Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Best Desserts
EMILIO'S CAFÉ
EMILIO CEDEÑO
Chocolate is the answer. Who cares what the question is!
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“InVenezuela we'recoffeedrinkers,”saysEmilio ofEmilio'sCafé.“Andsincewe'recoffee
drinkers, we need desserts!” At Emilio's they're not just any desserts either - they are a
characteristic part of the appeal of the restaurant and have been voted the best in Manuel
Antonio.
Emilio's native Venezuela has a distinct European flavor, with a number of Italian and
Portuguese nationals fleeing there during World War Two. That influence is felt in the food
as much as anything. “In Venezuela you don't see bakeries owned by my countrymen,”
Emilio explains. “They are mostly Portuguese or Italian. So it's important in Venezuela to
have a good dessert.” Emilio brought some of that attitude with him when he moved to
Manuel Antonio.
His good friend Jose invited him to visit the area to experience the beauty of the jungle,
and Emilio ended up staying. He began working with Jose at the Mariposa Hotel and en-
joyed the natural surroundings.
“I love going into the mountains here,” he says. “What I loved when I came here was
riding my mountain bike, all over. And the quiet. When I lived in Venezuela it was getting a
little dangerous, but when I moved here, I could walk on the street without a problem - it's
something beautiful.”
His love of good coffee and great surroundings led to the establishment of the first
Emilio's café in late 2011. It was an intimate coffee shop, and not entirely what he had envi-
sioned. “I began with a café,” he says. “I started off serving salad, but people asked for fish
and now instead of a café it's become more like a bistro or a restaurant. That wasn't the idea
in the beginning, but people here have made me change.”
