Plenty of salons in Manila offer haircuts and facial grooming services. Plenty of them are near your house. Plenty of them are near your office. But so few of them offer an environment suited for a fine gentleman to call his second home.

Upon entering the fine space that is 28 Cavalry, one would be immediately greeted by the bar, from which they served cocktails and brewed coffee from what, probably is, the most complicated coffee machine in the building and its surrounding establishments for a long time, manned by the gentleman they called, “RJ,” a fitting introduction to the shop with his endearing smile and soft spoken nature. Enter the next room, and you’d find yourself in a narrow room of cuts with each chair belonging to its own mirror and hair sink. All you have to do is sit, enjoy your cut, shave, and massage; the room they called, “the throne room.” Just like royalty. All this within the confines of architecture and interior design reminiscent of Savile Row in its golden era with walls of browns and navy blues.

They are a staple at 28 Cavalry while you get your cuts, or even if you just want a mid-afternoon cocktail,” said Ming Lagman, 28 Cavalry’s Marketing Specialist who spoke about how they treat their alcoholic drinks.

28 Cavalry opened its doors to an intimate crowd in The Podium, Ortigas, last Friday, December 8, after a soft opening held last November. It’s a joint venture between business moguls Nico Lumauig who tied his long hair to fit his formal suit, Gil Pe Aguirre with his signature black rim glasses, Choi Kapunan sporting his bimonthly trimmed hair, and Kenneth Ong, who gave the crowd quite the laugh for being MIA during the opening remarks and sneakily reappeared in the crowd with an Asian flush. The same minds who brought us Burnside Barber.

“We wanna to make sure that no matter how bad your day was, once you step into these four walls, you’ll be sure to have a good time, safe and sound” said Nico, one of the four horsemen of 28 Cavalry.

“We were built to serve. Whether it’s with coffee or with cuts.”

28 Cavalry’s goals were to provide the most value to its customers and provide a calm space for grooming and socializing in the midst of the chaos of the business area that is Ortigas. Which was evidenced by a very curated jazz playlist in the background, the smell of coffee, and the sounds of scissors and chatter between the barbers. They also aimed to revitalize what it means to be chivalrous. “Chivalry isn’t just about throwing your coat over a puddle for [someone] to walk on,” said Lumauig. Chivalry is a knightly system that encapsulates not only respect for others but also respect for self, which included grooming.

Nico ended his speech with, “whoever you are, whatever you do, thank you for being here.” And with that, the Knight raised his glass to the crowd.

28 Cavalry is located at the 4th Level of The Podium mall. Contact them through +63917 897 2887.

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