It’s not the most natural progression for a retail brand, but the Sunnies Café looks like it’s headed for a similar, or even greater, success trajectory.
The Sunnies accessories brand–those affordable sunglasses and prescription eyewear that you see Georgina Wilson donning on billboards–took off spectacularly in the last three years. The idea for a chic café came naturally because the group of directors (if you didn’t already know) is a dream team of foodies, travellers, and worldly souls: Eric Dee Jr. and wife Bea Soriano-Dee, with Diaz cousins Martine Cajucom and Georgina Wilson-Burnand.
“We’ve always seen Sunnies as a lifestyle brand,” Georgina says. Eric comes from a family of restaurateurs and foodies (they’ve built an empire of food chains from low-end to Michelin-starred ones), and Bea is travel buddies with Georgina and Martine. This concept café was practically begging to be made.
Naturally, the team was extremely hands-on–Eric became a chef, Martine and Georgina did the ultra-instagrammable interiors, Bea and George whipped up the beverages. “We were so involved in the menu development and we all have inside jokes about it. Each of the dishes has a special connection to us,” Georgina shares.
So what should you order when you get there? Here are their personal favourites:
Eric: Salmon poke quinoa salad, which he used to always make for his wife Bea
Bea: the white truffle pasta, and the ricotta pancakes (which they made 100 different versions of until they got it just right)
Martine: the Miso Glazed Salmon, because it’s pan-seared and healthy; and the brown rice salad.
Georgina: the KimYe milkshake, which she named herself; the Crispy Egg Benedict, the Miso Salmon, and the Crispy Tacos
Personally, we loved the tacos, the chicken and the milkshakes–but if you can, try to get a bite of everything. The Sunnies Studios mantra is to make pretty (and delicious) things easy on the pocket. Plates start at P190 with an average spend of P600 – P800 per couple.
“We wouldn’t put anything on the menu that we don’t love,” says Georgina. Martine explains that they crafted the menu specifically to be “comfort food with a modern twist that you can have every single day.”
Sunnies Cafe is located in SM Megamall, 2/F Bridgeway corner Atrium, Ortigas, Mandaluyong City (02) 718 1862 and in B3 Unit 748 Bonifacio High Street, Bonifacio Global City (02) 949 2251.
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