearably salty fries. But everything is affordable enough that it’s not the end of the world if you play lumpia roulette and lose.
Even if you are winning at roulette, you probably still won’t be able to avoid hearing what’s going on behind the scenes here. The restaurant’s small, narrow space and semi-open kitchen mean that everything - whether it’s snarky back-and-forths or fallout from a messed-up drink order - is noticeable. It’s a lot like your party hosts whisper-fighting in the hallway of their tiny apartment: at best it’s a little awkward, at worst it’s downright unpleasant. Cebu does have a very nice, secluded back patio, though, and if you sit out there, you and your dinner date can focus on your own petty arguments.
Even if their stressed-out party hosts can’t get it together, that doesn’t mean the guests can’t still have fun. If there are drinks, good food, and other partygoers to keep you occupied, you can leave the couple to discuss the dachshund’s anxiety levels among themselves. The same applies at Cebu. Get some chicken adobo and just try to let the tension roll off your back. After all, it gives you something to talk about on the way home.
Food Rundown
photo credit: Sandy Noto
Pandesal
photo credit: Sandy Noto
Chicken Adobo
photo credit: Sandy Noto
BBQ Pork
Flap Steak
photo credit: Sandy Noto
Bam-I
photo credit: Sandy Noto
Sisiq
photo credit: Sandy Noto
Kinilaw
Lumpia
Adobo Burger
Lechon Belly
photo credit: Sandy Noto