The Dominican friars first asked F&B veteran Vic Alcuaz to find partners to make use of the space. Eventually, the friars insisted that Alcuaz personally take the reins of this project due to his experience in the industry. 

The space is bright, airy, and unpretentious. Alcuaz and the Dominicans brought several items from his collection to adorn the space. The center portion proudly displays a portrait and a bust of Santo Domingo, and a book shelf containing 50 old books from Alcuaz’s collection. These bric-a-brac, together with the sketches of churches by artist Alex Uy contribute to this café’s erudite aura.

Named after Saint Dominic aka Santo Domingo, Dominican inspiration abounds inside Café inggo 1587. There is a restored painting of Saint Dominic from behind the counter, with Alcuaz’s personal collection of Eddie Sarmiento’s paintings of Dominican churches from around the Philippines and pen-and-ink church sketches by Alex Uy populating the walls.

The courteous staff, some of whom used to be tricycle drivers from the area, is dressed in uniforms inspired by the hooded clothing of Dominican brothers. The best part? They’re all permanent employees with full benefits.

Chef Willy Domingo has a distinguished career as an international chef, having worked as a Sous Chef and Executive Chef with hotel chains Hyatt International in the USA and Shangri-La International in the Philippines, Malaysia and Hong Kong. He also served as Executive Chef of Tagaytay Highlands before opening Fashion Café in Makati, among other notable cafes, bars, and restaurants. With a strong Dominican education (UST 1976) and a namesake of Santo Domingo, it was easy for Chef Willy to agree to help design and develop the menu of Café Inggo 1587 and become its Resident Chef.