📍Cebu City
Tales and Feelings is a quaint chef-driven restaurant born out of the love story of Julian and Kim Prosevicious with Kim’s brother Chef Elso Thurd Almodiel at the helm. Each dish tells a story, with the hope that you feel the connection between the creative flavors and texture of each ingredient.
This restaurant opened in April 2021 at the height of the pandemic, a year after Julian and Kim got married. It now has a cult following and comes highly recommended by chefs we trust and prominent food personalities. The couple worked for Jason Atherton famous for Michelin-starred Pollen Street Social in London and now Pig & Palm in Cebu, which we both tried for a memorable dining experience.
(read backstory here: Keeta.PH // These Hole-in-the-Wall Restaurants are Worth Looking For)
We were excited to try Tales & Feelings, and here’s what we think.
Tales & Feelings
F. Ramos St. & V. Ranudo St. 6000 Cebu City, Philippines
📞 +63 995 895 5429
✉️ talesandfeelings@aidandiaz
Instagram: @talesandfeelings
Facebook: Tales and Feelings
About Tales & Feelings
It’s a rustic 7-table restaurant with a comfortable lounge sofa and round ottoman chairs with small tables good for 2-3 diners.
(Note: The ottoman chairs were not comfortable at all after sitting for a while. It’s usually the guys who sit here.)
We ate during lunch time to avoid the main dining crowd and had spaghetti electric cables and the lunch traffic in the corner of F. Ramos and V. Ranudo Streets for a view.
(Note: Better to eat at night for a romantic intimate dinner.)
Julian, the server/owner, was just quiet in his counter. With his warm aura, it was nice talking to him about his food and story, however briefly.
(Wished we had more time to know more about their story.)
The menu is western with Asian flare and ingredient-focused. Pricing is affordable (₱200-₱500/dish) given the quality of the food. Menu is chef-driven and changes monthly.
At first glance, the menu items look typical like those of chef-driven restos in Manila. So we had to go with the most recommended dishes.
Best to reserve the chef’s table beside the kitchen window for a more intimate corner. You can also see how your food is prepared from there.
(We wanted to transfer during our lunch, but they said it was reserved. Nobody came until we left. Make sure to reserve the tables on this side.)
Tales & Feelings Food
Nicely seared good quality tuna, thinly sliced with sweet and sour acidic flavors. Best to eat with the carrots, onions, aubergine dip, and crunch from the flower-like crisp. Sarap nito!
This was so good and, at some point, I thought it tasted like kamote because of the texture of the cauliflower. Loved the sweet chili Korean flavor with sesame to cut through the sweetness. Yum!
The chicken was served fillet in tube form with crispy skin on a bed of creamy polenta with chicken jus and umami from the brown butter sauce. It was okay.
Loved how the risotto absorbed the squid ink flavors. Eat it with the Manila clams, pieces of squid and prawns. This was done very well with all the flavors of the sea, and we did not mind smiling even if our teeth were getting black as we enjoyed the squid ink. A must order.
with a glass of M Series Merlot, Australia (₱250)
The pork was very tasty, braised in sweet miso sauce. Best to eat with the bok choy and squash to balance the sweetness. Loved pairing it with the Merlot to cut through the pork flavor. Wished they served this with rice instead of mashed potato which was redundant with the squash.
Final Thoughts
Highly Recommended and you can feel the couple’s love story in the ambiance, food and concept. We loved every moment, from discovering the secret stairs to dining in with the Cebuano food crowd, to enjoying the food. On the food, we would recommend the Marinated Gensan Tuna, Seafood Risotto, and the Miso braised pork. Reserve the Chef’s table. Budget ₱800/head.
At some point though, the food was nakakasuya because it was all creamy and sweet. Hope they can have a variety of flavors that is uniquely Cebuano, Cebu being known for its litson that’s full of flavor on its own without the need for sweet sarsa sauce.
Hope to be back soon with friends to experience it at night and try the other dishes.
(Don’t miss to visit Good Cup Coffee beside Tales & Feelings for your coffee latte or to experience the coffee cupping session. You can also check out Tightrope Coffee around the corner.)
Tales & Feelings
F. Ramos St. & V. Ranudo St. 6000 Cebu City, Philippines
📞 +63 995 895 5429
✉️ talesandfeelings@aidandiaz
Instagram: @talesandfeelings
Facebook: Tales and Feelings
Live an Awesome Life with Christ,
Founder & Digital Creator, Our Awesome Planet
Disclosure: We paid for our meal. I wrote this article with my biases, opinions, and insights.
The restroom is quite small.